Finally Found

by Nicole Andrews Moore

  “I want chocolate,” she said shyly. “And I want Cin and my parents there. Is there room in the jet and in the house?” She looked at Sam and Haley.

  “Absolutely,” Sam said. “This will be perfect.”

  In the morning, Adam woke Cammie with kisses. She looked at him, smiled, caressed his face, and bolted from the bed to puke. “Good morning, beautiful!” He called. By the time she came out, he had made the bed, thrown on some clothes, headed to the bagel shop, returned with a hot tea, a hot coffee, and some bagels. “Come sit,” he said. “This is something like a hangover. You need carbs and tea.”

  She frowned. “I hate being sick.” He passed her the bagel. “But I rather like being taken care of.” A slight smile brightened her face.

  “Well, get used to it. Every day for the rest of your life,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “So, I thought we’d get ready and go pick out rings. Where would you like to go? Tiffany’s?”

  “I can’t marry you,” she said. And as if she hadn’t just crushed his heart, she kept on nibbling away at the bagel.

  He watched her for a minute. He waited for her to laugh or give some other sign that she was joking. “Doll, what did you say?” Maybe he heard her wrong.

  “I can’t marry you.” She looked him in the eye.

  “Then why did you say you would last night?” He asked getting more upset.

  “I didn’t say I would. You announced we were.” She picked a raisin out and set it on her plate. “Ewww. Raisins. Why is it when any other food spoils we throw it out, but when a grape spoils they simply rename it, repackage it and call it a raisin. I don’t get it.”

  Adam didn’t know what to say. She was blathering on about raisins and not getting married. There was a completely surreal quality to the experience. He was about to look around for a hidden camera. There had to be some explanation. “Why can’t you marry me?” He asked calmly.

  “Well, you didn’t ask my father for my hand. We’re a very traditional Greek family. I can’t very well jet off to The Keys and get married without permission.” She kept eating and sipping tea.

  “You’re twenty-nine years old. You don’t live with your parents. As best I can tell, they haven’t financially supported you for a good ten years.” His voice rose in frustration. My God he was starting to sound like Sam. Was this what maturity did to a person?

  “Right,” she said. She took a long sip of tea. A euphoric look crossed her face. “What kind of tea is this?”

  Smiling, he responded, “Chamomile.” He decided to calm down. Be calm. This woman was carrying his baby. He intended to marry her. He would spend the rest of his life in love with her. This was a time for them to enjoy.

  “Let’s go pick a ring,” he said. “And then once we have the ring, I’ll go with you to meet your parents. We’ll take them to dinner tonight. I’ll ask your father’s permission. And on New Year’s Eve, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, we’ll get married. Sound like a plan?”

  “Sure,” she said, rather flippantly. “Why not?”

  Ring buying…was an experience. He kept selecting these gorgeous rings, loads of diamonds, lots of style, and all she kept wanting was something simple. So they began their first experiment in a lifetime of compromising. Her ring was a 1.3 carat Tiffany Etoile because she refused to let him buy her anything bigger. The style had a matching band so he purchased that, too.

  “What will you wear?” She asked while they stood in the flagship Tiffany’s.

  “A simple band.” She raised her eyebrows at his response. “I know. You see me pushing you toward something big, but it’s just because I want you to have everything you want. I want spoil the hell out of you.”

  “I don’t need much.” She shrugged.

  “Just tell me you need me,” he said seriously. He grabbed her hands. “Tell me…because I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  She stared at him. She looked at his hand holding hers. She pulled her hand away. “Would we be getting married if I wasn’t pregnant?”

  “I wanted to be with you. I have ever since the Hamptons. Would I have already asked you to marry me if you weren’t pregnant? I had already asked you to live with me. That’s practically the same thing. That’s the direction I was heading. But, if you are asking if the baby has sped up my master plan…of course it has. It should.” He pulled her closer to him. “I know what you’ve thought of me for so long. I deserve your mistrust. I just hope that you can see beyond that to know that I am a good man. Even when I did bad things, I was honest about my intentions. You have to know that.”

  She nodded quietly. Yet he knew that despite what she showed, she was still riddled with doubts. All he had was five days to make her believe.

  After lunch at his favorite diner, he saw how worn out she seemed. “Let’s go take a nap,” he said. “We’ll get some rest before we take your family out to dinner.”

  “Okay, no arguments here.” She smiled.

  Before they even made it home, she had fallen asleep in the seat. He worried. Was this normal? Was she working too hard? He made a quick phone call. “Doctor, good to speak to you again. Do you still make house calls? Excellent. Can you be at my loft in two hours? Perfect.”

  While she napped in what he was now thinking of as their bedroom, he paced around the living room. There had to be something he could do. There had to be some way he could lay all her doubts to rest. He started playing on the laptop. He brainstormed. Finally it came to him. Without a moment to waste, he went to work.

