A Week at the Beach (33 page)

            “Surprise!  We’re engaged!” I said nervously.  Despite the nerves about announcing the engagement so quickly, I was happy that Allison hadn’t spotted the tiny bump I was hiding under a loose shirt.

            My mom gasped loudly and clutched her chest, “Oh my word!  What a birthday gift!” She rushed across the room and wrapped me up into a bear hug.  “I’m so happy for you!”

            I looked across the room at Nick, and then at my dad. 

            “If I have your permission, of course, sir,” Nick said nervously as he looked at my dad.

            Everyone in the room turned to watch my dad’s reaction.  My mom pulled away from me and walked over to him. 

            With a grin, my dad said, “Of course you have my permission!  In fact, I’ve got two more, if you’ve got a couple of brothers or friends who are looking to get married.”

            My mom slapped him playfully on the arm, “Nathan, stop it!  Don’t talk about your daughters like they’re pigs going to slaughter.”

            “Let me see the ring!” Tori grabbed my hand and inspected the ring I was wearing.  “Wow! It’s so beautiful!”

            “Nick designed it,” I said softly as my sister admired the diamond on my finger.

            “Nice work, Nick.  When I find the right guy, I’ll be sure to send him your way when he starts his ring shopping.”  Tori flashed him a perfect smile then turned back to admire his handiwork.

            “I can’t really take credit for it.  Cami described it and I just tried my best to remember what she said.”  Nick flashed me a smile and winked at me.

            “Well, I can’t take it anymore!  I have to give you another hug,” my mom said and wrapped her arms around Nick in a bear hug like the one she’d trapped me in.  Nick laughed and squeezed her back. 

            “I’ll get the wine!” Allison announced and left the room.

            Instead of waiting for her in the living room, we all headed to the family dinner table and took our seats. My dad insisted that Nick sit next to him so that they could continue their conversation on sports.  I sat on the other side of him.  The food was already out and waiting for us. 

            Allison brought the wine and glasses while Tori brought out another place setting for Nick.  We filled our plates and talked casually for a few minutes.

            “I have to say, Cami, I’m impressed.  You’ve definitely upgraded,” Allison smirked at me as she sat and handed me a glass of wine. 

            “I’ll say!” Tori added with a giggle as she took a glass of wine from Allison.

            I blushed and avoided Nick’s gaze, “I’m glad the two of you find him cuter than Jack, since you obviously couldn’t stand him.”

            Both sisters laughed.

            “Oh, honey, there’s nothing cute about that man sitting next to you,” my mom chimed in as she lifted her glass of wine to her mouth.  “That man is sex in shoes!  I can’t blame you one bit for being smitten with him, or for wanting to get him naked and do bad things to him.”

            “Mom!” I shouted.

            Both sisters laughed again.

            “What?  I can’t appreciate what a fine looking man you’ve snagged for yourself?” my mom winked at Nick and took a big sip of her wine.

            “You’re not so bad yourself, Charlotte.  I can see where your daughters get their looks,” Nick said back with a grin and a wink.

            “Do not encourage her!” I scolded Nick playfully.  “Dad, are you hearing this?”

            My dad laughed, “I’m just so happy there’s finally going to be another man in this family, I could really care less how much your mother and sisters lust after him.” 

            “Okay, that’s enough!  I’m not going to sit here and let you objectify him.”  I gave my sisters a stern warning look, but they kept giggling.  I turned to my mom, “No more comments like that!  They are inappropriate, and they weird me out!  Also, you can’t hug him anymore.”

            My mom giggled like my sisters but put her hands up in defeat. 

            I turned to my sisters, “As for you two,” I pointed at them, “don’t even start with the comments!  I have dirt on both of you that could seriously jeopardize any future relationships with men.  Don’t make me use it!”

            Both girls stopped laughing and put their hands up. 

            I didn’t bother to look over at Nick to see what his reaction was.  I could tell he was smiling.  I picked up my fork and started eating my food.  I was hoping that the conversation would turn to another topic, one that didn’t revolve around Nick or me.  Everyone started to eat and the table was silent as the meal continued. 

            Unfortunately, Allison wasn’t quite ready to move on.  After only a few minutes of blissful silence, she spoke up.

            “So, I’m a little curious about something.”  She started in a fake concerned voice.  “I talked to you two weeks ago, and you didn’t mention a thing about Nick.  Mom said she talked to you last week and you told her you weren’t seeing anyone.  Exactly how long have the two of you been together?”

            I didn’t look up, I just pushed the food around on my plate and answered dryly, “Well, since Nick was living in LA at the time, technically I wasn’t
seeing
anyone.”

            “Smartass,” Allison said under her breath. 

            “I’m curious about that too,” Tori chimed in.  “How long have the two of you been together?”

            I glanced over at Nick then looked back down at my plate.

