A soft grunt is all I get, so I turn back to my phone and the text message I had sent to my mom earlier.
BECKETT: Let me know if you need any more from me, I think we’ll fly home in a couple of days. Do you think you’ll have it all set up by then?
MOM: Of course, sweetie. It’s lovely that you’re doing this for her, and I’m glad she’s agreed to come back to Dogwood Cove for a while. We’ll take good care of her.
I smile at that, knowing she means every word. No one is better at making someone feel loved and cared for than Claire Donnelly. I’ve watched her in action with my cousin and my foursiblings, and I know, without a doubt, she’ll give Cam the space she needs while making it clear that she’s not alone. Not when she’s with me and my family.
I do feel a slight pang of guilt over keeping the truth from my mom about Cam’s situation and what I’m doing to help. As far as anyone back home is concerned, Cam is coming back with me for an extended break to grieve and figure out what she’s going to do next. They don’t need to know we’re married, especially not when it’s only on paper.
But I’ve never been one to lie to my family. I might hold my cards close to my chest at times, but I don’t lie. The thing is, I know they wouldn’t understand why I’m doing this, especially Mom and Sawyer. Mom because she knows how badly I want what she and Dad have, and Sawyer because he’s a fucker who thinks he knows me better than I know myself.
Maybe he does, but that doesn’t give him the right to try and tell me how to live my life. Just because he’s always been bolder, louder, and more confident than I’ve been doesn’t mean I need him to hold my hand.
I’m a grown man. I may not be the doctor, hockey star, or firefighter hero of the family, but I have a good job as a partner in an accounting firm, a house of my own, and the capability to make solid, dependable decisions for myself.
Except when it comes to relationships. That’s my Achilles’ heel and the reason Sawyer feels the need to protect me sometimes. Because when it comes to women, I’m a lost cause.
Maybe that’s why marrying Cam, even if it is on paper only, feels like the right decision for a lot of reasons. It takes the pressure off me mentally — albeit only temporarily — so I don’t feel like I should be putting myself out there, going on failed date after failed date in search of “the one.”
I’ll already be married to her.
“Okay. What do we need to do to make this madness happen?”
Cam’s raspy morning voice startles me from the dangerous path my thoughts were heading down, and I look over to see her watching me over the top of her coffee mug.
“Right. So, it seems we need to head into Brandon today to get the license and find a second witness. I’ve reached out to your grandfather’s attorney and he’s happy to stand as one of them.” I run my fingers through my hair, wondering how she’ll respond to this next part. “I, ah, I get the feeling he thinks we’re together. Because when I told him what we had planned, he seemed happy, and said something about knowing his instincts were correct.”
To my shock, Cam waves her hand in dismissal. “Whatever. Maybe it’s easier if he does think that. Doesn’t matter since I’m taking you up on the offer to come back to Dogwood Cove after this anyway. I mean, it would look weird if we got married, then you disappeared without me, and you’re right that this fucking town holds no appeal for me without Grandpa here.”
My eyes blink open and shut a couple of times as I try to wrap my head around the one-eighty Cam’s made from yesterday. But then again, she’s like this. When she’s in, she’s all in.
“Yeah, of course. That makes sense.”
She must hear something in my tone, but she clearly misinterprets my surprise for reluctance. “Are you still okay with all of it, Beck? We don’t have to do this. Any of it.”
“No, of course I’m okay with it. I’ve got plans in motion already. Sorry, I guess I was just ready to need to do a bit more convincing.”
Cam smirks. “Just because I like to push back and colour outside the lines doesn’t mean I don’t know when to accept something. You’re saving my ass, in more ways than one. I get Grandpa’s money so I can start over, and I get out of Cliveden. I’m sorry it took me a while to get to this point, but I want you to know I do appreciate you doing this. It’s a big fucking deal, and I want to make it as easy and painless for you as possible.”
“That’s meant to be my line.”
Cam stands up and moves back into the kitchen. “Don’t worry, your white knight status is firmly established.” I wince, remembering Sawyer’s comment the night of the funeral. When she comes back, she’s got the coffee pot in hand and gestures to my mug. I nod for a refill. “Now, back to my original question. What do we need to do? You said we need a second witness?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Is there anyone in town you’d feel comfortable asking?”
She grimaces, and I know it’s not from the coffee — although how she can drink it black, I do not know. “Not a single one. But thanks to working with Grandpa for so many years, I do have a couple of contacts in Brandon. Maybe I can ask one of them.”
“What will you tell them?” I ask cautiously, but my worry is unfounded based on the nonchalant shrug Cam gives me.
“They don’t need a story. We aren’t exactly close, so there’s no reason for them to question why I suddenly want to get married. For all they know, we’ve been together for years and this just feels right.”
It doesjust feel right, even if it is for the wrong reasons. There’s that damn voice in my head, the one that told me the day I met Cam she was the one for me. The one I’ve managed to silence over the years in my determination not to overstep the boundary of friendship she drew for us, the one that pipes up after every relationship I’ve tried has ended and saysthat’s because she isn’t Cam.
It’s getting harder and harder to shut the voice down, but I have to. I will. Because at the end of the day, if friendship is all I can have with Camilla Byrne, then I won’t do a damn thing to risk that.
Who knew you could pull off a wedding in just forty-eight hours? Not me, that’s for damn sure. I guess it helps that there’s no fanfare, no party, nothing but me and Cam, a license, and two rings we bought on the way to city hall this morning.
I do have one more thing tucked away in the back seat, but she doesn’t need to know about that until it’s time. I’m nervous as is, that she’ll either hate it, or think it’s ridiculous. But I had to do it.
