Caught on Camera (Love Through a Lens, #1)

by Chelsea Curto

To those who worry about where they’re going: Look how far you’ve come.

“Take all the time in the world,” he calls out. “You’re worth the wait.”

I’ve tried to ignore it, tried to not think about it, but there’s no point in denying the obvious truth: Shawn Holmes is hot as hell.

Tattooed arms, dark hair, light eyes that border on gray. Six-foot-six, with muscles in places I didn’t know people could be strong. He’s all-around handsome, but his smile is his most devastating characteristic. Wide and bright, it stops you in your tracks. It’s genuine and a little shy, like he can’t believe he’s lucky enough to live a life like this.

Lacey tilts her head back and laughs, and it’s such a bright sound. It might be below freezing outside, but her laugh is warm. Inviting. Sunshine in human form, and one of my favorite noises.

Lacey never fails to catch my eye. If something is going to distract me, I’m glad it’s her.

“Lacey girl,” he says, and his voice is low. Rough, and it sounds like my name has been pulled from the trenches of his chest. An exaltation he wants to bellow to anyone who will listen.

“You care about me?” I ask. My voice wobbles, and I sniff. “A whole fucking lot?” “Yeah, Lacey girl,” he says softly, and he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. His thumb traces down my jaw, and my skin feels hot under his touch. “I do. Is that okay with you?” “Yes.” I nod. “That’s okay with me. I care about you, too.”

“Worried about me, Holmes?” she teases, and I swallow down the lump in my throat. “I’m your boyfriend, Lacey,” I say lowly. “Fake boyfriend,” she whispers so softly, I have to press my phone against my ear to hear her. “Doesn’t matter. Fake. Real. I don’t give a shit. I take care of what’s mine, and right now, you are mine.”

“Your smile is my favorite smile.”

I’m not allowed to want her, but I do anyway.

I look at Lacey, and it hits me square in the chest. She’s my favorite person in the entire world.

I need Lacey Daniels like I need oxygen.

“I’m lucky to have you in my life, Lacey girl. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for seeing me. You make me happy.” “You make me happy too, Shawn. I’m always going to see you, even when you have trouble seeing yourself. In your dark moments, I’ll be there. Don’t ever forget that.”

Meeting him was fate; to expect someone just as wonderful is a pipe dream.

Seventy thousand people in a stadium or four hundred people in a museum. It doesn’t matter. I always find her, and I’m happier because of it.

I think some love is hot and heavy. It burns fast and bright, like the flash of lightning in a summer storm. Other love takes more time. It’s more… raw. Real. Slow and steady. It’s uncovering bits and pieces of someone and dusting away that coat of armor they’ve put around themselves. It’s also relentless, because it keeps showing up. It’s sneaky and it’s annoying, because just when you think you’ve escaped, just when you think you’ve gotten away without being burned, you realize you’re totally obsessed with someone and your world is on fire when they’re around.”

“You feel more like home to me every day.”

I feel instantly lighter with her joke, like I’m levitating high above the shit swarming around in my brain. Lacey has that effect on me; she always knows exactly the right thing to say. Sometimes I think she’s in my head and reading my thoughts, because there’s no way someone can be so in tune with my emotions.

This woman saved me tonight, and I’m starting to wonder if she wasn’t put in my life by accident but for a very specific reason. To be mine until the end of time.

I point to the stars next, the dozens of constellations in the night sky. “This.” “Wow,” she whispers, and I look down at her. “It’s beautiful.” “Yeah,” I agree, but I’m busy studying every inch of her face. Her button nose. The slope of her jaw. The stars twinkling in her eyes. “It is.”

It strikes my chest and zips through me like a live wire. I’ve been electrocuted. A single word echoes in my head like a drum, a beat I can’t ignore. Love. I’m falling in love with this woman. I have been for some time, I think.

No wonder I can’t stay away from her. No wonder I want to touch her every chance I get. No wonder I’m happier when she’s around, like none of my problems exist. No wonder there’s a sour taste in my mouth when I think about letting her go. I’m fucking obsessed with her.

Every second I’m with him, I fall a little deeper. Soon I’ll be twenty feet underground without a way out. I don’t think I ever want to climb out. I love him so much, with every corner of my soul and every beat of my heart. You love him, it says. You’ve loved him for a long time.

“Forever is a long time,” I say. “And it still wouldn’t be long enough. I love you so very much. I think maybe I’ve always loved you,”

“I can’t—I don’t want to go through life without you by my side.” “You won’t have to. I’m here with you, Shawn. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours, and I’m always going to be yours.”

“I love you,” I say. “I love you so much.” “I love you too, Lacey girl,”

“I’m weak when it comes to you,” I admit. “I’m kind of obsessed, if you haven’t been able to tell.”

“I feel this immense joy, deep in my soul, when I see him. I’ve never experienced that with anyone else.”

“What is it with you and kissing me in front of a bunch of football fans?” I ask. “Is this going to be a tradition of ours?” “I’m obsessed with you,” he says. “Can’t keep my hands to myself.”

“You encourage me. You believe in me. You stay up late with me and listen to me talk about lineups and plays even though you don’t understand half of what I’m saying. You taught me it’s okay to not be okay, not all the time, and you’re my safe space to go to after every win and every loss.” He pauses to kiss me soft and slow, and it electrifies every one of my nerve endings. “You’re my home, Lacey girl, and I love you so much.”

“I love you too. I love you to the stars. To the depths of this universe and every one beyond.”

“What do you say, Lacey girl? Will you keep doing life with me? Will you stand by my side and come cheer at every game? Will you be the one I look for in the crowd, because you’re the only one I ever want to see?” Shawn asks.

I smile as reality crashes into me, a wave that knocks me off balance. Football game. National television. Super Bowl. My fiancé kissing me in front of thousands—no, millions—of people, and there’s no place I’d rather be.