Chapter Forty-Five
Camille
M eeting my mother-in-law with her son’s cum still seeping out of me is not the most ideal of situations, yet here we are. At least I look presentable on the outside with my white skinny jeans, a lavender baby doll top, and my white Chucks, my hair draping over my shoulder in waves.
“Bear!” his mom exclaims, bounding down the steps to pull Ryker into a hug.
Once they part, Ryker turns toward me. “Mom, I have someone I’d like you to meet. This is Camille, Camille Lewis. My wife.”
Something is off because his mom doesn’t seem shocked in the slightest. She simply smiles widely and claps her hands together. “This is so lovely,” she says, then pulls me into a hug. “Welcome to the family, honey. I can’t wait to get to know you more. Come, let’s have a drink on the back porch.”
We agree and follow her to the backyard gate. Once we pass the wooded frame, there’s an eruption of voices yelling, “Surprise!”
Standing in his mom’s backyard is everyone we love. Theo, Jasmine, Elio, Aurora, Cameron, Marcela, Noah, Cuddy, Aurora’s dad and brother, Quentin, Idris, and even Mathéo is here .
“Is this okay?” Ryker says low enough only for me to hear.
I turn to face him, shocked and overjoyed. “You planned this?”
He nods. “We may not have gotten married the traditional way, but I wanted to celebrate with our friends and family. A make-up reception of sorts.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” I quickly hug him, then we turn to our friends, exchanging hugs as we make our way around.
Everyone mingles as music plays through a speaker, and it’s then I notice the makeshift dance floor on the patio deck, the cake on a table to the side waiting to be cut by us, a minibar being run by Nate, and a photobooth for us to take pictures.
It’s perfect and I don’t think I could be any happier.
I never wanted the Cinderella kind of wedding, so I’m beyond ecstatic with the simplistic and casual setting this is.
Before I can greet anyone, I’m dragged away by the girls to get changed into something a little more appropriate. I marvel at the dress they picked for me, unable to take my eyes away from it in the full-length mirror. The white silk full-length gown clings to my body. It has a cowl neck and bows holding the straps together at the top.
It’s simple, yet perfectly me.
“Ryker isn’t going to be able to keep his hands off you,” Jasmine teases, fanning herself as she stares at me.
I shake my head with a wide smile. “Thank you so much for all of this. It’s truly perfect. I couldn’t ask for better friends.”
Aurora, Jasmine, and Marcela stand before me, looking absolutely beautiful in their matching strapless silk gowns in their favorite colors. Mint green for Aurora, orange for Jasmine, and pink for Marcela.
Aurora grins. “My brother is one lucky man.”
“You look gorgeous, Cami.” Marcela smiles shyly while Jasmine wraps an arm around her. Marcela easily became one of us, like she’s always been a part of our little group .
The four of us embrace in a group hug, but Jasmine doesn’t let it go on too long. “All right, let’s get this bride ready to go. Marcela, I need you to do her hair, and, Aurora, you need to do her makeup.”
“And what will you be doing?” I quirk a brow at her.
She holds up her phone and begins doing just that as we finish getting ready. “Take photos for memories and enjoy this moment.”
Once we’re done getting ready, nerves churn in my gut as we descend the stairs and make our way to the glass doors that will take us onto the patio deck. While everything is still very much casual, the change in outfit has me slightly on edge to see Ryker’s reaction to me in it.
In a good way.
The girls exit first, and from my position, I watch as Cameron’s eyes light up, then Elio’s, then Theo’s as Marcela is the last to go.
With a deep breath, I exit through the open door, the music and noise halting as everyone turns to stare at me. I’ve spoken at charity events and even parliament meetings, but I have never been as nervous as I currently am.
Until my eyes find Ryker’s and in an instant, it all goes away.
His lips part, his eyes roaming over every inch of me, and I swear I can see a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
I stop right in front of him and press my palm against his heart to find it racing. “Ryker? You okay?”
“Goddamn, baby,” he chokes out, placing his hand over mine. “You’re so beautiful.”
My cheeks lift at his words, my smile vibrant. “Thank you, as are you.”
Ryker changed as well, now sporting a black long-sleeved button-up, with the sleeves rolled up because he’s trying to kill me, I suppose, and black jeans .
“As much as I want to keep you to myself, we need to go make our rounds.” He puts his hand out, and I take it as we begin to make our way to our friends and family, as husband and wife.
