I didn’t even bother letting her leave my house that time after we talked everything out. Apparently, having heard the news about Lillian, Chris unexpectedly showed up to “comfort” Della. Being a guy, I know exactly what kind of “comforting” he was there to do, but I guess in a way, I owed him a thank you. Even though he would never hear that out of me, especially since he was doing his comforting while Della was in nothing but a towel. She admitted that had been stupid on her part, but her mind had been elsewhere, thinking about her mom being gone, and Chris was someone she had known for a long time. At least we never heard from him again.
“So, guess who I heard from this morning?” She reached across the console of the SUV that I now drove, and laced her fingers through mine. Yeah, I had finally broken down and gotten rid of that piece of shit even though it had been like a baby to me. Della insisted, and what the princess wanted, the princess got.
I scratched my head, turning sideways to look at her. “I have no fucking clue. And you know I hate that guessing shit, so just tell me.”
She rolled her eyes, leaning over to pinch my side with her free hand. “Nash.” She licked her lips, waiting for my response, but frankly, I had no idea what to say to that. I hadn’t heard the name uttered from her mouth for a couple of years. I really had no clue if she missed having him as a friend, and I really didn’t care, even if that made me sound like an asshole. Della was better off without him in her life.
“And since I’m guessing you’re not even going to ask what he had to say, I’ll just tell you anyway. I guess he’s getting married. He met some girl out there in California. Can you believe that?” She shook her head and I did a mental fist pump, though I doubted even marriage would keep Nash away from Della if he ever moved back to the area. California could keep him for all the fuck I cared.
Nash moved out that way just a few months after Della ditched his ass. I think at first he was expecting her to give in to him. He never directly tried to contact her after I showed up on his doorstep to give him a much-needed punch in the face. Instead he tried to weasel his way back in through Grams. Luckily, Grams could see that Della didn’t need him in her life right then and told him where he could shove his apology. I loved that woman. Soon after that, Della heard through her grandpa that Nash had dropped out of school and headed out to California, needing a change in his life, which was more than fine by me.
“Well, hopefully he stays there.”
“Yeah, well I did invite him to the wedding, so we’ll see him then.”
I snapped my head toward her, relaxing a little when I saw the evil grin covering her face, her whole body shaking with laughter that hadn’t escaped her lips yet. “You’re so funny, princess.”
“I try.”
We took turns switching the stations as we continued the short drive, both of us taking our seat belts off as soon as we hit the driveway. Della had a jump on me though since she didn’t have to put the damn car in park and was halfway up the sidewalk before I even got out. Still, I worked out. A lot. So, she couldn’t beat me at anything, ever.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” I picked up her body and she squealed, kicking her feet in the air before I sat her down behind me, and took the front stairs two at a time.
“You are such a cheater.” I heard her groan loudly, and without even turning around, I knew she was stomping her feet, too. Still a princess to this day and I don’t think that fact would ever change. One of the things I loved about her most. “Hello,” I called out, walking to the kitchen first. It was still her favorite place, but she didn’t live in the room anymore.
“We’re up here, honey.” I jogged up the stairs to where my mom’s voice was coming from. Yup, my mom had decided to make the move with us. It had been a hard decision for her, and I hadn’t even asked, she was the one that suggested it. But before she could even put our family house up for sale, Jared and Molly decided to buy it from her, even though my brothers were pissed she was moving to be closer to me. I would always be her baby, what could I say? Della and I tried to convince her that she could move in with us, we even found a house with one of those in-law suites above the garage, but she wasn’t having it. So, she bought this place.
“Hey.” I smiled, standing in the doorframe where my mom was sitting on the floor of the guest bedroom, a feather boa around her neck and a bejeweled crown nestled in her graying hair. “Looks like you two are having fun.”
“Daddy!” Lily dropped everything she was doing, hurling her tiny three-year-old body at me, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her, swinging her in a circle as I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
This right here was the best feeling in the world. I had everything I wanted and couldn’t have asked for anything better.
And to think of how we had gotten here in the first place.
I WATCHED JUSTIN from the hallway, still mad that he had beaten me, stealing all of Lily’s attention away like usual. She was such a daddy’s girl. But I couldn’t stay mad for long, they were adorable together, so instead I stood there, smiling as I watched her whisper something in his ear and he sunk his fingers in to her sides, tickling her until she squealed. She didn’t see me until she had wiggled out of his arms and was laying on her back, looking upside down at me.
“Mommy’s here too!” She got up on her tiny little legs, running straight for me and I crouched down to catch her, loving the feeling that I got every time I saw her, even though she wasn’t exactly planned. I would never forget how my feelings were the exact opposite when I first found out I was pregnant.
“Callie, I need you over here ASAP.”
“Okay,” she dragged out. “And why exactly? Did I forget about one of our shopping trips? Drew is always distracting me lately.”
She giggled but I cut her off quickly. “Now, Callie!”
“All right, all right, calm down. I’ll be there in like fifteen minutes.” Thank you Jesus that I ended up with some of the very best friends, the ones who dropped anything they were doing when you called without asking any questions. Justin and I had been living together for almost a year, but I was still close as can be with the girls. I think I actually saw them more now than when we lived together.
