Wendy pouts. “Hmm. Well, then, you’re just going to have to do it yourself.”
I frown. “You mean, ask him to marry me?” The idea forms and lights up like a freakin’ halogen bulb over the top of my head.
Wendy smiles huge. “Whoa. Now that’s an idea. I was thinking maybe you need to push him toward the concept by leaving wedding magazines around, dropping hints and stuff. But I like your idea way more! It’s perfect. Who says the woman can’t ask the man?” She rubs her hands together and nods. “Yeah, me likee this idea a lot. It’s not as though he’d turn you down. The man is over-the-moon in love with you. I just imagine with all that’s happened, the fact that you’re dealing with a lot and just coming over the top of that hill, it might make him leery to make any new life changes.”
“True,” I murmur, knowing Parker worries about me more than anything.
“Which means it’s up to you to do it!” She claps. “Woo-hoo! Operation SkyPark Proposal commences now!”
I groan. “Wen, let’s not forget that we’re at your wedding right now. Your husband is probably pacing the floor wondering why you’re taking so long. My guy is probably getting smashed with his brethren, and you need to prep for your honeymoon! And the whole reason we came in here was because you had to pee!”
She crosses her legs and wiggles her hips. “Yikes! Yeah, still gotta go. Wanna hold up this end of my dress so I can take care of that?”
I chuckle, grabbing for the hem of her shockingly poufy-as-all-get-out dress. The top is totally kick-ass rocker girl with a lace-up corset, but the bottom is straight-up princess, over-the-top, and all Wendy.
Once she’s done her business and washed up, we walk out, arms linked at the elbows.
“Your wedding was perfect.” I nudge her shoulder and smile.
“Yeah, it was. Now it’s time to get rowdy and start Operation SkyPark Proposal.” Her bright-blue eyes seem to sparkle with white-hot fire at the mere idea.
I shake my head. “One-track mind.”
She shrugs. “When something is good, it’s good. When it’s right, it’s right. Why not move on it? There’s no reason to weigh all the pros and cons. Don’t even allow the negative in. That’s what Mick has taught me. Just roll with life as it comes. Stop letting fear drive your decisions. It’s time to let love take the driver’s seat.”
Her words sink in, and I nod. “Girl, you are wise.”
She grins wickedly. “A wiseass most of the time, but I have my moments.”
“Like now.” A growly voice breaks into our chatter. “You better get your perky ass to your husband’s side right this instant, or that ass will no longer be wise, but red.”
Wendy smirks, winks at me, and then sashays over to Mick. He watches her movements like a hawk scouting his prey. When she stands right in front of him, she lowers her eyes. “Sir . . .”
A throaty growl leaves his mouth as he loops a finger through the ring on her collar and tugs. She gasps, her blue eyes darkening at nothing but that simple touch. Damn, Mick has some mad skills when it comes to his woman. Then again, all Parker has to do is skim my neck with his nose and inhale my scent, and I’m a puddle at his feet.
Wendy has an excellent point. When it’s right, it’s right.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” I grin and move around the two locked in a stare-down.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Mick says to me, but his gaze never leaves Wendy’s.
I skedaddle along the hallway, down the long staircase, and past several more rooms before finally making it to the backyard where the fun is happening under massive white tents, each column dripping in flowers and twinkle lights.
When I enter the main area, I catch Parker’s gaze. He’s talking to his dad and mom but waves them off to come to me. His dad is in a wheelchair but smiling jovially today. I love seeing a smile on his face. With his therapy bringing him down, we don’t see a lot of that grin, and it’s definitely a sight to behold.
“Everything okay, Peaches?”
I nod and take him in as if it’s the first time I’m seeing him. He’s wearing a brilliant pitch-black bespoke suit, a yellow satin tie, and a golden paisley pocket square. The dress shirt under his jacket is a crisp white and paired with a gray vest that goes perfectly with my pale-yellow slip dress. The smile adorning his ruggedly handsome, clean-shaven face is wide and heartfelt as he approaches. It’s like I’m watching the other half of my soul lock into place right before my eyes. It all seems so very clear to me.
