Letting his head fall back, Markus looked to the ceiling of Epiphany Design Studio and let out a long, very obnoxious moan.

He did not want to be shopping right now.

“Get it together, Reeves,” Mekena called back to him from the white fabric sofa she and Lucy were oohing and aahing over. Groaning once more, he fell into a chair, fully intending to pout, but then he found that he liked the chair.

“Hey, I love this chair. It’s soft.”

The women both looked over, and within seconds, he knew he wasn’t getting the chair.

“It’s cowskin,” Mekena said, shaking her head. “We’re going for country chic.”

“Hey, nothing says country more than cows,” he replied, and she glared as Lucy giggled. “Moo,” he added, and Mekena’s face darkened with annoyance. He hadn’t been the easiest to shop with.

He was somewhere in the range of a toddler who was hungry with no nap.

They both rolled their eyes. “No.”

“Moo. Moo. Moo. That’s cow for I love it.”

“Markus, I can’t even with you right now.”

“Moooo, that’s cow for—”

She shot him a look that cut him off. “We are in a ritzy place. Be classy.”

He made a face as he rubbed his butt on the chair. “Moo, moo? That’s cow for what’s that?”

“Jesus take the wheel, Markus. It doesn’t go with the style, and stop mooing!” Lucy demanded, and he snapped his lips shut. “I’ll find you something just like it.”

He grumbled as he leaned back while Mekena rolled her eyes, a sneaky little grin on her face. She might think he was annoying and childish, but boy, did he love that smile on her face. As he watched her gush over the couch, he decided he didn’t want to be anywhere else but right there, watching her eyes light up as she looked at stuff to fill their apartment. It had been three glorious weeks since they had moved in, and since Mekena had gotten her signing bonus that neither of them knew she was going to receive, she wanted to blow it on home furnishings. Lord knew they needed them.

Since neither of them knew anything about decorating, they hired Lucy. Well, the term “hired” was loosely used because they were paying her back in babysitting for Angie. Perks to having a “big sister” as an interior designer, and Markus was thankful because he couldn’t contribute anything. He still hadn’t been offered a contract with the Assassins. He was playing great, kicking ass. He still hadn’t scored, but he was getting assists left and right, which was just as great. His plus-minus was rocking, and Coach and Elli Adler were bursting at the seams with happiness. Yet, he hadn’t been signed. His agent told him not to worry, but he was in full panic.

He didn’t want all this to be for nothing, which he knew it wouldn’t. He’d come and visit, stay with her, but man, he wanted this apartment to be their home. Their permanent home. It was all so up in the air, and he hated that feeling. He had told Dr. Lemiere about how he was feeling during their last meeting, and she assured him it was normal. But he felt so lost. He felt like it was all going to come crashing down on him, and he just wanted to succeed.

He wanted to make Mekena proud.

He loved her. More than he thought he could ever love another human. It was all so wonderful. They were happy, they were both doing great at their jobs, and at the end of the day, they came home and went to bed. Together. It was everything he could hope for. He just wanted it to be final. He wanted to know that nothing could change for a while. He knew there was always the chance of a trade, but before that, he wanted to be a permanent Assassin.

“Babe, do you like this?”

Looking over to where Mekena was holding a frilly lace pillow, his face twisted as he shrugged. “Do you?”

“I do,” she gushed, holding it close to her as Lucy grinned and he smiled.

“Then get it. It’s great.”

She held his gaze for a moment and then shook her head, putting it down. “He doesn’t like it.”

“I know,” Lucy said with a giggle as they moved on, and he let out a breath.

He tried.

Wasn’t his fault; he couldn’t erase his face. With a scoff, he remembered that time he yelled at Baylor to erase her face. It was when…Skylar. When Skylar was flirting hard with Jayden because they’d had a thing, but it had ended way before that moment, and Jayden was committed to Baylor. That was a funny night. A good night because Baylor finally admitted that something was going on with Jayden, that they were in love, which was the reason she almost kicked Skylar’s ass.

Wow. He had thought about Skylar, and it didn’t hurt.

Mekena looked over at him as her brows came together. “What?”

“I’m awesome,” he decided and she grinned.

“Duh, come on. Let’s look at a table!”

Letting his head fall forward, he moaned loudly as he got up and headed for her, but he paused when his phone sounded. Pulling it out, he saw it was from his mom.

Mom: Markus, are y’all coming to church this Sunday? Everyone would love to meet Mekena.

