“Hey, you’re the one who’s been nagging me for years to settle down and get married,” Cameron reminded him.
“Yeah. But since when did you ever take my advice?”
Cameron chuckled and glanced across the room where his new bride accepted hugs and kisses from a seemingly endless stream of local well-wishers. With all her friends in Edstown and his from Dallas, there had been quite a large audience to witness the exchange of vows. The reception hall was crowded, just as tiny Edstown Baptist Church had been filled almost to the rafters for the ceremony. Shane said that was a good sign—lots of witnesses to make sure Cameron kept his word.
Cameron knew he wouldn’t have changed his mind had no one showed up but him and Serena and the preacher.
“Kelly approves of your choice, by the way,” Shane remarked. “She’s already quite fond of Serena. As much as I regret having you move so far away from Dallas, I have a feeling we’ll be getting together often.”
“Every chance we get,” Cameron promised.
He was glad that Shane’s wife and their other friends liked Serena. It touched him that they’d all made an effort to be with him today—Scott and Lydia Pearson coming all the way from Florida and more than a dozen others from the Dallas area. His friends had stood up with him—Shane the best man, of course, Scott Pearson and Michael Chang his grooms-men. Shane’s father, Jared, had come, along with his wife, Cassie, and young Molly. Shane’s cousin Brynn and her husband, Dr. Joe D’Alessandro, were there, as well, along with a few of Shane’s other numerous relatives. They’d all been so much a part of his past; he was glad they were there to watch him take a giant step toward an even better future.
Cameron’s parents had attended the ceremony, looking more like strangers who just happened to be seated beside each other than proud and happy parents, but they hadn’t stayed for the reception. They’d claimed other obligations. Cameron knew they had no interest in attending this gathering of people they considered their social inferiors. Their attitude no longer had the power to hurt him. He had Serena by his side now—and they had agreed that their own children, if any, would never have any reason to doubt that their parents loved them—and each other.
“I can see why you like it here,” Shane said, looking around the room at the chattering cluster of wedding guests. “It seems like a nice, friendly place.”
Cameron nodded, his gaze on his radiant-looking bride. The residents of Edstown were quite nice, but it was Serena who made him want to stay here. He had a feeling he’d like any place she called home.
It turned out he was the one who had something in common with her sister, Kara, who had served as Serena’s maid of honor. Both Cameron and Kara had been willing to walk away from the lives they’d known to be with the ones they loved. In a private conversation a couple of hours before the wedding ceremony, they’d agreed that neither of them had any regrets.
“Congratulations, Sam—I mean, Cam. You got yourself a fine woman there.” Bill Pollard thumped Cameron heartily on the shoulder as he spoke. The locals had accepted his amnesia more readily than he could have expected, but they were still having a little trouble getting used to his new name.
Maybe Cameron was developing a callus or something on that shoulder. He no longer flinched when Bill exchanged his usual hearty greeting. “Thanks, Bill.”
“And the paper’s looking real good since you took over,” the older man added. “’Course, I do miss you over at the diner. Your coffee was even better than Justine’s.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll snatch you bald-headed.”
Chuckling, Bill thumped him again, then headed off, saying over his shoulder, “You got that right. See you around, S— Cam.”
Shane laughed. “Yeah. I can tell you’re going to fit in around here just fine.”
Cameron’s attention had already strayed. Serena was making her way across the room to him, extending her hand when she reached him. He took it tightly in his own.
“It’s a lovely reception, isn’t it?” she asked as Shane moved discreetly away.
“Lovely. Can we leave now? I want to make love to my wife,” Cameron
informed her, lifting her hand to his lips.
“You’ll have to be patient a little while longer. Mother’s going to insist that I throw the bouquet. Molly wants to catch it, but Shane’s vowed to body check her if he has to. He doesn’t want to even think about her getting married for another ten years or so.”
Cameron sighed. “I’ll give you another half hour. Then we’re out of here.”
She smiled brightly at him. “Sounds good to me.”
“I love you, Serena.”
“I love you, too.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “How did we ever get along without each other?”
He grinned. “I couldn’t say. I seem to have forgotten everything that happened to me before I met you.”
She sighed in response to the bad joke, then lifted her face for his kiss.
Cameron could have told her that he hadn’t been entirely joking. As far as he was concerned, the most important part of his life had begun the day he’d opened his eyes and had first seen Serena’s face.
It wasn’t Edstown that was his Brigadoon, he realized. It was Serena, herself. Her love had entrapped him—and he never wanted to leave.