Chapter 9
Jace
“Fuck, man,” Cole murmurs beside me with a shit eating grin as he watches his very pregnant woman walking down the aisle towards him. “She’s so fucking beautiful.”
I stand between Caden and Cole at Xander’s wedding and I couldn’t be prouder of the mother fucker. He’s been waiting a lifetime for this day and it’s finally come.
I grin as I watch Rylee hobbling down the aisle. She’s nine months pregnant and it’s clear she should be sitting down. With this baby’s father being one of the tallest guys I know, it’s damn clear he’s going to take after him. I mean, Rylee looks as though she’s about to explode.
“Yeah,” I say from beside him, agreeing that she looks stunning, though, she doesn’t hold my attention for long as an angel appears at the top of the aisle, completely taking my breath away. “Fuck me,” I whisper under my breath as I struggle to tear my eyes away, though I don’t want to. Missing a second of this would be considered a crime.
I’ve never been so captivated in my life.
Cami stands before me and I swear, she’s an angel. The champagne colored gown flows down her beautiful body and hugs her in all the right places. She looks fucking perfect. She holds the bouquet of flowers before her and the second those eyes of hers come to mine, something pulls within me.
It’s almost as though I can picture her walking down the aisle to become my wife. The thought thrills me and has me wishing for a future I know can never happen.
My chest aches with need as she makes her way down the aisle. She doesn’t take her eyes off me for even a second and I fucking love it, especially as a soft smile plays on her lips with her eyes sparkling.
A million messages pass between us and even though I know she’s hating on me right now, from the softness in her eyes, I can tell she’s putting it all aside just for today. She wants to be here and support our friends on their wedding day and I couldn’t be happier.
Those blue eyes of hers drop down and take in my suit and from the hunger reflected in them, she likes what she sees. As her eyes come back to mine, I can’t help the grin that rips across my face. I give her a flirty wink and a flush instantly creeps into her cheeks.
She holds back a grin by pressing her lips together and averts her eyes. She’s so fucking beautiful it kills me.
I can’t fucking wait to dance with her tonight. I haven’t seen her since the fire which was almost a month ago, and what a day to see her on. I mean, fuck. She’s my whole heart. I’ve had girlfriends in the past who I claim to have loved, but nothing like this. It makes it damn clear that what I had with those other girls was nothing at all, just something to pass the time, but this, Cameron Drew is the real fucking deal.
I’ve never craved a woman like the way I do with her. She’s my world. She’s my first thought in the morning and the person I wish to hold before going to sleep.
Cami comes to a stop at the end of the aisle and takes her position beside Rylee which is when I finally take my eyes off her and watch as Imogen walks down followed by Lexi. Both who get a very similar response out of Luke and Caden.
Zara follows down as Charli’s maid of honor and grins at Aaron, who’s Xander’s best friend before clearing the aisle and making way for the bride.
The music changes and all eyes fall to the back of the room.
Charli appears, looking as radiant as ever in her wedding dress and veil. Mickey stands by her side and I get the feels seeing him walking her down the aisle.
Mickey has inserted himself into Charli’s life as her father figure and has been her rock over the last few years.
I can’t help but look across to Xander and smile at the way he watches his bride. I swear, he looks as though he’s about to run up the aisle, scoop her into his arms and rush her down to the altar in his need to marry her.
After what feels like forever, Charli finally makes it to the altar and Mickey hands her over. Xander takes her hands in his and they look at each other with nothing but pure love in their eyes. I feel like I’m intruding on their moment as I watch them and should probably look away, so instead, I cast my eyes across to Cami and watch her watch them.
Cami wants this so bad and I know she wants it with me, it’s clear with how she watches Charli and Xander. I feel like a bastard for not being able to give that to her and I realize that it’s about time I let her in on the secret. It’s not fair to her to always be wondering why. She needs to know why I’m not falling at her feet, begging for her to forgive me.
The ceremony commences and we all do our parts as it progresses. Aaron passes over the rings and the girls make that ‘aw, how romantic’ look when they finally kiss.
They’re announced as man and wife before making their way back up the aisle, though instead of the traditional hand in hand walk up the aisle, Xander scoops her up and practically skips until he’s pushing through the doors at the opposite end.
One by one, we partner up with the girls and follow them up the aisle. I walk towards Cami and offer her my arm. She gives me a beaming smile that has my stomach clenching and my heart skipping as she slips her hand around my arm and allows me to lead her up the aisle.
“You look fucking radiant,” I murmur for only her ears.
She keeps her eyes fixed on the door at the opposite end of the church and refuses to meet mine, but the bounce in her step tells me she’s more than delighted by my comment. “Keep it in your pants, Mr. King.”
