Page 26 of Only in Our Dream (Moonflower Cove #15)

Melanie

F or the second time in her life, Melanie savored the feeling of waking up beside Cameron.

She loved the way Cameron softly snored as she slept on her chest. Under the sheets, their legs were intertwined from a night filled with more sex than sleep.

Melanie kissed Cameron’s messy hair, smiling at the coconut and jasmine scent from her shampoo.

Her mind kept replaying the night before.

It had been more perfect than Melanie could have ever imagined.

Loving Cameron came so naturally to Melanie that her uneasiness faded after a while to the point she couldn’t remember why she was scared.

In the glow of the morning sun, Melanie felt silly for overthinking sex with Cameron so much.

Melanie felt as if loving Cameron was what her body was meant to do.

Rolling over slightly, Melanie cuddled Cameron closer.

Cameron adjusted her position, snuggling back into Melanie’s embrace.

They’d taken their robes off sometime in the night and they lay discarded on the floor along with the rest of their clothes.

Now Melanie understood why Isla had been so insistent taking an overnight bag.

“You never know when you’ll need it,” she’d told her the night before. “Just pack a toothbrush and a change of clothes so you’re not doing the walk of shame in the same clothes you wore on your date.

Melanie had rolled her eyes at her then. Sure, sex was on her mind but she had assumed it would happen for the first time at her house. After all, she didn’t have kids they would have to worry about. She’d assumed it would happen sooner rather than later, but not on their first date.

But when Cameron told her about the room at the inn, everything changed. Waiting was no longer an option and thankfully, Cameron agreed.

As Cameron slept in her arms, Melanie thought back to the first time they met. It wasn’t long after Melanie moved to the Cove. She was being shown around the hospital by Vera. They’d toured the entire labor and delivery floor as well as the surgical wing before Vera took her up to oncology.

“I know this isn’t somewhere that you’ll normally be, but I wanted to introduce you to my best friend, Cameron. We started here at the same time. She’s amazing. You’ll love her.”

Vera knocked on Cameron’s office door, letting herself in.

Melanie felt nervous being introduced to doctors not in her field.

But when her eyes met Cameron’s, all the nerves disappeared.

Her kind blue eyes smiled along with hers as she stood from her desk.

She was about Melanie’s age, which she knew would make all three of them around the same age.

“Cam, this is one of our new nurses, Melanie Wright. Mel, this is Cameron West.”

“Doctor Cameron West,” she’d corrected with a smile as she walked around the desk to shake Melanie’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope it’s not too terrible to work with this one.”

“Are you kidding me?” Melanie laughed. “She’s amazing.”

“She paid you to say that, didn’t she?”

“Shut up,” Vera playfully flicked Cameron’s shoulder as they all laughed.

“Cameron is one of the best doctors here. And one of the best friends you’ll ever have.

I just thought it might be good for you two to meet since Melanie is new to town and Cameron is basically the golden retriever of the hospital. ”

“It’s true.” Cameron’s blue eyes sparkled as she laughed. “But seriously, it was great to meet you.”

“You two should do drinks sometimes!” Vera chimed in with a huge smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

“That’d be great,” Melanie sheepishly smiled at Cameron. “Thanks.”

A few days later, Melanie and Cameron sat at the bar at Straight to Ale. They’d both had one drink and were on their second. Melanie was slightly tipsy, the same as Cameron. But when Cameron placed her hand on Melanie’s thigh, she sobered up some.

“So, why don’t you ever talk about your husband?”

“What?”

Cameron nodded at her wedding ring.

“Oh.”

“I mean, you are married, right?”

“I am, yeah.” Melanie didn’t know why she felt bad for saying that. She’d been married to Rob for over a year and they were happy.

Right?

Cameron sighed, putting her elbow on the bar as she rested her head in her hand.

“Not going to lie, I thought Vera was setting us up.”

Melanie’s head had started to spin. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she had a feeling it had more to do with the fact that Cameron had thought they were on a date. And the fact her hand was still on her thigh.

Not for the first time since then, Melanie wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t settled into being friends after that.

What if Melanie had explored the feelings bubbling up inside her instead of squashing them?