I dropped my phone onto the bathroom tile, hanging my head and feeling the urge to hug the porcelain throne that I had become BFFs with over the past week. I already knew what that stick in the tiny box was going to tell me. I experienced these symptoms once before and they weren’t something that I would ever forget, but I was scared shitless. This wasn’t planned at all. Justin and I were happy, beyond happy, but this wasn’t something we were ready for. I knew when it happened, too. I had been on antibiotics for a killer cold, and of course, never thought about how they would react with my birth control. Classic, I know. But who could really resist Justin Parker when he came at you naked? Certainly not this girl.
I heard the front door open and I prayed that it was Callie. I wasn’t ready to face Justin yet. I had no clue how he would react.
“What in the hell are you doing on the floor?”
“Hi, Zoey,” I mumbled into my hand without even glancing up. “Thanks for coming.”
“I figured she should be here, too,” Callie piped in. “It sounded like something serious was going on. Mia couldn’t make it, though, said her and Nate were busy with—” I looked up when Callie suddenly stopped talking and saw her eyes slowly widen. “O-M-G! What in the hell is that? Are you…do you think…oh my God! Della!”
“Calm down, Callie,” Zoey quietly demanded before dropping down onto her knees next to me, grabbing the box from its spot on the floor and opening it. “Here. If you really think you are, then let’s get this over with. The more time you wait won’t change the outcome.”
“Fine.” I held out my hand and she placed the stick in it that brought back way too many memories that I just wanted to forget. Stop, Della. I shook my head. This time was completely different. I was an adult, not a teenager who had no clue what they were doing.
Justin and I were completely, head over heels in love. We lived together! Callie and Zoey both continued to stare at me as I unwrapped the stick. “Um…guys? Think you could give me a minute here?”
“Fine, but we’re gonna be right outside the door. Don’t try any funny business, missy.” Callie pointed a finger at me, scowling slightly, and I rolled my eyes at her trying to be a badass. That would never be possible.
So, after I peed on the stick and waited the three minutes, staring at the thing the whole time, the little positive sign popped up on the screen. I felt like my whole world had been pulled out from underneath my feet, even though I had seen this coming. Actually seeing proof made it feel real, and I didn’t know how to deal with that.
So, of course, we did what Callie and I did for every kind of problem that existed. Shopped. Zoey even tagged along on that trip. I was hoping it would take my mind off things, but then we walked past a baby boutique and I did a double take. It’s like there was a magnet drawing me toward the door and I couldn’t help but go in. I ended up coming out of there with about four bags full of tiny baby things.
“So, you’re sure you’re okay with all of this?” Callie placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at her, and I easily smiled back.
“Completely. Now, I just need to tell Justin.”
“Well, have fun with that one,” Zoey said smugly before they both told me goodbye.
A million different ideas ran through my head of how exactly to go about telling him. I knew Justin would be a good dad, but I wasn’t sure if he was really ready to be one yet. After about a week of thinking I finally came up with an idea. He was going to be pissed as hell. Justin hated surprises. Really, I didn’t even know if hated was a strong enough word. He had gotten me plenty of times, but now it was my turn.
I drove down Carter Street, one of the main roads that ran right past the campus, pressing on the gas a little more when I realized I was only doing five over. Yeah, that wouldn’t do, but I wasn’t exactly used to this car, since I borrowed it from Zoey’s mom so I could remain stealthy.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing flashing lights, and squealed in glee. I never thought I would be so happy to get pulled over. I sat, clutching the steering wheel, not believing what I was actually going to do. I was a tiny bit nervous, but really, I was more excited than anything.
I heard a tapping on my window, so I turned my head to see Justin standing there in that uniform that still did all sorts of crazy things to me. One hand was on his hip, and he slowly pushed up his sunglasses, uncovering those beautiful gray eyes of his that were wide with shock. He motioned for me to open the door, so I did, and he ushered me out by my hand.
“What in the hell are you doing, princess?” He pursed his lips as if he were trying to figure out what was going on but I knew he wouldn’t. There was no way in hell. Unless Ty had blabbed his mouth, and then I really would be going to jail for killing a certain cop. “Whose car is this? Did you know you were going almost twenty over back there? Why exactly are you smiling about this? It’s not funny, Della.”
I took a deep breath, grabbing onto both of his hands. “Well, I sort of planned this whole thing.” His mouth dropped open as he shifted on his feet.
“What?”
“Listen, I know this is going to sound strange.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, the nerves suddenly hitting me full on. “But you have always been the one to make me feel special, to plan all of our dates that never cease to amaze me, and to treat me like I really am a princess even though I can be a big pain in the ass most of the time.” He smirked, reaching out to cup my chin in his fingers.
“Most of the time,” he agreed, winking.
“But I wanted to do something special for you, because you deserve to know how much I love you, too, and this was the one way I thought I could do that.” I held up one finger, turning around to grab the box out of my purse that was sitting on the front seat. “So, please don’t be pissed at me but….” I popped the box open, revealing one of those conversational candy hearts with the tiny words printed on it that I had specially made to ask, “Will you marry me?”
