Then You Happened

by Sandi Lynn

  She moaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head. “You deal with it. I’m not getting out of this bed today,” she mumbled.

  “Nope. This is your project and you’re going to follow through with it and make it perfect!”

  She rolled over and opened her eyes. “Is that coffee?” she asked.

  “Yes. Freshly brewed just for you.” I handed her the cup as she sat up.

  “I’m sorry I threw up on you.”

  “Yeah, well, it was bound to happen at some point in our relationship.” I smiled. “Why don’t you go and take a hot shower and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  “Okay. Thanks for the coffee.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll have the aspirin waiting for you when you come down,” I said as I got up from the bed.

  “Hey.”

  “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to give me a kiss?” she pouted.

  “I am. As soon as you shower and brush your teeth.” I winked.

  She picked up the pillow and threw it at me as I walked out the door.

  ****

  Sierra

  I showered, brushed my teeth, and threw on a maxi dress. The shower didn’t help. I still had a bad taste in my mouth and my head was pounding. Shame on you, tequila. You failed me this time. I went downstairs and the smell of the pancakes cooking was almost as nauseating as Royce’s cologne. Rosa handed me two aspirin and a glass of juice.

  “Why? Why do you do this to yourself?” Rosa said.

  “Why? Why do you keep asking me that?” I replied.

  She mumbled something in Spanish like she always did, and she did it because she knew that was the one language I didn’t study in school.

  “If you have something to say, I’d prefer you say it in English!”

  She looked at me with her sinister smile. “Where’s the fun in that?”

  I rolled my eyes as I popped my aspirin and finished my juice.

  “The trucks are here, Sierra,” Sasha yelled from the foyer.

  Good God; why does everyone have to be so damn loud? “Come on, my little drunken minx. Let’s go decide where we’re going to set up.”

  “What did you just call me?”

  He smiled and walked out of the kitchen. I followed behind and walked outside to talk to the drivers about the set up.

  I had a vision. Creativity was my thing and I was about to unleash it with this wedding, regardless of what Luanne Cole thought of me. I directed the men on the set up of the beautiful, elegant white tents. Lights were strung throughout and a chandelier hung in the middle of the dance floor. Tables and chairs covered in white linens and light pink bows graced the tents with elegance. It was all starting to come together perfectly, after a bit of crazy from me.

  “Sierra, we need to start getting ready for the bachelor/bachelorette party.”

  “And where is that again?”

  “On the boat that Magnolia’s parents rented.”

  “Big boat or small?”

  “Big.” He chuckled. “I think you’ll like it. It has an upper deck and a lower deck. Can you believe it?”

  I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm. “Okay, I’m in.”

  I high-fived the drivers and told them they did an excellent job. I gave them a little cash on the side for putting up with my craziness.

  Cameron and I got ready and headed to the marina for the party.

  “No more than one or two glasses of tequila for you,” Cameron said.

  “Aw, you’re no fun! Besides, I drank enough last night for the next week.”

  As soon as we stepped on the boat, Luanne shot me a look.

  “Hi, Luanne. Do you like my Prada bag?” I smiled. Bitch wouldn’t know a Prada bag if it slapped her in the face.

  The party wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. There was plenty of alcohol (I only had two cups – yes, I said cups – of tequila) and there was plenty of food. Everyone mostly talked about the wedding and had a good time. I sat and watched Cameron talking and laughing with his brothers and realized how much his family meant to him. I saw Luanne talking to Magnolia and I asked her if I could speak to her for a moment. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do at that moment, but being Sierra Adams, I often didn’t wait for the right time.

  “What is it?” Luanne said.

  “What is your problem with me?”

  “I don’t have a problem with you, Sierra.”

  “Yes, you do, Luanne. Ever since you found out who I really am, you’ve been avoiding me like the plague, and I heard you and Cam talking upstairs yesterday. You said some pretty mean things.”

  “I just don’t think that you and my son are right for each other.”

  “Why? Because I run my own company? Well, guess what, Luanne, so does Cameron.”

  “Cameron isn’t like you and doesn’t belong in your world.”

  “Who are you to decide what world Cameron belongs in? I love him.”

  “I’ve googled you. I saw the photo of you attacking that man and I’ve seen the men you’ve been photographed with.”

  Here we go again. Damn that photographer who took that picture.

  “First of all, that was no man. He’s a cowardly boy who hurt me very deeply and I took three years of anger out on him. And, as for those other men, Cameron is more of a man than those men will ever be.”

  “What’s going on over here?” Cameron asked as he walked up and placed his hand on my shoulder.

  “Your mother is telling me how much she doesn’t care for me and I think she implied that I am a whore.”

  “Mom!” Cameron snapped.

  I put my hand up. “It’s okay. She doesn’t have to like me, but let me tell you something, Luanne Cole,” I said as I pointed my finger at her. “Your son is thirty years old and can make his own decisions. He fell in love with me. Yeah, that’s right; me! And if you don’t like it, that’s too damn bad because this high maintenance, corporate CEO, Prada-carrying, Chanel-wearing, and Jimmy-Choo-walking bitch isn’t going anywhere.”