Would she and Cameron have been able to be together sooner?

Could she have saved them years of pining and Rob years in an unhappy marriage?

The thoughts consumed her mind as she squeezed her eyes shut.

There was no sense in thinking about the what ifs. She couldn’t change the past now even if she wanted to. All she could do now was move forward with Cameron and be thankful they were together now.

Cameron stirred awake in her arms, stretching her arms above her head. “Good morning,” she sleepily looked at Melanie. “I love waking up beside you.”

“I love waking up beside you, too.” Leaning in, the two kissed. Melanie cradled Cameron’s chin in her hand as she soaked in the feel of Cameron’s lips on hers. “Are you hungry? I can order us breakfast.”

“Or we can go to Carlson’s. I know you love that place.”

“I do,” Melanie giggled, loving how well Cameron knew her. “But we only have our clothes from last night, and I don’t think they’re appropriate for an early morning Carlson breakfast.”

“Yeah, it might scream morning after sex a little too loud.”

“Why don’t you come over to my house? I’ll make us breakfast.”

“Will it be more than cereal?”

“Ha ha,” Melanie rolled her eyes. “I’ll have you know that I can cook even if most of the time I don’t want to cook.”

Rolling out of bed, Cameron stretched her arms above her head. Melanie couldn’t help but notice the toned muscles in her back as she did. She knew Cameron worked out regularly, but didn’t know what that diligence had done to her body until now.

“You have to stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Looking so damn hot.” Melanie swung her legs off the side of the bed as she smiled at Cameron. “You’re going to make me want to bring you back to bed.”

“Well, it’ll have to wait until after I potty, anyway.” Winking, Cameron scampered off into the bathroom.

Surveying the room, Melanie began picking up the clothes they had discarded the night before.

She tossed them onto the bed in two piles, one for each of them.

Melanie picked up her dress and slipped it back on as Cameron came out of the bathroom.

They helped each other get ready until they were back in the same clothes they were in twelve hours ago.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get to wear these longer.” Cameron laughed as she watched Melanie fix her hair in the mirror. “I guess that means we’ll just have to have another date.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re stuck going on dates with me for the rest of your life.”

“Thank god,” Cameron playfully patted Melanie’s behind. “I’ve been wanting that since we met and had drinks at the bar.”

Melanie quickly turned around to face her. “You still remember that?”

“Yeah,” she nonchalantly shrugged, “of course. I thought Vera was setting us up on a date. It was a big moment in my life.”

“I was thinking about that earlier. I was wondering if things would have ended differently if I had admitted my feelings then.”

Cameron’s brow furrowed. “Your feelings?”

Melanie waited for a beat. Surely Cameron knew that Melanie had felt something that night. No, they hadn’t talked about it. But she had to know, right?

She knew.

Right?

“Cam…”

“You’ve liked me since then?”

“I tried to fight it.” Melanie shrugged. “But a part of me always wondered what would have happened if I had let my true feelings for you in instead of pushing them down for the next twenty something years.”

Cameron closed the space between them, pulling her into a hug. “Oh, babe, we can’t live our lives like that.”

“I know.”

“So much could have been different, yes, but at what cost?”

“Like no Jonah or Dylan,” Melanie stated the obvious. “I can’t imagine my life without them.”

“Me either.”

“I know you’re right.” Sighing, Melanie pulled out of Cameron’s embrace. “I’m so happy with where we are right now. But it’s hard not to wonder what if.”

“I know, baby. I do the same thing. I think it’s only natural for us to feel that way considering how much history we have. It’d be different if we just met, but I’ve known you for like a hundred years.”

Melanie chuckled, making Cameron smile.

“I’m so happy to be with you right now. At this moment. At this time.”

“Me too.”

Kissing Cameron again, Melanie wondered if getting dressed was going to be fruitless. It probably would have been if Cameron’s phone hadn’t dinged with a notification that her camera had gone off at home. She picked up her phone to check the camera.

“Just Jonah.”

“He’s up early.”

“Probably going to the hockey rink.”

Hand in hand, they headed out of the room and to the car.

