Page 17 of Only in Our Dream (Moonflower Cove #15)

Cameron

W aking up in her childhood bedroom always made Cameron nostalgic.

She had many fond memories from her childhood in that room.

The walls and shelves were adorned with medals and trophies from her years in pageants.

Framed photos of memories a lifetime ago made Cameron smile as she studied each one of them.

Cameron wanted to go back and tell the young blonde in the photos that things were going to work out even better than she hoped.

That not only would she get into her top school, but that she’d become a mother and a doctor.

And fall in love with her best friend.

A part of Cameron still couldn’t believe that she was finally able to admit her feelings for Melanie.

For years she felt trapped, unable to say anything about the feelings that lurked dangerously close to the surface.

They were like a shark just waiting for the opportunity to crest above the waves and pull her down under.

But now, Cameron no longer had to hide those feelings. Not to her kids, her friends, or, most importantly, Melanie.

Mel.

God, Cameron was down bad for her in ways she’d never expected. She’d spent years being resigned to the fact she would never be able to act on her feelings for Melanie. So instead, Cameron had stuffed them as far down as she could and focused instead on being Melanie’s best friend.

There was no better friend than Melanie Wright.

She had been by Cameron’s side for both of her babies’ births; held her hand at her father’s funeral.

When Cameron first came home from the hospital with Jonah, it had been Melanie that had stayed over every night the first two weeks to help her get into a routine.

Melanie loved Cameron’s kids as if they were her own, and maybe that was what kept pushing Cameron to fall in love with her more.

Watching Melanie with her kids felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Sure, Melanie was great with babies. It was her job, after all.

But nothing prepared Cameron for watching her kids grow up with Melanie.

Jonah and Dylan adored their Aunt Mel and the three of them had a connection that went beyond Melanie being their surrogate aunt.

In fact, Jonah had even asked Melanie to adopt them when he was only five years old.

Jonah was sitting at the coffee table coloring while Cameron held a sleeping Dylan in her arms on the couch.

Across from them, Melanie was sitting in the recliner, rocking a baby she and Rob were fostering until the adoption was finalized for the new parents.

Although they didn’t foster many kids, Melanie and Rob had fostered several babies over the years.

Well, more so Melanie than Rob. Cameron never saw him have much interest in the babies compared to Melanie.

The baby in Melanie’s arm softly cried as Melanie expertly readjusted him. He settled back down immediately against her chest, letting out the sweetest sigh.

“If he didn’t already have parents, I would so adopt him,” Melanie dreamily said as she kissed the infant’s head. She’d said the same thing before about other foster babies, so Cameron knew it was more of a passing comment than anything.

Both Melanie and Rob were more than capable of adopting if they wanted to.

Cameron just had a feeling Melanie was more comfortable in the fostering role than the adoption role.

Having kids was a huge responsibility and although she knew Melanie would be up for it, she also respected the hell out of her for not putting herself into a situation she might not be fully ready for yet.

“You can adopt me, Aunt Mel.” Jonah’s comment was so innocent, as were his eyes as he looked up at Melanie. Melanie gasped, clutching her hand to her chest as she looked from Jonah to Cameron and back again. “I only have one mommy but I could have two if you adopted me.”

“Jonah,” Cameron chuckled, stepping in to save Melanie, “it doesn’t work that way, sweetie. See, for someone to adopt you, they would have to be married to Mommy. And Mommy isn’t getting married anytime soon.”

“You could marry Aunt Mel. You marry people you love, don’t you?”

Cameron swallowed hard. “Well, yes, but Aunt Mel is already married to Uncle Rob, so I can’t marry her.”

With a shrug, Jonah seemed to be content with that answer. He went back to coloring and Cameron locked eyes with Melanie. Her blue eyes were sad, more so than before. She smiled sweetly at Cameron before looking back down at the baby on her chest.

After that, they never brought up the conversation again.

Not even as a joke. Something had changed between them then, even if they had spent the last decade denying that.

Because Cameron had always wondered what would have happened after that conversation if Melanie hadn’t been married to Rob then.

But that was just adding another what if to the ever-growing pile.

At least there was no need to deny their feelings anymore.