Things had been good with his parents. They talked once a week, mostly about hockey and his games, which made him feel good. They were watching, cheering him on, and even had a burger named after him. It was Mekena’s favorite burger too, which resulted in a very inappropriate comment about her loving his meat in her mouth, to which she smacked him. Hard. Probably because he said it in front of his father, not that he was listening. But at least she was trying too. She went to the restaurant with him, stood by him as they showed him off and gushed over him. Things were looking like they might work out with his parents, and that thrilled him. A lot.

He came up beside Mekena before showing her the text. She read it and then looked up at him. “You know I’m not very religious, right?”

His phone sounded once more, and they both looked down.

Mom: If y’all want to marry at the church, she’ll have to know everyone.

He looked back at her, and she glared. “I don’t want to get married in a church. I want a cool barn wedding or something. Or something like Lucy and Benji did.”

Lucy grinned. “Y’all are getting married? You didn’t tell me!” she said, smacking Markus.

He glared over at her, rubbing his arm. “We aren’t. Not yet, at least.”

Mekena caught his gaze. “Not yet?”

“Not yet,” he repeated with a wink. “Come on, don’t act like it won’t happen.”

She shook her head. “I’m not acting like anything. Just surprised.”

“Surprised?” he asked, his face twisting as he tucked his phone into his pocket, deciding to text his mom back later. “I think everyone is aware, and surely you know, I’m head over heels for you.”

“It’s true. Everyone knows,” Lucy added, and Mekena laughed, shaking her head.

“Well, duh, but why would your mom think it? I mean, they hate me. Why would they want you to marry me?”

“They hate you? Why? You’re amazing,” Lucy said, looking back at Markus, confused. “What is wrong with them?”

He shrugged his shoulders while rolling his eyes. Why was Lucy commenting here? “They don’t hate her, they’re trying. And I don’t know why they’re asking.”

He knew it was too early to think of marriage. They had only been back together a few weeks, and while they dated for a few months before, that still wasn’t long enough. Though, in a way, he didn’t care. He’d marry her tomorrow, with no questions asked. But really, he knew she’d have questions.

“They hate me.” Rolling his eyes, he heard Lucy laugh as Mekena continued, “They called me white trash, and Markus cut them off. And now they’re back, trying to make nice.”

Lucy grimaced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, whatever. Do they even know we live together? Or that we haven’t even discussed marriage?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m surprised they’re not asking for ring sizes. I should probably get on that before she asks.”

She laughed. “Okay, so what you’re saying is we should have this all discussed and ready to go before we see them? So when they come at us, we’ll have all the right answers.”

He held her gaze. “We’ll go?”

“If you want.”

He hadn’t wanted to go. He didn’t care. Yeah, he had grown up in the church, but he didn’t want Mekena to feel weird, especially with everything that had gone down. But now, as they stared into each other’s eyes, he realized he did want to take her. He wanted people to love her as much as he did, and maybe one day, even come to their wedding.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well, I’m a six.”

His brows pulled together. “Huh?”

“My ring size,” she said with a wink, and he laughed as he nodded.

“Noted.”

“You two are crazy,” Lucy joked as she picked up a lamp. “But the best people in love are.”

“Yup, and I’m happy,” Mekena said, kissing his lips as his arm snaked around her, holding her so she couldn’t get away.

“Really?” he asked against her lips, and she grinned.

“Really.”

With a wink, he kissed her once more before letting her go so she could get back to shopping. The quicker they got done, the quicker they could leave. Or at least, that’s what he was going to tell himself. Looking down at his phone, he decided to scroll through Facebook as he followed the girls through the store. He wasn’t sure how he got pulled into this, and he blamed it fully on Mekena. She’d seduced him and then asked him to come shopping while she was giving him the best blow job of his life. At that moment, he would have said yes to anything she asked.

So here he was, in hell of furniture and fixtures to make their apartment pretty.

Or, Mekena’s apartment.

Since he couldn’t get signed and provide for his girlfriend.

“How was the stay-in honeymoon?” Mekena asked, and Lucy beamed.

“It was so nice. Mom took Angie, and we basically just Netflixed and banged all weekend. It was glorious,” she said with a laugh that Mekena joined in on.

“That sounds awesome,” she said, elbowing Markus in the gut playfully. “We should do that after the wedding at your mom’s church.”

