Chapter Text
December 2009
“I’ve seen many a shit-eating grin in my day, big bro, but that one definitely takes the cake,” Scott declared as he reached around his brother Chris to grab a muffin from the basket on the kitchen counter. “What have you got up your sleeve?”
“Besides my arm?” Chris drawled as he buttered his bagel. “I’m thinking of taking my lady love out for a great night on the town. Dinner, theatre, dancing…room service…,” he winked at his brother.
“Ah ha, planning for the Big Night, huh?” Scott shot Chris a knowing grin. There were no secrets between the brothers – or between Scott and Chris’ girlfriend, Cameron, for that matter – so he knew that the “Big Night” translated to Cameron’s “First Time” and Chris appeared ready to pull out all the stops.
“It’s gotta be special,” Chris said as he bit into his bagel. He chewed for a few moments, a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s gotta be really, really memorable.”
“Don’t strain yourself, bro. She’s going to be with you, her knight in shining armor, the man of her dreams, the love of her life, blah, blah, blah, so anywhere it happens is going to be special and memorable…unless it’s in the backseat of an ’89 Buick, then maybe not so much.”
Chris fought to keep from spewing his next mouthful of bagel at Scott’s words. “An ’89 Buick, Scott? Seriously? Where do you come up with this stuff? Or, oh God, are you speaking from experience?”
Scott cheerfully flipped Chris the bird. “What you were thinking sounds great and all, bro, but don’t you think the poor kid will be worn out by the time you get to the hotel?”
“I…hadn’t really thought of that. Yeah, now that I’m looking at it from your perspective, it might be a bit much. So either dinner and the theatre or dinner and dancing…and then the hotel.”
“Well, let’s start this way. What hotel were you thinking of?”
“A suite at the Boston Harbor Hotel,” Chris answered.
“Oooh, swanky. Nice choice. I know they do some nice stuff for the holidays at their restaurants so that’s a good choice for dinner too. Might be a good idea to just have dinner at the hotel and do all the dancing you want up in the suite.” Scott waggled his eyebrows. Chris laughed. “Oh, yeah, they do this cool winter ice skating thing too. Instead of dancing, you guys could do that instead. That would be a fun, romantic thing to do. Then you guys could give each other massages afterwards and…” he trailed off with a grin. “Uh, she does know how to skate, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah,” Chris said with a laugh, “I’ve been skating with her, Josh, and Gia and some of the Kennedy cousins at Rockefeller Center. She’s pretty good. Apparently they have a pond on their property back in Dublin that they use as a rink when they spend Christmases there. She’s been skating since she was a kid.”
“Huh. Then maybe that might be too ordinary for the Big Night,” Scott murmured.
“No, no, actually, I like the idea. We’ve never been skating alone together. It’s gonna be in the couple of days before Christmas so the place will be beautifully decorated and the whole atmosphere will just be…sweet. Scott, I’m gonna make the reservations right now. Thanks for your help, little bro.”
Scott gave a bow. “Always happy to be of assistance.” He watched as Chris walked out of the kitchen to head to his room to make the reservations. He hoped there was a room available. It was close to Christmas; the hotel might already be fully booked. Scott mentally crossed his fingers then started thinking of other ideas to suggest to Chris if the Boston Harbor Hotel fell through. Ten minutes later, just as Scott was finishing his muffin, Chris bounded back into the kitchen, a big smile on his face. “Were you able to book a suite, Chris?”
“Yep, it was one of the last ones left and it’s pretty pricey but it’s a really gorgeous room and I think Cam will love it. I booked it for the Tuesday and Wednesday before Christmas. We’ll be back here on Thursday, Christmas Eve morning.”
“Two nights?” Scott asked.
“Yeah, I mean, this may be the only time we get any real privacy. Not for nothing, Scott, but it would be a little awkward making love to Cameron under my mother’s roof.”
“Carly and her husband live here and they have a kid. How do you think that happened, hmm?” Scott asked drily.
Chris sighed. “Point taken. But, everything is still so new between Cam and me as a couple so…,” he trailed off.
“I hear you, bro. You guys are gonna have a wonderful time.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait.” The words had no sooner left his mouth than they heard the front door open and close. Cameron had offered to make dinner for the family that evening so she and Lisa had gone food shopping. A moment later, the two women, still pink cheeked from the cold, walked into the kitchen, laughing over some shared joke.
