Chapter 61 Emily
EMILY
My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear the engine as I pulled into my driveway. The familiar sight of my little house, Cam’s truck parked in his drive. All of it looked different now. Sharper. More vivid. Like someone had turned up the saturation on the whole world.
I killed the engine. Silence rushed in to fill the space. I sat there for three long seconds and bargained with the universe. Please don’t let me throw up on his shoes.
Nope. Not happening. I was doing this.
I climbed out of the car and started across the lawn, my legs moving before my brain could catch up.
Cam’s front door opened.
He stepped onto the porch, arms crossed over his chest, and just... watched me. My stomach flipped. God, he was beautiful.
His expression was unreadable, but there was a tension in his shoulders, a stillness to the way he held himself. Like he was bracing for impact.
I stopped a few feet from the bottom step, suddenly feeling like a teenager showing up at her crush’s house unannounced.
“Why do I feel like you were expecting me?”
“I might have got a text.”
“Who from?”
“Mia.”
“Oh.” I let out a breath that was half laugh, half sigh. Of course she had. “She couldn’t even give me a five-minute head start? Snitch.”
The ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I prefer the term ‘excellent wing woman.’”
“I think Mia would as well.”
The smile faded. “So. You’re here.”
“I’m here.” I shifted my weight, my pulse thrumming in my throat. All those words I’d rehearsed in the car suddenly felt inadequate. How was I supposed to tell him that everything had changed? That I’d spent my whole life building walls and he’d somehow found every single crack?
“I got the scholarship,” I blurted. “I actually won it. Jack sorted out the fraud and... I’m going to art school.”
His smile almost stole my breath. “Em, that’s incredible.”
“Yeah, it is.” I took a step closer. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
He uncrossed his arms, his posture shifting. Softening. “No?”
“No.” Another step. My heart was hammering now, but not from fear. This was much bigger. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff. No windmilling this time. Just calm, knowing the fall would be worth it. “I came to tell you something.”
He waited. Patient. Steady. Perfect.
“I spent my whole life waiting for the other shoe to drop.” My voice shook. I didn’t try to steady it. “I thought I was too broken. Too scarred. I thought underneath the bright clothes and the smiles, there was just... mess. But you saw the mess. You held it. You didn’t run.”
“Emily.” His voice was shaky.
“I’m not done.” I held up a hand, needing to get this out before I lost my nerve.
“You told me you loved me. Twice. And both times I was too scared to say it back because I couldn’t believe it was real.
” My gaze locked on his, letting him see everything I’d been hiding. “But I believe it now. I believe you.”
He exhaled a shaky breath, watching me closely.
“I love you, Cam.” The words felt like coming home. “I love you and I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out how to say it.”
The tension drained out of him all at once. His shoulders dropped. The tight line of his jaw relaxed. He looked like a man who had been holding his breath underwater for months and just broke the surface.
He came down the porch steps slowly, closing the distance between us until we were standing toe to toe. He cupped my face, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.
“You know what would have made this easier?” His voice was low, teasing.
“What?”
“If someone had just written it in the sky for you.”
I laughed, the sound watery around the edges. “Oh yeah, that definitely would have helped.”
His thumb traced the line of my jaw. His smile turned mischievous. “Look up.”
I frowned, confused, but tilted my head back anyway.
And then I stopped breathing.
High above us, white trails of smoke curled against the endless blue, forming letters that stretched across the sky like a declaration written in clouds.
CAM LOVES EMILY
“Oh my god. Cam.” The words came out strangled. “You didn’t.”
“I did.” His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him.
The tears came then, hot and fast, and I didn’t even try to stop them. I just stood there in the circle of his arms, staring up at my name written in the sky, feeling something inside me finally, finally settle into place.
“I love you,” I whispered again, because now that I’d said it once, I couldn’t seem to stop.
“I love you too.” He pressed his forehead to mine.
I smiled through my tears and pulled him down to kiss me.
His lips met mine, soft at first, then deeper. His hands splayed across my back, holding me close. I melted into him, letting myself feel all of it. The joy, the relief, the overwhelming rightness of being exactly where I belonged.
Until,
“AUDREY, COME QUICK!” Alice’s voice shrieked from somewhere inside the house. “DADDY’S KISSING EMILY!”
We broke apart, both of us turning toward the house. Through the screen door, I could see Alice’s little face pressed against the mesh, her eyes wide.
“Aaw, yuck!” Audrey’s voice echoed from deeper inside. “Why’s he doing that?”
“Because I love her!” Cam called back, his arm still wrapped firmly around my waist.
“I LOVE EMILY TOO!” The screen door burst open and Alice came barreling out, pigtails flying, launching herself off the porch and straight into us. She wrapped her arms around both our legs with enough force to nearly knock us over.
Audrey came to the door, hesitating for approximately two seconds before her resolve crumbled. “Yeah, okay. I love her too.” She walked over with significantly more dignity than her sister and joined the group hug.
I looked down at these two little girls who had somehow become mine, then up at the man who had taught me what love actually looked like.
“So.” Cam’s voice was warm against my ear. “Think you can get used to this?”
The skywriting was starting to drift apart above us, the letters slowly dissolving into wisps of white.
But it didn’t matter. The message was already written somewhere far more permanent.
“Yeah,” I said, pulling all three of them closer. “I definitely can.”
“Good.”
“Can you stay for dinner? We haven’t seen you for aaaages.” Audrey’s gaze was hopeful.
“I would love that!”
“Alright,” Cam gave Audrey a playful nudge toward the door. “Inside. I think there’s still some ice cream left.”
“Yes!” Alice bolted back into the house.
Audrey followed at a cooler pace, though she looked back once to make sure we were coming.
Cam kept his arm around my waist as we walked up the steps. He guided me over the threshold, shielding me as the screen door slapped shut behind us. The house smell of coffee and laundry detergent wrapped around me.
He leaned down just as we stepped into the coolness of the hallway.
“I love you, Em,” he murmured against my temple. His voice was soft. For my ears only.
I leaned back into him. “I love you too.”
He pressed a kiss to my hair. “Now let’s go stop them before they eat all the rocky road.”