Tina looked at the golden ring and chain in her hand, then grinned up at Elena. “Deal.”
“Then let’s think of a good place for you to keep it,” Elena said, when movement caught her eye.
Camden stood in the doorway watching them. His expression unreadable, she wondered how much he’d overheard.
Tina jumped off the couch and ran to Camden. Like a reflex, he bent and picked her up.
“Mama and I were just talking about you.”
He cupped the back of Tina’s head and cradled her against him. He looked at Elena through a glaze of unshed tears. “All good things?” he asked, his voice rough.
“All good things,” Tina replied.
“Is it okay if I talk to your mama for a minute? You could go get Toby a treat. The box is on the kitchen counter.”
Tina nodded and he set her down. His gaze had stayed locked on Elena’s the entire time. The minute Tina was out of the room, he strode to Elena and pulled her up into his arms. His lips crashed down onto hers—wanting, needing, devouring. Her moan escaped straight into his mouth while his fingers tangled in her hair. She brushed a thumb across his cheek and felt wetness there. Elena broke the kiss to look at her man. Sure enough, another tear escaped down his cheek, and yet he gave her the goofiest smile.That’s my Joker.
“So, I guess you heard me talking to Tina.”
“You called her Mermaid.”
“Did I?” She hadn’t even realized. The name just slipped out.
Camden read her puzzled expression. “Yes, you did. That’s the first time I’ve heard you use my nickname for her.”
“I think it’s the first time I’ve said it.” Elena thought back. “But, I’ve never heard you call her Pepita.”
“I haven’t because that was Antonio’s name for her.” He held up a hand. “Don’t think for a second that I don’t use it because I’m jealous or any stupid shit like that. That’s the name her daddy gave her. It’s special…sacred, in a way. I decided the moment that I knew the origin behind it that I wouldn’t call her that. Not my place to. Instead, she’s my Mermaid.”
Elena grinned. “That she is.”
Camden rubbed his thumb over Elena’s cheekbone. “So, while I’m beside myself with pride and happiness that you called her that, too, because that means…”—he blinked back more tears—“it means…I can’t put it into the right words. The words aren’t big enough to describe it, how good it feels to hear you say my nickname for her.”
“Oh, Camden.” Elena blinked back her own tears.
“But I never want you to stop calling her Pepita. That’s her name, too. Her legacy, her heritage from her father.” He slipped his hands into hers and sat her back on the couch. Instead of sitting next to her, he knelt on the floor in front of Elena.
Still holding her hands, he said, “Just like I would never make you give up your last name, or insist Tina change hers to mine. That’s her daddy’s name, and he was a good man who shouldn’t be forgotten. But I’d be honored if one day you’d add my name to yours and hers. After I’ve proven myself.”
Elena stopped fighting back her happy tears. “You’ve already proven yourself, God, so many times over.” She swallowed hard. “So, is this your way of asking me if I’ll marry you?”
Camden’s goofy smile returned and he shrugged. “Well, I heard a rumor that the Martinez girls like to ask their men to marry them, and I’d hate to deprive you of that opportunity.”
Elena laughed. “I’m a bit more old-fashioned than my daughter.”
“In that case,” he brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers, “Elena Martinez, I love you and your daughter more than life itself. I would do anything for both of you. Would you do me the incredible honor of being my wife? Of letting me help you raise the sweetest, spunkiest mermaid girl who ever graced the earth? I promise to always be faithful, to cherish you, to protect you, and to make you happy every single day.”
Elena didn’t hesitate. “I love you.Welove you. And we’d both be honored to carry your name, too.”
Camden’s amber eyes shone. He pulled her in tight and squeezed her tightly, in that way that made her feel safe and loved and cherished. “I love you so much, Elena. So damned much. You brought my heart back to life. It’s yours.”
* * *
Monday afternoon, Elena’s heart weighed heavy as she explored the safehouse. Technically, it had everything they needed—a fully-stocked kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, cable, a fenced-in backyard surrounded by tall trees and shrubs that gave them plenty of privacy, and a top-notch security system—augmented by Watchdog security guards hiding outside. But it could have been a cardboard box or a ten-bedroom mansion for all that Elena cared. She’d spent so much of her life in precarious circumstances, if not outright danger. The only time she’d ever had a safe and happy home was during the first years of her marriage, spent on the ranch with Antonio. She thought she’d found that again with Camden in her little apartment in L.A.Just an illusion.
When would she and Tina be safe, if ever? She prayed it would be soon.
Her phone pinged, a text from Rachael. She’d insisted on going into hiding with them, and only Elena could convince her not to, so now she was blowing up Elena’s phone practically every five minutes with a new text or photo, just to say she was there and that she loved her.
