“It’s nice to be missed, isn’t it? But I don’t like missing you, and if it’s me or him, then I vote him.”
“I kind of like you being greedy with me.”
I knew it was time to talk about what I’d really wanted to discuss with her. So, as I helped her prep her paints, I cleared my throat. “There’s something I wanted us to talk about, Sage.” I hoped that she would agree with me, and I really hoped it didn’t lead to a fight.
“Yeah? Are you going to trace more of the tops while you do it?”
I had been using a large stencil to cut our boards, to keep them all roughly the same size, but then I would use a little creativity to shape them slightly different and more naturally after.
“No, I’ll get to it. I promise, but this is something I’m hoping you’ll like too.”
“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Is it a surprise?”
“I think our luck with surprises is done. Especially knowing you’re packing. But in all seriousness, there’s something I have to ask of you.”
“Go on.” She gave a slight smile, but the concern on her face had her eyes narrowed.
“I’ve really enjoyed the past few weeks with you staying at my house. I love waking up to you, but—”
“Hey, it’s okay. If it’s too much too soon, then I can always back off.”
“No. Fuck that. Why would you want that?”
“I don’t want that. I just thought you did.”
“Why? I just said I love waking up with you.”
“And I was expecting a but to follow that.”
“No, there wasn’t a but.”
“There was.”
“Not a negative but. I just wanted to ask you to move in with me, is all.”
“Really?”
“Why not? You've practically moved in already, and Jasper isn’t coming out of the boathouse. Besides, all of the back and forth just to wash and pack more clothes is getting to be too much work.”
“Are you sure, though? You like your space, and it would be a lot different with my things all around.”
“You still owe me something on my mantle, so why not just use your stones? They’d be perfect there. I’ll even give you one room all to yourself for your own private meditation room. How about it?”
She took a deep breath. The worried look in her eyes had me thinking she was about to let me down easy, but she gave a tiny squeal of excitement and then dropped her cup of stones, spilling it as she hugged me, squeezing me so tightly she had me lightheaded.
“Is this a yes?” I choked out.
“Yes! I know what I want to do with my house.”
“Do you?”
She gave me a red-faced look that told me she might have been hoping I’d ask her to move in. “Yes. Lissa’s been needing a better apartment for ages, and I’d love to have her live there and keep the house up. I couldn’t bear to sell it, but I also couldn’t bear to have her pay rent.”
“I think it’s a great idea. Plus, you know she’d take good care of it.”
“At least until Christian comes to his senses and proposes,” she said. “Which will probably never happen because he’s such a pig and she’s so stubborn, but at least I’ll know she and my house will be keeping each other safe.” As she stepped away to pick up the spilled pebbles, I got down to help her.
“Do you think she’d go for it?” I wasn’t sure if she’d ever talked to Lissa about it.
“She’ll be over the moon. Just like me.” She grinned ear to ear, her eyes twinkling with tears. “I’m so excited.”
“I’m excited too, baby. And as soon as we reach our goal of having a quarter of these tables finished, I’m taking you on a cruise. We’re going to sail out to one of the islands and spend the weekend away from everyone.”
“I can’t wait. It’s really happening for us, isn’t it, Greyson? It’s just like I’ve always dreamed.” She took the paint from the holder I’d built her and then squeezed the rich turquoise color into the small cup.
“Yes, it really is, baby.”
“Does this mean that you’re going to finish the boat’s interior? We should take a few days to do that. Or you could once you get me lined out.”
“You’d want to help?”
“Sure, I know how to stain wood. I’ve done it plenty of times, and you really should get your boat finished, especially if we want to go out in it.”
“I think we could swing it,” I said. “We are our own bosses, after all. Time management is all up to us.”
“When this is done, we need to have a big party.”
“We will. An opening night party.”
“No, not in New York. I want us to invite our friends over to our place. We can have a cookout and spend the night by a fire, catching up.”
“Sierra could roast marshmallows. You know, I bet she’s never had those.” I liked the idea, and I could see us all gathered for a special occasion. I only hoped that when I sprung that question, she’d be just as accepting.
Epilogue
Sage
Six months later.
“I’m almost finished,” I said as I answered Greyson’s call.
“That’s good, baby. I’m just about to put the final coat of wax on the table, and then we’ll both be done.”
We had both waited for the day for so long, and to have it come to a completion at the same time had made it really special. We were two weeks from the grand opening of his bar, but we had decided to throw our family get together before to celebrate the completion dates of each one of our projects.
It hadn’t taken Greyson as long to cut the table tops as it had for me to do the resin artwork on top of them. So, when he’d completed his task, he moved on to his boat to work on the interior.
