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Rosie squeezes my hand then takes Drew by his, pulling him toward their table where dinner is being served. “I love you,” Rosie mouths to me.
“I love you, too,” I mouth back.
I don’t know when I got so comfortable saying those three words, but I do know it’s time for me to be honest. Love has found its way into my heart, and there isn’t much I can do about it other than to let it out.
Twenty-Five
PARKER
Ineeded a minute to breathe. The emotions surrounding the night were beginning to suffocate me.
As I walk out onto the terrace, the crisp sea air hits me in the face. It’s cool and sticky, taking me back to another night. That night felt a lot like this one. We were celebrating, and the music and ocean waves were reverberating in the night.
I remember standing next to the bonfire sipping on a cold bottle of beer. The wetness perspiring down the bottle made my hands cold, and I can remember the tingling feeling as if I were still in that moment. Frankie, one of my childhood buddies, called my name from the other side of the bonfire, and that is when I saw her.
She was alone at the edge of the beach where the sand meets the ocean water. Her petite little body swaying to the music. It was like she was one with the waves crashing against the shore.
I didn’t know her name, and I didn’t even care. Something hit me at that moment I had never felt before—I wanted her. With a simple glance in my direction, she took my breath away. I was entranced, and without thinking, I went to her. She was like a siren of the sea. I realize now I never had a chance. I would never be the same again. I would never want or need someone as much as I wanted and need her ever again.
She was mine, and even more than that, I was hers.
I suck in air and release a long, drawn-out sigh. What am I waiting for now? Drew and Rosie are married. We fulfilled our promise about getting through the wedding. Good God, what am I doing?
There is no rational explanation for what I’m feeling, but I push away from the railing of the overlook with one mission in mind. I have to go to Abbey and fight for her now.
“I’m going to prove I will fight for you,” I say out loud, even though I’m alone, and turn to head inside to find Abbey. But when I turn, I’m not alone. Abbey. She is standing there, arms hanging at her sides and mouth open as if I caught her mid-sentence.
“Abbey, I was coming to find you,” I say as I step forward, smiling.
Her hand goes up to stop me. I watch her face, and she shakes her head. I won’t let her push me away this time.
ABBEY
I’m not sure what I expected to feel when I walked outside to find Parker, but I can say this is much more overwhelming than I expected it to be.
I’m quiet as I approach. His back is to me, and he’s looking out over the beach below. I don’t want to startle him, but I’m not sure what I want to say to get his attention. There is so much I need to say to him.
I think about the night we met so often and how I felt when I first saw him. I can remember dancing to the music and how the salty sea air made my dress stick to my skin. Parker had a look on his face I had never seen before. Although I didn’t know him, I wanted to give him everything. I wanted to give him parts of me I had never given to anyone before.
Just as I take a step toward him, he pushes back from the rail he’s been leaning on and says, “I’m going to prove I will fight for you.” At first, I thought he knew I was behind him. Tears escape my lids, and then he faces me, and I can see he is startled. He wasn’t talking to me.
When it sinks in, I’m standing behind him, and he steps toward me, smiling, “Abbey, I was coming to find you.” But I stop him by putting my hand up.
I need space to say what I need to say, especially after hearing his declaration.
He freezes and begins to say something again, “I think we’ve…”
I interrupt him, “waited long enough?” He nods, so I continue before he can say more.
“Please don’t say anything, just listen. It’s my turn,” I tell him.
Walking past him, I place my hands on the railing and look out over the pitch-black open. There is an ocean before us; I can’t see it, but I know it’s there. I can hear it. “Parker, you’ve already fought for me. You’ve been fighting for me…for us practically since the beginning. So, you don’t have to fight anymore. You have nothing to prove,” I say, tears clogging my throat. I swipe away the ones that broke free.
He comes closer and rests his hand on mine without saying a word.
“I didn’t want this because I was afraid. Not of you, but of love. Of losing you. Of the pain I just knew would eventually come with giving you any piece of me because that is what happens when people fall in love.” I swivel my body to face him. “The thing is, from the very first time you touched me, I had no choice. I gave you a part of me that I was never going to get back. Then, every moment we spent together, you took a little more until I was no longer the sole owner of my heart. You were in there, too, acting like you belonged and like you weren’t ever leaving.” I don’t even try to stop the tears from flowing now. Parker reaches his hand out, cupping my cheeks and wiping the wetness from my cheek with his thumbs.
“Abbey, there isn’t anywhere else I would rather be,” he tells me. “It’s a beautiful, worthy heart.”