It’s him.
Parker.
It’s always been him.
It will always be him.
It’s up to me to make it forever.
“How’s my dream girl?” He grins, looping a hand around my waist, bringing our bodies together and dipping his head to plant his nose at the crux of where my shoulder and neck meet. He inhales deeply, and I close my eyes, memorizing the very moment when I decided I would make this man, the other half of my soul, my husband.
As Wendy said, Operation SkyPark Proposal commences now.
2
PARKER
“Damn, baby, you smell so good,” I murmur against her skin, then place a few sloppy kisses there. She giggles, and it’s music to my ears. Hearing her laugh has been rare these past few months. Her doing it more and more eases the vise of worry squeezing my heart. Every day she seems to smile more, and along with that comes a little more pep to her step. This wedding has gone a long way in helping her heal, by spending gobs of time with Wendy. Sky’s focus on something beautiful has been a godsend.
Skyler snuggles closer as I run my hand up and down her exposed back. “Have I told you today that I fuckin’ love this dress?”
She laughs out loud and tips her head back, which gives me the opportunity to layer a line of kisses up the delicate column of her neck, landing at her mouth. Once I’ve kissed her softly, she pulls back, her forearms looped around my shoulders.
“You may have mentioned your appreciation for this dress a time or two, yes.”
I grin like a devil who’s just been granted another soul for eternity. “And the shoes . . . You remember what I have planned for those fuckhot spikes?”
Skyler flushes a pretty pink at the cheeks. “Mm-hmm . . . something about having them digging into the back of your thighs while you fucked me into next week, if I remember the conversation correctly.”
I run my hand down to the exposed skin above her ass and flutter my fingers there, knowing it’s a sensitive location for her. Usually when I have her belly and tits to the mattress, and I put my mouth on that spot, she goes wild. It’s not exactly the same when I use my hand, but the intention is to remind her of what’s to come.
She shivers in my arms, and her brown eyes dazzle and darken to a rich espresso color as lust invades her senses.
Message received.
Sky rests her head against my chest as I hold her close, soaking in her essence and warmth. “I’m so glad Wendy and Mick pushed their wedding a couple of months,” I murmur into her hair.
“Me too. Everyone is happier now that things have settled down.”
I inhale fully, letting out what feels like a ton of emotional weight filling my heart. “Exactly. Having the IG team back in full force, being in our home, having you to wake up to every morning . . .”
My girl lifts her head and smiles beautifully.
“That part is awesome,” she agrees. “And I’m thrilled that Bo got Annie to come back and that we had the opportunity to mend fences over some beers and food at Lucky’s.”
“Definitely. She seems to be coming out of her shell and truly becoming part of the team. I’m glad to have her back too.”
I stare down at the woman who owns my soul. “You are so damn beautiful, Sky. I’ll never tire of looking at this face.” I cup her chin and run my thumb over her cheek before dipping down to take her mouth. Right when our lips graze, I hear Royce’s voice roar above the music and the other partygoers.
“Wom
an! You make me chase that sweet ass one more yard and I’m going to lose my damn mind! Shee-it. Give a man a break, why don’cha!”
Both Sky and I turn to the side and watch Roy grab Kendra’s hand and spin her around until she’s in his arms. Her mouth opens to say something, and based on her twisted facial expression, that something is not going to be pleasant, when he cups the back of her head and smashes his lips to hers. He kisses her hard, taking a long drink from the well that is her mouth. She gives as good as she gets, rubbing her lean body against his. He slants his head one direction; she mimics the move, tilting to the other side, both going full blast on the kiss.
I swear I’ve seen men come back from war and not be able to match this level of intensity, and those men have waited months to see their women.
This kiss, however, is one for the books.
I watch Sky as she pulls my phone out of my jacket pocket and takes a handful of photos of the kissing duo.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Honey, we need proof of this. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it!”