After a few obstacles, mostly on his side, we had finally pulled it off.
And speaking of “pulling it off”, I checked the resin on the last top to see if it was hardened, and when it was, I tugged on the piece of tape I had around the edge. “And you can call me done.”
“Not so fast, I just finished too.”
“Then I guess we’re tied. We make a great team, even though we work apart.” We had decided that working apart gave us the peace we needed, and it also put a little longing back into our relationship.
“Well, I was really calling to tell you that Eric and the girls are arriving in Camden in twenty minutes, and I wanted you to be here when they get here.”
This was earlier than expected, but it wasn’t the end of the world. I was just as excited for their arrival, but I needed to be ready. “I’ll be there. I’m on my way now.” I had my keys in my hand and was on my way out to the Jeep, which I’d taken over, not wanting to get any resin residue on my new leather seats.
“Be safe, baby. I love you.”
“I love you. Are you hanging up on me?”
“You need both hands to drive the Jeep safely, and I’ve got to go and make sure I picked up our clothes from last night. I don’t want the first thing they see to be a trail of our clothes leading upstairs.”
“Good idea. See you soon.” With that, I hung up the phone and headed across town to Lincoln Street. It was still crazy thinking of myself coming home to the fancy neighborhood, a gorgeous house, and my gorgeous boyfriend.
As I turned into the drive, Christian walked across the street to talk to Greyson, and I took the opportunity to wave a quick hello, and then I rushed inside to get in the shower. The house smelled fresh, like lemongrass and grapefruit, and I hurried up the stairs, which had already been tidied up. I turned on the water in the bathroom and made quick work undressing, and by the time I stepped under the shower spray, the water was warm and inviting.
I had expected to soap and rinse, but before I could wash the smell of paint and epoxy from my hair, Greyson stepped in behind me.
“You’re going to make us late. We can’t be in here when your friends arrive.”
“I might have fudged on the twenty-minute thing.” He put his arms around me. “May
be I just wanted a little time with my girl all to myself.” Before I could tell him what a devil he was, he stepped closer and kissed me, bringing our bodies together.
The minutes faded away as we lost all concept of time with our pleasure, and I wasn’t sure how long it had been, but there was no hot water. When Greyson turned off the water, I could hear movement downstairs and what sounded like a TV.
“Shit,” said Greyson. “There’s someone here.”
“It’s probably Christian,” I said as he jumped out of the shower and went to the window.
He met my eyes, shaking his head. “Nope, I guess they were early after all.”
“Oh no, you’re kidding!” I hurried to put the towel around me and then beelined for the closet, where Greyson had given up half of his space for me.
Greyson pulled on some pants and a clean shirt and then headed down in his bare feet. I could hear him greet them at the bottom of the stairs. They must have let themselves into the house, and then I had to wonder how long they’d been outside calling before they realized the house was unlocked.
I made myself presentable, and then with a deep breath, I walked downstairs.
Sierra had Jasper bundled up in her arms, and while he didn’t look happy, he didn’t try to get away from the tiny human. “Aunt Sage!” she shouted. “Look, I found your cat!”
“I hope you don’t mind,” said Cassie. She was sitting at the kitchen table, looking out the window at Eric and Greyson. “The guys are out looking at the property. Eric wants to buy a summer home here.”
“That would be wonderful.”
“He misses Greyson more than he thought. He’s sick of being in New York without a partner in crime, and apparently, I’m a poor substitute.”
As I came down the stairs, I realized the baby was asleep in her arms. “Did you bring a bassinette, or would you like me to make a pallet?”
“It’s in the car. But he’s okay. Sorry we barged in on you guys. The rental car is small, and I had to change a diaper.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Eric found the door open and said to come on in. He and Greyson don’t have boundaries when it comes to each other. They’re like two kids in a sandbox. I’ve often wondered what they were like as kids.”
“They probably ate the sand.”
“Most definitely.” She gave a laugh. “Are you excited about the grand opening?”
That was more their thing than mine, being their business and all, but they were happy to be displaying my art, and I was a nervous wreck. “It’s kind of intimidating, but I keep telling myself that I don’t have to live in the city with the critics. If they hate the work I’ve done, at least I can hide from them here.”
“I’ve seen photos. The pieces look amazing, and each table is so unique. I can’t believe Greyson helped.”
“You should see his boat. He’s been working on it. But then, you’ll see it later. We’re going to have a small christening party.”
“Is he going to break a bottle on the bow?”
“Yes, and he’s going to reveal the name.”
“Do you know the name already, Aunt Sage?”
I smiled hearing her call me her aunt, and I glanced at Cassie as my face grew warm.
