Ask Me Why (4 page)

“Let's go, Romeo,” Colton called to his brother. “You've got two weeks in Fiji to kiss her face off.”

Will pulled her in close one more time, pressing his erection into her belly as he kissed her again, telling her with every stroke of his tongue that she was loved and desired. “I gotta go.”

“I gotta let you.”

“See you tomorrow, baby.” He kissed her lips and then lingered with a kiss to her forehead.

“Get some sleep.”

“Not likely, but I'll try if you do.”

“Deal.” He hugged her one more time. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Cameron released him to leave with his brothers for their campout on the mountain. Right after the guys left with much bickering and laughter, Hannah came to find her. “Ready to go?”

“Let me just say good-night to my dad and your parents.” Patrick would be spending the remainder of the weekend at Lincoln and Molly's house.

Cameron hugged Molly. “Thank you so much for an incredible evening.”

“I loved every minute of it.” She kissed Cameron's cheek. “Try to get some sleep tonight.”

“I'm too excited to sleep.”

Molly smiled. “I'll be over in the morning to help.”

“I'll see you then.”

“Cameron?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for making Will so happy.”

“Being happy with him has been the easiest thing I've ever done.”

She hugged Lincoln and Elmer and then her dad. “Molly and Lincoln will take good care of you.”

He raised his glass of bourbon. “They already are. This is the good stuff.”

“Nothing but the best,” Lincoln chimed in.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” she said to her dad.

“I'll be there.”

HANNAH DROVE CAMERON,
Lucy, Ella and Charley to Cameron's house where everyone but Hannah, who was pregnant, enjoyed glasses of wine while they painted fingers and toes and talked about wedding plans. Emma and Ray had taken Simone back to the Butler Inn earlier. They would rejoin the wedding party in the morning.

After a couple of hours of pampering, drinking and gabbing, they noticed Hannah beginning to fade.

“We should get Mama home to her baby daddy,” Ella said.

“I'm fine,” Hannah insisted. “I don't want to break up the party.”

“You'll be dragging ass tomorrow if you don't get some sleep,” Charley said. “And Cameron doesn't want your dark circles messing up her wedding photos.”

“That's right,” Cameron said. “Get your ugly self home for some beauty rest.”

“You fit right in with this family,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

“Why, thank you. Nothing pleases me more than fitting in with the Abbotts.”

Her future sisters-in-law left with hugs and kisses and promises to be back bright and early to help her get ready for the afternoon ceremony. Cameron let the dogs out for the last time when the girls left.

“And then there were two,” she said to Lucy, who was sleeping in the loft that night.

Lucy helped her clean up the kitchen and even made coffee for the morning. “One for the road?” Lucy asked, holding up a half bottle of chardonnay.

“Hit me up.”

Lucy poured two glasses, which they took to the living room.

After she let the dogs in, Cameron stoked up the fire in the woodstove and joined Lucy on the sofa, curling her legs under her. “How about this, huh?”

“No kidding. What a fantastic evening. How lucky are we to be marrying into this family?”

“So lucky. I don't just get Will, but his parents and siblings and Elmer, too. I feel like I hit the jackpot.”

“So do I.”

“Are you guys talking about setting a date?” Cameron asked.

“Not really. We're in no particular rush. Hunter and Megan are next, so maybe in the spring.” Lucy took a drink of wine and rested her head against the back of the sofa. “I can't believe how fast you guys pulled this wedding together. You've only been engaged for six weeks!”

“This is Will's favorite time of year, and it's becoming mine, too, after spending an autumn in Vermont. We didn't want to wait a full year, so we decided to go for it this year. Thank goodness for Regan. We couldn't have done it without her.”

“She's amazing. I got her card for when it's my turn.”

“I was worried about turning over such an important event to someone else to plan, but we told her what we wanted, and she made it happen. I can't wait to see it all put together tomorrow.” Cameron yawned. “I can't believe I'm actually tired. I thought I'd be up all night.”