I shake my head. “This is not going to be an easy road . . . for either of them.”
She frowns. “Why would you say that?”
I don’t have the chance to answer because Kendra pulls back, her eyes looking wild and frightened, before she whips her hand out and lays a wallop of a smack on Royce’s stunned face.
I cringe. “Ouch. That had to hurt.” I suck in a sharp breath.
“I told you to keep your hands off me!” Kendra growls low in her throat.
Roy doesn’t so much as move to cover the cheek that has to be burning like fire. His mouth twists into a snarl. “Stop running, goddamn it! You have to talk to me. This is not over.”
Kendra glances around and notes that pretty much everyone is watching their passion come to life. “It was a handful of really bad decisions. We agreed!” she insists, practically stomping her foot in her small tirade.
“Well, I reserve the right to”—he gets into her face—“change. My. Mind.”
Her features contort into an expression of frustration and anger. “Let it go. I mean it, Royce. This time around, what we had was over before it ever even started.” On that note, she twists in her unbelievably tall stilettos and races off, leaving Roy breathing heavily, his gaze seemingly lost, eyes locked on her retreating form.
He hangs his head and runs a hand over his bald dome.
“Not again,” I groan. My spidey sense is working overtime; this is going to be a shit show of epic proportions.
“Maybe we should, um . . .” Skyler lifts her head toward Roy.
“Yeah.” I sigh and lead my girl over to my brother.
“Roy . . .”
Royce’s head snaps up, his dark eyes filled with nothing but heartache. I shake my head. “Brother, let’s see a man about a bottle of whiskey. You look like you could use a drink.”
“Damn straight.” He half groans while adjusting his wide shoulders. The guy played college football back in the day and hasn’t lost any of that bulk even at thirty. He’s big. He’s black. He’s badass. Until now, he didn’t take any shit from anyone. Then again, not everyone is a tall African American beauty with light-hazel eyes, long dark hair, and naturally full hips on a body that won’t quit.
No matter what she’d like to think, Kendra’s the one who got away, and if that kiss was anything to go by, even followed by that smack, she’s moved right back into Roy’s heart with a vengeance. Seems like he’s got a major challenge on his hands. She doesn’t act as though she wants to go the distance, no matter the fireworks we all just witnessed.
We reach the bar, and I order up three fingers of whiskey neat for us both, taking a tumbler for myself and passing the other to Royce. Skyler and I can crawl home since our house is just a few acres down the road from the Pritchard McMansion.
Royce lifts his glass to his lips and takes a healthy swig, knocking a full finger back in one gulp.
Skyler gets a glass of wine and leans next to my side, her arm wrapped around my back, her other hand holding her glass in front of her, where she sips silently.
“You wanna tell me what all of that was about?” I gesture with an index finger to the area we just left where Royce and Kendra had their blowup.
“Not particularly.” He takes another big swallow and sucks in a harsh breath after.
“Brother . . .” I let that word hang out to dry, an invitation and an admonishment at the same time.
“Fuckin’ woman won’t listen to reason,” Roy snaps.
I cock a brow and wait it out. He obviously needs to vent, and since I don’t know what the hell is going on between the two of them, I need him to lead this charge.
He shakes his head and looks out over the small reception of people milling about. I’ve been told most are people from Wendy and Mick’s private lifestyle. I don’t know if that means they’re all kinky or just friends we’ve never met before, or both. Either way, Skyler and I have enjoyed meeting some of their friends outside of our little world. They mostly seem to be closer to Mick, as though they are his side of the wedding party and the IG people and my family as well as Royce’s mom and sisters are Wendy’s side.
“I messed up, brother.” Roy rubs his hand over the back of his neck and squeezes. He uses his free hand to chug more whiskey until there’s nothing more. He turns around and slams the tumbler to the bar. “Another.”
Guess someone else will be crawling back to our house with us tonight.
“How did you screw up?” I ask softly, not wanting to make it too much of a big deal that we’re talking about him and Kendra, even when it is. In the past, she was his everything. Then it all went to hell; one day she was there, they were planning their future together, and the next, gone. Poof. Disappeared.