He gave her an exaggerated look. “Ugh, we can’t. They’d expect us to go somewhere tropical, duh, Mekena.”

She let out a long breath, slapping her leg. “More reason to do a barn wedding. No one expects anything.”

“This is true,” he said with a nod. “Good thing we have time.”

“Markus, we have plenty of time since you haven’t asked,” she said with wide, playful eyes. “I bet the people at church would be appalled we’re even talking about it without the ring.”

“The horror! Because, shit, Mekena, we’re already sleeping together.”

“Crap! And living together.”

“The horror!” they said together before sputtering with laughter.

“You guys are nuts,” Lucy teased, and Mekena grinned up at him but then paused.

Her brows pulled in as she wrapped her arms around him, and Lucy asked, “Y’all coming? I don’t like these colors.”

“We’re coming,” Mekena said, not taking her eyes off Markus. He glanced up to see Lucy wandering away, and when he looked back to Mekena, she asked, “What’s wrong? Are you not having fun?”

“No, I hate this,” he said and she smiled.

“No, really.”

“No, I’m serious. I hate this,” he said simply, and her grin dropped.

“I’m sorry, but don’t you want to pick out stuff for the apartment?”

“It isn’t mine. It’s yours.”

Her brows furrowed even more, her little chin tipping up as she looked at him, confused. “Um, no it’s our apartment.”

“No, I haven’t contributed anything.”

She held his gaze and then nodded. “This isn’t about shopping. This is about not being signed yet.”

“Which means I can’t contribute.”

“But you do. Your opinions, your muscles, and your love, Markus. I couldn’t do anything without your love. You’re contributing, and when you get signed, you’ll do the rest, believe me. I’ll take your money with no problem,” she said, and then she grinned. “I’ll even let you buy me sexy underwear and heels.”

He smiled. “Promise?”

“Promise. The naughtier, the better.”

“Hm, good deal, then.”

“See? Now stop.”

“I just feel worthless,” he muttered, and she glared before smacking his chest.

“Don’t talk about my man like that.” He couldn’t fight his grin as he held her close. “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re working your ass off, Markus,” she said, grabbing his chin. “You are in no way worthless. You hear me?”

“I do, but I want to contribute. I want to get signed and make you proud.”

Her eyes lit up as big as her smile as she cupped his face. “Markus, I’m already proud of you. You don’t have to be signed for that to happen. It’s already a done deal. Getting signed is just a bonus we both really want. Don’t worry, it will work out. Remember? We said we would work out, no matter what.”

“We will.”

“Then stop thinking like that. Enjoy shopping for our apartment,” she stressed as she kissed his nose. “Let’s have fun.”

“I am having fun.”

“You’re a liar.”

He laughed. “Fine, I’ll have fun.”

“Good, these are memories we can tell the kids, or better yet, everyone at church when they ask why we aren’t married,” she teased, and he laughed, kissing her lips.

“Good plan. Maybe we can buy them a lamp. That would distract them even more,” he suggested and she nodded.

“Or better yet, the whole store,” she said with a wink, and he laughed as she cuddled into his side. “I’ll need them to love me, so maybe your parents will.”

Rolling his eyes, he kissed her temple. “They like you but, really, it doesn’t matter ’cause I love you.”

Grinning up at him, she smiled. “I love you too.”

He leaned down, pressing his nose into hers as his heart throbbed happily in his chest. He sure did love this girl, but before he could tell her that once more, he heard, “Mekena?”

Mekena stopped and then looked to her left. When he followed her gaze, he found a couple looking at them with perplexed looks on their faces. He wasn’t sure who they were, but something inside him said that it was her parents, especially since the lady was an older version of Mekena, while the guy was the spitting image of a male Skylar.

Before he could ask or even assume, Mekena answered his question by saying, “Mom? Dad? What are y’all doing here?”

Markus’s gut dropped promptly as he looked at the two people who had spawned the woman he loved…but also the woman who had tried to rape him.

 

 

Mekena’s heart was pounding in her chest as her parents looked back at her with complete and utter confusion on their faces. She hadn’t spoken to them since she took the job with the Assassins and ultimately moved back to Nashville. She was certain they were aware since her mom talked to Libby, but she was pretty sure they were going to give her shit since the news hadn’t come from her. Though she hadn’t heard from them either in the last three weeks. Libby said it was because they were dealing with shit with Skylar, but Mekena didn’t think that was a good enough excuse. Skylar needed to take care of herself; their parents couldn’t do it. If she didn’t want help, she wouldn’t get it. But they weren’t hearing that. They wanted to help, from what Libby had said. Mekena should have called, she should have checked in on them, but things were just better in her bubble. Her Markus and Mekena bubble, as she’d started to call it.

