Jack

Sitting on the table, I hold the camera above Emberly as she works. In the late afternoon light, a spiral of dark brown hair has slipped from her high ponytail and is touched with gold. She’s so beautiful. A month in, and every day we grow closer.

“You’re supposed to be filming me work.” Dark brown eyes flicker up at me, and she does a sexy little smile.

“If you don’t stop looking at me that way, I’ll have to carry you upstairs,” I tease.

She rolls her eyes and places the glass bowl on the mixer. “Can you get this?”

Changing my location, I take an angle from above. “Ready.”

The soft hum surrounds us, and I film the white batter slowly turning a delicate shade of pale beige.

“That’s three quarters of a cup of champagne,” she says, holding the glass measuring cup in her slim hands.

Emberly said Donna’s wedding cake is the most elaborate of her career. It’s a three-layer cake with strawberry buttercream filling and champagne buttercream frosting, and Tabby says we have to film it for the website.

So I bought a digital camera and watched the food channel a few days. Everyday Italian has the best camera work, and Emberly is so beautiful. I mimic how they shoot it: close-ups of her hands working, pouring, and slicing, combined with shots of her eyes, her smile, a dark curl resting on her soft cleavage…

“The tiers will slowly decrease in size from the fourteen-inch bottom layer to the ten-inch top,” Ember says in an even, professional voice. “The entire cake will be covered with edible champagne glitter, and a waterfall of fresh white and yellow Gerber daisies will spiral down the side.”

She moves her hands in a waterfall effect as she speaks. We’ll edit and add music once it’s all finished. André offered to help with the soundtrack.

“Once this is in the oven, I’ll start on the cupcakes.” She does a little shoulder raise and grin.

I grin right back, looking at her through the viewfinder. “You’ve got to be the sexiest baker I’ve ever seen.”

“I want a cupcake!” Coco hops up on the stool beside where I sit, and I cut the camera, pulling her onto my lap. “Are they purple monster number four?”

“No, baby.” Emberly steps over and kisses her daughter then stretches her chin up. I gladly take her lips with mine, and our eyes meet for a brief, burning moment. “These cupcakes are for little kids. They don’t like spicy chocolate.”

“They’re dumb.” Coco crosses her arms in a pout.

“Donna’s lucky to get same-day service,” Em says. “If I were a bigger bakery, I’d make the sponges ahead of time and freeze them.”

“You’ll get there.”

The bell above the door rings, and Tabby trots into the store. “Five more orders from the website,” she calls. “André is killing it with his lunch specials. We’re going to have to hire a delivery guy!”

“One of those trick bicycle riders!” Ember says, and I give Tabby a wave. “Come take over the filming.”

“Where are you going?” Tabby frowns, taking the camera from me. “You’re the cinematographer!”

“Coco and I have some business. See you at the wedding.”

“The wedding’s at six o’clock!” Ember calls. “Coco’s a flower girl. Do you know what she’s supposed to wear?”

“I’ll drop her off at the church with Donna’s cousin. You’d better hurry up,” I tease, carrying the squealing preschooler over my shoulder out the door.

I’ve been carefully planning what happens after the wedding since I got back from the city.

---

Before I left, I’d gone to my father’s office to tell him everything. He’d sat behind his desk while I described how my senior partner had provided phony driver’s logs, lied to investigators, and obstructed justice.

I’d gone back to the firm to return my keys and access card only to find I was locked out. Assholes. Brice Wagner had made a point to meet me in the lobby for his final parting shots, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I had to bite back a satisfied grin.

Brice stood there glowering at me. “You’ve been fired, Jack Lockwood. We stand by our reasons, and now it’s your word against mine.”

“Actually,” I’d said, holding out my things with the noise of approaching police cars growing louder outside. “It’s your own words against you. I made a copy of the files, Brice. Tiffany withdrew her police report, and Ian Carney has the original driver’s interview. You’re going to jail.”

Ian had walked through the large double doors with the media right behind him. Amidst cameras flashing, I’d found my redemption. My name was cleared publicly, and Brice was arrested.

As they dragged him out in handcuffs, I saw real fear in his cold blue eyes.

It made me smile.

Retelling the story, my father’s brow lowered, and he had the decency to act appalled at how I was treated.

“It’s been the top story for the last two days,” he said. “I know several law firms clamoring to add you to their rosters. You can take your pick of where you want to go.”