With Melanie’s divorce close to being final, they would finally be able to act upon all the pent-up feelings from all their years as best friends.

That thought made Cameron so happy she could squeal.

Cameron smiled into her pillow, holding in the squeal so she didn’t wake Dylan who was still asleep beside her.

Although there were bunk beds in the guest room for the kids, Dylan often wormed her way into Cameron’s twin size bed with her.

Not that Cameron minded. She loved that her baby still wanted to be with her.

Rolling over, Cameron cuddled Dylan into her arms. Her heart warmed as Dylan snuggled closer, resting her head on Cameron’s chest. She kissed the top of her head, savoring the time with her baby girl.

Cameron knew too soon Dylan would be grown and out of the house and not interested in early morning cuddles anymore.

But until then, Cameron was going to soak them all in.

“Are you smelling my hair again?” Dylan mumbled.

“I’m your mother. I’m allowed to smell you.”

“Weirdo.” Stretching, Dylan pulled out of Cameron’s embrace just enough to look into her eyes. “I’m going to tell Aunt Mel how weird you are.”

“Oh, honey, she’s known that longer than you’ve been alive.”

“Yeah, but she’s never woken up to you smelling her hair before.”

“Fair,” Cameron laughed. “But I can’t help it. I love my baby girl so much.”

Pulling Dylan back into her embrace, she was relieved when Dylan hugged her back.

Dylan snuggled back into her, twirling the end of Cameron’s hair around her finger.

It was something she’d done since she was a baby, no matter the length of Cameron’s hair.

Cameron loved it and knew it provided comfort for each of them.

“Can we go to the mall today?”

“On Black Friday?” Cameron cringed. “No. Nothing is worth braving the mall today.”

“But Mom ,” she whined as she rolled out of bed, “I need new clothes for school. Nothing fits now that the boobs I inherited from you finally decided to come in.”

Dylan dramatically squeezed her breasts under the oversized tee she was wearing. She looked so much like the pictures of Cameron that lined the walls that it was almost as if Cameron had copied and pasted Dylan herself. Sitting up on her elbow, Cameron playfully rolled her eyes at her daughter.

“I think you mean thank you, Mom, for giving me such amazing boobs.”

“If I looked like that,” Dylan pointed to one of Cameron’s pictures on the walls, “I wouldn’t be complaining.”

“Honey, all we’d have to do is get you a dress and an unhealthy relationship with food to get you looking exactly like that.”

Swinging her legs off the bed, Cameron laughed as Dylan rolled her eyes at her comment. She had been very open and honest with both of her kids about her struggles growing up, but she had also reached a point where she could joke about it with them.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, indicating a text. Before Cameron could grab it, Dylan snatched it up.

“Oooh, it’s Aunt Mel,” she giggled.

“Give me that!” Cameron playfully tried to grab the phone from Dylan, who held it over her head as she read the message.

“Good morning, babe,” Dylan read with a giggle. “I hope you have a great day. I miss you and can’t wait until Monday.” Arching an eyebrow at Cameron, Dylan asked, “What’s Monday?”

“My next day at work.” Cameron finally grabbed the phone from Dylan and reread the message, noticing how Dylan didn’t say anything about the kissing face emoji Melanie added to the end of the text.

“Aka the next day you’ll see Mel .”

“Don’t say her name like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like your Aunt Vera when she knows something that she shouldn’t.”

Dylan dramatically clutched her chest. “Did you really just compare me to Aunt Vera?”

“Well, if the scrub cap fits.” Standing, Cameron playfully ruffled Dylan’s blonde hair. “This is why I sometimes joke that Vera used her egg instead of mine to create you. You’re too much like her.”

“Except I’m literally your carbon copy. You just let her babysit us too much growing up.”

“Fair point.”

“So,” Dylan sat down on the edge of the bed as they turned to face each other, “I think it’s time we had the talk.”

“The talk?”

“About you and Aunt Mel,” Dylan giggled.

“Oh, really now?” Cameron arched her brow, nervously chuckling.

She hadn’t had the talk with her kids yet about Melanie, at least not really.