“Hey, boys,” Lisa greeted her sons, “were you able to fend for yourselves while the womenfolk were out?”
Cameron snickered as she set her packages down on the counter then squeaked loudly as she was ambushed from behind by an amorous Chris. “Hi, sweetheart,” he said softly as he moved her hair aside and kissed the side of her neck just above the collar of her sweater. She turned her head and met his lips with hers. “Hello, a ghra. Miss me?”
“Always,” Chris replied as he kissed her again. He wrapped his arms around her waist then looked over all the bags on the counter. “Looks like you plan to feed an army, babe.”
“Have you looked around your dining room table recently, love?” she countered, her Irish brogue still audible. Chris smiled; he’d been worried she’d lose the brogue after she’d been around his family for a couple of days but it was still there and he never tired of hearing it.
“Have you ever noticed just how much food the men in this family put away at any given meal?” Lisa asked with a laugh. “Cameron totally had the right idea. Although,” she said with a glance at Cam, “she could have let me pay for some of the food.”
“No, she couldn’t,” Cam answered cheekily. “I cook, I pay. And that’s that.”
“Don’t strain yourself, Ma,” Chris said as he gave Cam a squeeze. “As formidable as you are, Cameron is worse. You won’t win.” He pressed a kiss to Cam’s cheek.
“I’m beginning to see that,” Lisa said with a fond look at her future daughter-in-law. “That talent must come in handy, given your profession, Cam.”
“That it does, Mama,” Cam replied as she wriggled out of Chris’ embrace and started unpacking the bags on the counter. “I’ve played with a lot of chauvinistic conductors, composers, and first chairs over the years, so I had to learn at an early age how to hold my own and not back down. I have become rather good at it, if I do say so myself.”
“The classical music world is an old boy’s network?” Scott said with a sarcastic smirk. “Imagine that. Must have driven them crazy the first time this gorgeous young upstart prodigy sashayed her way onto their stage and blew them out of the water with her considerable skills.”
Cam chuckled. “Something like that.”
Chris sat down on the stool closest to where Cam was unpacking groceries and simply watched her as she interacted with his mom and brother. She’d been welcomed as part of the family from the first moment she’d stepped into the Evans home three years ago. She’d spent part of 2006 in the recording studio, working on a classical album as well as a pop music album and putting in work as musician, singer, and producer on Josh Groban’s first Christmas CD. The other part was spent filming her first movie and composing the score for that film. Her father, Liam, who was also her manager, suggested she finish up the year by doing a quick six-city tour for the holidays, the proceeds of which would benefit some of her favorite charities, such as her beloved Josh’s own charitable foundation. She agreed and chose to perform in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago, making Boston and New York her last two stops. When she told Chris about her plans to do two shows in Boston, he practically begged her to come stay with him and his family for a couple of days. Since the other shows, except Boston and New York, were one night only, she realized she could spare some time before the three night engagement at Lincoln Center so she agreed to spend a few days in Sudbury as long as Chris promised to get her to the concert venue on time on both performance nights. “Piece of cake,” he’d said, thrilled that she’d agreed to stay over.
“You’ll have to make room for me da, though. He’s traveling with me. Will your mam have an issue with that?”
“No, no, of course not. She’d love to meet your dad.”
“Well, it’s a good thing Da likes you, Christopher, otherwise this little plan would never fly. The only other boy’s house I’ve ever been allowed to stay at is Groban’s place in L.A. and that’s only because Da met his folks just a couple of days after I met Josh.”
“Your dad likes me?” Chris had asked, even more thrilled with this news.
“Aye,” Cam had said with a laugh, “although I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why.”
On the day of Cameron’s arrival in Boston, Chris had insisted his mom take the day off from work and make the trip to Logan International Airport with him. He wanted Liam Kennedy to see that he was totally on the up and up when it came to Cameron, for whom he’d already developed deep feelings. He didn’t want to do anything that would make Liam dislike him. While Chris and Lisa waited on the tarmac outside of the private hangar Cameron had rented to house her plane, she could see how nervous Chris was. Cameron was beginning to mean a lot more to him than just a best friend, and he desperately wanted to impress her and her father during this trip. Lisa couldn’t wait to meet the young woman who’d captured her son’s attention even while he was still dating Jessica. Chris would never cheat on his girlfriends so it was a bit of a surprise when, one evening in February, Chris bared his soul to his mom and told her that even though he was still with Jess, the young violinist who had become his new best friend was truly his “perfect woman.”
