by Sage Parker
When Cameron was done with his speech, he nodded at everyone and sat down, telling them to enjoy their cake and not to forget a drink to go along with it.
Jaymee scooted her chair slightly closer to his and leaned against his shoulder. He patted her head and kissed her forehead. “How are you feeling, darling?”
“I feel fine,” Jaymee replied. “I’m so glad you gave that speech. You really are amazing, you know that?”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He flashed her a white grin. “Okay. I am. Amazing. Simply amazing at opening my mouth and letting all the hot air come out.” He chuckled.
She shook her head, pulling back to look directly at him. “That was hot air?”
Cameron gave her a solemn look. “None of it was. It was just a joke.”
“I’ve decided what else I want to do with the money we got, Cameron,” Jaymee said, shuffling to be even closer to him.
“And what would that be? Aside from the most lavish and luxurious wedding known to mankind?”
Jaymee laughed. “No, no. We’re still doing the small thing here. I don’t want big lavish, luxurious wedding stuff.”
“I know. What do you want to use it for? Tell me before I die of anticipation.”
“I want to buy a hot air balloon.”
She had stunned Cameron. She could tell by the look on his face.
“What?”
She laughed. “You heard me. It’s not that much of a deal, really. It’s expensive but I can afford it, can’t I? I’m leaving most of the money in John’s care so it will keep growing in value. But I want to do something fun so I think I’ll buy a hot air balloon. Maybe let people take rides in it for money or something. But I’ve always wanted to go up in one.”
Cameron looked thoughtful, his eyes straying to the half-eaten cake on his plate. “I don’t know if I could do that.”
Jaymee gazed at him. “Are you afraid of heights?” she asked in amazement. She didn’t think Cameron was afraid of anything.
“I think going up in a hot air balloon would tell me whether I am or not. And I don’t know if I want to find out that way, what with you being there and all to hear me scream like a little girl and beg to go down.”
Jaymee laughed heartily, shaking her head. “You’re such a nut, Cam. I can’t see you doing that at all.”
“Oh no?” He grinned wider at her. “You’d be surprised at the level of cowardice I might show when suspended 8000 feet in the air.”
“Do they go up that high?” Jaymee raised her eyebrows.
Cameron shrugged. “I have no idea. I just came up with a number. But if that’s one of the things you want to do, my love, it’s your money and I’ll support you. I just don’t know if I’ll get in one with you.”
“Aww, you’d do it for me. You’re such a doll. I love you!”
“I love you, too.”
TEN
Epilogue
Three years had passed since the events that brought Cameron and Jaymee together. They had expanded the PI business and Jaymee had indeed bought her hot air balloon business. Jaymee vowed when she bought it that someday she would take him up in a balloon to see if he was afraid of heights.
In two and a half years, she had yet to succeed.
The motel room they were staying in was smaller than she was used to. She’d become accustomed to staying in seedier places with Cameron because it often led to clues in the right direction for whatever case they were on. They’d taken on quite a few financial scandal cases because it was that kind of case that brought them together.
Jaymee had suggested they stay away from cases involving children if they could. She wasn’t sure how she would handle knowing even more of the frightful things that were happening to children. They hadn’t had anyone approach them to work on a case like that so far. If one came along, Jaymee would likely at least try to help the family. But she wasn’t going to go looking for them and asked Cameron not to, either. She would get emotionally involved and, as she liked to say, she might end up killing someone who had hurt a child.
She opened the top drawer and pulled out the clothes that were stored in there. They’d been in the low-cost hotel for nearly ten days now and the case they were working on was about to wrap up. They almost had all the evidence they needed to put their suspect behind bars.
Cameron came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Hello, wife,” he said, leaning to kiss her. She kissed him back and patted him on his bare chest.
“Hello, husband. You’re running behind, you know. We’ve got to get to the airport in an hour to check in for the flight home.”
“I know. I’ve got time though. I don’t have to spend a couple hours in front of the mirror doing makeup and hair.”
Jaymee raised her eyebrows at him. “Are you trying to say something?”
He gave her an innocent look. “Like what? I didn’t say you did that. I was just mentioning that I don’t.”
She sneered playfully at him. “Just get dressed. It’s a long drive to the airport.”
“Half hour. That gives me a half hour to get dressed and you know how long that will take me? Five minutes. Pull a brush through my hair and I’m good to go.”
Jaymee was impressed with her husband still. He was handsome and strong and muscular. He had a quick smile and an easy temperament.
“Well, go do that then!” She urged him with a pat on the butt. He reacted as if she’d struck him hard, scooting away from her, laughing.
“Okay, okay!”
Jaymee watched as he dressed, thinking how much she loved him. Her life had completely changed from three years ago. And from every year that preceded that one. She was happy now, active, doing something that made her proud of herself.
“Once we get back to Grand Bay, are we going straight to the detectives with this evidence? Or do you think we should gather more?”
“I think we’ve got enough. But we’ll let them decide that. If they think we are good to go, we’ll let them have it. They might ask us to bring them more though.”