Justin’s mouth dropped open, the shock apparent as his eyes widened, but then they narrowed, and his jaw tightened, ticking slightly as he kept his mouth clamped shut. I started panicking, thinking that maybe marriage wasn’t in Justin’s plans. Maybe he didn’t want to take our relationship to the next step. Maybe he wanted to end things. My hands started to shake as I thought about being a single parent, having to share custody of this baby that was nothing more than a little jellybean in my belly right now, that is, if Justin even wanted anything to do with the baby. What if he didn’t want kids either? We hadn’t talked about it much. He mentioned wishing he had been the one to get me pregnant the first time at one point, but that seemed forever ago.
“This. Is. Not. Happening,” he snapped, bringing me back to reality, and I bit down hard on my lip, trying not to let any tears spill out. He pointed one finger at me, demanding. “Do not move. Understand?”
“Am I under arrest or something?” I mumbled, blinking my eyes rapidly so I wouldn’t cry.
“You’re about to be for the shit you’re trying to pull on me.” I jumped as he turned to walk away from me, slamming his hand on the trunk as he headed back to his patrol car, where I could see Ty sitting in the driver’s seat with a very confused expression on his face.
Yeah, you and me both buddy.
I briefly closed my eyes, wondering how I was going to tell Justin the rest of my surprise since the first part went so well. Yeah, I wasn’t sure how I was even going to form the words. I felt his hand gripping my wrist and my eyes fluttered open, catching sight of his tight smile.
He moved his hand from my wrist to grab my hand. “You just ruined everything.” I sucked in a deep breath, but then quickly blew it back out as he dropped down to one knee, producing a tiny black box out of his back pocket. “I had everything planned out, but you just had to go and be impatient.” He smirked up at me, and I pressed a shaking hand to my mouth as he opened the box, revealing a platinum band with a square cut diamond nestled in white silk.
“Holy shit,” I whispered against my hand, realizing why he seemed so pissed. Sure, I knew that me proposing would be totally weird, but I didn’t expect him to get angry, which led me to believe he didn’t want to get married in the first place.
I had ruined his surprise.
“I’ve been planning how I would do this for months now,” he began, scowling at me, though it was quickly replaced by a wide grin. “And then you had to go and pull this. You know I hate surprises.”
I shrugged one shoulder, staring down at the box that he was still holding. “You’re lucky I’ve been carrying this around with me everywhere I go.” He blew out a breath, and I could see how nervous he was. Cars were whirring by, occasionally honking their horns, some actually stopping to gawk at us, but I pushed that all out of my head, focusing on him alone. “Della, we’ve been through hell and back, but I knew that we would always get to this point. No matter what. The first time I saw you, I knew you were a princess, one that had a bit of a stick up her ass and some pain in her eyes that I just wanted to take away.” I laughed lightly, placing one hand on his shoulder to steady my feet because my legs were shaking so bad. “But after all of the drama, we still came out of it together. So…will you spend the rest of your life with me, dealing with any shit that comes our way, through thick and thin? Will you make me the happiest guy ever by being Mrs. Parker?” I couldn’t say anything. My whole body felt like it was frozen in place. He raised his eyebrows at me. “Or you can keep your name if you want. Even though, who wouldn’t want to be Mrs. Parker?” There was that ego I had been waiting for, clearing the fog from my head.
“I would love to be Mrs. Parker,” I replied, throwing my arms around him and burying my head into the side of his neck. I felt him sigh in relief and the tension easing out of his body as he held me.
&nb
sp; “Well, do you think I can put this ring on your finger, then?” he murmured into my ear, and I pulled back, laughing as I held out my hand to him. I looked down at it once it was on my finger, not believing that it was actually real.
He leaned down to kiss me, our tongues tangling quickly, and I pushed myself against him as much as I could, tugging at his hair to get even closer, but all too soon he moved away. “I hate to do this, but….” He smiled at me, flashing his dimples. “I have to get back to work. I wasn’t really expecting to propose to you while I was on-duty. Instead, I’d be dragging that pretty little ass of yours back home so I could have my fiancé every which way.”
I squeezed my thighs together at his words. That idea sounded damn near perfect to me, but I guess duty called. “Okay.” I nodded my head, turning to reopen my door, but then twisted around again. “Wait. That wasn’t all of my surprise. You don’t get to ruin everything.”
“What?” Confusion laced his voice as he walked back toward me, and I reopened my door, grabbing what was supposed to be the grand finale of my proposal.
“Here.” I pushed the box into his hands and he stared down at it, the words probably seeming foreign to him.
“What is this?” he asked slowly as he opened the box and took out the plastic wrapped stick. His mouth dropped open once again, but this time I could see a whole array of emotions running over his face: shock, excitement, confusion, and then back to excitement once again. “Holy fucking shit!” he shouted in true Justin fashion, before picking me and twirling me around. “Wait.” He set me back down on my feet, holding his hands up as he warily stepped a few feet away from me. “I shouldn’t be doing that kind of shit anymore.” He cautiously reached a hand toward me and gently ran it across my still flat stomach.
Twisted Bliss Page 23
