Chasing Castles (Finding Focus #2) (34 page)

And just like that, everyone goes back to normal.

Camille

Present

PLEASE FIT. PLEASE FIT. PLEASE
fit.

I suck in and wait for the zipper to be pulled. Holding my breath, I close my eyes and say a silent prayer. With the wedding in five days, I’m cutting it close. There’s no time to order another dress. It’s kind of crazy, waiting until the last minute like this, especially since I’ve wanted to marry Deacon my whole life.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

If you asked me when I was six who I was going to marry, I would’ve told you my daddy.

If you asked me when I was eight who I was going to marry, I would’ve told you no one.

Boys were gross.

But, if you asked me when I was sixteen who I was going to marry, I would’ve told you Deacon Samuel Landry, or at least, I hoped . . . and prayed, and wished on every birthday candle and shooting star.

However, if you asked me when I was twenty-two who I was going to marry, I would’ve told you no one. At that age, I felt like I’d completely messed up—my life, my career, my relationship with Deacon . . . and the baby I was carrying. There were days I couldn’t see more than an hour into the future. Everything felt so scary.

From then, until now, so much has happened. It feels like two lifetimes, but also like it all happened yesterday.

“There,” Annie says, securing the zipper at the top and snapping a button into place.

I hear collective sighs behind me and then I turn, facing myself in the mirror in all my white satin and lace glory.

Dani’s best friend, Piper, is with us today and she begins to frantically wave her hands in front of her face, letting out a deep breath. “I think I’m gonna cry.”

“You’re so crazy,” Dani teases, nudging Piper with her elbow. “Weddings are happy, not sad. Save your tears for when someone dies.”

I smile at their reflections in the mirror, catching Annie’s tearful expression.

“Stop,” I whisper, my voice catching in my throat.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffles, dabbing under her eyes. “I just . . . you know.”

I nod, biting the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. I do. I know. She’s thinking my mama would love to be here and that she’d be so proud. Annie’s told me that a lot lately, how proud my mama would be of the woman I’ve become and how proud she’d be of the mama I am.

“Just wait until Deke sees you,” Dani gushes.

Annie laughs and Piper hugs onto Dani’s arm, and I stand there, staring at myself. The bridal magazines always say you’ll just know when you’ve found the one—the guy, the dress. I knew the minute I put this dress on that it was what I wanted to walk down the aisle in . . . what I wanted to wear when I finally said I do to the love of my life.

Camille

One month earlier

TONIGHT IS JUST YOUR AVERAGE
Landry get together. There’s a DJ and a dance floor and lots of food. Micah and his girlfriend, Dani, just got back from New York yesterday, and Annie wanted to welcome Dani to Louisiana. So, here we are.

But something about tonight has felt different.

Earlier, Deacon seemed a little nervous, and now, I can’t find him anywhere.

Then, his voice comes through the speakers and the dance floor parts like the Red Sea.

“Cami,” Deacon says my name so sweetly, his dimples on full display and his blue-green eyes dancing in the pale light. “My sweet Cami.”

With those four words, tears start to blur my vision, and I don’t even know why. I mean, I think I might know, but maybe I don’t. Maybe this is something that only happens in my dreams, and maybe I’m afraid to blink because this vision in front of me might disappear.

“I have somethin’ I’d like to give you,” he says, nodding his head at Travis, the guy who helps Annie around the house with yard work. Travis walks up to me and hands me a small canvas. There’s paint on it, but it’s not a complete picture.

Then, Kay walks up and hands me another piece.

And then my daddy.

Annie, Sam, Micah, Dani, and even Piper . . . they all walk up and hand me pieces of canvas until I have too many to hold. Eventually, I set them down at my feet and spread them out, noticing a pattern with the shapes and shading. So, I begin to piece them together on the wooden dance floor, forgetting all about the people surrounding me.

Deacon stands quietly, watching me. Every once in a while, I glance up to see if he’s still there, but he is. Just like always. He’s still there, watching over me.

I get to a point where I know what the canvases make, but I’m missing a piece. That’s when my brother kneels down and hands me the last one. It’s the part of a castle where the princess usually stands. The window that’s high up, where she can see the whole world, my favorite part.

I sit there, staring at the complete picture. Those tears I was trying to hold back earlier are trickling down my cheeks, and it’s so quiet. The only sound is my occasional sniffle, but then I look up and see damp eyes all around me. So, maybe it’s not just
my
sniffles.

Deacon kneels down in front of me, just on the other side of the painting and pulls out a black box, opening it up. His hand reaches across, showing it to me. It’s simple, perfect.

“I know we’ve done things slowly,” he begins, looking at me in that way that makes me forget everything and everyone, drawing me into our own little world. “But I’ve loved you since I knew what it meant to love someone.”

I hiccup, trying to keep from falling completely apart.

“When I look into your eyes, I see everything—my past, my present, and my future. I see my best friend. I see the woman I want to wake up to every morning. And the one I want to kiss goodnight for the rest of my life. I still see the girl I fell so hard for so long ago, and the amazing woman she’s turned into.” He stops and laughs to himself. “I thought I loved the girl . . . and I did. But I didn’t realize how much more I would love the woman. And tomorrow, I’ll love you more than today.”

I wipe at my face and sit back on my heels, letting out a deep breath.

“I want to grow old with you. I want to be Carter’s dad. I want to have more babies.”

And now I laugh, not because it’s funny, but because I want all of that too.

“And I don’t want to spend one more day than I have to where you’re not Mrs. Deacon Landry. So, please, tell me you’ll marry me.”

The smile that splits my face makes my cheeks hurt.

The quiet gasps from around me pull me out of our bubble, and for the first time since he knelt down on one knee, I glance around. Everyone, my whole family—they’re all waiting with baited breath like they wonder what I’m going to say, and that makes me laugh again . . . hard. Because I don’t even have to think about it.

I stand up and Deacon joins me, still holding out the ring. And as beautiful as it is, it’s not what I want.

In one leap, I jump over the paintings at my feet and into Deacon’s embrace. My arms wrap tightly around his neck, and I kiss him so hard. His chest rumbles with a laugh, and I start kissing everywhere my lips can reach—his eyes, his cheeks, his nose.

“Is that a yes?” someone from the crowd yells. Maybe my brother? Or my daddy?

And I realize I haven’t answered him or accepted his ring.

“Yes,” I finally say. “Every day of my life. Yes.”

Deacon

Present

“CHEERS, MAN,” TUCKER SAYS AS
he clicks his glass of bourbon with mine. “We all know that I could’ve kicked your ass multiple times over the last ten years or so for bein’ in love with my sister.”

I nod my head in agreement. I don’t think for a second that he could kick my ass, but if he ever knew the dirty thoughts I had about Cami while we were growing up or, hell, the thoughts I had of her just this morning, he’d have reason to try.

“But, now,” he continues, “I’m reserving the right to kick your ass if you ever upset her in any way in the future.”

“Duly noted, brother,” I reply. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Tucker.

He hugs me before clapping me on the back. “I know you and Cami are perfect for each other but, seriously, break her heart and I’ll break you.”