“Chris, you’re treading dangerous waters here,” Lisa had said. “You’re with Jessica but you’re harboring feelings for another girl? That could really bite you in the butt, not to mention make things turn nasty if Jess finds out.” That was when he floored his mom by telling her that he knew Jess had already cheated on him at least once. Their relationship had been winding down little by little even before he’d met Cameron.
“It’s just a matter of time before Jess and I go our separate ways, Ma. The writing’s been on the wall for a while now but I don’t know if either of us really knows how to pull the plug. But even when I’m free, Cam isn’t going to start dating me right away. She’s going to think she’s a rebound, which she’s not, but try telling her that. She’s stubborn, my Cameron, but that’s part of her charm.” Lisa had shaken her head. Everything Chris said about Cameron made her sound pretty amazing and whether the girl knew it or not, she had Chris firmly wrapped around her finger.
They’d watched as Cam’s jet made its final approach to the private runway at Logan. Minutes later, the plane taxied to a stop in front of the hangar and the stairs were pushed against the cabin door. Cameron popped out the moment the door was opened and bounded down the steps. Chris had already started forward and the two greeted each other with a tight hug and a noisy kiss on the lips. Lisa slowly walked towards the young friends, watching as they talked up a storm, their arms still around each other. She looked up towards the plane and saw a man in his mid-forties come down the steps, a briefcase and a violin case in his hands. She detoured away from Chris and Cameron and stepped forward, her hand outstretched, to greet the man who was obviously Cam’s father. Lisa could see from whom Cameron had inherited her famous clear gray eyes.
Liam had smiled jovially at Lisa and given her hand a hearty shake. “You must be Mrs. Evans, Chris’ mam. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Liam Kennedy. May I say that’s a fine young man you’ve raised there. We Kennedys have had a soft spot for the boy from the first minute we met him. And he’s got quite the soft spot for my girl, he does.”
Lisa’s mouth had dropped open at that revelation. “First off, it’s great to meet you, too, Mr. Kennedy. Chris has told us a lot about your family. Second, Cameron knows Chris is sweet on her?”
Liam gave a booming laugh, very reminiscent of Chris’ own boisterous laughter. “My girl’s a genius, in case you didn’t already know, Mrs. Evans. Nothing gets past her! But nothing will come of it just yet. Both of our children have too many mountains yet to climb, career-wise. But I reckon someday in the not too distant future, you and I will be discussing wedding plans, shared holidays, and grandchildren! Ah, here they come now.”
Chris introduced his mother to Cameron then greeted Liam with a handshake and a hug. Lisa didn’t hesitate to greet Cameron with a hug of her own, much to the girl’s surprise and delight. The rest, as they say, was history. The Evans clan made Cameron and Liam part of their extended family during that trip, and Liam invited Lisa and her children down to New York to spend Easter with the Kennedys. Both Chris and Cameron were relieved that their people got on so well.
And now, three years later, Chris and Cameron were finally together and both of their families couldn’t be happier for them. He smiled as he watched Cam toss an apple at Scott and cheer wildly when he caught it with one hand. Cameron was as much a member of his family as he was and she didn’t even carry his name…yet. He was still smiling when Cameron turned to him, her eyebrow arched high. “Oy, Evans, feel free to join in and put some groceries away. God knows you’ll be helping yourself to much of it tonight at dinner.”
Chris hopped off his stool and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Yes, ma’am!”