Of course, I was dealing with my own shit with Kayla cheating on me, our ex-best friend, Greg, being the douchecanoe that did her. We lost both friends, so I wasn’t really up to snuff on the comings and goings of Royce and Kendra. At the time, Royce only told me that she said she was ending things and leaving. Then before I came out of my Kayla-induced pity party for one, Kendra was gone, having moved to Washington, DC, leaving Roy and the life they were building in the dust.
“We hooked up, man. Several times. Each time better than the last.” He looks down at his feet. “Being with her is like soaking in a natural hot spring. Everything just feels right, warm; your senses and mind are finally at peace for once in your life. Except, the second you lift out into the open air, you get nuthin’ but ice-cold chills all over your body.” His dark gaze lifts to Sky then back to me. “You ever feel that? A cold you can’t escape?”
I shake my head. “Nah, man, I just wrap myself up in my very own Skyler blanket and keep my ass warm.”
He huffs and points a finger. “Attaboy. That’s the way it should be. And you, baby girl, you ever feel cold?” He turns a steely-hard gaze Sky’s way.
Skyler frowns. “Not when I’m with Parker. He’d do anything to keep me warm. Always.” She bites into her bottom lip, clearly knowing where this conversation is going.
“Exactly. When we’re together, we burn so hot it feels like no storm could break us. But each and every time . . . it ends. And that end is harder to accept than the last, because every fuckin’ time, I fall in love with that woman a little bit more. One taste of her and I’m gone. Can’t get that taste out of my mouth, and I don’t fuckin’ want to. What I want is that sweetness that is all her, on my tongue, forever.”
“Jesus, Roy.” I lift my drink and swallow down half of what’s in my glass, letting that shit burn a hole through my gut to distract from the pain of knowing what my brother is living through: not having the woman he needs by his side. I couldn’t take it. Even that brief time between the San Francisco and Montreal jobs that I didn’t have Sky officially in my life shredded me. I don’t think I could live with it if I lost Sky now that I know the beauty of all
that is her.
Roy grabs the glass the bartender has refilled. Thank God it’s an open bar, because the shit Mick and Wendy are pouring is the tippy-top shelf that’s usually fifty dollars a shot at my father’s bar, and this guy tending bar is generous. I suck back the last of mine and lift my chin to the server. He takes the hint and fills my drink another three fingers.
Roy takes a smaller sip this time. “It’s all right, man, I’ll be fine. Just need to get my shit together and figure out my next step.”
“Are you going to let her go?” I ask, and Skyler stiffens at my side.
“Fuck no! I’m going to lick my wounds and regroup. She’s it. My endgame. I just have to find a way to convince her I’m hers.”
I grin and lift my glass between us. “To creating the future we are meant to have, with the women we’re meant to have it with.”
Skyler leans her head against my shoulder and nuzzles closer as I clink glasses with my best friend. He’ll find a way.
Love always wins.
After Momma Sterling intruded into our male brooding, I left Roy in her very capable hands. The last thing I heard was, “And that Kendra is running her brand of damage on my boy all over again. Stupid witch.” At that point, I steered Skyler and myself out of the conversation and toward the dance floor.
“Will you dance with me?” I twirl my girl around and bring her back into my arms.
“Anytime, every time.” She smiles wide, placing one arm around my back and her free hand securely into mine.
The music swirls and dips around us, and before long, I see Bo with a buxom brunette I recognize very well in his arms.
“Geneva! I had no idea you were here.” I maneuver Sky and myself over to where Bo is dancing with our old friend. She’s been in Boston for the past month, meeting with the movie people, running lines with Sky and Rick before shooting starts in another three weeks. When she heard about what happened to us, she met with her people and pushed the entire movie schedule back three months. Skyler was in no position to act the part in a very beloved romance, and Geneva would have no one else but Sky since the character was practically crafted in her likeness.
International Guy: Volume 4 Page 29