The Parking Space
Page 21
“To us.”
As the champagne tickled against my tongue, a broad smile spread across his lips. “I have one more surprise for you.”
He set down his glass and pulled a wrapped present with a giant red bow from the seat of one of the deck chairs.
“What’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
I untied the bow and tore the paper from cardboard box, revealing a picture frame with several yellow Post-Its lying underneath the glass.
My handwritten notes, each and every single one of them left underneath his windshield wipers all stared back at me.
“I know it’s not the most romantic gift, given some of the language that you used, but it’s the start of us when we didn’t even know it was the start of us—profanity and all.” He laughed. “Who would have thought something could start with something as simple as a parking space.”
TWENTY-TWO
“HELEN?” RICK CALLED out as he shut the front door. “Honey, I’m home.”
Lying on the back deck, I snorted a laugh. “Do you even know how cliché you sound?” I answered him.
“Yeah, I heard it after I said it.” With his hands clasped behind his back, he leaned over and gave me a kiss.
My eyes narrowed and my head cocked to the side. “What do you have?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Well, can I have it?”
With a broad smile on his face, he unclasped his hands, bringing them slowly around him. Clutched in his palm was a tiny orange kitten.
“Oh my goodness. Where did you get it?”
“Someone brought a litter into the clinic this afternoon. They said they didn’t want them and couldn’t take care of them. I saw this tiny thing and thought of Charlie. She was the most playful in the whole bunch.”
“She’s adorable.”
Faint kitten meows echoed through the air as I grabbed the orange ball of fluff. “What should we call her?”
“I’ll leave that up to you.”
I ran my fingers along the nylon collar around her neck, touching something hard and pointed. As I lifted the kitten, a large diamond glistened in the sunlight. Colors of red, blue, and green sparkled from the square shaped gem.
“Rick, what is this?”
I glanced up at him as he knelt down in front of me. With a gentle movement, he fetched the kitten from my hands and removed the collar, letting the diamond ring slip from the strap and fall into his palm.
I caught my breath.
“She just wanted to help me give you something.” Rick paused and reached for my hand. “I spent the whole boat ride home trying to think of the perfect words to say to you. And, then in one moment, it came to me and I thought to myself, Rick, you’ve peed on her leg. I think just about anything you say after that will be perfect enough.”
Laughter burst from my lips and my cheeks flushed hot. I dropped my gaze for a second before my eyes met his once again.
“I know it’s only been a short time, and this is probably the craziest thing we could possibly do,” he chuckled, “but with that said, I know that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
I gave him a sly smile. “Only if you never talk about peeing on me ever again.”
“I think can make that promise. Even though it’s only the best first date story, ever.”
“You said that it wasn’t a date.”
“Well, I lied.” He slid the ring against my finger up to the first knuckle and hesitated. An amused playful seduction swam in his eyes. “So do you want this thing or not?”
I pushed my hand toward him, sliding the band of platinum down my finger with my own movement. “I have wanted it since the day you walked into that restaurant at the resort.”
His hands slid up my neck and his lips pressed into mine.
“So what should we name the kitten?” I asked, catching my breath.
“How about Jellyfish?”
“Never again.” I pointed my finger at him.
He laughed.
As I kissed the top of her head, the orange fur tickled my nose. So soft and sweet, I’d almost forgotten how a cat could calm my soul.
“All right, fine. I’ll give you Jelly.” I smiled through my slight groan.
“Good. Because that’s when I pretty much knew I wasn’t going to spend another day without you in my life.”
THE END
About the Author
Angela lives on a ranch with her husband, two daughters,
and many farm animals. She was born and raised in Nevada,
and grew up riding and showing horses.
While she doesn't show anymore, she still loves to trail
ride her paint horse, Honky. In December of 2007, she and her husband moved to Oklahoma.
From a young age, she always wanted to write a novel.
However, she never believed she could write anything well enough for a publisher to even consider her.
Every time the desire flickered, she shoved the thought from my mind until one morning, in 2009, she awoke with the
determination to follow her dream
VISIT WWW.ANGELACHRISTINAARCHER.COM
FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I’d like to thank my husband Aaron, daughters Alexis and Alaynah, my parents Nick and Noreen, my sister Michelle, my nephews, Kade and Kruz, all my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and my close friends for all their love and support through another novel. Writing is never easy, but it’s a lot easier when you have people around you that are out to help you in any way they can.
I’d also like to thank the wonderful woman who edited this novel, Tamara Grantham. Thank you for, once again, turning my written words, characters, and created world into something to be proud of and love.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank my beta readers and proofreaders, Aurora Abrams, Erin Bevan, and Debi Harris. Without their help and input, I don’t know what I would have done. Actually, I do, I would have had tons more typos in these pages and a story with faults.
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