Summary:
For years, Bianca Stratford had been searching for the perfect family—and she found it in her job as a photographer for Traditional Country Magazine. Travelling all over the country, Bianca meets lots of people, but never stays in one place for long. And that's how she likes it. Until widower Cameron James comes crashing back into her life. Although they'd gone to high school together, Bianca and Cameron hadn't run in the same circles. They'd been friends for a brief amount of time, but after Cameron had professed his love for Bianca and found it unrequited, they'd gone their separate ways. Until Bianca lost her virginity to him on graduation night. And left the next morning before he woke up.
But Cameron isn't the fumbling young man he'd once been. He's grown into a self-assured, sexy man—and a father of two. This Cameron is a man who Bianca finds it hard to resist. Can she get over her fear of abandonment and put the past behind her to move on with Cameron? With a meddlesome father, sister, brother-in-law and twin nephews, anything goes!
Author's Note: This is a future fic, so I've matured the characters to fit their age groups, but I'll try my best to keep them in character!
"Do you have to go, Aunt B?" William asked as he sat on the edge of her bed in the guestroom, swinging his little legs as he spoke.
Bianca smiled at her four year old nephew. "I have a job to do," she reminded him as she ruffled his hair.
"When are you going to get your own house?" Wilson, her other four-year old nephew asked.
Bianca's eyes danced with amusement. "Are you two getting sick of me?" she asked.
The twins giggled. "No," they said in unison.
"OK," Bianca said. "Whose turn is it to sit on my suitcase?" she asked.
"Mine!" they said at the same time, each throwing an arm in the air.
Bianca laughed. "I think you might both fit," she said, lifting first one, then the other so they were sitting on her suitcase. She made a show of pretending difficulty as she zipped it up. "Whoo," she said, wiping her forehead with exaggeration. "Thank God for you two or I might never have gotten this beast zipped," she said.
Wilson studied her face. "Mom says you have a flair for melodrama," he said seriously.
"Yes, well, your mother talks too much!" Bianca shot back.
"That's what daddy says!" William piped in.
"Well, that had better be our secret!" Bianca said conspiratorially. "We don't want your dad getting into trouble."
"Why would Patrick be in trouble?" Kat asked, coming into the room and sitting down on the bed next to the suitcase that her sons were occupying.
"Oh, no reason," Bianca said, turning to the boys and putting a finger to her lips and following it with a "Sshh!"
"You're teaching my kids to lie to me?" Kat asked, faking appall.
"As a matter of fact, I am," Bianca said breezily.
Kat rolled her eyes. "That is just like you," she joked.
"Yes, it is," Bianca agreed.
"Boys, I think your dad's in the kitchen eating all your popsicles," Kat said.
"What!?" Wilson yelled.
"He better not eat all of them!" William joined in. They both jumped down off the bed and fled the room.
"And I'm teaching them to lie?" Bianca said dryly as Kat lay down on the queen sized bed and got comfortable.
"I needed a break," Kat said.
"They were at Dad's all weekend," Bianca said in disbelief. It was Monday.
"They were Patrick's idea," Kat muttered.
"As if you could live without them," Bianca returned.
Kat grinned. "They do tend to grow on you," she agreed. Much to her surprise, Kat loved being a mother. And she thought she was even pretty good at it.
Bianca grinned. "You do know they're going to be heartbreakers, right?" she said. "I mean—they've got those piercing eyes that Patrick has."
"Bianca Stratford, are you hot for my husband?" Kat teased.
"Eww, no!" Bianca said. "That's so—incesty!"
Kat laughed. "That's not a word."
"Well, it should be for occasions such as this!" Bianca whined.
Kat grinned at her sisters' trademark personality trait. Even at 28 years of age, Bianca was still at it. "So, off to Boston," she said, changing the subject.
Bianca nodded as she hefted her suitcase onto the floor and lay down on the bed beside her sister. "Yep," she said. "Another photo-shoot for next years Christmas issue."
Kat nodded. "Sounds fun."
Bianca wrinkled her nose. "I guess," she said.
"You guess?"
"I'm sick of travelling," Bianca admitted.
"Well, maybe it's time to put down some roots," Kat said carefully. This was a subject she and her sister had visited many times before, and it never ended pretty.
"I don't want to put down roots," Bianca said stubbornly.
Kat sighed. "Ever since Joey left you, it's like you've been…shut down. It's like you're closed off from all of us, Bianca."
"He cheated on me!" Bianca said heatedly.
"Four years ago," Kat said softly.
Bianca took a deep breath.
"And I think that...coupled with the fact that mom left us—"
"She died!" Bianca said, cutting her sister off.
"Yes, she did. But I…think it might have left you with unresolved abandonment issues."
"I don't have time for this," Bianca said, sitting up.
"I'm sorry if I upset you," Kat said softly.
Bianca sighed and lay back down next to her sister. "You didn't upset me. You just…struck a nerve," she admitted. "I know I'm screwed up."
Kat grinned. "Don't worry. I won't tell dad."
"Yes, you will," Bianca said knowingly. "So I might as well pretend to have some control over it and tell you to go ahead.
"Gee, thanks," Kat said sarcastically. "I only tell him because he's the only one who can get through that thick head of yours most of the time."
"I happen to think my head is perfect, thank you," Bianca said in a sing-song voice.
Kat grinned. "You're so vain."
"Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it!" Bianca said jokingly, and then sobered. "I know I need to change some things, Kat. I can't be globetrotting forever. And I won't. But for now…this works for me," she said.
Kat nodded. "I know," she said. And then, "What?" she asked at her sisters' grin.
Bianca shook her head. "It's just…it's like we've switched places. You're all…maternal and stuff. And now, I'm the independent one."
"I'm still independent," Kat muttered.
"Hey, babe!" they heard Patrick yell from downstairs. "The oil in your car is all set!"
Kat sighed dreamily. "I don't know what I'd do without him," she said as she jumped up off the bed and sprinted from the room.
Bianca rolled her eyes. The picture of independence, she thought sarcastically. Her sister had been married for eight years, and she and Patrick still acted like newlyweds.
Try as she might, Bianca couldn't quell the jealousy rearing its ugly head. In high school, Kat had been the one who wasn't interested in boys. Bianca had been head over heels for a new one every day. She thought for sure she'd be the sister who settled down first. But then Patrick came along, and while he hadn't been quite able to tame Kat, her sister had been smitten—well, as much as Kat Stratford could be smitten. But in true Kat style, of course she hadn't admitted it. But she had ended up married to Patrick and now here they were, in Bronxville, New York. Kat was a professor at Sarah Lawrence, and Patrick had just opened up his dream shop—repairing motorcycles.
Bianca sighed. She couldn't imagine ever settling down. Her job took her all over—and some times out of—the country. And while she loved it, it certainly didn't shout stability. She knew something was missing from her life. She just wished she knew what it was.