December 22nd dawned bright and beautiful. Chris was up unusually early that morning. Cameron refused to let him sleep past nine; she’d taken to sneaking into his room and leaping up on his bed where she’d do a manic little jive to wake him up. Chris didn’t mind; he was just disappointed that she was always fully dressed when she did it. He wouldn’t have minded being awakened by a warm, still sleepy Cameron in flannel pajama pants and one of the t-shirts she openly swiped from his dresser drawer the first day of her visit. Instead, she was usually in jeans and a sweater, having gotten up at six, showered, dressed, grabbed some coffee, and gone downstairs to the basement to practice her violin, a habit she’d had since childhood. This morning, it was only eight-thirty and Chris was already dressed. He hadn’t told Cameron of his plans to take her to the Boston Harbor Hotel for the next two days. She just thought he was taking her out to dinner that night. He went over to his closet and pulled out his leather weekender bag, part of a luggage set Cameron had given him for his twenty-seventh birthday last year. He quickly packed what he needed for their hotel stay, then put his gray Yves Saint Laurent suit – the one he wore in a GQ photo shoot that Cameron said kept her hot and bothered for weeks – into a garment bag and hung that on the door of his wardrobe. He was just about to sit on his bed when he heard the knob on his bedroom door being turned. He checked his alarm clock – it was eight-fifty; she was a little early today. He quietly stepped over to the door and stood behind it as it was slowly pushed open. He stifled a laugh when he heard her say, in a very surprised voice, “Chris? What the hell…?”
He waited until she stepped further into the room before he pushed the door shut and pounced on her, eliciting a shriek from Cameron that would surely wake the dead. He let out his wonderfully boisterous laugh as she fought him like a wildcat, all the while shouting, “Evans, have you lost your fucking mind? Don’t fucking scare me like that! You know I’ve had martial arts training; I could seriously hurt you! Damn it, man!”
Chris held on for dear life as Cameron valiantly tried to break the vice grip he had on her. “Babe, I’m not stupid. I know you can kick my ass; why do you think I’m pinning your arms to your sides?” He waited until the fight went out of her then gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “I was up early so I thought I’d surprise you.” He dropped his arms and grinned unrepentantly as she whirled around to face him.
“I would not have liked explaining to your mam why her eldest son was on the ground holding his jewels and crying like a little bitch!” she spat but Chris could see the beginnings of a smile on her lips. “That’s some way to say good morning, Evans. Surely you could have thought of something a little less anxiety producing?”
“Oh, you mean something like this?” he asked as he framed her face with his hands and pulled her towards him. He covered her mouth with his and smiled into the kiss as he felt her surrender herself to him entirely. He wrapped his arms around her again as she brought her arms around his waist. The kiss was long and deep and they both moaned in pleasure. They pulled apart slightly when they heard a knock on his door, followed by Lisa’s voice asking, “Is everything all right in there?”
“Everything’s fine, Mom,” Chris hollered, shuddering as Cameron trailed kisses across his jaw and down his neck.
“Cam’s in fine voice this morning,” came Scott’s voice, “but she kind of scared the hell out of our niece, though.”
At this, Cam’s head popped up and she pulled away from Chris to hurry over to the door. She pulled it open and found Lisa and Scott wearing identical wide grins. “Oh, no, did I really scare the wee one?” Cam asked worriedly, her brogue heavier than usual. “I’m so sorry but your idiot son decided it would be fun to scare a half dozen years off my life this morning.”
Lisa sent a mildly disapproving look at Chris while Scott laughed and said, “You’re lucky she didn’t hand you your ass, big bro!” Cameron turned and gave Chris a look that clearly said, “See?”
“All right, all right, apologies to all. Was Alyssa really scared?” Chris asked as he joined Cameron in the doorway.
“She was at first, but when she heard you laughing and Cam yelling at you, she knew everything was okay,” Lisa answered.
“Good,” Cam said then sent Chris a sidelong glance. “It won’t happen again, will it, Christopher Robert?”
“Uh oh, she just trotted out the middle name,” Scott said with wicked glee. “You’re in so much trouble, dude, she might even blow off your whole ho…”
“SCOTT!!!” Chris hissed loudly.
“Double uh oh! I’m out!” Scott said as he turned on his heels and practically ran down the hall.
“What might I be blowing off, Chris?” Cameron asked as Lisa snickered and said, “I’ll just leave you two alone,” and followed Scott down the hall at a much more leisurely pace, chuckling all the while.
Chris sighed. “Why don’t you have a seat, babe?” he said as he gestured towards his bed. Cam turned and laid eyes on his luggage and garment bag for the first time. She turned back to him with an arched eyebrow. She pointed at the bags. “What’s this about, a ghra? Are you going somewhere?”
