Page 89 of The Summer Arrangement
“Hmmm… best morning ever,” Cameron says, squeezing his arm around us both. “I’ve got both my girls and nowhere to be until tomorrow.”
Milli’s voice is filled with wonder when she innocently asks, “My Iz is your girl, too?”
“Yep. Elizabeth’s pretty special. What do you think, Mills? Should we keep her?”
“I love My Iz,” she says matter-of-factly, and my heart melts into a giant puddle of goo.
Looking at Cameron to see his reaction, I’m greeted with the most dazzling smile. His navy-blue eyes pin mine as he says, “I love Elizabeth, too. You okay with that?”
My response bubbles out of me before I can contemplate whether he’s asking me or her the question, “I love you, too.”
Leaning down, he presses a kiss to my lips. “What do you say, Elizabeth? Wanna start forever with me?”
My body stiffens as the meaning of his words hit me right through the chest.
Holy shit. What is he saying?
Laughing, he leans down to kiss me once more. When he pulls back, a devilish grin spreads across his face. “You don’t have to answer just this moment. But you should know… that’s where I’m going with this. I love you and knowing you love me back is all the answer I need… for now.”
Five Years Later…
“Wait up, Mills,” my dad says as we walk toward her third-grade classroom. It’s just across the hall from mine, and we’re heading to officially meet her teacher on back-to-school night. She’s already met Angela, my co-worker, several times over the years, but this is the first time she’ll be a student in her class.
“Papa,” she chastises. “You’re walking way too slow. You should just pick Embry up and carry him. His tiny little legs are never gonna get us there.”
“Mills, we’ve got plenty of time,” Cameron says, shaking his head as he holds my hand. “It doesn’t start for twenty minutes, and your mom still needs to get to her classroom.”
“Dad,” Milli huffs, exasperated. “If we’re on time… we’re late. You know that.”
Chuckling, my dad mumbles, “Gee… wonder where she got that from.”
“Hmmmm… I don’t know, Colonel,” I tease as I hip check him, making us all laugh.
He’s retired from the Air Force and is currently living in Seaside, not far from Lanie and Sloane—or any of us for that matter. It’s Seaside after all. Now that my sisters and I all have started families of our own, he claimed he’d missed enough of our childhood, and he won’t miss out on time with his grandchildren.
“I’m surprised she’s not in your class, Liz,” my dad states, guiding our youngest to Milli’s classroom. He’s almost three and is as independent as Milli was at that age.
“I love that girl to the moon and back, but I’m choosing to be her mom, not her teacher. Everyone deservessomeindependence as they grow up.”
When Cameron said forever that morning, he meant it. It was only a matter of time before he was down on one knee in front of my entire family. He, Emilia, and I all went back to Portland that fall so I could finish my degree. When it was time for my student teaching, he purchased the home he’d been renting in Seaside, and we were married that next summer.
To our surprise, I also found out I was pregnant with our daughter Everett, the week we returned from our honeymoon. She’s starting preschool and will be in kindergarten next fall.
“Daddy, are we going to see Vivian and Savanna’s class, too?” Everett asks as we walk through the door to Milli’s classroom. Vivian and Savanna blessed us with their presence literally nine months after Raven and Finn were married. Raven freaked out of course, but Finn was over the moon. Now they couldn’t be happier.
“We’ll see if we have time,” Cameron says, then adds, “We’re supposed to meet up with Josh and Jason when they finish touring their kindergarten class. Sloane and Jax said they’d meet us in Mom’s classroom.”
“What about Candace and Carter?” Everett asks excitedly. Carter’s also starting first grade, and Candace is the same age as Everett, so she’ll start school officially next year.
“Yep. Lanie and Ryan are coming, too. They wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Cameron beams.
It’s a tradition. After back-to-school night, we always go to ice cream as a family. Not only do I deserve the break after meeting my new families each year, but It’s something special we started when Milli began kindergarten. My family rolled with it, and now, the whole herd of us gather at the local ice cream shop or at one of our houses to celebrate the start of a new school year.
“Did I tell you that I’ve finalized next year’s tour schedule for Ruby Frax?” Cameron asks nonchalantly.
“No. My sisters will flip their lids if you send them away for too long, though.”
Cameron puffs out his chest. “I just so happened to coordinate it with the kids’ summer break. What do you say, beautiful? Wanna join them all in Europe next summer?”
