Olivia parked her car outside her mother's house and sat there. With her hands on the steering wheel, she stared out the front window as her memories replayed themselves in her mind at the cafe.

Cameron was right. She was letting her fear rule her.

Like he said, how many times did he have to tell her of his intentions? How much more proof did she need before she believed him?

"I just need time," she had mumbled.

Clearly, she was still upset about everything that happened five years ago. Why couldn't she let it go? Why was it so hard to give him a chance? Why did a part of her ache for him? Not only in a sexual sense, but in general. The more she held herself back, the more her body groaned, bemoaning her restraint every time he was near.

They finished eating their food and sipped their tea in relative silence.

She didn't know what else to say as uncertainty gnawed away at her.

A part of her wanted to give him a chance. She wanted desperately to go back to that day five years ago. To be that carefree girl again without responsibility, pain, and regret.

"I know you don't remember who I was five years ago," she had whispered over her third cup of tea. "I wasn't like this back then and I can't go back to being that person again. Things are different. Everything is harder now. More complex. I have to put Chloe's needs before my own. She needs me."

"I know," he replied. "And she needs me too. It's not like we have to rush into anything. We can take things slow, meet over dinner or have coffee after your open houses on weekends and talk on the phone during the week after you put Chloe to bed. We can take our time getting to know each other. Would that work?"

She chewed on her bottom lip before nodding. Why was she always hesitating? Even when they had enough tea and called for the bills, there was still a nervous tension in the air. Or maybe it was all her?

When they left the restaurant, he clasped her hand and pulled her aside.

She stared up at him, her heart hammering against her ribs as he joined both of her hands and held them together against his heart.

"Don't be scared. Be brave," he whispered. "For Chloe."

She nodded, forcing herself to look up and meet his gaze. Those unique cognac-colored eyes gazed back at her, crinkling in the corners as a warm smile spread across his face.

He reached up to stroke her cheek. "Can I see you after your open house tomorrow?"

"I only have one showing."

"Can we meet for coffee then?"

She hesitated again.

"Please? I need to see you again."

"Okay."

The gap between them had closed and only a foot remained. His eyes looked down at her lips. She could see his desire as his Adam's apple struggled to bob up and down in his throat.

She could have turned away. He was holding back, giving her a chance to refuse. She realized that, despite everything she had been through, she still ached to feel that fire burn to life within her when she was with him five years ago.

But fires sometimes burned out of control.

"Can I kiss you?" His voice was raspy, twisting knots in her stomach.

The first time he kissed her was the beginning of it all. The moment she could no longer deny the unexplainable attraction she felt toward him. Lost as soon as her lips touched his. Transported to another world where it was just the two of them and the magic that surrounded them.

She should say no. She knew she should. Instead, she uttered, "Yes." A breathy whisper from lungs that struggled to get enough air due to his closeness.

The fire within her burst to life as he bent down to place a kiss on her lips.

And as quickly as he had come, he pulled back. A vein throbbed in his neck as he hung his head, bid her goodbye, and walked away with his hands clenched into fists at his side.

She stood there reeling. Her thoughts whirled. Her lips and toes tingled. Her body craved for more than a chaste peck.

She wanted more.

He always had that effect on her. That was how she wound up in his bed that night merely hours after meeting him five years ago.

Even then, she still craved more after he was long gone. That was the part that hurt and scared her the most. After crying herself to sleep many nights, she still agonized for something she couldn't have.

Why was she scared of it now? She could have it all back. Throw herself at him and let him erase all the pain and heartache in a single night knowing that she'd wake up to find him lying there beside her. And every night thereafter, he said.

As she stared out the front windshield of her car, she still couldn't stop thinking about kissing him. Of pushing herself flush against him. Of his hands groping her ass and grinding his hard-on against her.

In some sick and twisted way, she still desired him.

Chiding herself, she took a few deep breaths before climbing out of the car and entering her mother's house.

The living room was at the front of the house with the kitchen in the back. She was greeted by Chloe lying on the floor with a big fluffy stuffed bear that stayed at her mother's house for Chloe to cuddle anytime she was over. A bowl of popcorn was next to her as she watched a Disney movie on the large flatscreen.

Chloe looked up and grinned. "Mommy, you look nice."

"Thank you, sweetie," she got down on her knees to kiss her daughter's head.

"How was your date?" Chloe asked before giggling and half hiding behind the head of her bear.

"It wasn't a date, sweetie. Just a meeting."

"But you always wear suits to meetings."

"This was a different kind of meeting," she said and quickly changed the subject as she glanced at the TV. "What are you watching?"

Chloe bounced on the stuffed bear. "Fox and the Hound."

"Oh wow, that's an old one, even older than me."

"Really?" Chloe's eyes were as large as saucers.

"Yeah, but Grandma is even older," Olivia teased, the knots unwinding slightly within. "She's even older than the hound's mean owner."

She couldn't remember the names of the characters in the movie—it had been years since she watched it.

"Are you comparing me to that grouchy old man?" Olivia's mother jeered from the corner of the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

"Of course not! I would never do such a thing," Olivia replied in a playful tone. She kissed Chloe's forehead before getting up and joining her mother the kitchen. "We both know you're the wicked witch of the west, anyway."

Her mother snorted as she went to the counter loaded up with drying dishes and picked up a plate to dry with a towel. "Very funny. So, how was your date?"