Sure, they knew about Melanie’s divorce and that she and Cameron liked each other, but as far as Cameron knew that was all the kids knew.

They didn’t know that it was Cameron’s main goal to not have the kids be hurt.

Not that she expected that to happen. Melanie loved the kids as much as Cameron did.

And she knew the feeling was mutual. Both Jonah and Dylan adored their Aunt Mel.

They had her tied around their little fingers since the moment they were born.

It was almost as if they were always meant to be a family of four.

But even still, Cameron had wanted to check in with both of them before anything official happened with Melanie.

She thought she still had time for that, but apparently Dylan was ready for that conversation now.

Cameron motioned for Dylan to continue. “Go on.”

“I just want you to know that I support it and I’m okay with it.” Dylan’s sweet smile put Cameron’s worried mind at ease. “I love you and I see how happy Aunt Mel makes you. Jonah and I both do. And we want you to keep being happy with her forever. If that’s what you two want.”

Taking a moment to rein in her emotions, Cameron nodded before pulling Dylan into a tight hug.

“Thanks, baby girl.” She kissed her cheek softly. “And I want you to know that no matter what happens, your Aunt Mel will always be your Aunt Mel, okay? She’s not going anywhere.”

“Except maybe ,” there was a playful gleam in Dylan’s eyes, “she’ll become Mama Mel.”

Cameron burst out laughing, as did Dylan. “Oh, baby girl, let us go on a first date before you start saying that, okay?”

“What? It’s not like the date is going to go bad. You two are perfect for each other.”

“Perfect relationships don’t exist.”

Dylan shrugged. “Have you met Isla and Vera? Perfect relationships exist . You can’t deny that.”

“Isla and Vera are the exception, though, not the rule. There’s a reason I’ve been single for so long.”

“Yeah, because you’ve been waiting for Melanie .”

Grabbing the pillow from behind her, Cameron playfully hit Dylan with it as they both giggled. The door to the bedroom opened, interrupting their silliness. Wilma Dean stood in the doorframe, her hands on her hips.

“What are you two still doing in bed so late?

“It’s only nine, Mammaw.”

“Like I said,” Wilma Dean entered the room and stood at the end of the bed, “it’s late. Now come on downstairs, the sausage isn’t going to eat itself.”

As Wilma Dean walked back out the door, Dylan whispered in Cameron’s ear. “That’s what she said.”

“Dylan,” Cameron playfully pushed her shoulder as she stood up, “don’t be like your brother.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Cupping Dylan’s cheek in her hand, Cameron took a moment to study her daughter. Her blue eyes were the same as Cameron’s, as was her fair complexion. Just like Cameron, her blonde hair was a mess of bedhead. Cameron gently rubbed her thumb over Dylan’s cheek.

“I want you to know that I will never do anything to hurt you or your brother.”

“I know, Mom. But being with Aunt Mel isn’t going to hurt us.”

Leaning down, Cameron kissed Dylan’s forehead. “I love you, Dylan.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

“Now, come on,” she said as she pulled Dylan to her feet. “Let’s go eat that sausage.”

“I’m so telling Aunt Mel you said that.”

“Oh, shit. I need to text her back.” Grabbing her phone off the bed, Cameron sat as her thumbs hovered over the keyboard. Dylan sat beside her, looking down at the screen.

“Do you need help?”

“No.” Cameron thought for a moment. “Yes.”

“Give me.” Dylan took the phone, typing out a message to Melanie before handing it back to Cameron. “Here you go.”

Morning babe! I can’t wait to see you. I miss you so much and wish you were here with us. The kids miss you and wish you were here too.

“Damn, this is good.”

“Don’t act so surprised.” She playfully tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I know my Aunt Mel.”

“Indeed, you do.”

Hitting send, Cameron tucked the phone into the pocket of her sleep pants as she and Dylan headed downstairs for breakfast. Her phone buzzed halfway down the stairs, and Cameron fished it back out of her pocket.

She paused to read it, not confident in her ability to walk down stairs while reading a text.

Dylan did the same, hovering over the phone as she read the message.

I love those kids so much. I can’t wait to see them. I miss them!!

“See,” Dylan winked, “she loves us. This is going to work out perfectly.”