More Than Forever
Page 84
I shake my head.
"You said that it wasn't the same. You said that you could ask her what made her happy, and she could say books—but the answer wouldn't be enough. You told me that you wanted to know what type of books, and that you wanted to be the one to give them to her. And even then, you said, it still wasn't enough for you. You said that you wanted to be her reason for loving books. You said you wanted to be her reason for everything."
Lucy wipes her tear stained cheek on my arm.
Lucas clears his throat again and glances around, like he forgot he was speaking to an audience. "It took me years to work out what you meant, but I finally got it. I finally understood. Yesterday, I saw Lucy watching you when you weren't looking. Six years on and she still had that look in her eyes. The same look you've always had in yours. The kind of look that can't be described in words—only in heart. So, Cameron, all those years of watching her—reading her—it worked. You're her reason for everything."
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
-LUCY- Lucas gets off the stage, walks toward us, shakes hands with Cam, they nod at each other, and then he sits in his seat. And that's all they do.
We sit in mostly silence, my tears still flowing. Amanda sobs. Logan rolls his eyes. "Why are you crying, pretty girl?" Lachlan asks from next to her.
"Dude," Logan says, leaning forward and looking past Amanda to him. "You're always stealing my game."
Lachlan clicks his tongue. "Fine, you can have her." His gaze moves around the table and lands on Heather. "I'll take that one." He gets out of his seat and taps Mark's shoulder. "Move please."
Mark's eyes narrow.
Little Logan speaks up. "You can't just go from one girl to another," he drawls.
Lachlan lets out a tiny growl as a snarl pulls on his lips. Then slowly, but too fast for any of us to react—he picks up a piece of cake and throws it at him.
We watch as it flies in the air, his shout of "YOLOOOOOOOOO!" filling our ears.
And then... smack.
Right on Little Logan's face.
I choke on my held in laughter.
Little Logan wipes just enough off so that his eyes aren't covered. "You little punk, you better run." He picks up his cake, gets off the chair, and starts for Lachlan. "Run, Lachlan!" Lincoln shouts.
So he does.
And so does Little Logan.
"Hey, babe," Cam says from next to me.
I turn to him, just as he smears cake all over my face.
My shoulders stiffen.
I use the napkin to wipe it off.
His lips are clamped shut, but his face is red with held in laughter. I hear Jake laugh, so I turn to him, exactly the same time Micky smashes cake on his face.
And this is how the biggest food-fight in town history starts. Even the pastor gets in on it.
***
Cam and I sit back down on the table after hitting the dance floor, which basically means watching Logan make an ass of himself while doing an impromptu strip tease just for Amanda. He knows he's being an idiot, but Amanda laughs with him, and if there's one thing I know about Logan—it's that he'd do pretty much anything to make her smile.
Jake and Micky watch with their arms wrapped around each other. Heidi and Dylan have been gone since Luke's speech. I'm sure we all know what they're doing.
Heather sits with us with cake in her hair, on her face, and on her chest. Mark—he's pretty much untouched. Although, he did go a little crazy with the food war. He paid my brothers to join his team. Their target: Her.
"Well, this has been an amazing wedding, kids," she says dreamily.
Mark scoffs. "You could have had one like this if you'd actually said yes any of the thirty-six times I'd asked you to marry me." He wipes a finger across her face and tastes the cake.
Her eyes search his for something. Or maybe she's just reading him, like Cameron does with me. "Ask me again," she says.
I grip Cam's hand, a squeal threatening to escape. "What the hell," Cam says, clueless to what's about to happen.
Mark's face drops and then his eyes roll. "Heather, will you marry me?" he asks, almost sounding bored.
I'm on the edge of my seat while Cam tries to pry my fingers from their death grip on his arm.
"Yes," she says, a smile forming on her lips.
I wait for Mark's reaction before revealing my own.
His eyes widen. "What did you just say?"
"Yes," she repeats.
He looks first to Cameron, and then to me, and then back to his new fiancée. He kisses her once, quickly, and then he's off.
I finally let out a squeal.
A minute later, he returns with the pastor. "Let's go," he orders Heather.
"NOW?"
He clicks his fingers at us. "Best man, maid of honor. Let's go."
"We can't do it now," Heather whines.
"I'm sorry, Heather, but I can't wait."
I laugh as Cam and I follow behind them toward the altar. "Like father like son," I muse.
They stand hand in hand, eyes locked, smiles wide, while the pastor does her second round of vows. Not everyone watches them, but I don't think it matters. Just like it doesn't matter that it's not official. They'll still need to get a license, go to the courthouse, and make it legal. The point is that they did it, and they did it for themselves, and maybe a little for Cameron and me.
Cam kicks the back of Mark's knee just as he's about to say 'I do.' That gets a mixed reaction of laughs and gasps from the guests. Heather... she laughs. So do Cam and I.
-CAMERON-
"It's been some night," I say awkwardly as I walk up to Tom.
He turns around from his standing position at the end of the dock. He's been here a good ten minutes, alone, with his head lowered and his hands in his pockets. He hasn't spoken much throughout the night, but I've caught him watching Luce and I with an array of mixed emotions. Sometimes he smiles, but most of the time it's forced, or at least it seems that way.
