Chapter 23
The sky above my father’s land is rich with shades of pink and orange as the sun dips low over fields of flowers whose heads seem to droop in the setting sun.
I point out to Parker as we stand on the edge of the field, “They’re like little soldiers taking a power nap before the sun comes back up to order them to work. ”
He buries his head in the crook of my neck, lips smiling against the skin bared there.
Right now, this trip home is the perfect distance we needed between what I found out this week about the photos. I’m still in shock over who sent them—the freaking director of the Agency, for Pete’s sake! More importantly, why they’d been set.
It was a test. I still don’t know if I passed or failed.
Parker has reassured me he doesn’t give a fuck.
In fact, I grin as I tip my head back and let the late summer heat still lingering wash over me, he told me so in those exact words before we boarded a plane to fly home.
“I already threatened to resign if he didn’t own up to what he did. ”
My jaw unhinged. “What would you do?”
He shrugged as if walking away from all his service in government wasn’t a big deal. Still devilment danced in his eyes when he replied, “I thought I’d hit Cal up for a job.”
I clasped his shoulders as I straddled his lap and said seriously, “It’d be the end of the world as we know it.”
Parker laughed before flipping me down onto the couch and loving me breathless.
Now, we’re wrapped up in each other and the kind of Texas evening that reminds me of why I love my home—where the smells of sweet flowers, earth, and the faint scent of barbecue make everything feel grounded and familiar.
The only missing piece after all these years is still my mother.
Reaching between us, I finger the chain with her ring around my neck and let out a longing sigh.
What would she think about the man I brought home to meet the family? I wonder.
Ellie, Abe, and Jordan are starstruck by him.
Jordan has been peppering him all night about his SEAL training.
Parker has answered each and every question seriously, not dismissing my sibling in any way.
What he did warn him with a quick glance at my father was, “It will change you fundamentally in ways you need to be prepared for.”
But my greatest shock was when Thorn and my dad didn’t wait for me to introduce them before they were greeting one another, emotions thick in the air.
I’d never put it together before then that Parker was part of the SEAL team that rescued my father from the hell he endured when he and my mother were kidnapped on their anniversary cruise.
When my father asked me how I could not know, I shot a furious look at my boyfriend. His response made my heart melt. “I wanted Bethany to fall in love with me, Linc. I didn’t want her to fall for a guy who happened to be in a place to carry her dad off a ship when he’d survived hell on his own.”
My father snickered. “Modest, as always, Thorn?”
“One of my best features, Linc.”
Then, to my and my siblings’ shock, the two of them clasped forearms and slapped each other on the back. Thorn murmured something in my father’s ear, causing his eyes to well up. “Okay, son.”
“Son? Did we just adopt Parker?” I nudged into their moment to take my father’s temperature, so used to doing it after the first five years after my mother died. I need to make certain he’s fine.
Parker reached for my hand and pulled me into their circle before crooning into my ear. “Oh, B. If only the rest of your life was going to be that easy.”
His words caused my heart to pound even as I laughed at the amusement dashing away the shadows from my father’s eyes.
Now, I lean back against his broad chest and peek upward at Parker, who admires the vast beauty the Texas sun is kissing as it goes to sleep.
There is something profound about seeing him here that makes it feel like he has always belonged.
He’s still danger disguised in dark blue jeans and a fitted shirt that barely stretches across his broad chest, but there is a softness to his expression.
After all this time together, I should be used to seeing it, but each time I do, it zings my heart.
It’s as if all the barriers he keeps up against the world have dropped and he can freely demonstrate his love without reservations.
Tonight feels different though. Regardless of the surety and protection I feel within his arms, there is a tension in the air, something unspoken between us that has been building.
Ever since he spoke to my father, I can feel it.
No, that’s a lie. I’ve felt it every time he’s looked at me since he came back from his recruiting trip to MIT, and he uncovered the source of who sent me those photos.
It’s more profound, almost tangible. Something that makes my heart beat just a little faster every time our eyes connect.
“You’re quiet,” I say, squeezing the arm wrapped around me. “What has you thinking so hard?”
He smiles down at me, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “Do you think your father will recover from the fact we’re together?”
Flippantly, I reply, “Oh, he won’t. You’ve officially made it so Ellie can never bring a man home.”
Parker’s silver eyes catch the last bit of sunlight. There is a seriousness in his expression now, and it makes me pause. “I think he likes me though,” he says, his voice quieter, more thoughtful.
“He does. More importantly, he respects you. Trust me, if he didn’t, you’d know by now. One thing my dad doesn’t do is hide his feelings.” Lord knows he didn’t for the longest time.
Parker smiles again, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. He seems… nervous. I tilt my head to the side, trying to get as much of his face in my view as I can. “What’s going on with you tonight? You’re acting weird.”
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“About?”
“About you. About us. About... the future.”