“We’re going somewhere, sweetheart,” Chris said as he draped his arm across Cam’s shoulders and steered her towards the bed. He sat her down then paced a moment in front of her, trying to find the right words to tell her about the romantic little getaway he had planned…and that Scott had almost ruined. He stopped pacing and knelt down in front of Cameron. Ignoring her stifled gasp, he took her hands in his. “Baby, I have a little surprise for you. I booked us a suite at the Boston Harbor Hotel for tonight and tomorrow night. I thought it would be nice for us to get away and have some time alone together, just us, no family, no friends, no house full of neighbors and kids. We’d have a real chance to, you know, be together, I mean, if you want…”
Cam took a deep breath and let it back out slowly. “Sweet Jay-sus, love. When you knelt before me, I thought for sure you were going to propose.”
Chris tilted his head slightly to one side. “Would that have been so terrible, babe?”
“No! No, of course not! I mean, our getting married is kind of a foregone conclusion but I figured it would be somewhere down the road. And I know you, a ghra, if you were going to propose to me, it wouldn’t be under these circumstances. You’d have something a little more, shall we say, elaborate planned. Something like what you want to do tonight.”
Chris smiled. “Yeah, you do know me. I would definitely try to make my proposal something special. I only plan to ask a lady to marry me once in this lifetime, after all.”
“Hmm. What lady would that be?”
“Cute, smart ass.” He chuckled as he kissed the knuckles on Cam’s left hand. “So, tonight. Sound good to you?”
Cameron smiled and leaned over to give Chris a soft kiss on the lips. “Sounds wonderful, a ghra. Good thing your mam and sisters went shopping with me this weekend. They helped me find a dress that I’m pretty certain will knock your socks off.”
“Great…but will it be easy to get off of you?” he said with an utterly innocent smile.
“Oy, Christopher, you’re such a pig, but I love you anyway.” She kissed him again then stood up and stepped around him.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to pack. I’d rather get it out of the way now so we can enjoy the rest of the day and just grab the bags and go when the time comes.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll come with.” He got up only to be stopped when Cam slapped a hand on his chest.
“Nope, you take that wonderful ass of yours downstairs and make us some breakfast. I don’t need any help packing. Besides, I don’t want you to see the dress I’m wearing tonight…or the fabulous lingerie I bought to go with it.” She smiled at the wicked look in Chris’ eyes. “Hmm. I figured that would give you something to think about, love.” She rose up on her toes and gave him a short but thorough kiss. She pulled away, winked at him and started for the door. “By the way, that had better be the Saint Laurent suit in that garment bag, babe. I’ve had many a fantasy about getting that gorgeous suit off of you. Let’s make sure that’s one dream that will come true tonight, eh?” She blew him a kiss then sauntered out the door with an exaggerated sway of her hips.
Chris sighed happily and smiled. I truly am the luckiest bastard alive, he thought as he followed her out the door. “Wait, did you say you want me to make breakfast?” he asked as she disappeared into the guest room, her laughter floating back towards him.
The suite was even more gorgeous than it had looked online. Cameron had only stayed at the Boston Harbor Hotel once before but she’d stayed in a regular room, not a suite. She told him when they arrived that she liked the hotel lobby but she was really blown away when they entered the suite. The moment he closed the door behind them, she pounced on him and gave him a kiss that threatened to buckle his knees. “Oh, my God, Chris,” she exclaimed as she pulled away from him and practically danced into the middle of the suite’s living room, her brogue heavy, “I can’t believe you did this for me. This is amazing and probably one of the nicest, most thoughtful things anyone’s ever done for me!” She turned a complete circle as she tried to take in the entire room. “I can’t wait to see the bedroom!”
Chris smirked. Neither can I. To Cam he said, “I believe there’s a king size bed in there.”
Cam turned to him, a wicked smile on her face. “Well, we’ll just have to make sure we use every square inch, won’t we?”
Chris flinched as her remark went straight to his groin. “God, when did you become such a sexy little minx?”
She smiled at him. “The moment I met you, a ghra. For almost five years, I’ve watched you, I’ve learned from you. I saw what attracted you, what turned you on. And – please forgive me if I sound too Star Trek here – I assimilated what I saw. When our time came, I wanted to give you exactly what you wanted, be what you wanted…”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, babe. No.” He held up his hand as he walked towards her. “I appreciate the fact that you wanted to learn what turned me on and what I wanted but, sweetheart, you are all I’ve ever wanted. You, and only you, just as you are. Any other woman I’ve ever been with just didn’t have what you have.” He reached out and put his hands on either side of her waist and pulled her flush against him.
