“You're getting married?” He looked at us with wide eyes.
“Yes!” Ami shouted.
There were cheers all around. Now that the news was finally out in the open, both Ami and Celes broke down in tears. Ami's dad gave me a big, manly hug, slapping me on the back.
“Well, my boy,” he said. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, shaking his hand.
For the rest of the evening, all of the talk was about the engagement. Ami's mother had a million questions: whether we'd set a date yet, if we wanted a spring or autumn wedding, whether Ami had color schemes in mind for bridesmaid dresses. I couldn't keep up with half of it. But I let the ladies have their moment. There would be months of wedding talk, I was sure. I wasn't worried about those little details.
I held Ami's hand in mine, smiling at her. I had what I needed, right here beside me. As long as I had her, nothing else mattered.
Chapter 16
Ami
I put on my third outfit of the day, looking at myself in the mirror. “What do you think of this one?” I asked, turning from side to side to see my profile. “Too slutty?”
“You look beautiful,” Cam said. “You looked beautiful in the first two, too.”
I sighed, pulling off the dress and digging through the closet for something else. “You always say that.”
“Because it's always true,” Cam said.
I glanced at him over my shoulder. He had a twinkle in his eye. I wasn't sure if it was an expression of pure love, or if he was just staring at me while I was in nothing but my bra and panties.
“Silly man,” I said, before turning back to the closet.
Cam continued watching as I tried on another outfit. It was a blue dress with a long skirt. It looked nice without showing off too much skin, which seemed fitting. I didn't want to dress like I was on a hot date.
I needed to look professional.
“How do I look?” I asked, holding my hands out to either side.
“Beautiful,” Cam said. “Still.”
I sighed, stepping into Cam's arms and leaning my head against his shoulder. He held me, kissing the top of my head.
“Tell me not to be nervous,” I said.
“You're going to do fine.” Cam stroked my hair. “You already did the hard part. You got the job. What are they going to do, fire you on your first day?”
I laughed, shaking my head. I knew Cam was right. I'd been thrilled when we got back from our long Thanksgiving weekend to find that I'd gotten the job at the museum. I had a lot to learn about classic cars, of course, but I was sure that I could memorize all the facts and figures I needed. The more important part was that I would finally be taking the first step towards my dream career.
And with Cam and I getting married, both of us having good jobs would make for a much better financial future.
“I was thinking,” I said as I made a few last-minute adjustments to my clothes. “We don't really need two bedrooms here. I know when you invited me to live here, the other room was supposed to be mine. But I never actually used it.”
“Well, maybe we should keep the room,” Cam said, a contemplative look on his face.
I rolled my eyes. “But rent on a one bedroom apartment would be so much cheaper! What do we need an extra room for? Don't tell me you're going to turn it into a man cave. Video games and beer and your hidden stash of Playboys.”
He chuckled, slipping his hands around my waist. “That's not what I was thinking at all.”
“So we should move, then.”
“Well, not necessarily.”
I frowned at him. He wasn't making much sense. “So what do we need the room for?”
“Well, I know we don't need it right now. I'm just planning ahead.”
“Planning for what?” My frown deepened. I gave him a suspicious look.
“Well,” he said, a mischievous smile on his lips. “The wedding is in March. And while there's certainly no rush or anything, I know that once we're married, I want to think about the future. About the life we'll be living together. As a family.”
It took me a second to get where he was going with this. My eyes went wide. “You mean...?”
He nodded. “When you're ready, of course. We don't need to decide right now. But once we're married, I want to start trying to have a baby.”
I squealed in delight, kissing my fiance on the lips. I hadn't thought that far ahead, but I was thrilled at the idea. I didn't know if I was ready to be a mother quite yet, but I knew one day I wanted to have babies. And the idea of having them with Cam, of raising a little family together, filled me with joy.