Then You Happened (23 page)

Chapter 41

Sierra

I set the alarm to go off at six a.m. because the decorators and the florist were supposed to be here around eight. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and smiled when I saw six text messages from Cameron. Shit. I fell asleep on him last night during our sexting.

“Hello?”

“Sierra, why aren’t you replying?”

“You can’t leave me like this, babe. Not fair.”

“I bet you fell asleep or you’re passed out drunk.”

“Babe?”

“Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”

I quickly sent him a message.

“I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

“I have blue balls.”

I laughed out loud.

“I’m sorry. I’ll massage them later.”

“Promise?”

“I promise on my Prada.”

“Church?”

“No.”

“Have to go. Mom made breakfast.”

“I feel like we’re in high school.”

“Yum. She made French toast with strawberries. Why don’t you ever make that?”

“Do I cook? Why don’t you ask Rosa?”

“I want you to make it.”

“Silly boy.”

“I’m serious.”

“Tell Luanne I said GOOD MORNING!”

“Let’s not stir the pot.”

“Bye, lover.”

“Bye, babe.”

I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs for some much-needed coffee. Kirsty and Sasha were still asleep and Rosa was making French toast.

“Morning. Do we have any strawberries to go with that French toast?”

“Yes. Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.”

I walked over to the refrigerator and noticed a can of whipped cream in the door. Perfect! I took it out and waited for Rosa to fix my French toast. As soon as she put two slices on a plate with the strawberries on top, I
squirted some whip cream on them. I took my plate to the table, pulled out my phone, and took a picture.

“Does your French toast have whip cream on it?”

“Lol, no. I wish.”

“MINE DOES!”

I sent him the picture of my breakfast.

“I officially hate you.”

“Don’t hate me because I have whip cream.”

“Lol. Gotta go, babe. Hide that whip cream in the back of the fridge for later.

“Already thought of it.”

Kirsty and Sasha came down just as the florist pulled in the driveway.

“Do you need our help?” Kirsty asked.

“No. You two enjoy your breakfast. Come outside when you’re done.”

There were five trucks in the driveway and each one was filled with flowers arrangements, flowered trees, archways, and swags of magnolias to be hung from the top of the tent. Each table was elegantly decorated with a centerpiece made of magnolias and floating candles. The swags of magnolia and ivy were hung from the tent and woven with white lights. Damn. This was going to be beautiful tonight. As I was standing there, making sure everyone was doing their job, my phone beeped with a text message from Cameron.

“Church?”

I sighed.

“No.”

“What wrong?” Kirsty asked as she stood next to me.

“Cameron wants me to come to the church and I don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t you go?” she asked as she looped her arm around mine.

“The main reason is Luanne
, and the second reason is because I need to stay here and make sure everything goes smoothly. The caterers will be here and the DJ and, most importantly, the booze will be delivered. I need to make sure they sent plenty of bottles of tequila.”

She laughed as she looked at me. Sasha and Rosa walked over to where we were standing and the four of us watched as a future was about to unfold.

“You did good, Sierra,” Rosa said.

“Yeah. I can’t believe you pulled this off in such a short period of time,” Sasha chimed in.

I looked at her in disbelief. “Do you not work for me?” I asked.

We all laughed and Kirsty and Sasha went back inside.

“Rosa, Luanne doesn’t like me and she said that she doesn’t think Cameron and I are right for each other.”

“Does it matter what she thinks?” Rosa asked.

“No, but she is his mother and I’m sure it bothers him.”

“Why wouldn’t she like you?”

“Because of my lifestyle. She said that Cameron doesn’t belong in my world.”

“Since when do you care what other people think?”

“Yeah, since when does Sierra Adams care?” James said as he sat down next to me.

“It’s just—”

“It’s just nothing. She doesn’t know you. She hasn’t bothered to get to know you since you’ve been here because she’s full of judgment. Let her judge. If she can’t see how happy you make Cameron, then that’s her problem, not yours.” James smiled as he took hold of my hand. “You’re Sierra Adams and you’re an amazing woman. Any person who has an ounce of a brain can see that from a mile away. Screw her, Sierra. You and Cam are starting a life together, and when I say together, I mean the two of you doing things together and respecting what the other wants.”

I look at him and cocked my head. “Are you referring to the church?”

“Yes. Cameron wants you there. He wants you to be a part of his brother’s wedding. You sitting there and watching his brother marry the love of his life means something to him and for you not to attend because of Luanne is just ridiculous. The two of you are a couple now. What you do affects both of you.”

“Screw Luanne,” Rosa said. “You walk into that church and you show Builder Boy that you’re there for him and nobody’s going to stop you.”

“You know that Kirsty, Sasha, and especially Rosa will be here to oversee things while you’re at the wedding,” James said. “Now go get ready. Put on that Vera Wang dress of yours and those Jimmy Choos and show Cameron how much you love him. I’ll drive you.”

I put my arm around both of them and gave them each a hug. “You two are getting a raise when we get back,” I said as I kissed them on their cheeks.

“You keep saying that, but I have yet to see it.” James smiled.

****

Cameron

Jaden was literally shaking as we stood in the waiting room at the church. My mom walked in and straightened his bow tie and then walked over to me and straightened mine, even though it was already straight.

“I need to talk to you for a moment,” I said to her.

“About what, dear?”

“Sierra.”

“She’s off topic right now. I have other things to think about.”

“I don’t care what you have to think about. The way you treated her was extremely rude. You don’t even know her. You only know what you saw on the internet.”

