Page 52 of Only Ever You
A few minutes later, Parker had followed me downstairs after we both tugged on some clothes. He went to take Fuzzy for another bathroom break while I checked in the fridge to see what we had for food options. It was still early, but I was starving. My parents had arrived when I normally would’ve been eating lunch. My refrigerator didn’t have much to offer.
When Parker came back in, I glanced over and pointed at the kitchen table. He walked over and looked down at the single tarot card I pulled—the hierophant card.
He glanced at it, his gaze sober as he brought his eyes to mind again. “You know I want to marry you, right?”
“What?” I sputtered.
“Just thought I’d get that out of the way.” His lips quirked at the corners. “You do not need to tell me if that’s what you want, but that’s how I feel.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, letting the refrigerator door close. I breathed, pressing my palm to my chest, trying to calm my racing heartbeat. “Are you serious?”
“Very. That day when we met at the beach? I’ve never felt like that with anyone. I’m not an idiot. I know being together long-term isn’t easy. Hell, I just chickened out on facing you over –”
When he stopped abruptly, I cut in, “Something intense and powerful that you had to face. You’re going to keep facing what happened, and it’s going to be okay.”
My own baggage was messy, but when it came to others, I could see things more clearly.
He swallowed and nodded. “I don’t always know how to feel about things, but I know how I feel about you.”
I took in a breath and crossed over to him. “Well, I want to marry you too. You’re not really asking, so I’m not sure what we’re doing here.”
Parker’s laugh rumbled in his throat. He reached for my hand before leaning forward to give me a fierce kiss. “We’re doing things the way we do them. We’re gonna get married. We’ll figure out the details later.”
“What made you say that right now?” I asked.
He gestured to the card. “That means commitment, right?”
“That’s one of the meanings.” I was still reeling from that. I just drew one from the card deck.
“It reminded me I might as well say what matters right now,” he continued. “We can get through the hard stuff together. I love you, Luna.”
I blinked away the tears stinging my eyes. “I love you.”
Fuzzy came barging in because that’s what Fuzzy did. We gave him a little love and laughed.
Chapter Thirty-Two
PARKER
A month later
My dad gave me a bear hug, clapping me on the back the way he always did, hard enough to knock the breath out of me. He stepped back. “I’m so glad you were here for our visit.”
My lips curled into a smile. “I’m glad too, Dad. You got to meet Luna.”
His gaze swung to Luna who stood beside me talking with Stella’s mom.
“You make the best donuts I’ve ever had,” my dad enthused.
Luna’s cheeks turned a little pink when she smiled over at him. “I appreciate that. It’s really good to meet you.”
“You can come visit us anytime, but we’re looking into a move here.” My dad lifted his hands up in the air. “Stella is here, you’re here, and now you’re getting married soon. I mean, if you have kids, we wanna be close to spoil our grandkids.”
As I held my dad’s eyes, my chest felt tight with emotion. He’d always been somewhat over-enthusiastic with affection. He was still that way, and I loved that about him.
“We’d love that,” Luna said.
“Well, we’re looking into options. We don’t own a house in Fireweed Harbor, so as soon as our lease is up, if we canfind something here, we’ll move. We’re gonna figure it out.” He smiled at Elaine. “But we have a ferry to catch, so we gotta go.”
