A June Wedding

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Staring at the house she’d grown up in, Naomi heard the voices of her family inside. Who exactly was there, she didn’t know for sure, other than her mom and dad, Robert and Susan, and likely Ivy and Chris, considering his truck and her compact were parked in front of one of the three cottages they lived in. It seemed as if everyone was inside the main house, though.

Then there was Mason, whose truck was parked in front of Taz’s cottage—scratch that, now Mason’s new home. Naomi was aware that Mason’s on again, off again boyfriend, Justin, would sneak in and out before dawn, before her parents were up. It was hard for Naomi to tell what was going on when it came to their relationship, as Mason was the one sister who kept all her cards tucked close to her chest.

“Well, are we going in, or are we going to stand here all day?” Cameron said, his hand resting on her lower back. She took in her tall, incredibly handsome man. He was the whole package, the totally hot guy that women wanted—that she wanted. He was all lean muscle, and just looking at him beside her had her wanting to pinch herself, tell herself he was real and hers.

She still felt all his hardness and remembered what it had been like to wake up curled against him. It was more than she’d ever expected. Even now, though he’d tried to dress down in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, he still looked as if he’d stepped off the cover of GQ, with his short amber-brown hair and his green eyes. The way they looked at her, she figured she could drown in them.

She took a breath, then pulled in another, feeling the breeze rustle her light blue sundress on this incredibly hot evening, the first day of June. The screen door squeaked, and she turned to see her dad stepping out, wearing workpants and a graying T-shirt spattered with grease. His dark hair was in bad need of a cut, and he likely hadn’t shaved that day, but his green eyes softened as he took her in. Then they flashed with something a little harder as he glanced over to Cameron, who was standing right beside her.

“Didn’t know you were coming by,” Robert said before dragging his gaze over Cameron again. “Cameron.” That was all. Great! He still didn’t like him.

“Mr. Parker,” Cameron replied.

Naomi could feel her shoulders start to bunch up as if they had a mind of their own, feeling the stress and wondering when her father would ever give Cameron a break and see him as the amazing guy he was. She felt Cameron’s large warm hand press against her again as he angled his head, his blue eyes imploring as if she needed a reminder of why they were there. Right. Come on, Naomi. You can do this.

“Cameron and I have some news we wanted to share—good news,” she added, leaning in as if she needed to emphasize the point before her father would ease up.

He didn’t smile. In fact, the way he glanced between the two of them dashed any hope she had that he would welcome Cameron into the fold. He rested his hands on his hips and then sighed. “Well, come in. Don’t stand out here. We were just finishing up supper. Did you both eat?”

Then he was pulling open the screen door and stepping in. She could hear voices again, and her dad said something when her mom appeared. Naomi found her hand slipping into Cameron’s as she started up the steps. The squeeze from his was supportive, loving, before he pulled it away and slid it around the small of her back, then patted her ass as she held the door. She paused and had to look up at him, taking in the humor and something else in his expression, knowing he knew well how her dad hated him.

Well, maybe “hate” was a harsh word. Disliked? Robert had already slotted him into the category of wrong for his daughter, and there was nothing about who Cameron was, the way he lived his life, or his past and all the bad news that had plagued him and tarnished his reputation in the minds of many, all for something he didn’t do, that could change that.

Cameron nodded toward her parents. “You know, I can tell them if you’d rather not,” he said in a low voice, and she wondered whether the horror she was feeling was showing in her eyes and could possibly be the reason for his wide smile and the fact that he was chuckling under his breath.

“No, I think not,” she said. “It would be best coming from me.”

He flashed another smile as Susan approached them.

“Naomi, your dad says you have some news to share?” she said, wearing faded blue cotton shorts and a blue and white striped T-shirt. Ivy was also making her way over, her hair pinned up, looking the happy newlywed, wearing a loose yellow tank over jean shorts.

Naomi could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her back, excited about the news but at the same time dreading telling her parents, because she didn’t expect the same joy she was feeling to be returned, and that would crush her.

She spotted Chris shoving a bun in his mouth in the kitchen, chewing, and he lifted his hand in a wave. Then there was Mason, her hair now dark red, who was still eating at the table, shoving a forkful of food into her mouth. Justin was across from her, and though he tossed Naomi a glance over his shoulder, he didn’t get up. Evidently, she had her answer: They were back on again.

“I do,” Naomi said. “We do, actually.” She felt Cameron tap her ass again, likely because of the way she was stalling. She rested her hand over her stomach, and her mom’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped.

“Oh my good God! You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Her expression bordered on something akin to this being the worst news ever.

“Ah, no!” Naomi dropped her hands and then fisted them, hearing the scrape of chairs from the kitchen and seeing Mason heading straight for her in her peripheral, but she couldn’t look away from the confusion and then relief on her parents’ faces. “Geez, Mom and Dad, as if that would be the worst thing?”

