19. On Mr. Money Bags’ Dime

NINETEEN

Two weeks flew by, and Parker and I didn't talk about the kiss. We were getting pretty good at pretending it never happened. The only time he showed he remembered at all was when we were alone together for more than a few minutes at a time. We were good at avoiding each other. No matter how awkward it became, though, he continued showing up for Lily. It was promising, and I could feel myself relaxing into the routine.

There wasn't a single thing I could complain about when it came to Parker, other than his unrelenting consistency. He picked Lily up every morning before I left the house to go write and edit. He showed up on time and with breakfast for me in hand. Things were getting a little crazy.

By the time I got home each night I was drained. Parker started staying for supper like Mom insisted, and he liked tucking Lily into bed. It was… nice to have the help with her and just to have him around. I couldn't help feeling a little guilty that I wasn't doing as much on my own. The voice in the back of my mind was whispering not to get too hopeful that things would stay like this forever.

Holly convinced me to take a Friday off and have a spa day. I could never say no to her.

After a facial, massage, and manicure I had to admit I was feeling pretty good. I didn't want to take the fluffy robe and slippers off when it was time to leave, but Holly and I grabbed our things from the locker room, and she pulled a card out of her wallet.

I moved to cut her off. "You're not paying for this Holl, you're still in school." It was her idea, but I wanted to treat her since we hadn't had any alone time lately.

She waved me off and flashed the card in front of my face. "Oh no, I'm not paying. I have big brother's credit card." Her sassy smirk made me giggle.

"Holly."

"What? If Mr. Money Bags wants to treat us to a nice spa day, who are we to deny him?"

She had a point, but I didn't like using other people's money. "I don't need him to pay for my things." He'd already been coming home with groceries and things for Lily most nights.

"Neither do I, but it's a nice gesture. He knows you've been working hard and that you wouldn't let him do this if he asked you himself."

I cocked my head to the side. "So, this wasn't your idea at all?"

She gave me a guilty smile. "Not exactly, but I was very excited about it once he told me! I got to spend the whole day with you." She leaned her head on my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes. "And a free massage."

She flashed me an evil grin. "That too. Now let me pay and we'll head home."

Holly James was many things, but a good liar wasn't one of them. She fidgeted in her seat and kept glancing over at me. I got the distinct feeling I was being kidnapped. When she completely bypassed the road out of town to my parents' house, she told me we were going to her's. When we didn't slow down to turn on their street, I knew something was up.

"What gives Holl? You're going to ruin your new nails if you keep gnawing on them like a fucking beaver. Where are we going?"

She glanced over at me and looked a little scared. "I'm not allowed to tell you."

"So you are kidnapping me."

"A little? Sorry I'm really bad at keeping secrets, but I promise this is for a good reason." Her eyes were pleading with me to stop asking questions.

"You know I hate surprises."

"Yeah. Just don't shoot the… transporter."

I crossed my arms and sat back in my seat. When we crossed over to the other side of town I officially had no idea what was going on.

"What are we doing here, and why is Parker's truck in the driveway?" I stared at the house my mom grew up in and took in the newly sided facade. The deep brown exterior it had the last time I saw it was transformed into a light dusty blue. I climbed out of the car and marveled at the crisp, white shutters on the two story farmhouse that sat on the edge of town.

"Holly." I turned to question her but gaped as she tossed my purse from the car and started backing down the driveway. What the fuck? She pointedly didn't look at me as she waved from the road and left me standing there like an idiot.

I was so focused on the exterior of the house and Holly acting weird that I didn't even notice Parker sitting on the front porch swing.

He sat there watching me take in my surroundings with his hands folded behind his head and boots kicked up on the small wooden table in front of him. Despite his relaxed posture, his face shone with a nervous smile.

"Did you have a good day, Peach?" He sat upright to greet me as I ascended the porch stairs.

"I did."

The little white mailbox next to the screen door said the house number and both of our last names.

"How was your massage?" He took my belt bag and pulled me down next to him on the swing.

"Parker… It was good, thank you. Now can you tell me what the hell is going on and why we're here? Did you buy this house?" My words came out slightly shaky as I turned to look at him. "Are you the one who outbid me?"

"No," he rushed to answer. "I knew how upset you were and I bought it off the new owners the day after you told me about it. I couldn't get it out of my head. It was supposed to be yours, so I made it happen."

"Holy shit, Parker. You can't buy me a house."

His face fell. "You don't even want to look at it first?"

"I haven't been inside for years." Not since my grandpa passed. The house had been slowly deteriorating, but its beauty wasn't something that went away with age.

"I… yeah. Can we go inside?" It went against my natural instinct, but I missed this place and the person it represented more than I needed to question Parker at the moment.

"Go ahead." Parker stood and reached for my hand to pull me up and nudged me toward the front door.

When I stepped into the foyer, I was taken aback by the refurbished dark wood floors and natural light that shone throughout the main level.

"The previous buyers already had the floors done and some of the paint. I couldn't believe how much they had done before I contacted them. It was almost perfect. I hired a crew to do the siding and handled a few inside projects myself."

I heard him talking, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the beauty surrounding me. It was the perfect mix of modern and the original woodwork. My grandpa's work. The beams on the ceiling were the same ones I grew up counting while I laid on the floor waiting for the chocolate chip cookies to bake. Grandpa would tell me stories while we waited and it wasn't until years after he passed that I realized they weren't just any books. They were the ones he wrote for my mom when she was little and read for me when I was the same age.

I trailed my hand along the wall until I came to the fifth beam from the fireplace.

"Can you lift me up?" I asked Parker.

He looked confused but didn't hesitate when I pointed to the arc of the ceiling where the beams were closer within reach. He lifted me by my hips, and I almost cried when I saw it.

