38. Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Madison
B eing your own boss rocked and sucked at the same time, depending on the day, and that day it sucked. The office above me had a burst pipe that resulted in my ceiling leaking, which resulted in me having to put a pause on wedding planning and concentrate on damage control.
So I busied myself strategically placing buckets and towels all over the slippery floor, then I wiped dry everything I could and covered it with plastic sheets to prevent it from the moisture.
The scent of dampness and stagnant water hung heavy in the air the entire day and I sure I was sure I smelled like an old bathroom rug.
The thing that aggravated my situation was the fact that I had no place of my own to go and was still sleeping in my sister’s guest bedroom. That house my mother had found through George had four bedrooms and three point five bathrooms. I was a thirty-three-year-old, single lady. Even considering buying that property was too depressing.
And yet I had to find something and move out. The last time I spent so much time with anyone prior to my entanglement with Parker was when I was still living with my parents.
As per usual, the thought of Parker caused a sharp pain in my chest. This was one of those moments when I took my phone out and stared at his last text, thinking about how to answer him after two months of silence.
Maybe that was the night when I’d finally come up with something that didn’t sound stupid or pathetic. I could ask Clem how she managed to win back Lucas after being a massive pain in everyone’s ass all those years ago. She probably wanted me to leave her house as much as I wanted to, so she would spill.
Madison Hartley got what she wanted in life, right? Why wouldn’t I get a happy ending with Parker if I really wanted one?
And I wanted one. Spending so much time around my family and especially Daphne had slowly changed me. I got the appeal of having a family now. All you needed was the right person. And I knew who my right person was.
Feeling overly confident, I whipped out my phone and brazenly sent off a text to Parker.
Me: Hi.
Then I waited. He read it but he didn’t answer. I could see that he was online and yet he wasn’t typing anything.
Why did I send that text? I should have waited to talk to Clem first.
I flipped my phone with the screen down over my legs. A moment later it started ringing. I almost jumped out of my skin but when I looked at it, it was my sister .
“Hi,” I answered and realized I sounded breathless.
“Hi,” she paused, probably because of my labored breathing. “Is everything okay? You sound weird.”
I didn’t want the driver to hear all about my embarrassing move on Parker, if anyone could even call that idiotic text a move, so I lied. “Yes. Everything’s fine.”
“Are you coming home soon?”
“I’m on my way. Why?”
“Just checking. I have to go. Bye!”
She hung up on me and I turned my phone off out of fear that I might actually get a text from Parker. He wasn’t the type of asshole not to answer me at all. He was probably busy and couldn’t engage in a conversation. Although I didn’t want to think about what he could be doing at eight in the evening that could prevent him from texting me.
For all I knew, he could be seeing someone.
I slipped into the house with a heavy heart, expecting to be greeted by Daphne who always came to the door when she heard someone coming home.
Instead I heard heavy footsteps approaching from the living room and Parker’s smiling face came into focus. His dark hair was tousled and he had a slight stubble on his jawline. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt and jeans, his muscular arms flexing as he moved.
“Hi,” he said and in my stupor I only blinked. Parker cleared his throat and waved me in, inviting me into my sister’s living room like it was his place. “I should probably apologize for ambushing you, but seeing your face now… It was totally worth it.”
I kicked off my shoes and moved past him, then I sat on the couch looking around.
“Where is my sister? ”
“Upstairs,” Parker said and sat right next to me. My heart jackhammered against my ribcage.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“And I can’t believe you texted even if that was the dumbest text ever. But we will talk about that later. I have a few things I would like to say to you first.” I nodded and he continued. “As you know, I had been grieving for a long time. Guilt made it hard for me to accept that I had feelings for someone. I panicked. More than once. I needed time to process and I sent you mixed signals. Again, more than once.”
“Parker, I get it. You don’t have to explain.”
He continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “But however it might have looked on the outside, I want you to be sure about one thing. You were not a rebound. I had been mesmerized by you long before that kiss in your mother’s kitchen on Christmas. Back then I was already captivated and completely stupefied. And how could I not be?” He smiled. “You’re perfect. And you know how I feel about that word.”
My throat closed, my nose and eyes burnt with the unshed tears.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Jack. It wasn’t because I wanted to keep it a secret. I was ashamed about all the feelings I had towards him. I blamed him for Franny’s death. To me he was the one that took her away from me. On some level, I understood I was wrong and I felt guilty and ashamed but I’m going to therapy and I’m working on it.”
He then reached out and took my hand in his. “And all that brings us to the only real problem for me. I’m a relationship kind of guy. And I had fallen in love with a woman who doesn’t want a family, while I would very much like a second chance at having one. But I want to have one with you.”
I closed my eyes and tears spilled out. He released my hand and in a second I was in his lap. Warm lips kissed my cheeks as Parker’s hands ran up and down my back, soothing me. “I’m sorry if that scares you, love, but I don’t want to pretend anymore. I love you and I want you to know it’s your heart that I’m after. Your forever.”
I whispered, “You have it.” He hugged me tight, and I felt the weight of uncertainty lifting off my shoulders, replaced with hope and love. “I love you too. So much so that I couldn’t bear to go back to New York.”
As we sat there on the couch, wrapped up in each other's arms, I heard someone clear his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have to feed my child or she will bring down the entire house with one of her tantrums.”
Clem and Daphne walked past us and I lifted my head up from Parker’s chest and looked him straight in the eye. “I want what you want. A family. A forever. With you.”
A cocky grin appeared on his lips a moment before he took my mouth in a scorching hot kiss that made my body hum and Lucas clear his throat on his way to the kitchen.