Page 66 of Brazen Being It

I catch myself thinking that maybe this is what we’ve been fighting for all along. Not power, not reputation. Just a night like this, where everyone’s safe, everyone’s fed, everyone’s got someone who loves them.

Cambria curls up next to me on the bench, her head on my shoulder, my arm draped over her waist. She fits there perfectly, like she was always meant to.

“You ever think about what your life would’ve been like if we never met in that parking lot?” she asks, voice a secret between us and the dusk.

“All the time,” I admit.

“What do you see?”

I turn my head, kiss her temple. “Nothing. I see nothin’ ‘cause none of it would’ve mattered.”

She pulls my hand to her lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. There’s a fragility in her smile, something I know she’s still learning to let go of. “I used to think I wasn’t allowed to want more. That wantin’ it was greedy.”

“Baby, you deserve the whole damn world.”

She laughs, and it’s shy, a sound that breaks me open every time. “Then ask me.”

My stomach knots, just like it did the first time I saw her, hesitant, but still hopeful. “You heard that?”

She nods. “Back at the trailer. Before Toon left. You said you wanted to make it real at the barbecue.”

“Planned to ask you at this barbecue. Didn’t think you’d beat me to it.”

“Well, I’m askin’ now.”

For a second, the whole world goes still. My hand slips into my cut, fingers closing around the little velvet box I’ve carried for three months—waiting, never quite brave enough to pull the trigger. Her eyes go wide as I open it, moonlight catching on the twisted gold band and single black diamond.

I clear my throat, heart pounding. “You’ve already ridden out a lifetime of pain with me. I want to spend the rest of our days giving you the ride of your life. I want to feel you hold tight to me as we make all our dreams come true. You ready to make it real?” My voice shakes, but my eyes dance with love. “You ready to take my last name?”

She nods, tears shining. “Hell yes.”

I slide the ring onto her finger, and the entire yard erupts—cheers, whistles, catcalls. Toon shouts loudest, “Finally, he put a ring on it. She’s been his wife a damn year with no ring!” Which is funny because none of them know it was all a ruse to make sure she was accepted in my world no matter the outcome between us in the beginning.

My mom’s voice drifts across the fire, gentle but eager, “Does this mean we can have a wedding celebration?”

“If that’s what Cambria wants,” I say, my heart thudding in my chest, not giving away the real truth: that our “wedding” was never real, and they didn’t miss a damn thing except a lie.

Cambria nods, all smiles and watery eyes.

“We’re havin’ a wedding!” I tell my mom, and the cheer that follows rattles the night.

Cambria laughs through her tears and climbs into my lap, kissing me so hard my heart forgets how to beat right. I hold her close, the ring warm between us, her breath sweet with lemonade and hope.

Later, after the food’s mostly gone and the fire’s nothing but embers, Cambria’s with Yesnia and Laura by the pond, no doubt laughing and crying about centerpieces and cake flavors and all the details I’ll never understand. I sit on the porch with Toon, passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth. The night is thick, full of crickets and distant laughter and memories I never want to lose.

“You happy?” Toon asks quietly, his gaze fixed on the shadows moving in the grass.

I don’t even have to think. “Yeah. I am.”

He studies me, then nods, satisfied. “You earned it.”

“Not sure I did.”

He turns, serious now, the lines in his face softened by the glow from the kitchen window. “You stood by her. You fought for her. You brought your shit to the club, manned up when it counted. Don’t ever question if you earned it.”

I nod, throat tight, words stuck in my chest.

“You good here? For real?” I ask, shifting the subject back to him. I can’t stand the thought of Toon drifting, lost, not knowing where he belongs.

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