"It's still here." I ran my finger over the letters carved into the sealed wood.

M+P FOREVER

It was a reminder that everyone was young and innocently in love at some point.

My grandparents were divorced a few years before I was born, like everyone else in my family seemed to be, but that didn't stop both of them from telling me stories about their love. I just didn't know they'd been talking about each other until I was older and my grandpa wasn't here anymore. I had so many questions I wished I could ask him as an adult but being in the house he built for my gram all those years ago made it feel like he wasn't so far away. I used to see him in the birds flying free in the sky, but now I felt him in the floorboards under my feet, saw him in the initials carved under my fingertips.

I motioned for Parker to let me down. "I can't believe you did this." I was still in shock. When I turned to finally meet his eyes, he was looking at me wearily.

"In a good or bad way?"

"In a crazy way. Holy crap, Parker. This is a lot. Really fast."

"I want you to know I'm serious."

"I'm starting to get that."

"Do you like it? We can change anything you want."

I surveyed the open floor plan from the beautiful butcher's block countertops in the kitchen to the plush, teal couch in the living room that sat atop a fluffy, white rug. It felt cozy and classic, yet bright and modern. It was everything I had envisioned and more.

"I wouldn't change a single thing."

"Really?"

"Really. I can't believe you did all this when I only mentioned it once." I spun slowly, still taking it in.

"I couldn't help it. You had this horrible, heartbroken look on your face and I couldn't stand seeing it." He was rubbing his thumb and first two fingers together, a tell that he was anxious. It was something he did on the pitching mound. He'd scoop up a handful of dirt and sand to let it filter through his grasp.

"What are your… intentions with this place?"

"My intentions?" He chuckled. "You sound like a dad interviewing his daughter's prom date."

"Parker, be serious."

"All you have to do is sign the papers on the counter and it's yours. I thought it might be convenient if you were okay with me staying here to help with Lily while I'm home, but that's up to you. I want this to be your space with Lily. I'll respect whatever you choose."

I started to tell him it was still too much, but he stopped me before I could.

"There's one more thing you should see before you tell me no."

"Okay."

I let him lead me down the hallways even though I probably knew the layout better than anyone. When we stepped into the library, I froze in place.

"Parker." I covered my mouth. There were no words.

The floor to ceiling shelves that my grandpa built were still fully intact and filled with the books I hadn't taken out of storage at my parents' house. I walked over to the rolling ladder and tested it with a small nudge. It moved fluidly over the rail that rounded to reach all three walls of shelves.

I walked to an edition of a series that I recognized, but not because it was one I owned.

"Parker James."

"Yeah, Peach?"

"This one isn't mine. I missed the drop." I stared at the exclusive set of covers, the one I discovered Parker had stolen and read in Buffalo.

"I know."

I whirled to face him. "How did you get it?" I tried offering my own signed books in exchange for the set, but no one I knew through my Aurora connections was willing to part with it. "You had to pay a ridiculous amount for it."

"Money was the last thing on my mind." He avoided my eyes. "It was probably stupid, but I thought it was our thing. It kind of changed everything for us."

It had. I know he literally just bought me a house, but this was probably the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me. I spun, taking it all in. Against the one empty wall was the writing desk that my grandpa used to craft all his stories. It was updated with a brand new computer. My fingers twitched to sit down and start writing.

"I figured if you ever decided you wanted to stop editing and start writing your own books, it would be cool to use this space."

I sat down on the day bed that took up the center of the room and collapsed into the soft heaven of throw blankets and fluffy pillows.

"You really thought of everything, huh?"

Parker's nerves from earlier dissolved into a smug smirk. "I did my best. With some help from our moms." He shrugged. "And your Pinterest boards are public."

"So everyone was in on this?"

"Pretty much. We have a group chat and everything." He pulled out his phone to show me.

"Wow, even Queen Charlotte."

"She was reluctant."

"She wasn't upset about the house, was she?"

"No, she knew it was your thing. She actually had the flowers delivered." He nodded to the blue hydrangeas in a vase next to the computer. "So… You hate it and you're turning me down?"

I could have made him sweat but I was too excited. "No. I'm going to need you to bring me those papers."

"You like it? You'll stay?" He held out his pinky.

I linked mine with his. "One condition."

"Hit me."

"It's both of ours."

"Huh?"

"You should stay here too." He looked surprised so I amended it. "For Lily."

"Right, Dellie. For Lil." He picked me up and spun me around like that day in Boston. I wondered if he was happier now or then.

He put me down and ran to the kitchen. "We're homeowners!"

We crashed down on the daybed when we were done signing everything into both of our names.

"I didn't know you were so good with your hands, James."

Parker scoffed. "You know how good I am with my hands." He watched me from across the room. "Ned bossed me around, but I did the work. I wanted it to be me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm tripping over myself to impress you. Even if all you do is shut me down."

"Masochist." I shook my head, but couldn't fight the smile forming on my lips. "You know, Lily and I aren't a package deal. You can be her dad, and we can just be friends." Parker started to interrupt me but I held up a hand. "I have missed you, and I could use a friend. One that isn't trying to get in my pants and make me fall in love with him."

"I don't really know if I can stop you from falling in love with me. We're inevitable, Del. But I could keep my dirty thoughts to myself."

"And your hands?"

"I will try," he reluctantly promised.

"Okay."

"Okay, you'll move in with me?"

If I was being honest with myself, I knew what I wanted and why it was a bad idea. Living with Parker would be great for Lily and make co-parenting a lot easier. It created an opportunity for them to really bond while he was home. The answer was a little muddier when it came to him wanting me there too. I knew what his end goal was. He wanted me back. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, other than our physical chemistry was pushing me toward him at an alarming rate. I just hoped my heart could handle the velocity.