Page 41 of Alaskan Reunion (Alaskan Grooms 2)

He reached out and placed both hands on either side of her face. “I can live without many things, Paige, but you and Emma are as important to me as the air I breathe. So I’m packing up all my belongings and coming with the two of you. I’ll leave it all behind. The Moose Café. My house. My truck. I’ll miss my family like crazy, but I can always visit. That’s what planes are for, right?” He let out a shaky laugh.

She took a step away from him. “Cameron, please don’t say this for Emma’s sake. What she needs most is stability, not two parents who are together simply out of duty and obligation.”

He moved toward her, quickly bridging the gap between them. He reached out and cupped her face in his hands. He dipped his head down and captured her lips in a stunning, powerful kiss that left her breathless. It nearly knocked her off her feet because the kiss radiated love. It was something you couldn’t fake or manufacture. The kiss said it all. Cameron was in love with her!

“I love you, Paige Reynolds. I always have. I always will. Two years ago I made the most foolish decision of my life. Despite everything I knew about you, I chose to believe the worst of you. I chose not to support the woman I loved. And that decision has cast a shadow over me ever since.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across Paige’s forehead. “When you came back to Love with a big fat check for the town, I thought that was the biggest gift you could bestow on us. I still couldn’t see the forest for the trees.” Tears shone in his eyes. “Until I saw Emma. Until I realized that you gave me something even more precious. And ever since your return, you’ve been fighting for this town. To make things right. To fulfill your father’s dying wish. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person act with so much love in their heart.”

A tremor ran across his jaw. “Every single thing you’ve done has been for the benefit of others. Emma. Robert’s dying wish. Me. And this town. You have given unselfishly.”

“Love has always been my home, Cameron. Deep down I think that I was hoping there would be a permanent place here for Emma and me.”

“Of course there’s a place for the two of you. And it’s with me. You belong in Love, Paige, just as much as you belong wherever I am.”

Tears slid down her face. “Oh, Cameron. God brought me back to Alaska. My heart led me straight back to you.”

“I don’t ever want to lose sight of the love we feel for one another. Having lost you once, I don’t ever want to endure that hardship again. It’s too painful.”

“‘Where you go I will go. Where you stay I will stay.’” Paige recited the verse solemnly. She meant it with every fiber of her being. A life lived without Cameron by her side would always feel incomplete. “And I’ve decided that Emma doesn’t need a trust fund. She has the two of us—a family. I’m going to donate the money to a very worthy cause. This town we love so much.”

Cameron’s eyes went wide. “Are you sure? That’s above and beyond.” She nodded her head.

“Oh, Paige,” Cameron said, placing a sweet kiss on her temple. “Jasper is going to do cartwheels when he finds out.”

Paige laughed out loud and shook her head. “Let’s hope not. This town needs the mayor in one piece.”

“Two years ago I made a big mistake in forcing your hand. Instead of running after you and begging you to come back, I stuck my head in the sand and allowed pride and bitterness to consume me.” He let out a hollow laugh. “Even then I loved you. Matter of fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in love with you. When you came walking back into my life, you turned me upside down. I wasn’t ready to admit even to myself that I still had feelings for you. Part of me was still reeling from losing you the first time around. I didn’t want to open myself up only to have a door closed on me.”

“Oh, Cameron. I was wary, too. It broke my heart when I had to leave Alaska. And it tore me up inside to know that we would never have our happily-ever-after. Coming back wasn’t supposed to be about our love story. It was supposed to be about Emma meeting her dad and fulfilling my father’s wishes. But in the end, true love couldn’t be denied.”

“No, it can’t. It perseveres despite the most challenging of circumstances.” His voice was filled with awe.

Cameron lowered himself so that he was on bended knee. He looked up at Paige and winked. “I agree with you one hundred percent.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a dark velvet box. “I had this ring made two and a half years ago for you.” He made a face. “I was waiting for the perfect time to propose. Everything fell apart before I could find that moment. Needless to say, I’m mighty glad I held on to it.”

Paige gasped as he flipped the box open. She raised her hand to her mouth. Her hands were trembling.

“I know you’ve always liked sapphires,” Cameron said. “I hope you like it.”

The stunning sapphire ring was surrounded by diamonds in a solitaire setting. It sparkled from inside the box. Paige had never seen a more spectacular ring in her life.

“I was foolish to ever let you walk out of my life.” Tears shimmered in Cameron’s eyes before a few slid down his face. Paige reached down and wiped them away. He smiled up at her.

“Paige, will you and Emma make me the happiest man in the world and marry me and be my family? I want nothing more than to build a life with you and our precious child, if you’ll have me.”

Paige felt as if her heart might just burst from sheer happiness. “Yes, Cameron,” she said in a triumphant voice. “I love you. And nothing would make me happier than to commit myself to you before God and all our family and friends. Being a family is all I’ve ever wanted for us.”

Cameron took the ring from the box and placed it on Paige’s ring finger. “Family is everything. Without it, we’re just hollow shells.”

Paige nodded. “I wish we’d made our commitment to God and one another before we started our family, but I’m grateful for Emma and I am glad for His forgiveness.”

Cameron stood up. “Emma was always in God’s plan. And you and I were always meant to be together.”

“And we will be,” Paige said with a grin. “For the rest of our days.”

Paige reached up and placed an exuberant kiss on Cameron’s lips. He kissed her back, placing his hands around her waist and drawing her close.

“Forever,” Cameron whispered against her lips as the joy they both felt about their magnificent future pulsed in the air around them.

Epilogue

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