Chapter 34
Melanie
The wedding ceremony had been more beautiful than Melanie ever imagined, even if it all felt like a blur. Melanie had tried to imprint every detail into her brain so she never forgot what it felt like to marry Cameron West. From watching Cameron walk down the aisle with her mom to their handwritten vows to their first married kiss, Melanie treasured each moment in her heart.
After the ceremony, they had headed back into the limo to be driven to the reception. Melanie had been thankful they were alone on that ride as there was an insane amount of kissing involved. There had also been a fair amount of teasing when Cameron had slipped her hand down Melanie’s pants. Had the ride to the country club been longer, it would have made for an eventful trip.
At the reception, Melanie and Cameron had danced their first dance, cut the cake, and mingled with all their friends and family. Melanie was thankful that Mia and her nieces had come to the wedding. She loved knowing they would still be in her life even post-divorce. Although Rob wasn’t invited to the wedding,she had told him about it. Mostly so she could still be the bigger person post-divorce.
Melanie had heard through Mia that Rob and Janet had moved to Augusta. He had apparently gotten a new job, and Melanie was secretly thankful she didn’t have to run into him accidentally anymore. Even though it had been a year since the run in at the hospital, Melanie still remembered the blindsided feeling. It was why she didn’t want Rob to be blindsided by her wedding. If only the common courtesy went both ways, they might have been able to remain friends.
But none of that really mattered now. They had both moved on with their lives and Melanie was happier than ever. Not only were she and Cameron officially married now, Melanie’s adoption of Jonah and Dylan was also set to be finalized the next week. Blaire had arranged everything and Melanie couldn’t wait for the kids to officially be hers, too.
Since getting engaged, she and Cameron had talked about fostering a baby and possibly adopting. And with Cameron’s foster certificate approved, Melanie wondered if they would ever use it. She felt selfish for wanting to raise a baby with Cameron when they already had two teenagers. But the idea wouldn’t leave Melanie’s mind. Melanie hoped that when the right moment and child arrived that they would be ready.
Of course, Melanie still had the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that they would never find a child she connected with. Even after fostering several children before, Melanie never felt a motherly connection to them. Not the way she saw time and time again at work when moms met their babies for the first time. It was a magical moment and Melanie always admired it when it happened. And that little part in the back of her mind wondered if she’d ever get that moment. She’d seen it happen with adopted parents before when they met their child for the first time they just knew it was their baby.
If it was meant to be, Melanie knew the right baby would find her and Cameron.
As for now, they were solely focused on enjoying the sun and sand at their all-inclusive resort in Mexico. They had visited the resort a few months ago as a belated Christmas gift and knew instantly they would be back for their honeymoon. Their plane had barely landed before they were calling their travel agent to book another trip.
“Mama! Look!” Jonah ran up the beach with a conch shell in his hand and Dylan trailing behind him. “Isn’t it cool?”
“Totally!” Melanie matched his tone as she examined the shell.
It had been a mutual decision between them to bring the kids with them on their honeymoon. Melanie knew that most couples might not want to leave the bedroom after getting married, but they both knew there was more to their relationship than sex. Their relationship with Jonah and Dylan mattered as much as their own relationship. The best way they knew to continue to foster the closeness the four of them shared was to celebrate the wedding together on a family-moon.
Their travel agent had booked them a large family suite with two full bedrooms, allowing the kids their own space away from Cameron and Melanie. The kids had loved all the activities the resort offered while Melanie and Cameron enjoyed knowing the kids were safe as they went off and did their own thing during the day. Jonah had loved getting to play soccer or volleyball with the other resort guests while Dylan had taken nearly every cooking and dance class offered. Melanie loved the spa, as did Cameron. They joked they needed to schedule monthly trips to the resort just to have a spa refresh day.
“Can I keep it?” Jonah asked, taking the shell back.
“Sure. Just make sure nothing is living inside of it first.”
As Jonah and Dylan headed back down to the water, Cameron rolled over onto her stomach. The two had been alternating between putting the umbrella up and keeping it down. It was currently up, but Melanie could feel the sun starting to burn her skin.
“You okay if I put the umbrella back up?”
“What time is it?”
Melanie checked her phone in the beach bag. “Three thirty.”
“We’ve been out here all day. We should probably head inside.”
“But it feels so nice out here,” Melanie pouted.
“Yeah, but I know what would make you feel betterinside.”
“Oh, really now?”
“I mean, itisour honeymoon, after all.”
“What do we tell the kids?”
“That Mom and Mama need somealonetime?”
“Works for me,” Melanie laughed. “But first, I want to take one more dip in the ocean before you make me leave tomorrow.”
“I told you we should quit our jobs.”