Ryker and I are just finishing catching up with Noah and Cuddy when Aurora and Cameron walk up to us.
“Welcome to the family, officially!” Aurora squeals, pulling me into a hug.
“Thank you, sis.” I beam, happy I can finally utter those words since I only have brothers.
“I’m still upset you didn’t want to redo the whole wedding, but I’ll get over it eventually.” She chuckles while Cam looks down at her with heart eyes if I’ve ever seen them.
“How are things going with work?” Ryker asks Cam, pulling our quiet friend into the conversation.
He grins, his dimples showing. “Really good. My latest game is just about ready for the testing phase, so I’m quite excited about that.”
“And Team USA, superstar?” Ryker looks at his soon-to-be stepsister.
“It’s hard work, but I love every second of it. Only one more year to go until the Olympics. It’ll be in Paris, and you two have to come,” she exclaims.
“Of course we’ll be there,” I reassure her, ready to cheer her on anywhere in the world.
That’s what family does.
Jasmine and Elio walk up to our group, sharing their congratulations, but before they can say anything else, Theo enters the conversation. “All right, who wants to place a bet on the next couple to be engaged?” He claps Cameron on the shoulder, who shrugs him off .
“Well, we know it’s not you,” Elio retorts.
“Be nice.” Jasmine tries her best to sound serious, but her smile gives her away.
“You excited for senior year?” I ask Theo, taking the attention away from his love life.
“Hell yeah. Our team is looking stronger than ever, and I think we could finally win that championship.”
“Let’s hope so. The football team is the only athletic program that hasn’t won a title since the school’s conception,” Ryker responds.
“Don’t remind me.” Theo sighs while looking around the yard for who we all know is Marcela.
I find myself looking too, knowing she’s very shy and introverted and must feel uncomfortable being here. I spot her sitting on the bench under the oak tree, reading on her Kindle.
I excuse myself from the group and make my way over to her, then sit down beside her. “Whatcha reading?” I nudge her with my shoulder.
Her honey eyes flick up to me, a blush covering her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t think I’m being rude by reading. It’s just, I don’t know many people and—”
“You’re not being rude. You’re taking care of yourself by taking a break. I appreciate you coming, I know how hard parties are for you,” I tell her earnestly.
“Thank you, and I’m reading a fantasy book about dragons and their riders.” She smiles shyly, pulling a brown wave behind her ear.
“Sounds like fun. I’ve been wanting to get into reading.” I smile at her. “We could maybe grab coffee one day, then go to the bookstore and you could give me some suggestions?”
Marcela perks up at the idea. “That sounds like a dream day. Let’s do it.”
I nod as a comfortable silence falls between us .
“The love you and Ryker share is really special,” Marcela comments, breaking the quiet lull.
I look over at where my husband is sitting with our friends and I feel so lucky I get to call him mine. “It is.”
“It reminds me of the love I see in my books, but I never knew it could actually be real,” she murmurs, her eyes casting downward.
The reminder of her shitty ex is a punch to the gut, because how could someone not love this girl and make her feel that true love is only in fiction?
It’s with that thought that I make a silent wish to the universe that one day Marcela gets the love she’s been reading about.
The wedding party has been nothing short of amazing, and I’m just about to sit with Ryker for a break when Quentin storms past me with Mathéo hot on his heels. Ryker and I exchange a glance and immediately follow after them.
“Q, what’s going on?” I huff as we catch up to them.
Quentin stops, his body heaving up and down as he looks up at the sky with his back to me, then slowly turns to face us. Mathéo stands beside him, with a growing smirk on his face, making me less worried and more intrigued.
“Do tell, brother.” Mathéo grins.
Quentin shakes his head. “It could be nothing.”
“What could ‘it’ even be?” I stress the word it, needing to know what they’re referring to.
“You know the girl Quentin’s slept with? Well, there’s a good chance she’s pregnant,” Mathéo explains, making my mouth pop open in shock.
“What?! How?” I shriek, knowing what a disaster this could be.
Mathéo gives Ryker a quick side-eye. “I think you know how, Camille.”
“Gross, not what I meant. Q, why does he think that?” I turn my attention to my other brother, who seems distraught.
“Mathéo is over exaggerating. All he did is ask me how she’s doing, and I said that she’s been sick for a week with the flu, but I haven’t been able to see her because of everything that happened.”