Melanie drove home with her hand on Cameron’s thigh, which felt like the most natural position in the world.

As she pulled into the driveway, she noticed the Jeep from the night before was still there.

Along with another SUV that Melanie instantly recognized.

“What are Isla and Vera doing here?” Cameron laughed as Melanie parked the car behind the Jeep.

“Probably decorating the house with balloons to celebrate our first time together.”

Cameron snorted a laugh. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Melanie opened the door to the garage with the remote before they got out of the car.

They walked hand in hand to the house as if that’s how they’d always done it.

She wasn’t surprised at all to find Isla and Vera in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Or well, Isla was cooking and Vera was on the floor hand feeding what appeared to be eggs to Lucy and Hank.

“Geez, this is nice to come home to.”

“Yeah, does this happen every morning here? I might need to move in sooner if so.”

Move in sooner.

Those three words echoed loudly in Melanie’s mind as she tried to focus on anything else. Which was a fruitless endeavor.

Move in sooner? Does that mean she plans on moving in? Well, duh. Eventually, we’ll move in with each other. Not like we need two houses or would want to spend nights alone. Moving in makes sense. But we just started dating. At what point do we have that conversation?

Melanie’s mind could have run a marathon for how fast her thoughts were going. Thankfully, Lucy walked over to her and rubbed against her legs. She let go of Cameron’s hand to pet her.

“Hey, Lucy girl. Are you enjoying being spoiled by Aunt Vera?”

“Of course she is,” Vera laughed.

“Are you two hungry?” Isla looked over her shoulder at them. “I’m making omelets and bacon.”

“As much as I love coming home to someone cooking breakfast, exactly why are you two at my house cooking breakfast?”

“Well, I decided to stay over since your babies were being so cuddly and I figured you weren’t coming home.”

“And then I dropped Dylan off at our house and Mason offered to watch them so I came over here to join Isla for a night away from the kids.”

Isla and Vera shared a look as they both grinned and giggled.

“Oh, my god,” Melanie covered her eyes with her hand, “please tell me you didn’t have sex in my bed.”

“We didn’t,” they answered quickly in unison.

“We used the guest bed.” Isla’s comment received a slap on her leg from Vera.

“Isla!” She quickly turned her attention to Melanie. “The sheets are in the wash though, don’t worry.”

“They’re clearly not ones to be worried.” Putting her hand on her hip, Isla pointed the spatula at Melanie and Cameron. “They’re still in last night’s clothes because they didn’t take their overnight bags.”

“We told you to take the bags.”

“And next time we’ll listen,” Cameron winked at Melanie. “Although I have no complaints about last night. Do you?”

“Not at all.” Melanie put her arm around Cameron’s waist as she pulled her into a kiss. It was their first kiss in front of Isla and Vera, but Melanie didn’t care. They were all friends who lacked boundaries as it was. “Last night was perfect.”

“As if we couldn’t tell.” The comment came from Vera, whose smile had softened on her face. “I’m so happy for both of you.”

“Oh, no,” Isla sighed. “She’s going to cry and hug you now.”

“Hush.” Standing, Vera pulled both Melanie and Cameron into a hug. “I can’t help it that my best friends have finally gotten together and I’m just so damn happy about it. It’s about time.”

“You’re telling us.” Cameron pulled out of the embrace, crossing her arms as she looked at Vera. “And, by the way, we were talking about you earlier. When you first introduced us, what was your plan?”

“Yeah,” Melanie chimed in. “You knew I was married, but insisted Cameron and I go for drinks at the bar together.”

“Vera Louise Mackenzie,” Isla’s Mom Voice was out in full force. “You didn’t.”

Blushing, Vera shrugged her shoulders. “I might have. But it was for a good cause. See,” she put an arm around Cameron and Melanie’s shoulders. “Look how perfect they are together.”

“I can’t believe you tried to set them up when Mel was married. ”

“I just had a feeling she and Cam would be great together and, as usual, I was right.”

Melanie smiled at Cameron, who was smiling widely back at her. Although it took them a couple of decades to get where they were now, Melanie knew it was the needed path for them to take.

Right indeed, Vera. Right indeed.