I think long and hard about his question before finally answering, "I try to, sir, but sometimes it's hard. It's hard to understand the reason why certain things happen, especially to those that least deserve it."

"Are you talking about having children?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah," he sighs. "That's a tough one. I could sneeze in Kathy's direction and she'd be knocked up the next day. It doesn't seem to make much sense. But I believe there's a reason for everything—even when it's not clear to us." He clears his throat before adding, "Like when she passed away... you saw what I became, you were there at my lowest point, and I think that maybe you were supposed to be. Maybe that's what Kathy meant about fate. Maybe she was taken so that you would enter our lives. So that Lucy..." He stops and blows out a heavy breath, the struggle in his speech more than apparent. "Maybe it happened so that Lucy could find her strength. Her reason. And so that my boys could find their hero."

I use the back of my hand to wipe my tears.

"Not a day goes by that I don't thank her for bringing you to us, Cameron.

"I didn't do anything, sir. All I did was fall in love with your daughter."

"That's the thing. You didn't even know what you were doing for us while you were falling for her. She wouldn't be the same person if it weren't for you. You changed her life, Cam. And fate—it changed all of us.

***

Amanda catches the bouquet, but she tries to hand it off to someone else. Jake keeps telling Micky to take it, but her face goes red with embarrassment and she shakes her head. "Nope," she keeps saying. She tries to hide behind him, and I swear it—I see him mouth, "You're next."

We get in the stretch Hummer that Tom rented, along with our friends. When we know we're far enough that the guests can't hear us, we scream, and cheer, and cry.

We ask the driver to park on the side of the road and wait. Ten minutes later, Lucas pulls up behind us. "I told Dad I was going to visit Jason for a few days."

Logan hands him the fake I.D. he organized for him.

"I can't believe I'm allowing this," Lucy says.

His smile widens. "It's fine, Goosey. What happens in Vegas..."

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

-LUCY-

Because our wedding was so small and we didn't want to go on a 'real' honeymoon, Dad went all out on a four-day trip to Vegas. Not just for us, but for our friends too.

"Holy shit," Lucas says when we open the door to the suite. Dad wanted it to be a surprise, so we had no idea he was renting out the Kingpin Suite at the Palms. "I'm gonna get married ten times over if this is what Dad provides," he jokes.

Cam grabs my bag out of my hands and links our fingers. "See you guys in two days," he rushes, and then he drags me away.

I watch as he drops our bags just inside the master suite and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "Hello, wife."

I try to suppress my grin as I walk over to him. His hands on my waist are soft when he pulls me between his legs.

"Say it again," I ask him, settling my arms on his shoulders.

"What?"

"Call me your wife."

His smile matches mine. "You looked beautiful today, wife."

I take a seat on his lap with my legs wrapped around him.

"Did you have a good day?" he asks, his mouth on my shoulder.

"It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. It was perfect, babe."

He raises his head, his eyes searching mine. "You deserve it."

"What about you? Was it your dream wedding?"

He nods slowly. "You were my bride, so yeah. It went exactly the way I've always imagined. But... I miss you. I had to share you with everyone today and you know I don't like sharing."

I chuckle against his neck as his arms grip me tighter. "I'm going to shower and wash the crap out of my hair, and then we can lie in bed and you can have me all to yourself."

-CAMERON-

I unpack our bags while she's in the shower. There's a box in hers, still wrapped, and a card from Micky and Amanda telling her to open it when we get to our room. I have no idea what it is, but I'm too scared to attempt to find out. I love Lucy, don't get me wrong, but when those three get together, shit happens. I don't want to be the cause of shit on our honeymoon.

At the bottom of her bag is an envelope. This time, I don't think twice about snooping, because it's addressed to Our Future Hope, from Mom and Dad.

I sit on the edge of the bed and flip it over in my hands. The first page is a copy of my sketch; the one I made of her future room in our future house—the first one... with the huge armchair and all the little ones around it. There are stained splotches marring the otherwise perfect scene, most likely her blood from when the frame shattered.

I swallow the lump in my throat and take a deep breath, preparing myself for what's to come.

*****

Dear Mom,

I know it's been a while since I've written to you. Six years and one month, almost to the day. The thing is, I haven't found a need to write because I found someone else to share my secrets with.

Remember when I wrote last? About a boy I'd fallen in love with—and he had no idea I noticed him? Well... tomorrow, I'll stand before him, in front of all our loved ones, and we'll become husband and wife.

Did you know?

When you passed away, did you know he would be there? I think you did, Mom. I think you put two people in front of each other and you let fate play it's magic.

I hope that one day, I can do that for my daughters. I hope that I can keep them safe, protect them from all the bad, and help them see all the right in the world.

I hope one day they'll find someone just like Cameron. Someone to be their strength, their calm, their HOPE.

I love you,

Lucy Gordon.

-LUCY-

"You just wanna lie in bed for the rest of the night?"

We're in bed, lying on our sides, our faces almost touching. He nods once before kissing my chin. "Yup. I just want to hold you and love you."

"Good," I tell him, my fingers twisting his hair. "This is my favorite thing in the entire world."

"Me too," he mumbles. "And blow jobs."

My head throws back in laughter.

"And your laugh," he says, his eyes on mine. He pushes my shoulder until I'm on my back. Leaning on his elbow and resting his head in his hand, he adds, "Your laugh makes my world stop, Luce. I remember the first time I heard it, when you were at school, and you were reading. It was two days after our first kiss. I remember thinking that I'd give up all other senses if it meant I could hear you laugh again."

I raise my hand to move his hair away from his eyes.

"It was like a reward for me," he continues. "Like all those physically exhausting days of being with you and the boys and trying to be your calm, it was all worth it. Just for that one sound. That one emotion I pulled out of you. And all of it lead to this—to you being my wife."

I can't help the smile that forms. I love hearing it—the way he calls me his wife. "Say it again."

"Wife." He shifts so he's sitting on my waist and our hands are linked. "You know what that means, babe?" he says with a slight grimace. "It means you're going to have to learn to cook, maybe even clean."