I blink, not sure what to say. I didn’t expect that, not tonight. Not here, of all places. “Parker, does this have anything to do with what your boss tried to do? I’m sorry. I should have come to you.”
He spins me in his arms and lays a finger over my lips. “We talked about that. You did what you felt you needed to do. You confronted Libby because she was there. You were going to confront me when I got back, but then I dragged you to my boss’s office.”
I nod. It played out exactly like that, with Cal and Libby’s fury equal to my own.
Parker’s boss didn’t earn himself any favorability that day.
In fact, rumors are swirling on television that there may be a new director in the near future.
I wonder if that might be the man in front of me. “Then what are you—”
But before I can finish, he lifts my left hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles.
His touch grounds me as a wave of realization hits me.
With the twilight illuminating the sky, the same time of night he ran away from our first kiss, with that same intense gaze he had that first night—the one that made me feel like I was the only person in the world who mattered—he lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it.
“I love you, B,” he says, his voice steady but reverent.
“I knew you were different from that first day in Mexico, but I think I started falling the night we reconnected in Cal and Libby’s living room and you ignored me. ”
My heart knocks against my ribs. “I didn’t—”
“You absolutely did,” he interrupts, grinning. “And I knew right then that I was in trouble. You were everything I didn’t know I was missing. I just hate we could have had this sooner.”
I swallow hard, the lump in my throat growing as his words penetrate. This isn’t just a casual conversation amid the budding moonlight. This might be everything.
Parker cradles my fingers against his cheek, but I can see a slight tremble in his hand. “Do you want to know what I whispered to your father today?” he asks.
“What?” My heart’s thundering so hard I wonder if it’s going to stop.
His eyes never leave mine. “I told him I was going to marry you.”
For a second, the world seems to stop spinning. My breath catches in my chest, and all I can do is stare at him, my mind racing to catch up. Then his words penetrate, and my lips curve. “You didn’t ask?”
Parker snorts. “No. He’s not the person I love. There’s only one person I plan on asking.” With that, he twists my hand and presses his lips to the center of my palm.
My body trembles.
“You saw his reaction,” Parker continues, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “But, B? None of that means a damn thing without this.” He drops to one knee in front of me, pulling a small, simple velvet box from his pocket.
I gasp, my hands flying to cover my mouth as tears well up in my eyes.
This is really happening. This man—this strong, successful, arrogant, obnoxious man—is proposing to me.
At my family’s home. Making new happy memories for me where so much pain lived.
Burying the past and building our future on top of it.
“Bethany.” He looks up at me with so much love in his eyes that it nearly knocks the breath out of me.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to laugh with you, and argue with you, and screw up a million more dinners with you. You’re everything I never knew I needed.
My parents would have loved you and I hope like hell your mother would have tolerated me. ”
I laugh even amid my tears. I’m already nodding yes, but I can’t get the word out.
Parker continues, “You’re strong and smart, and with you by my side, I know I can be a better man.”
“Who in this world could be better than you?”
His whole body shudders. “Will you marry me?”
Tears spill down my cheeks. My voice catches in my throat. “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
A huge grin breaks out across his face as he surges to his feet.
Before I can throw myself into his arms, he quickly slips the ring my eyes are too wet to see onto my finger before pulling me into his arms. His heart is racing against mine as he hauls me up on my toes to kiss me with unrestrained passion.
For a moment, everything else falls away.
The world narrows down to just the two of us—the girl who grew up to play with tools and the boy who grew up to protect the world.
Neither of us quite fit in, yet somehow, we’re a perfect fit for each other.
When we finally pull apart, I can’t help but laugh through my tears. “You snuck in asking my dad right in front of my face?”
Parker chuckles, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “Well, I didn’t want him completely unaware.”
Then I’m reminded of the photos. “And Libby?”
His smile is tender. “Look at your ring.”
I do and gasp. It’s a non-traditional engagement ring—an eternity band. He admits, “I kept bringing Libby to meet with the jewelers because I knew I wanted you to be able to wear your ring, but I didn’t know what the hell to buy.”
“Oh, Parker.” My voice is breathless as my finger runs over the fully faceted diamonds. They’ll only get in the way if I accidentally nail my hand with a hammer. Much less likely than having a solitaire. I lift the hand now bearing the symbol of his love to cup his face. “You did perfectly.”
A breath of air whooshes out of his lungs. I frown. “She said everyone was involved in something.”
“Yeah.” At my raised brow, he admits, “They’re planning our engagement party for when we get home.”
My heart feels so full I think it might burst. “You’re so cocky, it’s ridiculous.”
“And you love me for it,” he teases, leaning in for another kiss.
“Yeah,” I whisper against his lips, smiling. “I really do.”
“B?”
“Yes?”
He lifts my hand to his heart. “I’m over the moon you said yes to marrying me, but the real day I said I do was the day you said you loved me. Nothing could make me love you more when you always will be everything to me.”