Shaking my head, I could only laugh at his refusal to listen. “I’m going back to Oceanside. I’m going to ask Ember to marry me. We’ll live in the cottage and start a family—”

Smack! His palm slammed against his desk, cutting me off. “You insist on doing this!” It was just short of a growl. “After all this time, you insist. How can you?”

My back to the windows, I answered him truthfully. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. It’s the only thing I want.”

His eyes tightened, and he looked at me several long moments. “How can you choose to be with the daughter of the man who destroyed our family? Explain this to me.”

My throat tightened. I never expected him to say that. I was glad we were finally clearing the air, but I wished I’d had a moment to prepare. “Ember is innocent. She doesn’t even remember that night.”

“I will never forget. I will never forgive what they did.” He spoke as if to himself. “And she looks just like him.”

Taking a moment, I’d stepped back. Never is a long time, and I knew if I handled it right, healing could happen.

Speaking carefully, I tried to explain my heart. “Loving Ember isn’t a choice for me. It’s been in me since I pulled her out of that water. It grew when we were together in school. It solidified when I made her mine. Now it’s…” Looking out the glass at the horizon, I tried to find the words to explain something inexplicable. “She’s my other half, Dad. She knows me. We understand each other in a way that’s… elemental.”

He dismissed me, but when I said goodbye, I could see it in his eyes. The wall had been breached, if only by the smallest crack.

It was a start.

---

Donna’s beach wedding is nice, I guess. I’m not much of a judge when it comes to weddings, and to be honest, the only thing on my mind is what’s coming at the reception.

Ember is glowing. She’s always beautiful, but tonight she’s wearing a long flower-print dress with a deep V-neck and a high slit up the side. Her hair ripples around her shoulders in the breeze, and when her skirt flutters open, I get a glimpse of her sexy brown legs.

I have to adjust myself.

Since that afternoon in the ocean when I told her the memories she’d forgotten, it’s like we already made the most important vow of our lives.

“I hope she likes the cake,” Ember whispers without looking up.

Her worry pulls me to the present, and I slide my palm up and down her back. “It’s a masterpiece. She’ll love it.”

I lean down to kiss her ear, and her shoulder rises. She reaches up to scratch her fingers along my cheek.

Coco is in the wedding party, and she takes her role as flower girl very seriously. She has another job she’s doing for me that she’s very serious about as well…

The ceremony ends, Pastor Green announces them husband and wife, and we’re all making our way to the canopies where the reception tables are set up. The cake is a gorgeous centerpiece, and Donna searches the crowd for Ember, hugging her close and whispering something in her ear. They both laugh, and Ember covers her mouth, cheeks pink.

It’s some secret, and it’s sweet and cute… and I’m ready to get on with the show.

The music starts and we all dance. Donna and Liam dance. Donna dances with her father…

Finally we’re cutting the cake. It’s delicious. Ember feeds a piece to me, but I’m almost too anxious to swallow.

Finally, the DJ announces it’s time to throw the bouquet.

Coco runs up and grabs my hand. “Now?” Her brown eyes are round with excitement.

I drop to one knee and place my hand on her small waist. “Now.”

She squeals and claps, and I smile.

“Oh!” Running away to where she left her flower-petal basket, she pulls out a small black box and brings it to me.

“Thanks,” I whisper, giving her a wink.

When I look up, I see Ember watching us, a little smile-frown on her face.

Donna waves to the crowd. “Before we toss the bouquet, we have one very special announcement.” She starts to giggle. “I’m so excited because I consider this person one of my closest friends… And we wanted to do this first because we don’t want to jinx it!”

“Come on, Jackson,” Donna says through her smile, slanting her eyes at me.

She holds out her hand, and I go to where she’s standing.

My throat is tight, and my hands are clammy. It’s ridiculous. I’m a fucking lawyer. I’ve tried cases in front of grumpy judges, hostile witnesses, and impatient juries all the time. This is a room full of (mostly) friends. My eyes choose that moment to land on Marjorie Warren, scowling as usual.

All of this is simply a formality…

“Emberly Rose Warren,” I say, clearing my throat and holding out my hand.

Her lips press together, and she’s blinking fast. Still, she crosses the room to where I’m standing. I take both her hands in mine.

“Our paths crossed twenty years ago on a night that changed both our lives. Then ten years later, we met and you told me to kiss you.”

The crowd titters, and Ember’s eyes fill with tears.

I keep going. “It was the best kiss of my life. It changed my life.”

Someone in the back hoots loudly, and she covers her watery smile.