“I’m not doing this right now, Cameron.”

“Well, I am and you’re going to listen to me. I love that girl with all my heart. I’ve never been this happy before and for you to try to ruin that for me by telling her that we’re not right for each other really sucks, Mom.”

“Cameron!” she exclaimed.

“Now, if you want things to be bad between us when I leave for California, then so be it. You’re my mom and I love you, but I will not let you treat my girlfriend that way. I am thirty years old. Don’t you think it’s time that I deserve to be in love?”

“You need to get to the altar. The wedding is going to start soon. We’ll talk about this later,” she said as she left the room.

I shook my head and Jaden put his hand on my shoulder. “Ignore her, Cam. She’s just upset because you’re moving away. Now come on; I have a woman to marry.” He smiled.

We walked through the back and took our places at the altar. I looked out into the crowded church with the hopes that Sierra had changed her mind about coming. But I didn’t see her. The bridesmaids began to line up and the wedding was about to start when the side door to the church opened and Sierra walked in. A huge smile splayed across my face when I saw her. She looked at me, flashed her beautiful smile, and made everyone in the row behind my parents move down so she could squeeze in. That was my girl.

After the ceremony ended, I met Sierra out in the waiting area of the church and gave her a big kiss. “Thank you for coming. You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. You look good enough to eat; with a dab of whip cream, of course.” I winked.

“Why did you change your mind?”

“I wanted to be here for you because I love you and it wasn’t fair of me to put that aside and not attend because of what people think of me.”

“I can’t wait to get back to California with you,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her.

“You and me both. I think I’ve had enough of your hometown for a while.” She smiled.

“I have to go. I’m being summoned for pictures. I’ll see you back at the house,” I said as I kissed her goodbye.

Chapter 42

Sierra

As soon as I got back to the house, I walked around and inspected every nook and cranny of the back to make sure everything was perfect for Magnolia and Jaden. I walked over to the bar area and introduced myself to the bartender.

“You have plenty of tequila, right?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good, and when you see me, make sure you have a double ready and waiting.” I winked.

Everyone started to arrive and cocktails were being served. Finally, the wedding party arrived, and when I walked over to Magnolia and Jaden to congratulate them, she began to cry.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“This. This. This is all so beautiful. It’s like a dream. I will never be able to thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome and no tears. You’ll smear your makeup, and there’s nothing worse than a bride with smeared makeup.”

She laughed.

“That’s better.” I winked. “Now go and enjoy your wedding reception. We have lots and lots of alcohol.”

As they walked away, I felt strong arms wrapped around my waist and a kiss on my cheek.

“This is beautiful, Sierra. I had no doubt that you’d pull this off, but this is beyond amazing. I think I may keep you around.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cole. I was thinking that when we get back home to L.A., we could go furniture shopping for the living room.”

“It’s not remodeled yet.”

“I know, but I like you, and I want furnish the room with things we pick out together. It’ll be our special room.” I smiled.

“I like that idea. What if we can’t agree?”

I grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him along. “If we can’t agree, then we’ll do it my way.”

“Somehow, I knew you were going to say that.” He laughed.

Night had fallen, dinner had been served, alcohol was being consumed, and everyone was having a wonderful time. While Cameron was talking to some friends, Luanne walked up beside me.

“I want to thank you for doing this for my son and daughter in-law. It was very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Listen, Sierra, I’m sorry for the things I said. I want you to know that I’m very happy that Cameron has finally found someone he loves. I will admit that I’m not happy that my son is moving so far away. It was hard enough when he was there working, but I knew he would come home. Now, he’s moving there permanently and it’s not like this place is a hop, skip, and a jump away. He’s my first and oldest child and it’s hard.”

I felt bad for her because it had to take a lot of courage on her part to tell me these things. I took her hand and squeezed it.

“I know it’s hard, but we’ll visit. In fact, we’ll visit so much you’ll get sick of us and want us to leave, plus you’ll come visit us in California. I think you’ll like it there. I would like to take you shopping on Rodeo Drive.”

“I think that would be quite an experience.” She smiled. “Excuse me, Sierra. Jaden is calling for me.”

The corners of my mouth turned up as I took a sip of my tequila.

“Did I just see you and my mom holding hands?” Cameron asked.

“Yes. She apologized. I accepted. I told her we’d visit and that she needs to come to California. All is good.”

The DJ called all couples out onto the dance floor for a romantic dance. Cameron placed his hand on my waist and placed his other in mine.

“We can dance right here under these beautiful lights.” He smiled.

I stared into his beautiful green eyes. The same green eyes that caught my attention and piqued my interest a few months ago, and the same green eyes that agreed to a sex-only relationship. As we slowly moved to the music, a thought came into my mind.

“When we get back to L.A., let’s just tell Delia that I hired you for the year.”

“Really, Sierra? I think, sooner or later, she’d figure it out. We need to come clean about who I really am.” He smiled.

“But that’s no fun,” I whined. He kissed the tip of my nose and told me to shush.

Cameron Cole walked into my life and turned my world upside down. Tomorrow morning, we would get on a plane back home and he’d move all his things into my house. My house would become our house and we’d start our life together as a couple of thirty-year-olds who finally figured out life.

My name is Sierra Adams, CEO of Adams Advertising and Design. This was my story about being a single woman who wanted a sex-only relationship and how one man changed all that. The end result:

Then We Happened

(The Happened Series, Book 2)