“Do you have an idea where we’d look for that?”
Just as he’d predicted, Cameron was ready in a flash. He moved to the small table in the corner that held an instant one cup coffee maker and prepared it to make one of the pods. He dropped the pod in the container, closed it and pressed the on button. They both watched as the coffee filled the cup.
“You want one of these, too?” he asked, pulling the cup out of the space when it was done.
“Yeah, I guess I could use some more caffeine. I got enough sleep but… I don’t know, I’m still tired.”
“Cheyenne is going to be happy to have you back. She’s doing really well since she moved back home with you.”
“She’s anxious for her wedding.”
Jaymee was pleased her daughter and Alex were to be married in the near future. They’d decided on a day in the middle of spring, right around the time of Jaymee and Cameron’s wedding. That way they could celebrate them together and separately.
Cameron made her a cup of coffee and brought it over to her. “See? We still have twenty minutes before we even have to leave. What do you want to do to fill that time?”
“We could always leave early and get to the airport before we need to check in.”
Cameron gave her a sullen look. “That’s not what I want to do.”
Jaymee flushed and shook her head, a mischievous grin on her face.
“No, no. No time for that. I just got dressed. So did you.”
Cameron laughed. “I wasn’t talking about that. But I’m always game if you are. No, I was talking about something else. Something you and I like to do to fill time whenever we can.”
Jaymee knew what he was talking about. The day they were married, they discovered they were very good dance partners. Since then, they’d taken every chance they could to dance, even just for a little while, held in each other’s arms, enjoying
each other completely.
Jaymee turned around and set her coffee cup on the counter behind her where the tv and small refrigerator were. Cameron did the same. He pulled out his phone and put it on a music station they both enjoyed.
He held his arms up in the air. “Would you care to dance, my love?”
Jaymee smiled lovingly. “I would very much like to dance.” She moved into his arms and immediately sighed with contentment.
They moved around the room slowly, Jaymee’s cheek pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Dancing slow like this was something she had never done with Doug. The one and only time they danced together was at their wedding reception. Doug was not light on his feet and had no grace about him. Cameron was the complete opposite.
When she grew tired, Jaymee would often stand on his feet and he would move them around the room. He made her feel more secure and more loved than she’d ever felt in her life.
Even after all that time, Jaymee was aware that the events that had brought her and Cameron together would forever haunt her. She’d spent 22 years with a cold man that she found out she’d known very little about. His secrets exposed and Doug himself taken from the earth, Jaymee had been freed from a prison she didn’t even know she was living in.
Looking back, she knew there were plenty of signs and reasons for her to leave Doug before he was killed. Despite the incredible amount of money he’d left her, Jaymee could never get over the fact that he’d lied so easily and successfully for so long. He’d been blackmailing his victims for a lot longer than she’d originally thought.
If it wasn’t for Cameron, she knew she wouldn’t be nearly as happy. She and Cheyenne would have still gotten the money but since she and Cameron were successful in putting the clues together, they were the ones who found out he was dead.
Without Cameron, Jaymee knew her life wouldn’t be complete. She would have been lost and lonely. Cheyenne wouldn’t have met Alex. She would have continued to work for a law firm that worked with criminals.
So much would have been different if not for her beloved husband.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly and squeezed.
“I love you so much, Cameron. You just don’t even know.”
Cameron chuckled. “I do know. And I think I probably love you more.”
“Oh no you don’t. I love you mostest.”
“I love you to infinity and that’s the most so you can’t top that.”
Jaymee laughed and squeezed him again. The song ended and the two stopped moving, though they remained in each other’s arms. Jaymee pulled back and looked up at him. His eyes were shining. She could tell he was thinking as emotionally as she was.
“You and me are perfect together,” he said.
“Yes. We are. There’s no doubt about it.”
“We make an awesome couple.”
Jaymee giggled. “Yes. We do.”
“No one can top us. The Smith Investigating Agency is on the job. We are the best!”
Jaymee laughed when he threw his hands up and cried out in joy. He brought his arm down in front of his face and looked at his watch.
“We’re about to be the best latest agency in the world. Let’s go, hon!”
Jaymee laughed warmly as she followed him out the door.
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BOOKS BY SAGE PARKER
SALTWATER SECRETS SERIES
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
SISTERS OF SNOW PINES SERIES
Part 1 | Lakehouse Beginnings
Part 2 | Lakehouse Secrets
Part 3 | Lakehouse Nights
Part 4 | Lakehouse Christmas
Part 5 | Lakehouse Affairs
Part 6 | Lakehouse Weddings
WHISPERING SPRINGS SERIES
Part 1 | Fool For You
Part 2 | Chasing You
Part 3 | There For You
Part 4 | Forgiving You
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NOTE FROM SAGE PARKER
Hi lovelies.
I love writing sweet and clean contemporary romance novels. I was born and raised in a small town in South Carolina, but you can almost always find me at the beach…usually reading a book. I hope my writing brings joy and inspiration to everyone that uses their precious time to read my stories.
Thanks for stopping by!
Stay safe and happy x
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