"It wasn't a date, Mom. Just a meeting."

Her mother looked over her shoulder and gave Olivia a once over and hummed, as if to say, Sure it wasn't. "That's not what you called it in your text."

Olivia grimaced. "Oh crap. I did say that, didn't I?"

Her mother hummed obnoxiously in affirmation. "You didn't by chance meet with Chloe's father, did you?"

Olivia's mouth fell off its hinges and it took her a moment to snap it shut. How did she know?

Her mother didn't miss it and let out another exaggerated hum as she continued to dry dishes. "Chloe had a lot to say today. She told me how she met her father last week at the water park and that he sent you both roses. She wasn't sure if you were meeting him or not, but she thought—and hoped—that you were."

Guilt gnawed away at her. That child of hers was too smart for her own good. "Um, yeah."

Her mother set her towel down on the counter with a sigh. "Olivia, are you sure about this? He knocked you up and abandoned you. He's worse than your father."

Concern was written all over her face but her words rubbed Olivia the wrong way.

"He's not like Dad," Olivia retorted. Before her mother could get another word in, she added, "And what I didn't know at the time was that he almost died in an accident and was in a coma for five weeks and woke up with amnesia. He had no memory of me or the previous four years and he didn't get a chance to tell anyone about me."

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Is that what he told you?"

"Yes."

"And you believe him?"

There it was, the part that Olivia struggled with since he found her. The part that she couldn't answer with certainty because she was afraid to give him the benefit of doubt and trust him. She tried to weigh her reasons why she should and shouldn't. She had the picture as proof along with the scar that peeked out of his hair on his forehead that he didn't have five years ago. He argued his case repeatedly and his story hadn't changed.

More importantly, he wouldn't keep trying if he wasn't interested.

"See?" her mother said when she took too long to respond. "I rest my case."

Olivia scowled. "It's not like that, Mom. He explained everything to me and gave me a picture of him after the accident. He even has a scar that he didn't have before."

He mother crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brows. "How do you know this didn't happen last year or a couple of years ago for that matter?"

Now it was Olivia's turn to cross her arms over her chest. "Really, Mom? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Hey, don't give me that attitude when I'm pointing out possible lies and holes in his story. I'm trying to protect you from making another mistake that you can't afford to make. You have Chloe to think about."

Anger bubbled up. "Don't you think I'm aware of that? That's exactly why I arranged a meeting with him. I don't know the whole story. I do put Chloe's needs before my own. I won't make the same mistake twice, but this time I'm trying—I'm really trying to do what's best for me and Chloe. He's her father. And whether you like it or not, if he wants to see her, I want to give him that right, but I won't if I think he's going to hurt her in any way."

Her mother's hardened eyes tore away from hers and lowered to Olivia's side and softened. Following her gaze, Olivia's skin began to crawl with the thought of Chloe overhearing their argument. To her horror, she found her daughter peeking around the corner of the wall separating the living room and kitchen. Seeing that she had been spotted, she disappeared and Olivia hurried after her.

Entering the living room, Olivia found Chloe clinging to the over-sized teddy bear and pretending to watch the movie.

Her shoulders slumped as she eased down to the floor next to her and brushed her hair from her face. "Sweetie?"

Chloe whined like a puppy and buried her face in the bear.

Olivia's heart hurt. "Oh, Chloe," she whispered, prying the bear from her daughter and pulling her into her arms. "Grandma is just worried about you and Mommy. That's all."

She buried her face in the crook of Olivia's neck and sniffled. "Is my daddy a bad man?"

"No, sweetie. He was lost for a few years. Mommy is making sure he's okay before you can see him again."

"Is he okay?"

"Mommy is going to check again tomorrow."

Chloe whimpered again. "I want to see him."

Olivia's heart squeezed. "Okay, sweetie. We will see him together soon."

Dammit. She hoped Cameron was genuine. So help her god, if he fucked up with Chloe, she'd never forgive him and he'd never be allowed near her again.

Olivia couldn't believe she was defending Cameron but her mother was wrong. Cameron wasn't like her father. If he wanted to abandon them, he would have never sought them out. She wouldn't be seeing him now and trying to give him another chance. He wouldn't say the things he said, call her his soulmate, ask about Chloe, and look absolutely dejected at the thought of all the time he lost that he could have spent with them.

Her father never said things like that. He never even asked Olivia to come visit, meet his new wife and family, or see Chloe.

Olivia may have made the mistake of sleeping with a man she barely knew five years ago, but if he was a good and decent human being who wanted to be a part of Chloe's life, how could she deny him that? How was that fair to Chloe? If Olivia's father had shown even half the interest that Cameron showed, Olivia would have gone to visit him if he asked.

But he didn't.

Her mother shouldn't treat Cameron with the same attitude she held for her ex-husband. Their situations were different. Cameron was a different person. He didn't intend to lose his memories. He didn't purposely leave them for someone else.

Olivia needed to remind herself that.

Cameron wasn't her father.

---- Author's Note ----

Finally making some progress! Olivia is kind of realizing that she's been projecting her childhood abandonment issues onto Cameron by making the distinction that Cam is not like her father. Things can only get better from here. ;)

Dedicated to HeartStone Packmate: Part2Wolf 

Copyright Jo Lee Hunt ( Joflower ) 2018