  I stomped away and went below deck. Cameron followed. “Sierra, stop.”

  “Leave me alone, Cam.”

  He grabbed my arm and pulled me into him. “I love you and that’s all I’m saying.”

  The anger that had erupted inside me began to wither away the longer Cameron held me.

  “We need to talk about tonight,” Cameron said.

  “What about it?”

  “I’ll be spending the night at my parents’ house with my brothers. Are you coming to the church tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Nah. I think it’s best that I stay back at the house and make sure everything’s ready for the reception. Plus, your mom wouldn’t want me there anyway and I don’t want ruin her day.”

  “It’s not her day, Sierra. It’s Jaden’s day and I know he’d want you there. I want you there,” he said with a sadness in his voice.

  I brought my hand up to his face and softly stroked it. “I love you, Cameron.”

  “Does that mean you’ll come to the church?” He smiled.

  “No.” I laughed.

  The boat had docked, which meant the party was over. Thank you, God. Cameron said his goodbyes and I got off that boat as fast as I could and high-tailed it to the Escalade. Cameron followed behind and we drove back to the house so he could pack a bag.

  “I don’t want you to worry about my mom,” Cameron said as he softly kissed me goodbye.

  “I won’t anymore. I said what I had to say to her and, if she can’t accept me, then I’m over it.”

  “She’ll come around, Sierra. I promise. Just give her some time.”

  “She can take all the time she needs because I’ll be about three thousand miles away.”

  He took my hand and placed a folded piece of paper in it. “This is the address of the church, in case you change your mind,” he said as he kissed my forehead.

  “Thanks, but I don’t think so. Have fun with your brothers. I’ll miss you.”

 
“I’ll miss you too. Maybe we can have text sex.”

  “You mean sexting? You dork.” I laughed.

  “Same thing. I like my name for it better. I have to go. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I pouted as he walked down the driveway.

  Chapter 41

  Sierra

  I set the alarm to go off at six a.m. because the decorators and the florist were supposed to be here around eight. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and smiled when I saw six text messages from Cameron. Shit. I fell asleep on him last night during our sexting.

  “Hello?”

  “Sierra, why aren’t you replying?”

  “You can’t leave me like this, babe. Not fair.”

  “I bet you fell asleep or you’re passed out drunk.”

  “Babe?”

  “Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”

  I quickly sent him a message.

  “I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

  “I have blue balls.”

  I laughed out loud.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll massage them later.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise on my Prada.”

  “Church?”

  “No.”

  “Have to go. Mom made breakfast.”

  “I feel like we’re in high school.”

  “Yum. She made French toast with strawberries. Why don’t you ever make that?”

  “Do I cook? Why don’t you ask Rosa?”

  “I want you to make it.”

  “Silly boy.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Tell Luanne I said GOOD MORNING!”

  “Let’s not stir the pot.”

  “Bye, lover.”

  “Bye, babe.”

  I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs for some much-needed coffee. Kirsty and Sasha were still asleep and Rosa was making French toast.

  “Morning. Do we have any strawberries to go with that French toast?”

  “Yes. Would you like some?”

  “Yes, please.”

  I walked over to the refrigerator and noticed a can of whipped cream in the door. Perfect! I took it out and waited for Rosa to fix my French toast. As soon as she put two slices on a plate with the strawberries on top, I squirted some whip cream on them. I took my plate to the table, pulled out my phone, and took a picture.

  “Does your French toast have whip cream on it?”

  “Lol, no. I wish.”

  “MINE DOES!”

  I sent him the picture of my breakfast.

  “I officially hate you.”

  “Don’t hate me because I have whip cream.”

  “Lol. Gotta go, babe. Hide that whip cream in the back of the fridge for later.

  “Already thought of it.”

  Kirsty and Sasha came down just as the florist pulled in the driveway.

  “Do you need our help?” Kirsty asked.

  “No. You two enjoy your breakfast. Come outside when you’re done.”

  There were five trucks in the driveway and each one was filled with flowers arrangements, flowered trees, archways, and swags of magnolias to be hung from the top of the tent. Each table was elegantly decorated with a centerpiece made of magnolias and floating candles. The swags of magnolia and ivy were hung from the tent and woven with white lights. Damn. This was going to be beautiful tonight. As I was standing there, making sure everyone was doing their job, my phone beeped with a text message from Cameron.

  “Church?”

  I sighed.

  “No.”

  “What wrong?” Kirsty asked as she stood next to me.

  “Cameron wants me to come to the church and I don’t want to.”

  “Why wouldn’t you go?” she asked as she looped her arm around mine.

  “The main reason is Luanne, and the second reason is because I need to stay here and make sure everything goes smoothly. The caterers will be here and the DJ and, most importantly, the booze will be delivered. I need to make sure they sent plenty of bottles of tequila.”

  She laughed as she looked at me. Sasha and Rosa walked over to where we were standing and the four of us watched as a future was about to unfold.

  “You did good, Sierra,” Rosa said.