Outside of the bubble, her family was nuts and so was his. She was still pissed at how her parents had handled everything with Skylar. Taking her side and wanting to help her when she was a walking shitstorm. It was annoying, and maybe Mekena was being childish, but she was tired of it always revolving around Skylar. No one cared that her sister had hurt her, or even Markus—it was only about Skylar. It was disgusting and unfair. The less she had to do with her family, the better. But it seemed that was about to change because her mom was staring at her, and her dad was staring at Markus.

Shit.

Letting go of Markus, she went to them, hugging them both before stepping back, seeing they were both still staring at Markus. She hadn’t introduced them to him when they were dating back in college. There wasn’t a point because she’d been unsure how long it would really last. Then Skylar did what she did and, well, that story had been overtold.

Swallowing hard, she said, “What are y’all doing here?”

“This is our favorite store, we need a rug,” her mother said, both of her parents looking past her to Markus.

“Oh, so are we,” she said happily before walking to Markus and taking his hand. “We are decorating our apartment.”

“Your apartment?” her father asked, looking to her mother before glaring at Markus.

“Yeah, I’m sure Libby told y’all. I moved back to Nashville. With Markus.”

“Markus?” her mother said, her eyes widening.

“With him? Who is this? Is this Markus?” her father asked, and when she looked up, Markus was staring at her like she was crazy.

“You didn’t tell them you moved back? With me?”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t talked to them.” She could see in his eyes he thought it was more than that, but it wasn’t. She just hadn’t wanted to talk to them. Looking back to her parents, she smiled. “I guess y’all haven’t met yet. Mom, Dad, this is Markus Reeves, my boyfriend. Markus, this is my mom, Linda, and my dad, Stan.”

Markus took a step forward, holding his hand out as her father took it. “Mr. and Mrs. Preston, it’s nice to meet you both, finally.”

“Finally?” her father asked, looking back to Mekena.

“I’ve just heard a lot about you both,” he said, taking a step back to Mekena, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Unfortunately, we can’t say the same,” her father said, his eyes dark and full of anger. “But then, we didn’t even know our daughter had moved back, so what do we know?”

“I’m sorry. I just haven’t had a chance to call. I’ve been busy.”

When she looked to her mother, hoping for some kind of reprieve, Mekena found her staring at Markus. Her mom’s face was twisted in almost a painful way, and Mekena wasn’t sure what her problem was. “Mom?” she asked, but her mother didn’t look away at first. It took a whole minute before she looked back to Mekena.

“Is this Markus, Markus?”

“Wait, you know this guy?” her father asked, hooking his thumb to Markus, and Mekena’s stomach dropped once more.

Swallowing hard, Mekena nodded. “Yeah, Markus. The one I dated before I moved to Florida.”

Her father’s mouth snapped shut when the realization of who Markus was dawned on him. Looking back to her mother, Mekena found her with tears in her eyes as she stared Markus down. Markus looked uncomfortable as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

When he looked over to Mekena, he cocked his head. “This is fun.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” she said quickly, and when she went to apologize to her parents, she saw her mother was moving, her arms coming around Markus quick and tight, almost knocking him over. Mekena’s eyes widened as Markus stood there, unsure what to do. Since he was the guy he was, he patted her back as she cried into his shoulder.

“I am so terribly sorry,” she said, and Mekena’s eyes grew even bigger.

Holy shit.

“Excuse me?” Markus asked as she pulled back, holding his biceps in her hands.

“I am so terribly sorry for what our daughter did to you. She is sick, and I know that’s not an excuse, but I’m so sorry. As her mother, I take full responsibility for what she has done to you. For the pain and sorrow she has inflicted on you. I pray for you every night. I pray you’ll forgive us, forgive her. I just hate it. I hate that you were a victim of her sickness.”

Mekena was speechless. Blinking, she watched as Markus took hold of her mother’s hands and squeezed them. “I don’t blame you guys. Never have. This wasn’t your fault, it’s hers.”

“We know, but still, we hope you can accept our apology,” her father said, and at that moment, Mekena’s mouth dropped open. “We are thankful you didn’t press charges. She doesn’t need jail, she needs help.”

