Page 167 of Already At Risk
For me, the risk had been different.
I’d felt everything that was at stake that night, too. In the bar. But only because I knew she was moments from slipping through my fingers. I saw it in her gaze, saw the panic spreading across her face.
But then she showed up in my office, and I’d felt it so deep in my bones. Because I knew I’d do anything for her. Even if it meant risking everything I’d worked for. Because the biggest risk of all had always been what it was at the start: losing her.
Natalie whimpered my name against my lips, and I forced myself to pull back, knowing if I didn’t soon, I’d lose the ability to stop altogether.
“I love you,” I reiterated, brushing the tip of my nose against hers.
“So you said,” she laughed softly.
“And I’ll keep saying it.” Over and over again, until my lungs gave out. “Let’s go find your family before they find us, yeah?”
Natalie sighed, like she didn’t want this moment to end, and as much as I could appreciate that, I also knew we had the rest ofour lives to talk about us. Because that was the sort of long haul I was in for.
I put her down, letting her feet flatten on the cobblestone before lacing our fingers together. Natalie led the charge this time, leading me back toward the doors of the courthouse, and I was more than happy to follow.
“After this, can we go find Chloe?” she asked over her shoulder. “Blake and Delaney said they’re at the park by our house. I want to tell her the good news.”
“Of course, we can.”
“Together?” she questioned, and my heart squeezed.
“I’d love that.” I gripped her hand tighter. “If you’re sure.”
Natalie whipped open the door to the courthouse with her other hand and then paused, making sure our eyes connected. There was that same sizzling connection, the one I felt the first time I looked at her, but there was also something deeper now. A knot in my chest that tightened with every movement she made, every word she said. It tied us together in the most beautiful way.
“I’msosure.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
natalie
Three months later
“SURPRISE!”
Chloe’s voice was the loudest as we cheered. She bounced on her toes beside me as Cameron took one step in the door, only to take two steps back, blown away by the crowd gathered near the entrance of Mulligan’s, ready to celebrate him. Shock painted his expression, which quickly bloomed into something pure and wholesome—a joy so real I could breathe it in from across the room.
“What’s this?” he laughed, his eyes wandering the people in front of him until they landed on me. I couldn’t help a giggle from escaping me as he shook his head, knowing this was my doing.
“What’s this, Sunshine?” he repeated, but it was softer this time, and my heart leapt into my throat.
I felt my feet moving, unable to stay away from him, and Cameron opened his arms. I dove into them with another laugh, and he looked down at me, radiating warmth.
“Congratulations on your promotion, baby,” I whispered, and Cameron’s eyes grew a little wider. A sheen covered them as he stared at me, like he couldn’t really believe any of this.
But I could.
I’d always known that if Cameron set out to achieve something, he would make it happen.
It took him a little longer to make junior partner than I think he originally wanted, but he’d never once complained. Daphne had been a little disappointed with the turn in the custody case but had also understood, given the pressure from Korey. Cameron hadn’t faced any real pushback or consequences, and Daphne seemed mostly supportive of our relationship, though I don’t think she realizedwhenour relationship started. I doubted Cameron would lie if she ever asked directly, but so far, it hadn’t happened.
Overall, it took a handful of months after the case and many long days at the office before he was offered what he wanted, but finally, he’d gotten there.
Junior partner—the youngest at the firm.
He’d tried to downplay it, but I knew it was a big deal for him. Iknewthat even though he told me that his priorities had shifted, that he wanted to put more focus on his family and the beginning of our family, that this moment was still huge to him. It was a way he was connected with his dad, and the occasion deserved to be celebrated.
