“If you’ll all bear with me, I’m not very good at talking in front of a crowd,” I say clearing my throat, and Ringo’s smile is warm as he turns fully to face me, a tilt to his head like he’s curious as to what I’m doing.
“Early last year, this man stole my heart.” I gesture to him, and his smile grows as he shoots me one of his sexy winks. “He protected and fought for me when the odds were against me. He sacrificed for me in so many ways. Too many to count.” I clear my throat as it starts to clog with emotion, taking a moment to compose myself, and Lexi shifts tomy side, snaking her arm around me to give me the courage I need to continue.
“If it weren’t for you, Cameron, I probably would’ve been dead by now, and little Bobbi may not have been saved. When we thought she was gone, you held me up, accepted me in every version I was, even when I wasn’t very nice, and you grieved alongside me, opening up old wounds.”
Ringo’s face starts to morph, his smile still there, but emotions redden his cheeks, and his eyes turn a little glassy, knowing who I’m about to bring up.
“I think you’re right.” I smile at him. “That Hope brought us together. I think she’s been our little guardian angel, watching over us and Bobbi, making sure we all had a chance to find each other, and experience happiness.”
He nods, his lips parting as he rolls his tongue in his mouth, his eyes dropping to the floor for a moment as he fights back tears.
“But she hasn’t stopped fighting for us,” I say, ignoring the sniffles that fill the room around us, and Ringo’s eyes jump back up to meet mine. “She always wanted you to be happy, Cam. She wanted you to be a father, and you are the most amazing father to Bobbi, but she wanted you to have another chance.”
The moment I bring my hand to my stomach, the little pot barely showing, gasps fill the room, and Ringo’s eyes drop, eyeing it in disbelief.
“Angel…” He glances back up at me, tears pooling in his eyes. “Are you…”
I nod, my tears bursting free. “I’m having your baby, Cam. You’re going to be a father again.”
Sobs erupt all around us, and Ringo stumbles forward, falling to his knees before me, his big hands engulfing my hips as he buries his head into the satin fabric where our baby grows.
Cheers, whoops, cries erupt everywhere, and I laugh and cry at the same time, knowing I’m completely ruining my makeup now, and not even caring.
When Ringo glances up my body, tears wetting his cheeks, he looks at me like I’m really the angel he calls me.
Standing quickly, his hands cup my face, his lips pressing to mine, and I feel someone slip the microphone from my grip as we both cry through this kiss.
“Angel,” he rasps against my lips, right before pulling back, those whisky eyes filled with so much love for me. “You’re really having my baby?”
“Yes,” I giggle. “I’m really having your baby.”
I’m instantly lifted off the ground as he spins us around, the rumble of his laughter so soothing to my soul.
“Mummy! Daddy!” Bobbi calls, and Ringo lowers me to the floor as Alana weaves through the crowd to get to us.
“Someone wants in on the attention.” Alana laughs, and my little girl, only eighteen months old, holds her hands out to us.
Ringo claps and holds his hands out for her, and she practically launches herself into his arms, squealing as he gives her a scratchy kiss on her cheek with his beard.
“Guess what, Bobbi?” Ringo laughs with her on his hip. “Mummy’s having a baby.”
Her little mouth forms an O, and she looks at me, her eyes moving over me and then around me.
“Where’s baby, Mummy?”
I snicker. “In here.” I pat my tummy, and she frowns.
“Nooo. Baby not there.”
“Yes.” Ringo chuckles. “Your little baby brother or sister is in Mummy’s belly.”
Her frown deepens, and she shakes her head. “Mummy, eat baby?”
Everyone around us listening, bursts into laughter, and Bobbi stiffens in shock, right before throwing her head back in an over dramatic laugh to join in on something she doesn’t understand.
So this is what happiness feels like.
This is what I fought so hard for. And to finally have it… to share it with Ringo, who has had his own lifetime of heartache, is truly a blessing.