“And what do I have, a ghra?” she asked as she wound her arms around his shoulders. “Me, the musical prodigy, the nerd with the abnormally high IQ and five degrees? The twenty-four year old virgin? I’m smart, obviously, and, not to sound conceited but, I know I’m pretty…”
“You’re not just pretty, Cameron,” Chris said as he brushed his lips against her forehead, “you’re one of the most beautiful women in the world. With that jet black hair and those beautiful big gray eyes and that body that can bring just about any man to his knees…like you’ve done to me many, many times…you’re gorgeous. Pretty doesn’t even come close to describing how you look.”
Cameron smiled as she tightened her hold on this most perfect of men. “I feel weird calling myself beautiful, Chris. It’s just a quirk of mine but I’ll go along with all those lovely things you just said. But I’ve seen some of the women you’ve dated – before you decided to become a monk while you waited for me, that is – and they seemed to ooze this, this…sexuality. It was something I really didn’t think I had…”
“Oh, my God, Cameron, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Chris looked into Cameron’s eyes…and was shocked to find that she genuinely believed what she was saying. “Baby, you really have no idea how fucking sexy you are, do you? You just go about your business, doing your thing every day, and you have no idea how you affect the men around you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to walk away from guys because if I heard one more thing about you and your body and what they’d like to do to you, I would be in a fight three or four times a week. You are totally sexy and the fact that you don’t even work at it – because you don’t even realize it – makes you that much more sexy, in anyone’s eyes. It’s a natural part of you, you can’t help yourself. You couldn’t stop it if you tried, babe. And I love that about you. I always have. You are just as at home in sweats and sneakers, with your hair up in a ponytail, as you are in designer gowns and high heeled shoes. You’re at ease and completely natural with everyone you meet. You goof on yourself, for God’s sake. I haven’t met many female celebrities who don’t think twice about having a laugh at their own expense but you do it all the time. And you never once demean yourself. You just know not to take yourself, or your circumstances, all that seriously. Do you have any idea how endearing that is? That’s another thing I’ve always loved about you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “There are so many things I love about you, Cameron. I could go on for hours. I could tell you about all the times I just wanted to sweep you up into my arms and carry you off to somewhere we could be alone and just learn about each other and love each other until the end of time. I’ve waited for tonight for almost five years, Cam. I want to show you how beautiful and sexy and amazing you are. How you are all those things and more to me. I want to show you how much I love you. I want to make you mine in every way possible. I want you. I want you exactly this way. No tricks, no mind games, just you, exactly as you are. You’re all I ever wanted.” Chris felt tears well up in his eyes and spill over his lower lashes. Cameron reached up and wiped them away with gentle fingers.
“Mo grá. Níl a fhios agam más féidir liom maireachtáil riamh suas go dtí go léir na rudaí iontacha a cheapann tú mar gheall orm ach tá mé ag dul chun iarracht. Ba mhaith liom a bheith i gcónaí gur bean a fheiceann tú nuair a fhéachann tú ar dom. Ag dul duit di agus mar sin i bhfad níos mó. Is breá liom tú an méid sin, Chris. Beidh mé grá duit go deo.” Cameron choked back a sob.
Chris shrugged helplessly and gave a soft laugh. “You’ve got to teach me Irish if you’re going to lapse into it during intense moments between us. I haven’t got a clue what you just said, sweetheart.”
Cameron smiled. “Sorry, my love. That’s what happens when I get really emotional. I don’t even think about it. What I said was, I don’t know if I can ever live up to all the wonderful things that you think about me but I'm going to try. I will always be that woman that you see when you look at me. You deserve it and so much more. I love you so much, Chris. I will love you forever.” She paused as she wiped more of his tears away. “You’re so emotional, Chris. That’s so incredibly sweet and it’s one of the things I love most about you.” She sighed softly as Chris brushed his lips across her forehead once again. “Thank you, mo ghra, for being so patient with me. I can’t tell you how many times this past week I’ve had to stop and remind myself that this was really happening. That you and I are finally together. That you actually waited for me. You could have had anyone else. I mean, look at you! You’re gorgeous, you’re smart, you’re talented in so many ways, you’re sweet, kind, generous, affectionate, and you’ve got the best sense of humor, and the best laugh of any man I’ve ever met. I can’t tell you how proud I am to walk down the street with you by my side. And what a kick I get from the jealous looks women throw at me when they see us together. You are amazing…and you’re mine. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you. I love you, Chris.”