“She needs Jesus and an ass-whooping!” Mekena said, unable to take it anymore. While she was thankful they were kind to Markus, she was sick of them making excuses for the stupidity of her sister.

“Mekena,” her mother said, but she shook her head.

“No, I am so glad that y’all are apologizing to him, you need to, but what about me? She hurt me too, and all y’all did was tell me that she is my sister and I should forgive her!”

“Mekena,” her father stressed. “That was before we knew how sick she was.”

“No, it doesn’t matter how ‘sick’ she is. She isn’t even sick. She’s a druggie who needs to get help, and we can’t help her. She has to do it. In the meantime, while she’s fucking around and getting high, I almost lost him because of her. I love him. I love him so much it hurts, yet that didn’t matter. All that matters is that I forgive her.”

Markus came to her side, grasping her hand, holding it in his own. “Babe, it’s okay. Calm down.”

“No, it’s not fair. She broke my heart, she made me live without you—”

“But we are good now, and nothing will come between us. Don’t get worked up over that or the choices they have made. They love you both, they are parents. Parents don’t see wrong in their children because their eyes are clouded by their love for them.”

“Well, in the meantime, their love for her hurt me.”

He nodded before leaning in close, his lips at her ear. “So I’ll love you for everyone, okay? Just please, calm down. I don’t want you this upset over something we can’t change. You can’t change them. You can’t change Skylar. All we can do is worry about each other. Breathe, baby, I got you.”

Pulling back, he smiled, kissing the side of her mouth. She hadn’t realized she was shaking or that she was on the brink of tears, but she was. Her whole body was red with anger, and her heart was pounding against her ribs so hard. Looking around, she saw that people were staring. Lucy was in the corner, her eyes wide, and Mekena felt stupid. Small. She felt out of control. Something she rarely felt.

Except when she was with him.

Looking deep into his eyes, she nodded as she sucked in a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he said, kissing her nose once more.

“Mekena,” her mother said, but she shook her head.

“I can’t. I can’t do this. I am so mad at you, at Dad, and the reason I don’t call is because of my anger—”

“Then let us fix that,” her father stressed, coming in closer. “You’re right, we shouldn’t have handled it the way we did. But we really thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. We didn’t know it was this deep, that she had done what she did. We thought he was scum, and in a way, we were glad you were rid of him. But when we heard the whole story, when she admitted to what she did, we realized our mistake, and we are so incredibly sorry.”

“We never meant to hurt you. We just didn’t have all the facts,” her mother added, but Mekena shook her head.

“You don’t need the facts. If I’m hurt, feel for me.”

“Oh, baby, we did. But like your dad said, we’d thought it was good he was gone. Who sleeps with someone’s sister, you know? But when the truth came to light, we realized that Skylar was the scum,” her mother said, struggling on the last word. “Kennie, she is so sick.”

When her mother’s voice broke, Mekena looked up, her heart hurting for her mom. She didn’t like the way they’d handled the situation, that was a given, but these were her parents and she did love them. Markus was right; they loved their children. It was apparent all over their faces.

Clearing his throat, her dad said, “She got busted. This time, with cocaine. We told her we’d pay for the lawyer if she’d get help. She doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want our help.”

“And we don’t know what to do,” her mother cried, and Markus reached out, taking her hand.

“There is nothing you can do, and I know that hurts. I can’t imagine. But addicts are a different kind of monsters, and unless they want help, you can’t help them,” he stressed, and Mekena was in awe of him.

These people were the parents of the woman who’d tried to rape him, and he was consoling them. Her heart couldn’t take it, and she found herself falling in love with him all over again. Who knew a person could fall multiple times for another? But she was. Completely in love with him.

“All you can do is pray, and maybe she’ll wake up,” he added, and Mekena wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled, tucking her into his side before looking back at her parents. “It won’t be easy, but I think you need to let her know you love her and that you’re there for her.”

Her father nodded his head. “That’s what the therapist said.”

“Yeah, those therapists are actually smart,” he said with a laugh, and her father smiled.

Her father reached out, cupping Mekena’s hand. “I’m sorry we hurt you, Kennie. We love you so much.”

“We do,” her mother cried, nodding her head. “And you’re right, we haven’t done right by you with everything, but that will change. We’ll do better.”

“We will,” her father promised.