“Let's get you to bed so you're ready for your big day.”

They took their wineglasses into the kitchen and parted with a hug.

“Thanks for everything, Luce. It's been so great to have you here the last couple of weeks.”

“I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I'm so happy for you and Will. You guys are an awesome couple.”

“Stop before I start bawling again.”

Lucy laughed and headed for the ladder to the loft.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“I'm good. Try to sleep.”

“See you in the morning.”

With the dogs sleeping in their usual spot by the fire, Cameron went into their room and went through her bedtime ritual before climbing into bed alone. She moved to Will's side of the bed where she found his woodsy, outdoorsy scent clinging to his pillow. How ridiculous was it that one night without him felt like an eternity?

She hadn't spent a night without him in more than six months, so naturally it felt weird to be alone at bedtime. Even though she'd see him in a few short hours, she'd give anything to feel his arms around her. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, thinking about everything tomorrow would bring and wishing he were here with her.

*   *   *

UP
on the mountain, Will and Colton were the last ones standing after the others had passed out from the massive quantities of beer that had been consumed around the campfire, which was now down to embers.

“As your best man, it's my job to recommend you hit the hay,” Colton said.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm wide awake, so there's no point.”

“What're you thinking about?”

“Truth?”

“Of course.”

“Remember the night of Nolan's bachelor party up here?”

“As it was only a couple of months ago, I do remember.”

“Remember what we did that night?”

“Yes . . .”

“I'm thinking about a do-over.”

“Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding? Since it's after midnight, technically it's your wedding day.”

“I won't turn on any lights.”

Colton scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “I'm not sure if I can condone this mission.”

“I dare you to come with me, then.”

“Oh, a dare . . . You fight dirty.” Under Abbott family rules, failure to take a dare could result in years of abuse.

Will shrugged. “I fight to win. I need you to drive me. I've had a few too many, and I noticed you've been drinking only water.”

“Someone's gotta make sure you're where you're supposed to be tomorrow.”

“Thank you for that. And everything else, too.”

“Thank you for asking me to be your best man. You shocked the shit out of me with that one. I thought for sure you'd ask Hunter.”

“I don't like to be predictable. Plus, with you marrying Lucy and her being Cam's maid of honor, we thought it would be fun.”

“So this means I've got to ask you to be mine, too, right?”

“Doesn't mean that at all.”

“I would like you to be my best man. When the time comes. If you're willing.”

“I'm more than willing, but don't ask me because I asked you. You should have who you want.”

“If I have you, I have who I want.”

“I'd be honored. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

“So, are you going to take the dare, or are you going to let us call you a pussy for the next century or two?”

“When you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to take the dare.” Colton dumped a bucket of dirt on the fire and stomped out the remaining embers.

They'd gotten away with this mission the last time they'd done it with no one the wiser when they'd left Nolan's bachelor party campout to go sleep with Cameron and Lucy at the cabin. Will knew he was pushing his luck to think they'd get away with it twice, but he was counting on his brothers being out cold for the night.

Colton went into his cabin to get his keys while Will waited for him on the porch. They were on their way to a clean getaway when Hunter appeared out of the darkness.

“Jesus,” Colton said to their oldest brother. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Where you boys going?”

“Nowhere,” Will said.

Hunter chuckled softly. “Liar. Are you going back to town?”

“Maybe . . .”

“Take me with you.”

“Who'll stay with the little kids?” Will asked of their younger brothers, all of whom were full-grown men and well trained in search-and-rescue tactics. But old habits died hard when it came to leaving their younger siblings unsupervised.

“They're on their own,” Hunter said bluntly.

“Let's go,” Will said.

They piled into Colton's truck and headed down the mountain, turning on the headlights halfway down. “Another clean escape,” Colton said, when he pulled onto the road that led into town.

“Another?”
Hunter asked from the front seat.

“We might've done this once before,” Will said. “The night of Nolan's party.”