“I love you, Cameron, more than you’ll ever really know,” Chris said as he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss started out soft and gentle but became much more heated and demanding with every passing second. Chris slowly backed Cameron up to the sofa and broke the kiss long enough to get them settled on it, her soft, pliant body under his hard muscled one. He drove his hands into her thick hair and cradled her head as he went back to plundering her mouth. Cameron moaned in response, further inflaming Chris’ almost out of control desire. A few moments later, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers as they both tried to get their breathing back to normal. “Babe, if we keep this up, we won’t be leaving this room any time soon, and I really did have some nice plans for us tonight.”
Cameron looked into his eyes, her own eyes wide with a mix of passion and disbelief. “You want to stop now? You can’t be serious! Isn’t that illegal in some parts of the world? I’m sure there’s something in the Geneva Conventions about just this type of situation…”
Chris laughed, effectively dulling the lust rampaging through his body. Leave it to Cameron to go all Ph.D. on him at a moment like this. “Cam, you goof, I promise you, unless you say so, we won’t be stopping later. Trust me.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips and pushed himself up off her. He looked down at his gorgeous, well-kissed girlfriend and smiled. “I’m gonna go unpack our stuff. You just lay there and gather your wits about you.”
She lunged off the sofa with the speed of a gazelle. “Oh no, you don’t! I know you just want to get a look at my dress! I’ll go unpack. I already know what your suit looks like – as does the part of the world that reads GQ or has seen photos of you in it on the internet. You just stay out here.” She started to walk away then turned back to glare at Chris. “I mean it, a ghra, stay out here. I don’t want you to see my dress until later. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Chris said as he gave her a jaunty salute. He smiled as he watched her turn around and head for the bedroom. That dress had to be something else for her to guard it so zealously. He couldn’t wait to see it. And he couldn’t wait to see her out of it, too.
Four hours later, after being forced by Cameron to shower and dress first then kicked out of the bedroom so she could get ready, Chris paced around the suite’s living room, too keyed up to sit and watch TV while he waited for what he’d started calling the “unveiling.” She told him it would be worth the wait. He was sure it would be but the wait was killing him.
He walked over to the doors that led out to the terrace and looked out over Boston Harbor. Way down below was the skating rink the hotel had set up for its guests. He had booked a late reservation for them to go skating but he was beginning to think they weren’t going to make it. The tension, the rapidly mounting desire between them wasn’t going to wait much past dinner, he was sure of it. And that was totally okay with him. He smiled as he let his eyes travel over the sparkling lights of the city he loved and that Cameron was beginning to love too. Oh, he knew that she would never completely abandon New York and that he would wind up spending half of his time there with her but he was blown away when she told him this past weekend that she had no problem spending time up here with him. “Home is where you are, basically,” she’d said simply. It had been all he could do to keep from sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her to his room to make slow, passionate love to her. Her statement made him realize that despite his good fortune and the many blessings he’d been given over the years, his life would be pathetic without her in it.
Chris was so lost in thought that he almost missed the soft “A ghra” murmured behind him. He turned slowly and his breath caught in his throat. Cameron stood a few feet away from him, looking too spectacular for words. She wore a deep blue dress that fit her like a second skin. It had long lace sleeves and a rounded neck. The skirt, which followed the curve of her shapely hips perfectly, ended a few inches above her knees. She wore sheer off-black stockings and black peau de soie shoes with a four inch heel. She wore her hair in a cascade of curls that hung over her left shoulder. But the real kicker came when she did a slow spin and showed him her back. The back of the dress was lace from the neckline to the waist and there was a pleated peplum that hung from the waist and ended in a point just over her bottom. She turned to face Chris again, her smile soft and inviting.
He stepped up to her and took her hands in his. “Sweetheart, I have no words to properly describe how amazing you look tonight. You were right about that dress; it’s a showstopper. You are so, so gorgeous, Cameron. I am the luckiest man in the universe.”
