CAMERON

I wasn’t going to ask her on the day we found out Piper was biologically mine.

That day was about Piper, and celebrating the fact that we had known all along—this little girl was my flesh and blood.

I wasn’t going to ask her on the day Giselle agreed to give me primary custody.

That day was perfect—the skies were blue, the light in Piper’s eyes was bright—but it was about our family. It was confirmation that finally, Piper was mine, and her mother could never take her away or hurt her again. And then we had our ultrasound, saw our little baby for the very first time, and I knew our hearts were full enough already.

I wasn’t going to ask her on the day she gave birth to our son.

That day was about new life, a new family for us, and the thrill that came with birth, an experience neither of us had ever thought we’d have. When I said, “It’s a boy”, the tears in her eyes said so much more than she could ever put into words. Love. I loved her more than she would ever know.

I took a deep breath, ran my hands down the front of my shirt.

Today.

I was going to ask her today.

“Are you ready?” Everly reached her arm across the console, resting her hand over mine.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

She took Arlo, and I took Piper. Going places took a lot longer these days, but it was the kind of delay that put a smile on your face. The kind of delay that love made better.

We stopped when we reached the doors to the building, Magenta Recovery Centre. Dad was out of the intensive care section now, had been moved to the self-contained residences out the back.

I nodded to the picnic basket looped over my arm. “I’ll set up. You go get him.”

“Okay.” Everly shrugged. She walked toward the residences with our little man in her arms, and I took Piper’s hand and continued around the side of the building.

A few minutes later, we reached the spot by the lake. Perfect green grass was like a thick carpet before us. The rose garden to the left sent a heady perfume in the air.

Here. Now.

This was the time. This was the place.

“Give Daddy a hand with the blanket, will you?” I asked Piper, placing the picnic basket down and bringing out the aqua-coloured material.

“Yes.” Piper’s new favourite word—so much better than her “no” stage.

She fussed with one corner of the rug while I straightened the rest. Perfect. I wanted it to be perfect.

“It’s the strangest thing.”

Everly.

Here already.

I looked up, trying to school the smile that lurked behind my lips. “What’s so strange?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer to my question.

“I got to his room, and the nurse said he’d gone out for a bit. She said we’d see him soon, though.”

“Hmm.” I stood, taking Arlo from her arms and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “That is strange.”

“Yeah. It is.” She sat down on the rug, then rubbed her hands together and nodded at the picnic basket. “What have you got in there?”

“Just a few things.” I placed Arlo in his pram and settled down opposite her, letting her rummage around.

“A … a loaf of banana bread?” She held it up, her head to the side.

“It’s still cake, but yes. A loaf of banana cake.”

She grinned, placing it in the centre of the rug. Piper proceeded to get to work on the plastic wrapping.

“A bunch of kale.” She waved the green vegetable in the air, and Arlo reached for it. “Are you trying to be romantic, Cameron Lewis?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “Depends. Is it working?”

Her hand went back into the basket as she pulled out the final item. “And a … a jar of pickles?” She burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking. “My God. Cameron. What are we going to do with all …”

I looked around the garden, searching. Come on, Dad. Don’t let me down.

He didn’t.

The sound of an acoustic guitar filled the air, soft and lilting. Everly flicked her head behind her, searching for the source.

A nurse wheeled Dad out from behind a tree and along the concrete path as he started to sing.

“You’re just too good to be true …” Dad crooned, a smile so wide and so bright on his face.

“Cam …?” Everly asked. “What is your father doing?”

“It’s your song. Remember that day when you said you didn’t need it serenaded?” I asked.

She laughed. “Yes, but I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t have to mean anything,” I said over the top of Dad’s voice as he got closer and closer. “If you even think you might want it, I will get it done. Because I love you, Everly Jenkins. I’ll do whatever you need to keep you by my side.”

“Cameron,” she said, and tears glossed the beautiful blue of her eyes.

I dropped to one knee.

Everly gasped.

“I’m gonna protect you. Give you the best life you could possibly have, because that’s what you’ve done for me.” I stopped, took the small blue box from my pocket and brought it between us. “You’ve given me life. Life when I thought it was over. And for that, I could never be more grateful.”

“Ring!” Piper interrupted, pointing to the box, and Everly and I laughed.

I shot Piper a smile. “We went shopping together. I figured getting a second opinion couldn’t hurt.” I opened up the box, letting the diamond sparkle in the afternoon light. “Everly, I know we’ve done things backwards—children, moving in together—”

“Emotional confrontations with psychotic exes wielding guns?” Everly sniffed out a laugh.

“Yes,” I agreed. “But I want you in my life, by my side. I want to declare it in front of all our family and friends. I want you to be my wife, Everly. Forever.”

“I …” Her throat bobbed. She took the ring from the box, tears glistening in her eyes as she slid it over her finger. “I love you so much, Cameron.”

“I love you too.”

And when her hands wrapped around my head, pulling me to her in a kiss that left no doubt as to the depth of her feelings for me, I knew. Not everything in life was faith, or timing, or luck.

Some things were just love.

My father, finally returning to good health.

Our children, two beautiful and glorious kids who I adored, even when they stole our sleep, and sanity at times.

And the woman whose lips owned mine, who in turn owned my heart. Everly was my forever. I’d never get tired of thinking that.