Page 50 of Only Ever You
“I know you are,” Luna replied.
With her grandmother bossing them along, they climbed into the RV and drove it to park over near her place. After they were out of sight, her grandmother turned to face me. “I’ve been wanting to meet you, Parker. I appreciate you standing up for Luna. You be good to her.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I need to move along and make sure they do what I say.” She stopped in front of Luna, reaching for her hands. “Are you okay, hon?”
Luna’s tears had dried up. Her smile was a little sad and tired, but it was a smile. “I am. Thank you. You know I worry about them.”
“Of course you do. I do too. I think this whole thing spun out of control for them, and they’re gonna have to find their way out. I’m sure they’re tired, but they will find a different plan. Meanwhile, you let me handle them. You tell me if they try any of that shit.”
“You’re swearing a lot,” Luna teased.
“Well, that’s never been off-limits for me. Now, I love you.” She leaned over and scratched behind Fuzzy’s ears before she walked back down Luna’s driveway.
Luna looked up at me, uncertainty flickering in her gaze. “Are we still leaving?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I did the only thing I could think to do. I stepped closer to her and wrapped her in my arms. Dipping my head, I rested my chin on her shoulder.
“I fucked up and I’m sorry,” I murmured into her hair.
Her reply was muffled against my shoulder. “It’s okay.”
I loosened my hold. She lifted her head, looking up at me. “What happened?”
I took a shaky breath. “My mom showed up. What are the chances? All the stuff with her, the panic, the abandonment, feeling like I couldn’t get it right.” I sighed. “I started seeing that therapist. Leo gave me her phone number. You can go to an appointment with me if you want, but I don’t have a good reason for being an asshole. It wasn’t you. It was all me. I just panicked. Delaney thinks I have old wounds around thinking I’m not worthy because my mom, who was supposed to be there for me, left me. My dad went a long way to helping me repair that, but I still panicked, and I didn’t know how to talk about it. I didn’t know how to tell you that I didn’t feel like I was worthy. I love you. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I promise.”
Luna held my gaze, not once looking away before she placed her palm in the center of my chest. Her touch was a balm to my unsettled heart. “That makes sense. I guess it’s better that this happened now so you could panic and I could deal with my parents, and we could both fuck up at the same time.”
I had no idea where Fuzzy had gone, but he suddenly reappeared, circling our legs tightly and then shimmying between us. Luna giggled when she looked down at him. “He’s kind of pushy about affection.”
“Absolutely.” I laughed. “He is. So, do you want me to go? I showed up today because I was going to try to explain and fix it.”
“There’s nothing more to fix. I’m not perfect, and neither are you. How are things with your mom? What’s going on?” she asked softly.
I took a slow breath. “Well, I’m not ready to try to build a relationship with her. Delaney helped me figure out that whatever I feel right now doesn’t have to be permanent. I might want to build a connection with her, but not now. That’s what I told my mom.”
Luna studied me, her gaze warm. “Of course. It’s messy, and it’ll probably stay that way. Nothing is ever final, not really.”
My chest loosened with the tension easing. “I’m sorry I was a coward.”
Luna shook her head. “You weren’t a coward, Parker. That’s a really painful situation, and you were trying to deal with it.”
“I feel like I let you down. There’s a part of me that worries I can’t be good enough for anyone. And, with you, it really matters. I love you.”
She stared up at me. “I love you too. I wish you had as much faith in yourself as I have in you.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss just below my collarbone. My heart lunged toward her touch.
“I was coming here today to make it right. Are you okay? I mean…” I thumbed over my shoulder in the general direction of where her parents’ RV was now parked.
She rolled her eyes. “I was really stressed out, but honestly, whenever they show up and try to create content and do all that shit, I get really stressed. They know I hate doing it, so they put me on the spot. It sucks.” Her lips curled a little at the corners. “Thanks for standing up for me.”
“Well, I know you can stand up for yourself, but I was kind of pissed. It was bullshit that your dad whipped his phone out like that.”
“That’s why they got so popular at first. They didn’t even try to edit stuff. After a while, there was only so much to do that felt new. They’re not as popular now, so they try to drag me into these reunion things. They were trying to propose a reunion with this other family who has an RV channel. I hate it.”
“Your grandma has your back, I have your back, and they’re gonna have to figure out something else. They can do the RV thing, but not with you. I mean, if you change your mind…”
Luna laughed, leaning up to press another kiss below my collarbone. The brush of her lips was like fire flickering over my skin. Of course, my body had a mind of its own, and she smiled up at me when it became obvious that I was reacting to her presence. “Ignore it.”
