Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 233

Dennis Williams watched her walk away, a barely-there smile flickering in his eyes before he turned and headed home himself.

As soon as he got in, he wasted no time changing out of his clothes.

The lipstick smudge on his shirt had spread a bit after he dabbed at it with a wet wipe, but the kiss mark was still pretty clear.

He stared at it for a few seconds, then shrugged and hung the shirt up in the closet, deciding not to worry about it for now.

…

Camila Davis only felt the embarrassment of earlier truly melt away once she stepped through her front door.

Inside, Melissa George and Susan were busy in the kitchen, the smell of roast chicken and mashed potatoes filling the air.

Lillian was sitting on the floor with a hot dog in hand, feeding little pieces to Lightning, their golden retriever puppy. Her voice was sweet and high as she cooed, "Good boy! Here's your treat, Lightning…"

"Woof woof!" Lightning barked twice, tail wagging wildly as he gobbled down the treat, clearly proud of himself.

Camila grinned and walked over. "So what did Lightning do to earn all these snacks?"

Melissa came out of the kitchen just then, balancing a bowl of green bean casserole. She chimed in, "Lightning's a real hero today! I totally forgot I left the stove on while I was making fish. The water boiled away and it started to burn, but Lightning noticed something was wrong. He ran over and tugged at my pant leg, barking like crazy until I realized. He probably saved us from a kitchen fire!"

She ruffled Lightning’s ears affectionately, still a bit shaken by what could have happened. "This little guy deserves a feast tonight!"

Camila laughed and joined in the praise, "Well done, Lightning! Extra roast beef for you tonight."

Lightning’s eyes lit up as if he understood every word. His tail wagged so fast it was a blur, and he jumped up to nuzzle Camila, tail thumping against her legs.

"Wow, he really does get it! Are you sure he’s not part human?" Jerry Davis joked from the living room, chuckling at the scene.

That night, the whole family—and their four-legged hero—enjoyed a big cozy dinner together, laughter and warmth filling the house.

Afterwards, Camila sat on the couch, browsing for men’s dress shirts online. No matter what, she needed to replace Mr. Williams’s shirt. She’d never forgive herself otherwise.

But before she could pick one out, her phone buzzed with a new anonymous text.

Attached were several photos.

Sandra Taylor had just gotten home from work when her parents called her into the dining room for dinner.

The table was loaded with all her favorites: pot roast, creamy mac and cheese, and a big apple pie waiting for dessert. But they hadn’t even made it halfway through the meal before Mr. Taylor spoke up, his voice stern.

"You’ve been back in the States for months now. Why haven’t you locked things down with Jordan yet? It’s just Camila Davis—she shouldn’t be hard to get rid of. You need to step up and make something happen!"

Mrs. Taylor nodded in agreement, “Jordan doesn’t love Camila. Getting her out of the picture should be a piece of cake. What’s the holdup? Are you running into trouble?”

Sandra didn’t answer right away, twirling her fork with a frustrated sigh.

She’d thought winning Jordan over would be easy, a done deal. But now, even with Camila pushing for a divorce, it was Jordan who wouldn’t let go.

She just couldn’t figure him out. He’d said more than once that he didn’t love Camila, so why was he so determined to stay married?

“Mom, Dad, I’m this close. All I need is to officially seal the deal with Jordan and everything else will fall into place.”

She hesitated, then added, “But I need some backup… The real reason Jordan’s dragging his feet is because of Lillian and who’ll get custody if they split. If we want to make this work, maybe we need to talk to Barbara Jones and Mason Smith—get them on our side.”