  The doctor arrived just as he had finished his little project. Adam glanced at the clock and realized he would have to wake her up anyway, since it was getting later. “Just give me a moment, unless you want to examine her in the bedroom?”

  The doctor shrugged. “Actually, it might be easier in there.” He followed Adam into the bedroom and stood off to the side while Cammie was woken up.

  “Doll, the doctor is here to examine you. Can you please wake up?” He kissed her forehead a few times and was rewarded with another one of her stretches.

  “Who’s here?” She asked sleepily. “Did you say something about a doctor?” Her eyes shot open. She made eye contact with the doctor, then with Adam, then with the doctor, and finally she spoke to Adam. “What the hell?”

  “Okay, you can’t fault me for being concerned. So, the doctor is going to check you out, take some blood, and get you going with some vitamins that might perk you up.” He looked around. “Do you want me to stay or go?”

  “GO,” she said angrily.

  “Do you always wake up this pleasant?” He asked jokingly. He ducked out of the room just in time to avoid being hit with a pillow.

  Half an hour later, he was pleased to see Cammie and the doctor walking out together, looking thick as thieves. “Is everything good?” He asked, concerned.

  “Yes. Iron and smaller more frequent meals along with napping as needed should help her through this first trimester nicely. I’ll see her again in four weeks.” He came over to share Adam’s hand.

  “And she’s able to travel?” He asked hopefully.

  “Sure. I see no reason she can’t. Enjoy the wedding. I’ll let myself out.” Then he walked out of the room headed toward the door.

  After she heard the door close, Cammie looked at Adam. “What possessed you to call a doctor for me?”

  “I was worried and it was the smart thing to do.” He sighed. “Can we talk for a minute? I know we have to leave soon to meet your parents. Before I beg your father to allow me to marry you, I need to make sure you are all in.”

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Adam. I have my reservations.” She frowned. “Now, as if having a relationship wasn’t hard enough, we’re starting off married with a family instead of dating?”

  “Relationships are challenging. We both know that. Let me show you what I made for you.” He opened the laptop and turned it on. There was a PowerPoint presentation loaded. “I know how much you focus o
n logic. Give me a chance to prove to you how logical it is to be with me.”

  The presentation started…graphs and charts about relationships and the benefits. There were loads of numbers to back up his claims. Then came the study that was most interesting. The amount of time people were together before they knew the person they were with was The One. Less than six weeks.

  “See,” he said leaning into her. “You already know. In your heart, you know.”

  Then the presentation moved away from numbers. It was a series of top ten lists. Top ten kisses…and theirs ranked number two, right behind the kiss made famous in The Notebook. The presentation ended with a clip from Ghost…the clay love scene.

  “Do you know why I included this?” He asked.

  She nodded and sniffled. Her eyes welled up with tears. “Stupid pregnancy hormones,” she complained.

  “I am your lump of clay to mold, doll. I just want to be part of your fifty year plan.”

  She hopped off the couch and grabbed his hand while she dragged him toward the bedroom. He dug in his heels for but a moment. “Putting up a fight already?” She asked playfully.

  “What are we doing?” He asked.

  “You said I could mold you. I have a lot of molding to do. No better time to start than the present.” She spoke in a seductive tone. “And there is at least one part of you that I want to mold right away.”

  “I am in such good hands.” He followed her into the room with a smile on his face.

  The next morning, Cammie woke Adam up at 7am. “Pinch me!” She shouted. He opened one eye, reached over, and pinched her upper arm. She squealed in delight. After hopping out of bed, she did a little dance before rushing to the bathroom.

  She had slowed considerably when she returned, but little had dampened her spirits. “I’m looking forward to this part passing,” she commented. Then she nudged him once more, “Get up! We have so much to do and so little time to do it in.”

  Heading to the shower, she rushed to get cleaned up and changed, only to find Adam just sitting up. “Where’s the fire?” He moaned.

  “Look!” She held out her left hand. “You asked my dad and he said ‘yes!’” She gave him a big clumsy hug.

  “I was more excited when you said ‘yes.’” He laughed. “It was the Demi Moore clip, right?”

  “Nah. It was all of it. It reminded me why I love you. It made me forget why I was scared. And I knew that I had to give this a try.” She shrugged.

  “A try?” He grabbed her and pulled her until she had rolled with him into bed. “I don’t know if we should start marriage on a try.” He smirked.

  Just as the morning was getting more interesting, the phone rang. “I suppose you have to get that?” She asked with a smile.

  “It’s Sam. You supposed right. He always has had the best timing.” He sighed and unplugged his phone from the charger on the nightstand. “So, what has you calling so early?” He listened for a moment. A huge smile broke out on his face. “Great. And when do you think you’ll be back? Okay, we’ll grab breakfast and wait for you.”