“I hope you don’t mind her calling you that. She’s very excited about you being here, and well, we were trying to explain that you living here didn’t mean you were married.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s an honor. One I hope to be worthy of someday.” He had asked me how I’d feel about getting hitched some time ago, and while I liked the idea very much, I didn’t want to let myself get too excited about the possibility. When it happened, it happened.
“You’re good for him. That’s for sure.”
“He’s good for me.” I glanced at the mantle which I’d decorated with crystal towers and geodes.
Sierra walked over to it and stopped to look at them. “Are those rocks supposed to be castles?”
“They are crystals. Cut and polished towers. And the others are clusters of quartz. That’s called a cathedral on the end with the purple sparkle.”
“They are beautiful.”
Greyson had asked me to keep some of my stones in the living room, and we had added many succulent plants and lights to accent them.
Sierra noticed the bowl of polished stones on the coffee table. “Wow, these are cool.”
“Those are healing stones. Some people think they have powers.” I looked at Cassie, who leaned forward to look at the mix.
“Is that amethyst?” she asked, pointing to a large chunk of crystal in the bowl.
“Yes.” I took it out and handed it to her.
“I had a college professor who used to keep a large chunk of this on her desk. She said it kept her head clear.” She didn’t seem to be too weirded out by the idea of them.
Sierra walked around the table. “Can I hold it?”
“I’ll do you one better. If your mother says it’s okay, I’ll give it to you. And I’ll send you home with a care package of stones, and I’ll even tell you their names.”
“They have names?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, each one is different.” I handed her the crystal and then turned and looked toward the kitchen door as Eric and Greyson came into the house.
We spent a good amount of time chatting, and soon, I lost track of time. As it grew later, Greyson stood up and stretched. “We should go out to the boathouse and get ready for the christening.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Lissa and Christian will be here soon.”
“Do you need help with anything?” asked Cassie.
Greyson shook his head and gave her a grin. “Come on. Let’s go.” He got Sierra’s attention and picked her up to carry her out. Eric followed, and soon, it felt like everyone was on a mission, and I was lost along the way.
But when he opened the boathouse door, it became obvious that there was more going on than I’d realized. The boathouse shop was full of our friends, and while I had no idea where they’d all come from, they had somehow managed to sneak past me.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a boat christening,” said Greyson. “A surprise.”
“But I knew you were doing this.” I didn’t understand anything, but I wasn’t going to argue or throw a rock at him. Instead, I took his hand, and we walked over to the bow of the boat, where he had a presentation ready for unveiling.
Not only were Lissa and Christian there, but Chuck and Tommy, as well as the rest of the guys from the lumberyard. Katrina, as well as another handsome man, who looked an awful lot like Eric, stood in the back, all smiles for Greyson on his big day. The Abbots were there too, as well as Barbara.
That was when I figured he had named the boat after me. At least, it seemed to be the only surprise.
“Friends, thanks for being here with me and Sage for this special event. This boat was a labor of love, and it was one of my dreams. And now, I present to you and hereby name this boat, Sage Serenity, because I’m never happier than I am with my beautiful girl.” He cracked the bottle, and everyone cheered.
“Thank you,” I said, just before he kissed me. “I love it.” I was so proud of him, and while I thought it was time to start the party, he tapped the broken bottle and got everyone’s attention.
“Just one more thing. One more and we’ll eat. When I came here, I had two dreams. One was a boat, and the other was to find the girl of my dreams, that one soulmate who I could share my life with. I’ve found that with Sage.”
My heart felt so full as his friends seemed genuinely happy that we were together, but while I had my mind on other things, he was taking a knee. I turned to see him kneeling, and my heart raced.
“Oh, Greyson.” I covered my mouth and realized what the real surprise was.
In his hand, he held a small black box, and when he opened it, there was a gorgeous engagement ring with a big pink diamond. “Just a little rock I thought I’d throw at you,” he whispered
. “Will you marry me, Sage?”
“Yes,” I choked out. “It packs quite a punch.”
We shared a laugh and fell into an embrace that made the rest of the world fade away. Wherever I was with him, I was in my sacred space, by his side.
The End.
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About the Author
Hey there. I'm Weston.
I'm a former firefighter/EMS guy who's picked up the proverbial pen and started writing bad boy romance stories. I co-write with my sister, Ali Parker as we travel the United States for the next two years.
You're going to find Billionaires, Bad Boys, Mafia and loads of sexiness. Something for everyone, hopefully. I'd love to connect with you. Check out the links below and come find me.
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The Parker’s Wicked Playground
Caught Up In Love
Copyright © 2019 by Weston Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Caught Up In Love Page 24