“Parker Jane, be nice.” Remy smiled at me, and it took way too long for me to figure out what the hell was going on.
“What’s that?” I barely choked out my question.
“I had this whole thing planned. A romantic night away. Something memorable. Nox helped me come up with the perfect plan to convince you. But I really don’t think there’s anything more memorable than getting to hear Dom and Linc argue about Linc’s balls hanging out.”
I shuddered, but my eyes filled with tears and I couldn’t stop them from leaking over. I didn’t care to stop them, either. Not when Remy was giving me everything I’d ever imagined.
“I love you, Parker Jane. You fixed me, saved me, brought me back from the hell that I’d let my life become. And all I had to do was force you to look at me again to make it a reality. But maybe we could be more?” He smiled devilishly, quoting that first letter I sent him a lifetime ago. “Will you marry me and give me more of the life I need with you?”
Emotion clogged my throat, making it virtually impossible to answer. I tried and barely managed a croak. So I did what any woman would do in my position. I threw myself at Remy and kissed him until he slid the ring in his hand on my finger.
“I think she said yes, boy.” Patti laughed and clapped her hands together right next to us.
Linc whistled loudly. “Finally. We’ve just been waiting since fucking forever. I gotta call my mom and tell her I won the bet. Did someone get a video for Nox? He demanded proof that it happened, or he said he’s gonna put worms in Remy’s shoes.”
Remy pulled away from the kiss. “Shut the fuck up, Linc.” He cupped my cheeks, resting his forehead against mine in what had become one of my favorite things in the world.
“I can’t wait to make you and Nox officially mine. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life, Parker. You and our boy. I love you.”
“I love you too, Remington Vance.” Then I pressed a kiss to his lips, enjoying the way he froze at the nickname.
“Not. My. Name.”
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Boots on the Ground
Kennedy
Before salsa slipped off my taco, I shoved the entire thing in my mouth and groaned with pleasure.
It’s better than sex. Almost.
Dishes clanged together, cooks hollered, and waitresses talked shit about the people treating them like crap, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end my shitty-ass day than to stuff my face with tacos.
Lucy’s was busy as hell, but I got to sit right next to the kitchen, away from the crowds, and eat as much as I wanted to without the judging stares from people who thought I was depressed. They just didn’t understand that I had a deep and wonderful relationship with tacos.
“Hey, Kennedy.” Violet Ortiz appeared at the side of my table with an empty tray in her hand. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, Vi.” I smiled at her before taking another bite of the never-ending taco plate I’d ordered. “Just got off shift, you know how that goes.”
Vi cracked a smile before shaking her head. We went to school together, even started training to be dispatchers together before she decided that she’d rather go to medical school.
“Holler if you run out of tacos.”
There actually wasn’t anything on Lucy’s menu about never-ending tacos. But one of my best friends was the manager, and I liked tacos. So, she hooked me up with a killer deal, and I made sure to tip the cook and waitstaff who brought them to me, too.
Everything was going great. My tacos were hot; no one watched me eat, and I got to unwind after a particularly aggravating shift answering 911 calls. Until a shadow appeared on the edge of my table.
“You’re going to get fat, Kennedy. You should stop eating.”
Royal fucking Prince. Prick. Ex-fiancé. Asshole. Everything under the sun. I hated his voice more than almost anything. Except maybe for the sharp pang of terror that it sent down my spine.
I didn’t even know how he managed to find me, but honestly, I wasn’t surprised when I looked up from my plate to see him sneering, with a pretty blonde at his side. The exact opposite of me, I might add. She had to be at least five six, and she was thin enough that I’d be able to blow at her and she’d fall over. She was also a complete and utter bitch, which I knew from experience. She was a nurse, but more like Nurse Ratched than anything else. I almost felt bad for her, but not quite.
“Wow, Mallory.” I smiled at her even though my stomach was turning, and the chances of me keeping down my food grew slimmer with every passing second. “I didn’t think you’d lower your standards to sleep with a lawyer.” Completely ignoring the fact that I’d slept with him, too, I kept the smile on my face even when my skin felt like it would shatter into a thousand pieces.
Mallory sniffed and then raised an eyebrow at me with a cocky expression on her face, smiling with her lips pressed together so she looked like a constipated duck.
Before she could say whatever toxic bullshit she created in her head, I held up a hand to silence her.
“I don’t give a shit what you have to say. You’re interrupting my lunch, and I’ve had a long day. Go away, and take Royal with you.” I gagged on his name, remembering the wasted year of my life I’d spent with him.
Royal glared at me, using the same expression he’d mastered during our time together, when he tried to change me into the perfect wife. Clearly he’d failed. And I was left avoiding the disappointment I could literally feel burning into my skin with his gaze.
“I just thought you should know.” He finally broke the tension. “Mallory and I are getting married.”
She held out her hand, sticking it directly in front of my face, and I snorted. “You’re an idiot.” I’m not sure which one of them I was talking to, though, because they were both stupid. Her for getting with someone who’d abused me for a year, and him for being born. “I hope you’re happy together, but can you leave me to my tacos?” The slight waver in my voice was from hunger and irritation instead of fear, at least that’s what I told myself.
Neither person moved, and I started to weigh the option of leaving before I’d finished eating or having to deal with them standing over me, turning everything I ate into a nightmare.
“I’m not leaving,” Mallory bit out snidely. “We came to eat, and you don’t have a monopoly on the places in this town, just because of your family.”
My heart kicked up a beat, and my palms started to sweat. The knife sitting on the table in front of me called out silently, beckoning for me to use it.
I picked it up, clearly losing my mind, and started tapping it against the table idly. Every single click of metal hitting the wooden tabletop, I pictured it stabbing Mallory in the eyeball, drawing out her pain and agony, without an end in sight. There wasn’t anything left to say, though. I’d already asked them to leave, and they weren’t going anywhere.