“Thank you, a ghra, you are always so sweet. And may I tell you how devastatingly handsome you look in this suit.” Her smile turned shy as she ran her hand down his lapel. “I never told you this, but I carry a copy of that picture of you from GQ in my wallet. Now, seeing you wearing it in person…well, you’re really taking my breath away.”
Chris grinned at her, charmed at her admission. “You do? Seriously? That’s got to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. God, I love you.” He leaned forward to kiss her but stopped abruptly. “Can I kiss you? I won’t mess up your makeup, will I?”
Cam laughed. “How cute are you? I can’t believe you’re actually concerned about messing up my lipstick, which I’m not wearing because I wanted you to kiss me. So,” she said, dropping her voice to a sultry whisper, “come and get it.”
“Baby, you don’t have to tell me twice,” he responded as he closed the space between them. Her mouth immediately opened under his as her arms wound around his neck while he put his hands on her hips and pulled her body tightly against his. The kiss was deep, hot and passionate. It was but a hint of all that would come later in the evening.
After several long minutes, Chris pulled away from Cam, breathless and burning with desire. He was tempted to just stay in and order room service up but she’d gone through so much trouble to find that amazing dress – and she looked nothing short of spectacular in it – that he didn’t have the heart to deny her, or himself, the opportunity to show it off. And he knew that she felt the same way about him and the suit he was wearing. She’d called him up the day she’d seen him in that GQ spread and literally gushed over how wonderful he looked and how much she loved him in that suit and how she’d proudly shown that photospread to all the females around her (she’d been shooting Iron Man 2 at the time) and laughed at the varying lust-filled reactions she’d gotten. “To a woman, a ghra, to a woman, they all said they’d admire you for a minute before getting you out of that suit.”
“What about you?” he’d asked with a chuckle.
“Lord have mercy, Evans, I am but a mere mortal woman myself! How do you think I reacted? No, wait, I’ll not embarrass us both by telling you what I thought the moment I saw that spread…or the photo of you in that grey suit in particular. Suffice it to say, ay caramba!”
Chris had laughed so hard at that, he’d choked on his own spit.
And now, here they were, both looking their best for one another. Chris smiled and dropped a quick kiss on the lips of his beloved. “Put your lipstick on, my love, we’re about to go dazzle the dorks!”
“Amen to that!” Cam said with a laugh as she pulled out of his arms and headed back to the bedroom to put on her lipstick and get her purse. Chris watched as she walked away, loving the things that dress did for her fabulous figure and admiring how audacious she was for even wearing something like that. While she did tend to wear outfits on stage that were a lot more daring than the average classical artist would be seen in, she wasn’t the type to “let it all hang out.” She never wore anything with a plunging neckline or that exposed her breasts more than was “proper” or that exposed too much skin. Hell, she didn’t even like wearing bikinis. The few two piece bathing suits she owned very much resembled the type of suits the pin-up girls from the 1940s wore. She usually preferred wearing one piece bathing suits but, given that body of hers, the most covered up suit in the world would still look amazingly hot on her. Chris smiled to himself. She’d mentioned something about the sexy lingerie she’d bought to go with that dress. He couldn’t wait to see it. Since they started dating casually last year, they’d shared a room a couple of times when they visited the Groban family and stayed over at their house. One afternoon, he’d caught her in her underwear, completely by accident, and found that while she liked lingerie from Victoria’s Secret, she favored things that were still pretty full coverage. No thongs for his lady, no way. And Chris was charmed by that. She was a bit old-fashioned and he found that to be completely adorable and just one of the things that made his Cameron so very special.
In the bedroom, Cameron applied the hot red lipstick she’d found at Sephora when she and the Evans women had gone shopping last week. She dropped the tube into her evening bag then stepped over to the full-length mirror on the far side of the bedroom. She checked to make sure the Victoria’s Secret backless bra she’d purchased to go under this lace-backed dress was in place and not easily visible. She sighed with relief to find that it was completely invisible and overjoyed that it was a lot more comfortable than she’d thought it would be. Satisfied with her appearance – and tickled pink at the look on Chris’ face when he first saw her – she walked back over to the dresser, grabbed her evening bag and headed back out to meet the love of her life.