  After ending the call he beamed at Cammie. He shook his head a few times as though trying to clear his thoughts. Finally, she yelled, “Spit it out!”

  “We’re going to meet Sam and Haley for lunch. You ladies will go off and buy a wedding dress and anything else you need. I’ll wear whatever you pick out for me. Then we’ll meet up again later.” He waited for her reaction.

  “And what will you be doing?” She asked curiously.

  “Well, I have to get your apartment packed. And I have some last minute shopping to do. We leave day after tomorrow. Oh, and Sam and I are sending you and Haley to the spa tomorrow. Thought you might want massages and pedicures and all that jazz. I just want you to feel pretty and relaxed.” He held her close and kissed along her neck.

  She shook her head.

  “No kisses?” He asked concerned.

  “Oh, no the kisses are perfect. The headshake was because I can’t believe this is my life. Thank you. Thank you for making my life a dream.” She leaned into him and burrowed her face in his neck.

  He wanted to stay there in that moment forever. Unfortunately, he knew they had much to accomplish and he didn’t want to have to rush at all. He worried about wearing her out. So, he slowly pulled back and told her the one thing he had yet to tell her, the one thing she had yet to know. “Cammie, thank you. Thank you for challenging me. Thank you for loving me. Most of all…thank you for making all my dreams come true.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “How did I do that, wild man? From the outside, you looked like you were pretty set already.” Her hand caressed his jawline.

  “Ah, yes, but that’s because no one knows how lonely it is with no one to talk to, no one to laugh with, no one to dream with, no one to do things for. I need you. You came into my life at the perfect moment. And this baby is just further proof we should be together forever.” He kissed her lovingly and her body responded.

  “Hey, wait,” she said as she pulled back. “I thought that Sam and Haley were in Philly for the trial.”

  “The trial is over. The jury came back with a verdict late last night. Chase, the guy who attacked Haley, is going to go to jail for a very long time. The sentencing will be after we all get back from our honeymoons.” He looked at her in awe. “We have a honeymoon to plan! Where do you want to go?”

  “Some place warm and tropical. And would you mind if we went alone? I think we could use the couple time. We won’t be having any for much longer.” She smiled at him. “Gawd! I can’t believe we’re doing this? Who does this?” She shook her head.

  “We do,” he said simply.

  An hour later they were at her apartment with Neville and movers. She looked at Adam wide-eyed. “How the hell did you manage to pull this off?” She asked.

  He laughed. “Magic,” he said simply. “Now, just so we’re on the same page. You aren’t lifting and you aren’t packing.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “So what am I doing? Why am I here?” She asked.

  “You are here to point.” He took her by the hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

  In an hour, they had her entire place packed. It wasn’t difficult. She was already living a meager lifestyle. Everything she was keeping was brought back to the loft. Everything she was donating was delivered to Goodwill.

  “You’re giving to Goodwill?” He smiled. “Most people would have simply thrown that stuff out.”

  “I like giving to the less fortunate. I do it all the time.” She shrugged and walked away.

  Adam found himself doing something he had never had cause to do before. He marveled at his good fortune. He had been living a privileged life since birth, but it was only when Cammie became a part of that life that it felt rich and full.

  The rest of the day passed in a blur. For Cammie, it was broken up by naps, meals, and shopping. For Adam, it was scheduling and planning. He had never worked so hard in his life. At the same time, he had never found life more fulfilling. The passed out in bed from exhaustion at the end of the night.

  Cammie had taken one look at all the boxes and proclaimed they would still be there when she was ready to tackle them.

  “And just when do you suppose that will be?” Adam asked jokingly.

  “Well, according to the doctor…second trimester.” She leaned on Adam’s shoulder and her eyes gradually shut.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever take her beauty for granted, if he would ever stop being inspired by her drive and determination, or how he could possibly love her more than he did in this moment. He was ready for this. He would do everything he could to make sure she was, too.

  “Doll, time to get up,” he murmured in her ear. “You have to get ready for a day of pampering.”

  Stretching, she looked at him. “None of this seems real to me. Then I look at the ring or I puke and it all comes together.” She smiled.

  He laughed. “I’m glad you
can find the humor in that.” He walked around the bed. “So, massages?”

  Cammie frowned. “No massages until second trimester.”

  “That’s going to be a very busy time for you, isn’t it? The unpacking, the massaging…” He smirked.

  “Well, they do pair well.” She stood up and rushed to the bathroom.

  Minutes later, the toilet flushed and she returned. “Like clockwork.”

  “Let’s have a nice quiet night. We have to pack, but let’s order in. We’ll watch a movie, cuddle, whatever you want. I’ll rub your feet and massage your neck. Sound good?” He studied her with concern.