That was all Mekena wanted, but she wasn’t sure if she could believe them. Skylar would always be the star in their eyes. Mekena was the geeky, brainy kid they didn’t have to worry about because she was too smart to do the things Skylar did growing up. Jumping out of trees and breaking limbs? Nope, not Mekena. Getting caught sleeping with a guy in her room? Hell no, not Mekena. Failing her senior year? No way, Mekena could have graduated her junior year. As she stared into her parents’ faces, she understood more and more what Markus meant. They didn’t have to worry about Mekena; she was good. But Skylar, she needed their worry, their extra love.

She didn’t have what Mekena did.

A job she loved. A bright future. A guy who would love her enough for everyone.

“Sounds good,” she said simply, her parents’ faces filling with relief.

“Great. Let us take y’all to lunch, my treat,” her father insisted, but before Mekena could politely decline, Markus was grinning beside her, his hands holding her tightly.

“Actually, we are here with our interior decorator, and she’s expensive. So maybe dinner? Tonight?”

When Mekena heard Lucy laugh, she smiled since they all knew they were watching Angie for Lucy and Benji as payment. Her father nodded happily as her mom wiped her face and grinned. “Sounds great. Six okay?”

“Great. I’ll be starving by then if I don’t die looking at lamps,” Markus joked, and she beamed up at him as her father cupped his shoulder.

“I hear you,” he laughed before looking back at Mekena. “I think you got yourself a good one.”

“I do,” she said, holding him close.

“Wouldn’t expect anything less. We all know how Mekena is,” her dad joked, and Markus nodded.

“She doesn’t settle for anything but the best,” he said with a cheesy grin that she rolled her eyes at.

Mekena smiled as her mother spoke up. “We always have said that. Only the best for our Kennie.”

Mekena’s heart soared as she nodded. “Yeah, okay, stop. Y’all are making me blush. We’ll see you tonight? I’ll text you the address to the restaurant?”

“Sounds good. Make sure it’s a good steak place,” her dad said as he cuddled her mom up.

“I agree. I’m feeling cow,” he said, grinning at Mekena as she rolled her eyes.

“We aren’t getting the chair,” she muttered before nodding to her parents and saying brightly, “See y’all tonight.”

They said bye and started for the rugs while Mekena stood with Markus, wrapped up in his arms. Her heart was singing for him as his lips dusted her temple. She could feel his heart beat against her chest, and when she looked up, he looked concerned.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Good. You can cancel dinner if you don’t want to go. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.”

“Do you want to go?”

“I do. I like them. They seem nice enough.”

She smiled. “They are. I just came to the realization they really don’t have to worry about me. It isn’t that they favor Skylar, it’s just they don’t have to be concerned about me the way they have to with her.”

“You’re right.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Maybe she is sick.”

“Drugs are scary.”

“I don’t know if I can help her, though. I’m still so mad.”

“Which is understandable. Your forgiveness will come.”

Mekena nodded. “Yeah, but right now, I’m good. Great, even.”

“Yeah, you are. Hot too.”

She giggled as she smacked him. “Thank you for being amazing to them. You didn’t have to.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to because I love you, and they are a part of you.”

“Which means I’m going to church on Sunday?”

He grinned. “Yup, and I’ll get you a Sunday hat.”

“Will it distract them from asking about my ring size?”

He thought that over. “You might need a really big hat. With a bird on it.”

She nodded, loving everything about this eccentric man. “Cool, I like birds. Make sure it’s purple. That’s my new color.”

Grinning, he kissed her lips hard. “Purple bird, done.”

“And glitter.”

“With glitter.”

“And maybe some rhinestones. Hell, might as well come in there like a queen.”

“Good plan since you’re my queen,” he said cheekily, his eyes sparkling.

“Do you think I can order a Cinderella dress before Sunday?” she asked, her eyes lively while she felt so light inside. She loved this side of them. The playful, nutty side. “Oh, wait, would that match the purple bird hat?”

“Eh, no, maybe I can get blue.”

“Oh, yes, try! And glass slippers!”

When his face broke into a grin, he snorted with laughter as she smiled back. “I love you, Mekena Preston.”

Holding on to his biceps, she held his gaze, knowing life would be boring without him. She would never find a man who would love her as much as he did, or one who would also be so kind as to accept her parents even with the baggage they carried. He didn’t have to do that, but he did because he loved her. God, what a beautiful thing to know. What a beautiful man to love.

Her man.

“And I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”