Laughing, Hunter said, “You got away with that one. I had no idea, but then again, I had no good reason to sneak back to town. And now I do.”

“Now you do,” Will said.

They dropped Hunter off first.

“Try not to scare the hell out of Megan,” Colton said.

“I told her I'd be home if I could get away, so she won't be surprised to see me.”

“That's premeditated,” Will said. “A whole other level of p-whipped.”

“Say what you will,” Hunter said. “I'm happy to plead guilty. See you boys tomorrow.”

“Don't be late,” Will said.

“When am I ever late?” Hunter shut the door before they could pounce on that easy opening. He'd broken his on-time record repeatedly since he got together with Megan, even coming in late to work several times, which had never happened before.

They waited until he disappeared inside his dark house before they continued on through Butler to Will's house five miles outside of town. The cabin was completely dark when they pulled up outside.

“I don't want the dogs to bark, so let's sneak in through the mudroom.”

They went around the back of the cabin where Will used his key in the door that he'd instructed Cameron to keep locked when she was home alone. Before she'd lived here with him, he'd never locked his doors. Now that he had someone so precious to protect, his doors were always locked.

Trevor raised his head off his dog bed, saw Will, and thankfully went right back to sleep.

“See you in the
A.M
.,” Colton whispered as he went to the ladder to the loft where his fiancée was sleeping.

“Thanks for taking the dare,” Will said.

“Like I had any choice.”

Will was still smiling when he went into the bedroom and slipped into the adjoining bathroom where he stripped out of his clothes and brushed his teeth. Standing next to the bed, he could see Cameron sleeping on his side, hugging his pillow. Though he hated to disturb her sleep before their big day, he crawled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

She murmured in her sleep, which he took as an opportunity to kiss her. With only the faint light of the moon shining into the room, he saw her eyes fly open when she came to. “What're you doing here?” she asked breathlessly.

“I missed you.”

“It's bad luck to see me before the wedding.”

“I'm not looking.”

“Yes, you are!”

“You want me to go?”

“Don't you dare.”

Will laughed. “A dare is what brought me here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dared Colton to bring me home because I'd been drinking and he hadn't. Abbotts risk massive ridicule if they don't take a dare, so I pulled out the big guns to bend him to my will.”

Laughter from the loft drifted into their room. “Doesn't sound like you had to twist his arm.”

“Not really. Hunter came with us, too. We dropped him off at home.”

“You guys are funny. You can't take one night away from your women.”

“I can't speak for them, of course, but I'm madly in love with my woman, and one night away from her felt like forever.”

Cameron snuggled up to him. “For me, too. It was so weird to go to bed without you.”

“You've got way too many clothes on. What is all this?” He pulled and tugged at the T-shirt and moose pajama pants she'd worn to bed.

“Stop,” she said, laughing. “It's cold and I didn't have you to keep me warm.”

“Well, now you do, so let's lose all this foolishness.”

“You're not supposed to be here,” she reminded him as she raised her hands over her head to let him remove her shirt.

“Are you going to report me to the wedding police?”

“Not likely.”

“In that case . . . Get naked, and hurry up about it.”

“Is this the kind of husband you're going to be? If so, maybe I should reconsider—”

He kissed her hard and fast, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. “No reconsidering allowed,” he said when he came up for air.

“I was teasing.”

“I wasn't.” He slid his hand into the back of her pajama pants and pushed them down, taking her panties with them. “Are you really superstitious about me seeing you before the wedding?”

“I'm Irish! Of course I'm superstitious.”

“Turn away from me then.”

“Why? What're you going to do?”

“You'll have to wait and see.” He stole one more kiss while he could and then waited for her to turn so her back was to him. Will tucked her in close to him, running his hand over her belly, which quivered under his touch.

She pressed her backside into his erection, making him groan.

“It appears you aren't
that
superstitious after all.”

“I'm very superstitious,” she said primly.

He moved his hand farther down, cupping her and dipping his fingers into her slick heat. “One part of you isn't. Want me to stop?”