AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Thank you for putting it on," I continue, stopping next to him and matching his stance.
He doesn't respond right away, but I don't expect him to.
After a few silent moments, he sighs loudly. "You're welcome, son. You don't ever have to thank me for giving my little girl what she wants."
I quickly glance back at the party, to the dance floor where Lucy looks like she's in some kind of robot dance-off with Logan. "What are you doing out here on your own, everything okay?"
His smile's tight when he nods once. His eyes wander past me, probably to Lucy. "She's been through a lot," he says. "I mean, you both have, but her especially... with her mom and everything after, and then with the pregnancy." His gaze moves back to me. "I'm proud of her, Cam. I've never been more proud of her in my life. She chose well, marrying you."
I open my mouth to speak but he does it first.
"I don't think it was ever really a choice, though. I think in your case, fate had a big hand. It's the same with Kathy and I. At least that's what she used to say. Fate, it's all about fate, Tommy." His brows bunch before he looks away, his gaze now focused on the water. "Do you believe in fate, Cameron?"
I think long and hard about his question before finally answering, "I try to, sir, but sometimes it's hard. It's hard to understand the reason why certain things happen, especially to those that least deserve it."
"Are you talking about having children?"
"Yes, sir."
"Yeah," he sighs. "That's a tough one. I could sneeze in Kathy's direction and she'd be knocked up the next day. It doesn't seem to make much sense. But I believe there's a reason for everything—even when it's not clear to us." He clears his throat before adding, "Like when she passed away... you saw what I became, you were there at my lowest point, and I think that maybe you were supposed to be. Maybe that's what Kathy meant about fate. Maybe she was taken so that you would enter our lives. So that Lucy..." He stops and blows out a heavy breath, the struggle in his speech more than apparent. "Maybe it happened so that Lucy could find her strength. Her reason. And so that my boys could find their hero."
I use the back of my hand to wipe my tears.
"Not a day goes by that I don't thank her for bringing you to us, Cameron.
"I didn't do anything, sir. All I did was fall in love with your daughter."
"That's the thing. You didn't even know what you were doing for us while you were falling for her. She wouldn't be the same person if it weren't for you. You changed her life, Cam. And fate—it changed all of us.
***
Amanda catches the bouquet, but she tries to hand it off to someone else. Jake keeps telling Micky to take it, but her face goes red with embarrassment and she shakes her head. "Nope," she keeps saying. She tries to hide behind him, and I swear it—I see him mouth, "You're next."
We get in the stretch Hummer that Tom rented, along with our friends. When we know we're far enough that the guests can't hear us, we scream, and cheer, and cry.
We ask the driver to park on the side of the road and wait. Ten minutes later, Lucas pulls up behind us. "I told Dad I was going to visit Jason for a few days."
Logan hands him the fake I.D. he organized for him.
"I can't believe I'm allowing this," Lucy says.
His smile widens. "It's fine, Goosey. What happens in Vegas..."
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
-LUCY-
Because our wedding was so small and we didn't want to go on a 'real' honeymoon, Dad went all out on a four-day trip to Vegas. Not just for us, but for our friends too.
"Holy shit," Lucas says when we open the door to the suite. Dad wanted it to be a surprise, so we had no idea he was renting out the Kingpin Suite at the Palms. "I'm gonna get married ten times over if this is what Dad provides," he jokes.
Cam grabs my bag out of my hands and links our fingers. "See you guys in two days," he rushes, and then he drags me away.
I watch as he drops our bags just inside the master suite and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "Hello, wife."
I try to suppress my grin as I walk over to him. His hands on my waist are soft when he pulls me between his legs.
"Say it again," I ask him, settling my arms on his shoulders.
"What?"
"Call me your wife."
His smile matches mine. "You looked beautiful today, wife."
I take a seat on his lap with my legs wrapped around him.
"Did you have a good day?" he asks, his mouth on my shoulder.
"It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. It was perfect, babe."
He raises his head, his eyes searching mine. "You deserve it."
"What about you? Was it your dream wedding?"
He nods slowly. "You were my bride, so yeah. It went exactly the way I've always imagined. But... I miss you. I had to share you with everyone today and you know I don't like sharing."
I chuckle against his neck as his arms grip me tighter. "I'm going to shower and wash the crap out of my hair, and then we can lie in bed and you can have me all to yourself."
-CAMERON-
I unpack our bags while she's in the shower. There's a box in hers, still wrapped, and a card from Micky and Amanda telling her to open it when we get to our room. I have no idea what it is, but I'm too scared to attempt to find out. I love Lucy, don't get me wrong, but when those three get together, shit happens. I don't want to be the cause of shit on our honeymoon.