            Nick cleared his throat and answered, “Until yesterday, we hadn’t seen each other since the beach.”

            Once again, everyone at the table froze. 

            Allison was the first to break the silence, “Had you talked to each other since the beach?  Was this a long distance thing?”

            I shook my head.

            She put her fork down, leaned on her elbows, and looked intently at me, “Let me get this straight, you two knew each other for a week this summer, haven’t seen each other since, and now you’re getting married?”

            “I know it seems,” I paused, looking for the right words to describe everything, but Nick jumped in and saved me.

            “It seems crazy, we know.  I’ve been trying for the past twenty-four hours to figure out how to put this into words, and the best I can come up with is that I just know she’s the right one for me.”  Nick looked over at me and smiled.  “I just know that we’re meant to be together, it’s just not something that I can describe to someone else.  I never had all of this as a child,” he pointed around the table at my family, “but, when I met Cami I felt like I had come home.  I felt like she was what I’d been missing my whole life.  I don’t need to spend the next six months taking her on dates, when I know now what I want.  I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and for some insane reason, she wants me too.”

            I looked up at him and he was smiling at me.  Without caring who was around, he bent his head down and kissed me gently on the lips.

            I heard my mom sigh loudly.

            “Wow,” Tori said softly from across the table.  “That was amazing.”

            “I love you,” Nick whispered in my ear before pulling away.

            “That was pretty amazing,” my dad added then cleared his throat.

            “Do you think you could do that whole speech again,” Tori asked with a dreamy look at Nick, “Only this time with your shirt off?”

            Everyone, including me, laughed and the tension in the air released. Under the table, I grabbed Nick’s hand and squeezed it.  He leaned down and gave me another kiss, but this time on the cheek.

            “Oh, shit!” my dad said suddenly, causing everyone to stop their laughing.

            “What?” my mom asked, looking around for some cause to his outburst.

            “I just realized that if Cami’s getting married then you’re going to make me watch even more episodes of that damn wedding dress show!” He said then threw himself back against his chair in defeat.

            My mom’s face lit up.  “Yes!  A wedding to plan!  So, what are you two thinking?  A summer wedding, I assume.”

            I grimaced and looked over at Nick, “We’re thinking something a little sooner than that, mom.”

            “Oh,” she said with a look of surprise.  “Spring?”

            “Sooner than that, too,” I forced a smile to my face.

            “It’s going to be a tight fit, but I suppose we could pull off a winter wedding.”  My mom seemed to be lost in her head as she spoke.

            “Actually, mom, we were thinking more like next week.” I drew the words out hesitantly.

            “Next week!” my mom shouted incredulously. 

            “What?” Tori dropped her fork onto her plate, causing a loud crash to echo through the house.  “You’re getting married next week?”

            I blushed, “I don’t really see the need for a big fancy wedding.  Sorry,” I added with a shrug.

            “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, at all,” my dad said matter-of-factly and put another bite of food into his mouth.  With cheeks full of food, he flashed a grin at me.

            “You’re just happy that you won’t have to pay for anything!” Allison rolled her eyes at our dad.

            “Is that why you’re planning to elope?  Are you worried about the money?” my mom put a hand on my arm.  “Nathan, this is just like Columbia.  She got herself so worked up about the cost that she nearly gave herself an ulcer.  Who knows what might have happened if she hadn’t found that grant.”

            My dad sighed, “Cami, if this is about the cost then you know we would be happy to pay for whatever kind of wedding you want.” 

            “I know that, dad.”  I smiled at him and turned to my mom.  “This isn’t about the money, I promise.  I just don’t see the need for a fancy ceremony when we can just go down to the courthouse one day next week and make it official.”

            “What about you Nick?  Do you want a wedding?” Tori asked him from across the table.

            “Yeah, you can’t start off letting her bully you into everything.  You’ll never be able to think for yourself, if you do!” Allison added with a smirk.

            “I don’t really care either way.  As long as it all ends with us married, I’ll go with what she wants.”  He gave my hand a squeeze under table.  “Also, for the record, I would be happy to foot the bill for a big fancy wedding if that’s what she wanted.” 

            My dad nodded appreciatively at him.

            “Why so soon though?” my mom asked curiously.

            My whole body tensed, but I played it off with a shrug.  “Isn’t the whole point of an engagement to give you time to plan the wedding?  If there isn’t going to be a wedding, why put it off?”

            “Yeah, mom,” Allison said with a snort, “It’s not like she’s knocked up or something.  It’s Saint Cami we’re talking about!”

            Reflexively, my hand went to my belly.  Thankfully, the action was covered by the table.  However, something must have shown on my face, or something on Nick’s face gave it away, because Allison cocked an eyebrow at me.  It only took her a second to figure it out.  A small grin formed on her lips.