"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?"
"You said that it wasn't the same. You said that you could ask her what made her happy, and she could say books—but the answer wouldn't be enough. You told me that you wanted to know what type of books, and that you wanted to be the one to give them to her. And even then, you said, it still wasn't enough for you. You said that you wanted to be her reason for loving books. You said you wanted to be her reason for everything."
Lucy wipes her tear stained cheek on my arm.
Lucas clears his throat again and glances around, like he forgot he was speaking to an audience. "It took me years to work out what you meant, but I finally got it. I finally understood. Yesterday, I saw Lucy watching you when you weren't looking. Six years on and she still had that look in her eyes. The same look you've always had in yours. The kind of look that can't be described in words—only in heart. So, Cameron, all those years of watching her—reading her—it worked. You're her reason for everything."
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
-LUCY- Lucas gets off the stage, walks toward us, shakes hands with Cam, they nod at each other, and then he sits in his seat. And that's all they do.
We sit in mostly silence, my tears still flowing. Amanda sobs. Logan rolls his eyes. "Why are you crying, pretty girl?" Lachlan asks from next to her.
"Dude," Logan says, leaning forward and looking past Amanda to him. "You're always stealing my game."
Lachlan clicks his tongue. "Fine, you can have her." His gaze moves around the table and lands on Heather. "I'll take that one." He gets out of his seat and taps Mark's shoulder. "Move please."
Mark's eyes narrow.
Little Logan speaks up. "You can't just go from one girl to another," he drawls.
Lachlan lets out a tiny growl as a snarl pulls on his lips. Then slowly, but too fast for any of us to react—he picks up a piece of cake and throws it at him.
We watch as it flies in the air, his shout of "YOLOOOOOOOOO!" filling our ears.
And then... smack.
Right on Little Logan's face.
I choke on my held in laughter.
Little Logan wipes just enough off so that his eyes aren't covered. "You little punk, you better run." He picks up his cake, gets off the chair, and starts for Lachlan. "Run, Lachlan!" Lincoln shouts.
So he does.
And so does Little Logan.
"Hey, babe," Cam says from next to me.
I turn to him, just as he smears cake all over my face.
My shoulders stiffen.
I use the napkin to wipe it off.
His lips are clamped shut, but his face is red with held in laughter. I hear Jake laugh, so I turn to him, exactly the same time Micky smashes cake on his face.
And this is how the biggest food-fight in town history starts. Even the pastor gets in on it.
***
Cam and I sit back down on the table after hitting the dance floor, which basically means watching Logan make an ass of himself while doing an impromptu strip tease just for Amanda. He knows he's being an idiot, but Amanda laughs with him, and if there's one thing I know about Logan—it's that he'd do pretty much anything to make her smile.
Jake and Micky watch with their arms wrapped around each other. Heidi and Dylan have been gone since Luke's speech. I'm sure we all know what they're doing.
Heather sits with us with cake in her hair, on her face, and on her chest. Mark—he's pretty much untouched. Although, he did go a little crazy with the food war. He paid my brothers to join his team. Their target: Her.
"Well, this has been an amazing wedding, kids," she says dreamily.
Mark scoffs. "You could have had one like this if you'd actually said yes any of the thirty-six times I'd asked you to marry me." He wipes a finger across her face and tastes the cake.
Her eyes search his for something. Or maybe she's just reading him, like Cameron does with me. "Ask me again," she says.
I grip Cam's hand, a squeal threatening to escape. "What the hell," Cam says, clueless to what's about to happen.
Mark's face drops and then his eyes roll. "Heather, will you marry me?" he asks, almost sounding bored.
I'm on the edge of my seat while Cam tries to pry my fingers from their death grip on his arm.
"Yes," she says, a smile forming on her lips.
I wait for Mark's reaction before revealing my own.
His eyes widen. "What did you just say?"
"Yes," she repeats.
He looks first to Cameron, and then to me, and then back to his new fiancée. He kisses her once, quickly, and then he's off.
I finally let out a squeal.
A minute later, he returns with the pastor. "Let's go," he orders Heather.
"NOW?"
He clicks his fingers at us. "Best man, maid of honor. Let's go."
"We can't do it now," Heather whines.
"I'm sorry, Heather, but I can't wait."
I laugh as Cam and I follow behind them toward the altar. "Like father like son," I muse.
They stand hand in hand, eyes locked, smiles wide, while the pastor does her second round of vows. Not everyone watches them, but I don't think it matters. Just like it doesn't matter that it's not official. They'll still need to get a license, go to the courthouse, and make it legal. The point is that they did it, and they did it for themselves, and maybe a little for Cameron and me.
Cam kicks the back of Mark's knee just as he's about to say 'I do.' That gets a mixed reaction of laughs and gasps from the guests. Heather... she laughs. So do Cam and I.
-CAMERON-
"It's been some night," I say awkwardly as I walk up to Tom.
He turns around from his standing position at the end of the dock. He's been here a good ten minutes, alone, with his head lowered and his hands in his pockets. He hasn't spoken much throughout the night, but I've caught him watching Luce and I with an array of mixed emotions. Sometimes he smiles, but most of the time it's forced, or at least it seems that way.
"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?"
