Brides and Brothers by Anneka R. Walker

Epilogue

Camille

“I’m so nervous!” Amy pulled at her pencil skirt and teased her white-blonde hair with her fingers. “What if he doesn’t recognize me? He was only supposed to be gone a year. Who accepts special assignments when they have someone waiting for them back home?”

“A man who loves his country,” Camille said. “And you sent selfies every month. How could he not recognize you?” She handed Amy her strawberry lip gloss. “Put this on in case there’s a kiss after he gets off the plane.”

“He wouldn’t kiss me in front of his family,” Amy whispered, glancing around, frantically checking for eavesdroppers. She grabbed the lip gloss despite her arguments and slathered on a heavy coat.

Camille rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about him kissing you . . . oh, never mind.” She stepped away from Amy’s side, intending to join Aiden, who was pushing the stroller with their one-year-old strapped inside.

Amy grabbed at her wrist to pull her back. “No, don’t go! You have to stand next to me when he gets off the plane.”

Camille was trying to be easygoing with her sister, but Amy’s panic attacks about Grant’s homecoming had been going on for the last week. Her patience was waning. “I can’t stand by you. What if he thinks I’m you?”

“You’re right,” Amy said, her nose wrinkling. “We look too similar. Go stand by Aiden.”

Biting back her smile, Camille hurried away before Amy could change her mind.

“Mom, Mom, Mom!” her little girl chanted while she squirmed to free herself from the straps that restrained her.

“Did you hear that?” Camille asked Aiden, hunching down to stare at her darling baby.

“She finally learned how to say mom,” Aiden said with a smirk. “She’s been saying da-da now for three months.”

Camille glared, walking around the stroller to her husband. She wasn’t really mad. Being married to him was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Their difficulties had bound them together, and every time they overcame another obstacle, they seemed closer than before. But while she loved this man more and more with every passing day, she especially loved to tease him. “She could have said mom before, but she knew I wasn’t going to force it from her.” She poked him in the side. “You, on the other hand, make her mimic your name every chance you get.”

Aiden snatched her offending finger and hand, bringing his face up against her ear. “If it makes you feel better, go ahead and believe it.” He placed a quick peck on Camille’s cheek, reminding her how lucky she was to have a man who devoted himself to his family.

“It does make me feel better,” Camille admitted.

Aiden gave her a wry look, and they both laughed.

The plane they had been waiting for had already landed, but finally the passengers were coming out of the gate. “Look—there he is.” Aiden pointed to a blond-haired young man. He was tall and thin and had a look of the twins about him.

The Peterson brothers and Camille’s five new sisters-in-law started whooping and cheering as he came into view. This was exactly what she’d imagined having a family would be like—her best friends married to her amazing brothers-in-law. None of them had cruised to the altar as fast as she and Aiden had, but one by one the couples had made sacred promises to each other, binding them together. There was more love and support between them all to last forever. Camille only needed her mother here to complete the picture.

She glanced over to see Amy’s reaction, but the girl was nowhere in sight. Camille drew in her breath. Had Amy bolted? Was she that affected by seeing Grant again? Camille turned her gaze back to the gate, and her mouth dropped. Amy was there, and she’d thrown herself into Grant’s arms. As Amy went in for a kiss, Camille cringed with embarrassment. Her sister’s hands latched on to Grant’s uniform lapels, and she pulled him toward her with more force than anyone could have anticipated.

Whistles and catcalls erupted around her.

“Go Amy!” Sage called from behind her.

Camille looked to see Aiden’s reaction. He turned to face her at the same time.

“Another Peterson bites the dust,” he said with a wink. He tugged Camille under the crook of his arm. “The two who started it all finally got together. You’d better kiss me so Amy doesn’t feel like she’s the only one embarrassing herself in the airport. And I expect the same amount of enthusiasm too. I had to get up in the night with the baby.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Camille said just before she kissed her husband soundly on the lips.