Page 89 of Parker

“Quinn…” She bites her lip again. “It wasn’t soon enough.”

“For what?”

She gulps. Audibly. Then she takes one of my hands that’s resting on her back and moves it to her belly. She lays it over her stomach and places one of her hands on top of mine.

I stare at her face, drop my eyes to our hands, then jerk my gaze back up to her face.

“Wh—What are you—What is—”

“It wasn’t soon enough,” she repeats softly.

“It wasn’t…”Holy shit.“I didn’t pull out soon enough?”

She slowly shakes her head, gently increasing the pressure of her hand over mine. Over her belly. Over our…baby.

“You’re pregnant,” I breathe, the words a prayer, a plea, and a promise.

A tiny smile tilts her lips up. She nods. “We’repregnant.”

“Parker! You’re having my baby?”

Her smile blooms. “I am.”

“How long have you known?”

“I went to the bathroom at Gran’s party, after Tanner and McKenna’s announcement, and I don’t know…I just realized that I hadn’t had a period in a while…and I texted Harper, and asked her to run to my cabin and grab the pregnancy test she’d left there when she moved out…and…and…”

“And it was positive?”

“Yeah. It was positive.”

“Parker!”

Her smile is the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever seen, but I can hardly see it because the whole world is blurry. My eyes are filled with tears of joy, and there’s nothing I can do to make them go away. I pull her into my arms.

“Aw, baby, I love you so much! I’m going to be the best dad ever! The best partner! Oh my god, Park, the best husband!”

“Wait. What?”Cue the sound of a record scratching.She yanks herself out of our embrace, looking up at me with straight lips and wide eyes. “H-Husband?”

Without thinking, I drop to the floor on one knee and ask,

“Will you marry me, Park?”

She continues to stare at me, her expression…nothappy.

“No.”

“What?”

“No. The answer is no! I’m not going to marry you, Quinn. Not now. Not yet. We’ve only been dating for a month.”

“But we’re having a baby.”

“…who’s coming whether or not we’re married.” She pushes against my chest. “Oh my god, are you crazy? Get up. Stop this now.”

I slide back up to the couch, feeling confused…and a little rejected. As though she senses this, she reaches for my face—for my red, hot, embarrassed cheeks—and forces me to look at her.

“I’m crazy about you,” she tells me. “And one day, I may very well say yes. But that day isn’t today, Quinn. Not now,” she repeats. “Not yet. And not like this.”

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