The Perfect Timing

Chapter Eighteen

Maddie

"Grey or eggshell white?" Maya holds up two swatches of colors against the wall in front of her as she waits for my opinion. Truthfully either would look good, but Maya won't accept that as an answer.

"The couch is grey, right? The walls should probably be white then."

We're standing in the huge open space of their soon-to-be living room. They've been renovating this house for months now, and it's coming along really well. They're so close to moving in.

It wasn't a big house by any means, but it was a good starter home. I didn't see the vision at first when they bought this place. It was run down, and outdated, and it needed a ton of work. In the past couple of months though Maya and Ethan have drastically changed things around.

She nods, wiping away sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Yeah, you're probably right. Why is it always so damn hot in Arizona?"

"I know," I mutter. Even with the air conditioning, it was still almost eighty degrees in here. It should be cold considering it's the beginning of February, but today is a rare day of warmth. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Uh..." She walks over to the fridge and pops her head in. "Yes. Is water okay?"

Nodding eagerly, I gulp half of the bottle down when she gives it to me and take a seat at the dining room table, which is just to the left of the kitchen in a little nook area.

"I like your nails by the way," she says with a smug grin. I fight to roll my eyes. "Who paid for those?"

"You know who paid for them," I reply. "You're the one that sent the money to me from him."

She throws her hands up in defeat and grabs a water for herself. "I just simply did as I was told. Is Izzy with him again today?"

"Yeah. He leaves this weekend to go do his GQ photoshoot so I told him he could take her for the day before he leaves tomorrow. I'm picking her up soon."

My phone is in my hand as I scroll through social media, stopping immediately when I see a picture of Cameron and Izzy that he posted an hour ago. Her face is blurred out, but you can still see those curly ringlets of hers. The caption says:

For those that may not have known, I recently discovered that I am a father to the most incredible little girl I've ever met. I know that with situations like these, a lot of stories can be misconstrued, so I wanted to take the initiative to put an end to them now. The mother of my child and I have known each other since we were kids. This wasn't planned, but I certainly wouldn't refer to it as a mistake either. I will always have love for her, and I appreciate that we are able to do this parenting thing amicably. She is truly my best friend. Due to the nature of the situation, I am asking that you give me privacy to be able to soak in as much time with my little one as possible. See you next season.

Thanks,
Cameron

"What?" Maya reaches across the table and snatches the phone out of my hands to read it for herself. "Oh shit. Are you ready for this to be public?"

"I mean, he told me about it and asked if it would be okay. It's going to affect him more than me, you know? It doesn't really matter."

Maya shakes her head as she taps away at her phone, clearing her throat before she says, "Hotshot athlete Cameron Holden has secret baby with Phoenix gold digger."

"Wait what?" I grab her phone and see the headline of the article. "Oh my god!" I shriek in disbelief. "This is from a credible news source. How the hell can they make a headline like this? How immature could they get?"