“You’ve owned my heart since that very first night. I hope you’ll share your life with me officially.”

Dropping to one knee in the sand, I open the box. Her hand is still over her lips, two crystal tears hit her cheeks, and she starts to nod.

“Oh, Jackson, you’ve owned my heart for so long.”

Rising quickly, I slip the ring on her finger and gather her into my arms. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes, please,” she says, laughing.

Cheers and applause surround us, and I kiss her with all the truth and love and passion of the rest of our lives together.

Lifting my head, I feel a little tug on my pants leg. I don’t even hesitate before bending to scoop Coco onto my hip.

“I said it was okay for him to ask you,” she says to her mother.

Emberly only laughs more, her eyes shining as she hugs us both. My arms go around my fiancée, and soon friends surround us. It’s a group hug with Tabby, Chad, and Donna—even André holds out a fist for me to bump.

It’s a moment of optimism and joy. We’ve found our happily ever after, and before long, our lives will become one…

But I see the hint of sadness in my girl’s eyes. She’s looking past the support of friends to the lone woman standing at the edge of the crowd. The lone woman with her arms crossed and a frown that almost looks like a grimace. It puts an ache in my stomach. In spite of everything, my girl still wants things to be different.

“I’ll be right back,” she whispers, and I nod.

The DJ spins another tune, and everyone starts to dance, bouquet-toss momentarily on hold. I trail behind Emberly at a distance, just close enough to hear, enough to intervene if she needs me. I won’t let her do this alone.

“Emberly.” Her mother’s voice is clipped. “I guess best wishes are in order.”

“Thank you.” Ember’s voice is quiet but firm. “I hope you’ll be happy for us. I’d like you to be happy for us.”

“I’d hoped for more for you, but you’ve always been willful.” I can’t see her face, but my fists tighten.

“Jackson completes me, Momma. I wish you could understand that.”

“I’ll never understand you.”

“You believe what you believe, and you force interpretations, even make things up, and that’s how you construct your world. Then you find others who like what you say and go along with it, support it, because it gives them a group, a community.” Emberly’s voice breaks. “That’s fine for you—only I don’t agree. It’s not what I want or what I believe. I focus on God’s love, but you only focus on the judgment.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” For the first time, I hear emotion in the woman’s voice. “You don’t know the pain I’ve suffered because of that family.”

Ember’s voice is gentler. “Jackson isn’t like that. I wish you wouldn’t blame him.”

Time passes. I hear a sniff, but I can’t tell who is crying, until Ember’s clear voice speaks.

“We all start out like Coco—strong and pure. Then we encounter these people, these negative forces. We make mistakes. We hurt people. We’re hurt… We’re introduced to shame, and we carry this with us. We try to cope with the pain in different ways. Some of us cope better than others.”

She pauses for breath, and I’m not staying back any longer. My girl is baring her soul, and my arms long to hold her.

“The best we can hope for is to find love… friends, lovers to help us get through, to ease the pain.”

I’m with her now, and I wrap her in my arms. She leans her head against my shoulder, and I pour all my love into her.

“What’s the point?” her mother asks, and I hear the break in her voice, I hear a flicker of softening.

“I’ve found love. Why is it so hard for you to let me have it?”

Marjorie walks slowly to where we’re standing, and when she speaks, it’s directly to me. “I wouldn’t let him take another daughter.”

Ember’s chin drops and I slide my hand along her back. “What if no one takes?” I ask. “What if we make room for each other, see if it’s possible to grow together?” Thinking, I find the words. “I never wanted to be hurt either, but saving Ember was the best thing I ever did.”

“You saved her.” Marjorie’s voice is skeptical.

“He saved me, Momma.” Ember pleads. “Would you at least try? If not for me, for Coco?”

The woman exhales deeply and holds up her hands. “I can’t make any promises.” Tension ripples through my girl, but her mother isn’t finished. “Still… I might try. For Colette.”

Ember’s body melts against me. She starts to laugh. “Oh, Momma…” she groans. “I guess that’s something.”

I pull her to me, holding her, hugging her. Her mother drifts away, toward the party, but we stay where we are.

Whether her mother succeeds or not, I know our love covers the sins of the past.

When we touch, the hurts are healed. The dream changes from darkness and fear to a story of fantasy and rescue, of pirates finding magical mermaids, of two hearts uniting in an unbreakable bond no ancient bitterness or hurt can break.

When we touch the dream comes true.