She glanced again to Cameron, who had an odd look on his face as he looked over her head to her parents and family, but, to his credit, he said nothing, and neither did her parents. Their expressions were still guarded.

“Cameron asked me to marry him,” she said and watched as Mason stopped mid-step. Everyone was quiet. “And I said yes.” She lifted her left hand, and the rock that glittered on her ring finger drew everyone’s eyes, even hers, from the size of it. Then she waited, her stomach a ball of knots, as everyone just stared and no one said anything. Where were the hugs, the shouts of joy, the excitement?

She had to tell herself to breathe. She heard a car coming and found herself turning, but Cameron was glancing out the screen door, blocking her view. She wasn’t sure who it was. Her dad too was looking out, and she could feel everyone’s attention diverted from her. There she was, still holding up her hand like a fool, and no one said one word about how happy they were for her. She felt like an i***t and decided to lower her hand, not expecting this lack of joy at something she’d wanted so badly.

“Married, that’s so great! Congratulations,” Mason said. At least she had the decency to break the icy silence, even if it had lingered for only three seconds. But then, Mason had a soft spot for Cameron. Actually, Naomi was pretty sure it went both ways, considering Mason was still working as a personal assistant for her soon-to-be husband. “And that rock, wow!” She actually reached for Naomi’s hand and lifted it.

Naomi pulled in a breath deep and let it out, feeling a lot of the tension she’d been holding on to leave.

“Is that Scarlett and Emmett, or…” said Susan, who was now standing a few steps over with Robert, and it seemed as if neither had the least bit of interest in her happy news.

At least Chris had the decency to say, “Hey, there. Congrats, Naomi, Cameron,” as he stepped around Ivy, who had yet to say a word. Chris pressed his hands to Naomi’s shoulders and a kiss to her cheek, then shook Cameron’s hand.

“So, the date,” Mason said, and Ivy now stepped up and nudged her over before lifting Naomi’s hand and taking in the rock. As she looked at it again through Ivy’s eyes, it was like a huge shiny toy, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine what it had set Cameron back. But then, he really did have the cash. He was just a guy who understood how to make money. Both her sisters were staring at her as if they’d asked a question and she had completely forgotten to answer.

“Well…” Naomi started before she heard a car door shut, and then Ivy stepped away, frowning, giving all her attention to whoever had pulled up. Mason followed, leaving Naomi standing there, feeling much like an i***t. She couldn’t help suspecting her family wasn’t interested in the best news of her life. She turned and stared at them, but they were looking the other way except for Justin, who was still hanging back and lingering in the space between the kitchen and the living room, not saying a word. All she wanted was her five minutes in the spotlight so she could tell her family they’d decided on a June wedding.

“Hey, y’all. You’ll never guess what!” Of course, it was Scarlett, and it was likely the entire county could hear her, from how loud she was. She did sound stupidly happy. “I’m getting married!”

Naomi heard Scarlett squeal, and everyone was stepping out the screen door. There were congratulations and laughter, and she didn’t know who was saying what. It took her a second to wrap her head around what had just happened.

Cameron made a face of amusement. “Wow, this is…” was all he said as he stepped in front of Naomi. By his tone, he found this all entertaining. She didn’t, though, and maybe that was why he decided to stop talking and gestured with his thumb to the door. When he stepped outside, he left Naomi little choice but to follow.

She pushed open the door, seeing her mom and dad and Ivy all taking turns hugging Scarlett where she stood with Emmett, a hunky former racecar driver, beside the open door of a black Jetta. She was holding her hand up in the air, waving it, and Naomi could see the rock that glittered there, although it didn’t compare to the one she had.

“So…I see your sister stole your thunder,” Cameron said and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her against him as they just stood there, watching.

“Nothing unusual there,” Naomi said. She was starting to realize her family, namely her mom and dad, would likely never be happy that she was with Cameron. She gazed up to him and knew that he had to know. “But I told them, and…” What could she say? She’d plan the wedding, but there wouldn’t be the same joy as there had been for Taz’s and Ivy’s. Her family would come as obligatory guests, and then what?

“And it’s going to be a June wedding,” Scarlett called out.

Naomi wasn’t sure whether the strangled sound she heard came from her, but she felt Cameron digging his hand into her side.

“Well, this should be fun, you and your sister both getting married in June,” he added, and she realized that this time, everyone was listening and had looked their way, picking this moment to hear them.

“Scarlett, we were just telling everyone before you pulled up that Cameron and I are getting married. What I didn’t get to say was that we’ve already set the date, and we too are getting married in June.”

She wasn’t sure by the look on Scarlet’s face whether she was happy or shocked that she had to share her day and any of the spotlight.