  “Yeah. I can’t believe you pulled this off in such a short period of time,” Sasha chimed in.

  I looked at her in disbelief. “Do you not work for me?” I asked.

  We all laughed and Kirsty and Sasha went back inside.

  “Rosa, Luanne doesn’t like me and she said that she doesn’t think Cameron and I are right for each other.”

  “Does it matter what she thinks?” Rosa asked.

  “No, but she is his mother and I’m sure it bothers him.”

  “Why wouldn’t she like you?”

  “Because of my lifestyle. She said that Cameron doesn’t belong in my world.”

  “Since when do you care what other people think?”

  “Yeah, since when does Sierra Adams care?” James said as he sat down next to me.

  “It’s just—”

  “It’s just nothing. She doesn’t know you. She hasn’t bothered to get to know you since you’ve been here because she’s full of judgment. Let her judge. If she can’t see how happy you make Cameron, then that’s her problem, not yours.” James smiled as he took hold of my hand. “You’re Sierra Adams and you’re an amazing woman. Any person who has an ounce of a brain can see that from a mile away. Screw her, Sierra. You and Cam are starting a life together, and when I say together, I mean the two of you doing things together and respecting what the other wants.”

  I look at him and cocked my head. “Are you referring to the church?”

  “Yes. Cameron wants you there. He wants you to be a part of his brother’s wedding. You sitting there and watching his brother marry the love of his life means something to him and for you not to attend because of Luanne is just ridiculous. The two of you are a couple now. What you do affects both of you.”

  “Screw Luanne,” Rosa said. “You walk into that church and you show Builder Boy that you’re there for him and nobody’s going to stop you.”

  “You know that Kirsty, Sasha, and especially Rosa will be here to oversee things while you’re at the wedding,” James said. “Now go get ready. Put on that Vera Wang dress of yours and those Jimmy Choos and show Cameron how much you love him. I’ll drive you.”

  I put my arm around both of them and gave them each a hug. “You two are getting a raise when we get back,” I said as I kissed them on their cheeks.

  “You keep saying that, but I have yet to see it.” James smiled.

  ****

  Cameron

  Jaden was literally shaking as we stood in the waiting room at the church. My mom walked in and straightened his bow tie and then walked over to me and straightened mine, even though it was already straight.

  “I need to talk to you for a moment,” I said to her.

  “About what, dear?”

  “Sierra.”

  “She’s off topic right now. I have other things to think about.”

  “I don’t care what you have to think about. The way you treated her was extremely rude. You don’t even know her. You only know what you saw on the internet.”

  “I’m not doing this right now, Cameron.”

  “Well, I am and you’re going to listen to me. I love that girl with all my heart. I’ve never been this happy before and for you to try to ruin that for me by telling her that we’re not right for each other really sucks, Mom.”

  “Cameron!” she exclaimed.

  “Now, if you want things to be bad between us when I leave for California, then so be it. You’re my mom and I love you, but I will not let you treat my girlfriend that way. I am thirty years old. Don’t you think it’s time that I deserve to be in love?”

  “You need to get to the altar. The wedding is going to start soon. We’ll talk about this later,” she said as she left the room.

>   I shook my head and Jaden put his hand on my shoulder. “Ignore her, Cam. She’s just upset because you’re moving away. Now come on; I have a woman to marry.” He smiled.

  We walked through the back and took our places at the altar. I looked out into the crowded church with the hopes that Sierra had changed her mind about coming. But I didn’t see her. The bridesmaids began to line up and the wedding was about to start when the side door to the church opened and Sierra walked in. A huge smile splayed across my face when I saw her. She looked at me, flashed her beautiful smile, and made everyone in the row behind my parents move down so she could squeeze in. That was my girl.

  After the ceremony ended, I met Sierra out in the waiting area of the church and gave her a big kiss. “Thank you for coming. You look gorgeous.”

  “Thank you. You look good enough to eat; with a dab of whip cream, of course.” I winked.

  “Why did you change your mind?”

  “I wanted to be here for you because I love you and it wasn’t fair of me to put that aside and not attend because of what people think of me.”

  “I can’t wait to get back to California with you,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her.

  “You and me both. I think I’ve had enough of your hometown for a while.” She smiled.

  “I have to go. I’m being summoned for pictures. I’ll see you back at the house,” I said as I kissed her goodbye.

  Chapter 42

  Sierra

  As soon as I got back to the house, I walked around and inspected every nook and cranny of the back to make sure everything was perfect for Magnolia and Jaden. I walked over to the bar area and introduced myself to the bartender.

  “You have plenty of tequila, right?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good, and when you see me, make sure you have a double ready and waiting.” I winked.

  Everyone started to arrive and cocktails were being served. Finally, the wedding party arrived, and when I walked over to Magnolia and Jaden to congratulate them, she began to cry.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “This. This. This is all so beautiful. It’s like a dream. I will never be able to thank you enough.”

  “You’re welcome and no tears. You’ll smear your makeup, and there’s nothing worse than a bride with smeared makeup.”