Fuck me, the way she says my name has all sorts of things happening to me, mainly in my lower region.
We make it to the end of the aisle after a walk that’s way too short for my liking and slip out the front doors where the rest of the bridal party is waiting. The second she can, she pulls her hand away and I want nothing more than to reach out and put it straight back where it belongs.
The guests start piling out of the doors and make their way over to congratulate Charli and Xander while their photographer goes nuts.
We all hover around the bride and groom, smiling for the photographer and I find myself gravitating towards Cami as much as humanly possible. I can’t help but place my hand on her lower back as she stands beside me which is where I should have stopped. Instead, my fingers slip under the fabric of her backless dress in my desperation to claim as much of her skin as possible.
My fingers spread and I don’t miss the way she turns into me or how her skin prickles with goosebumps at my touch. In this moment, it’s almost as though we can pretend that we’re something more than what we are, and honestly, it’s kind of thrilling.
Soon enough, the guests get ushered off and we pile into the limousine before pulling up at the location Charli had chosen to have all her photos taken. The girls seem to absolutely love the whole posing for photo’s thing while us boys are barely getting by, though, we’re saved when drinks finally get pulled out.
Cami smiles a beautiful smile as she sips on her champagne and I constantly find my eyes on her. I mean, she’s so fucking beautiful. The way her hair is up with a few loose strands falling down in perfect ringlets, showing off her neckline every time she tilts her head to the side. She’s just… I’m speechless.
She’s my whole heart and I want nothing more than to give it to her.
The photographer asks for couple photos and I grin to myself, knowing that I’ll have another chance to wrap my arms around her. As we wait for the others to have their turn, Cami walks over to join me.
She rests her head on my shoulder as she watches Xander and Charli in awe. She lets out a sigh and I can’t help but look down at her. This whole moment feels so damn right with her. It reminds me of how things used to be, before I ruined it by sleeping with her. “Those two have it all,” she tells me.
I couldn’t agree more. “So will you,” I tell her as my hand finds it’s spot on her lower back.
“No,” she says with a sadness in her tone. “I won’t, but it’s ok. I’m starting to get used to the idea of it just being me.”
“Babe,” I say with a heavy heart, knowing she’s referring to the fact that I refuse to be with her. “You’re not going to be alone. There’s someone out there who’s going to make you the happiest woman in the world, and when you find him, I’m going to kick his ass.”
She shakes her head ever so gently, probably finding it hard to imagine herself being with anyone else. I mean, you can’t just love somebody like the way she loves me and then simply move on. “You’re an idiot,” she says, choosing not to linger on the heaviness of the topic, after all, she’s on her second champagne and today is supposed to be carefree and fun. And I must say, the thought of her being with another man is kind of killing my buzz.
“Where would you do all this shit?” I ask her as my thumb rubs back and forth over the skin of her hip.
“You mean get married?” she questions.
“Mmhmm.”
“Honestly, I don’t really care,” she tells me. “I’d be happy to get married at McDonald's if it were with the right guy.”
By the way she says ‘the right guy’, I know she means me, but I skip right past it. “You’re telling me you’re happy to get McMarried?” I grin down at her.
Her eyes fill with laughter as she looks up at me. “Yeah,” she chuckles. “I’d love to get McMarried. It’d be the cheapest wedding known to man, but it would have to be one of those McDonald’s that have the play equipment, otherwise, I’m out.”
Fuck me, I’d love to McMarry her. In a perfect world, I’d McDate her, have McKids with her, hell, I’d make a whole McFuckingLife with her.
“Geez,” I laugh. “And you’re the one calling me an idiot.”
“Why?” she grins. “Where the hell are you getting married?”
Anywhere you are, baby.
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “I can’t really say that I’ve put any thought into it.”
“That’d be right,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Though, I’d bet it would be at Rebels.”
I can’t help but grin. This woman knows me better than I know myself. “I’d dare say you were right.”
She gives me a smug as fuck grin before letting out a laugh that wraps right around me. “I’m always right, Jace.”
I can’t help but pull her in tighter and press a kiss to her cheek while every single one of the boys give me a knowing look. Naturally, I ignore every single one of the fuckers and give all my attention to my girl.
I’m about to remind her just how beautiful she is when the photographer calls us over to have our turn. Excitement practically overwhelms me as she takes my hand and laces her fingers through mine before dragging me over to have our photo taken.
I groan, but we all know deep down that I really love it. I mean, any excuse to get my hands on her, right?
The second we’re done with the photographer, I take her over and get her a new glass of champagne before celebrating with the rest of the group.
Before we know it, the photographer is calling a wrap on the session, leaving us to do nothing but enjoy the rest of the night.