38. Parker
38
PARKER
I ’m waiting on the steps of The Met, my stomach in knots. I don’t know what happened yesterday, but Dylan nearly left skid marks on my floor on her way out. Despite it being almost seven, the sun is still high in the sky, the days growing longer with the summer months approaching.
I do my best to take in the sight of the tall buildings dyed gold, but all I can think about is what could’ve upset Dylan yesterday. Her texts before bed were normal, but I can’t shake the niggling feeling that she was just saying that to get me off her back.
I scan my surroundings, my eyes stopping as soon as they land on the breathtaking brunette approaching me. She’s wearing a long white skirt that hits just above her ankles and a black short-sleeved sweater top. Her caramel hair is pulled up into a loose bun at the top of her head with loose tendrils framing her face, and she’s wearing that red lipstick that makes my knees go weak.
Every time I see her, it feels like the wind is knocked out of my lungs. My face breaks out in a grin that I wouldn’t be able to hide, no matter how hard I tried. Dylan matches it with her own, and the happiness on her face makes my pulse accelerate. We’re about to look at some of the world’s most beautiful artwork, but I already know that her smile will be my favorite piece of art I see tonight.
“Hi,” I whisper into her ear as I pick her up in my arms. Her arms tighten around my neck, and my god, I could stay like this forever. I place her back down on her feet, but her arms don’t loosen around me.
“Hi you,” she mumbles shyly.
“You look beautiful.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself.”
I roll my eyes but chuckle. “Should we head inside?” I grab her hand and turn toward the museum, but I feel her hesitation. When I look back at her, she’s rooted in the spot I placed her, with a look of distress on her face. I try not to jump to conclusions.
Maybe she wants to talk about what happened yesterday. I didn’t bother mentioning it once while we were texting today. I knew she’d come to me when she felt ready.
“Do you mind if we sit and talk out here first? There’s something I need to get off my chest.”
Well, shit . That’s not the direction I thought it was headed. I nod, feeling like I’m on a roller coaster that won’t stop climbing.
My mind snags on the fact that she said she wanted to talk out here first, which means she’s not about to break up with me, right? If so, there would be no after–that would make for one fucking awkward date. “Of course.” I do my best to play it cool as I sit down on one of the many steps that lead up to the entrance of the museum.
“I feel like Blair Waldorf.” She scans her surroundings, clearly delaying whatever she wants to tell me. I don’t dignify the procrastination with a response. I’m not in the state to joke around right now, even if I wanted to.
She blows out a breath of understanding, catching onto my lack of desire to put this conversation off any longer than we have to.
“I saw an email on your phone last night. I went to check the time and see if I had any messages, and I accidentally picked yours up. Before I could put it back, I saw a notification on your home screen. I wasn’t trying to snoop. It just kind of happened…” When she’s done speaking, her voice is lost to the air, so quiet her words nearly vanish.
My eyebrows stitch together in confusion. I mentally go through my inbox, trying to remember what I could’ve received that would’ve upset her, but I come up short.
“I’m not sure I’m following.”
“The email was from Thames & Type. It mentioned something about discussing a job offer. I don’t know much about the publishing world, but I do know that they’re one of the biggest publishers in London.”
Fuck . No wonder she ran out of there.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and exhale sharply. I never meant for her to see that, let alone have to sulk with the idea that now that we’ve finally gotten back together, it’s going to be ripped apart by distance for the second time in our lives.
I grab her hand in mine, trying to comfort her in any way I can.
“Shortly after I moved to New York, they approached me about working for them. At the time, I had expressed interest, but I told them I wanted to settle into the city first. I had just made the move across the country. The last thing I wanted to do was move across the world two months later. It was too much to process. And Blake put his neck on the line to get me the job at Blue Bird in the first place. I couldn’t accept it and run right after. But I didn’t want to turn them down because it’s a great offer.”
I let my thumb drift across her hand in soothing circles as she tenses. She looks deep in thought, and I fight the urge to smooth out the wrinkle in between her brows that she gets when she’s concentrating.
“I couldn’t live with myself if I asked you to stay for us.” Her eyes meet mine, and the internal battle she’s facing reads on her face. She’s trying to be strong, but I can tell how much this hurts her.
“Lucky, I’m not taking it. And before you overthink it, it’s not because you’re asking me to do anything. It’s a decision I made on my own–before I asked you to be my girlfriend.” A frown tugs at her lips as she chews the inside of her cheek, but before she can argue with me, I power on.
“As soon as I saw you on that flight, I knew I had to give this a fighting chance. I had no idea whether or not we’d end up where we are today. Hell, I had no idea if you’d even entertain the idea. All I knew was that I was going to try. Even if it meant this ended with us being friends. That was a risk I was willing to take. I don’t care about the job. I care about you. You’ve always been my priority, even though I did a terrible job showing you that in the past.”
“You didn’t do a terrible job.” She comes to my defense, interrupting my train of thought. A small rumble of laughter rolls through my chest.
“I did. It’s something I’ve lived with every day since we broke up, but now that I have a second chance, I’m not going to fuck it up again. I don’t care about that job. I have everything I want here in this city. I have you. I’m making this decision for me. For us. And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier. I’ve just been so wrapped up in Evelyn’s project and spending as much time with you as possible. It didn’t even cross my mind.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I invaded your privacy and ran off without giving you a chance to explain. Can you ever forgive me?”
I tuck a loose curl behind her ear and place a gentle kiss on her forehead. She leans into my touch, and we sit in silence for a few blissful minutes. When I pull away, I cup her cheek and softly brush her skin.
“There’s no reason to forgive you, Lucky. You did nothing wrong. Please forgive me.”
She shakes her head adamantly. “You have nothing to be sorry about either. But before all of this is over, I have to ask, are you sure that this is the decision you want to make? Your happiness is most important to me. Distance was hard for us in college, but we’re not those same naive kids anymore. We can handle it. I don’t mind racking up airline points and gallivanting around Europe with you. I just don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“The only thing I regret in my life is letting you walk away the first time. I regret not fighting harder to keep you in my life. I regret hurting you. And all I can do now is tell you I’m not letting you go.”
As I speak, I see the dark storm clouds that hung over her dissipate. She sits taller, and her eyes become misty, and it’s a picture I want to save for the rest of my life. The woman I love in tears on the steps of one of the most famous museums in the world, willing to sacrifice everything to give us a chance.
She presses her forehead to mine, our noses touching. “I love you so much. You’re stuck with me now. I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
I lower my lips to hers, kissing her softly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I mumble against her mouth. And just like that, I’m kissing her teeth as she breaks out into a grin so blinding I all but have to shield my eyes.
As much as it pains me, I pull away from her and stand up, wiping my pants off in the process. I reach out to her with a hand, and she immediately grabs it.
“Shall we go see some art?”
She hoists herself up and wraps her arms around my waist. When I look down into her eyes, they’re shimmering like a night sky full of stars. They’re a galaxy of their own, and they pull me into their orbit.
“There’s nothing I’d love more.”
We walk toward the entrance, holding onto one another tightly, and I sigh in contentment. I found luck in the city and I couldn’t be any happier.