“Ah, ah,” Mathéo cuts in. “This is where I pointed out that the flu doesn’t last for a week.”
We’re all quiet for a minute as Mathéo’s words sink in. It’s not a definite answer, but it also is a possibility.
“What are you going to do?” Ryker asks Quentin.
Quentin shakes his head, looking at the ground. “For once, I don’t know.”
“There you two are!” Jasmine shouts, making her way over to us. “We’ve been looking for the newlyweds to cut the cake.”
My brother gives me a look, one I know from years of being his sister means not to say a word.
I link my arm through Ryker’s. “Let’s go.”
As we walk together, my mind races with how Quentin’s life could be changing, forever. If this girl—who is his enemy’s little sister and works for his team— is pregnant, I have no idea how that can all coexist without imploding.
But if there’s one person who does what he needs to do for his loved ones, it’s Q.
Jasmine leads us to the three-tier cake, topped with a plastic heart and baseball. “This is the best I could do on short notice, so in order to save time, I got the toppers from the dollar store. I hope that’s okay,” she admits, handing Ryker a large knife.
“More than okay. Thank you for this,” I tell her, smiling as Ryker pulls me in front of him .
With our hands interlocked, we cut the first slice of cake. While it may seem small, it feels significant. As if it’s the official start of us diving into our life together.
After handing out pieces to friends and family, Ryker and I make our way to the bench under the tree, sharing a piece of the vanilla sprinkle cake together under the slowly-setting sun.
My eyes light up at the decadent-looking piece on my lap. “This looks so good.”
Ryker drags a finger in the icing, then holds it up to me. “Try it.”
I quickly dart my eyes around, making sure everyone’s milling about and not focused on us. Once we’re in the clear, I quickly suck the icing off his finger.
A moan gets trapped in my throat. “ Mmm , this is so good.”
“Jesus, this was bad idea,” Ryker grunts, shifting on the bench beside me. “Here I thought I’d try to be a cute, doting husband.”
I quirk a brow at that. “No, you didn’t. Don’t lie.”
Ryker only laughs, then takes a bite for himself, his eyes rolling as he swallows. “Fuck, that is good.”
We finish the piece in comfortable silence, watching as Cameron feeds Aurora a bite, who then goes to return the favor but squishes it on his nose. Elio has Jasmine’s feet in his lap, giving them a massage, while she eats and talks to Marcela next to her.
Then there’s Theo, standing on a chair. “All right, y’all,” Theo yells, cupping his hands around his mouth to enhance his already loud voice. “Shift your eyes to the dance floor. It’s time for Mr. and Mrs. Lewis to share their very first dance.”
I think Ryker’s about to protest, but when the slow, sweet melody of “Crazy Love” pours out of the speaker, his eyes dart to mine, a knowing smile on his lips. It’s the song that played when he tattooed me, one we both loved then, but now has an even bigger meaning .
“You asked me then if the song meant anything to me, and I said no,” he says as he stands and takes my hand in his own, lifting me up as well.
“And now?”
“It reminds me of you, of us .” He smiles, the wide and bright one he keeps just for me. It makes my entire body buzz from the sight of something so beautiful.
“I love you, Ryker.” My voice cracks with affection while my eyelashes fight for their life to hold back my tears. I’ve done far too much of that in the last week.
He smirks, referencing the song as he begins to pull us onto the dance floor. “And I love you, like crazy.”
We sway slowly on the makeshift dance floor while his arms band behind my back, hugging me close to him. My head rests on his shoulder, along with my hand, and he holds my other hand.
“Do you want kids?” I blurt out, unable to control the random question.
Ryker stills against me and I lift my head from his shoulder. “I’m not pregnant. Don’t worry,” I assure him. “We’ve never had that talk, so I’m curious.”
He breathes a visible sigh of relief, then gently guides my head back to his shoulder, and his hand stays there, playing with my hair as he speaks. “I always thought I didn’t because I never saw room for love in my life. But now, I want the extra rooms. I want as many rooms of love as possible.”
I laugh against his shoulder while we continue to sway. “Slow down there, Ryker the biker, I am not birthing a bunch of babies. I was thinking one or two.”
“Whatever you want, princess.” His voice is low and sweet in my ear.
“You know, your life is turning out like a Disney movie, oddly enough. You saved the princess from distress, married her, and are keeping her forever,” I point out.
Ryker’s deep laughter rumbles against my chest, making my own spill out of me.
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”