Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Cyrus picked up the terrarium and carried it toward Cami. “Can I keep it?”
“Of course you can. We’ll watch them hatch together and then set them free.” Cami smiled at Bess as Cyrus continued to study the inside of the terrarium. “Cyrus starts school on Monday, and I’ll be back to work then.”
“I can’t wait,” Bess said. “We have some catching up to do.” She gave Cami an exaggerated wink, and Cami knew she meant Rex. Rex. God, her face wanted to move into a stupid smile every time she thought of him.
A group of customers who she’d seen wandering through the butterfly exhibit came in the door, and Bess greeted them just as Cami’s cell phone rang.
“Call if you need anything,” Cami said. Bess waved, and Cami quickly flipped the sign on the door from Open to Closed so Bess could get out of there by closing time after attending to the last customers. Then she took her phone from her pocket and frowned when she saw the unknown number. For a second, she thought about not answering it as she and Cyrus exited the shop. But when they’d stepped outside, she considered that she had a dozen calls out to Cyrus’s new school and the local social services office and other places and people helping her get her life as a mom together.
Not to mention the authorities were still investigating Cyrus’s kidnapping case, even if that seemed to have stalled.
“Hello?” she said as they headed toward her car.
“Cami?” A woman’s voice.
“Speaking.”
“Hi, Cami. This is Seraphina Arnoult. We met—”
“Yes, I know who you are.” Cami frowned. Why in the heck was Hollis’s fiancée calling her?
“Oh, good. I . . . well, this is difficult but . . . is there any way we could meet? I’m in town, and I’d like to discuss something with you. It’s . . . very important, and I think you need to know.”
Very important? “Hold on a sec.” They got to Cami’s car, and she held her finger up to Cyrus to indicate she needed a minute and then clicked the lock and dumped her purse in her seat. She waited for Cyrus to get in while she remained outside the vehicle. “You’re in town?” she asked Seraphina. “Where?”
“I’m at Hollis’s family estate. You might know that since his dad died, his mom spends most of her time at their home in Palm Beach. They mostly maintain this address because of Hollis’s congressional run. He prefers his town house in DC, but you know . . .”
“He has to live in the state he wants to represent,” Cami finished. She’d known he no longer lived in Aspen Cove, but she’d assumed he had a home somewhere else in Virginia. She wasn’t surprised that he in fact did not. Hollis was such a phony. He was even lying to voters about his place of residence.
“Right,” Seraphina said. “Anyway, I’m here, if you remember where it is. I won’t take up much of your time. And please, Hollis can’t know we’re meeting. I’d prefer if you kept this between us, just for now anyway. Then you can decide . . .”
Cami paused, even more curious about what Seraphina had to say. She remembered all too well where Hollis’s family estate was. It was only a couple of blocks from the house where her life had been destroyed. She hadn’t been back to that neighborhood since. She avoided even driving near it at all costs. But the only “very important” information that Cami could imagine Seraphina wanting to share would be about Cyrus, and potentially Hollis’s involvement in their son’s kidnapping.
What else?
She needed to hear what Seraphina had to tell her. But she didn’t want to risk Cyrus overhearing, and she didn’t want to walk him into a situation she wasn’t certain of, even if Seraphina did weigh all of a hundred pounds and acted like a scared mouse. “I need to drop Cyrus off, and then I’ll be over. Give me forty-five minutes?” She’d call Rex on her way over and let him know they might be a little late for dinner and why.
“Of course. See you then. We can sit outside on the patio.”
Outside. Even better. “And Hollis really doesn’t know about this?”
Seraphina let out a small scoffing noise. “He’d kill me if he knew I was calling you. He’s in Alexandria for a rally later tonight. If you turn on the TV, you can watch him doing a live interview there right now.”
Cami looked at Cyrus in the front seat, still obviously fascinated by the terrarium as he held it up to his face, staring in. “Okay, see you soon.”
“Great. Thank you, Cami. Come on in through the back gate. I’ll be watching out for you.”
Cami opened the driver’s side door and got inside, glancing over to make sure Cyrus was belted before she clicked her own into place. “I need to meet with someone quickly, so I’m going to drop you at your pop’s house for about an hour, okay?”