Marnie didn’t wake up until we were about to pass the turning on I-10 for Palm Springs. She stretched sleepily and looked around at the scenery, which wasn’t in any way what she was expecting. It took her a second to figure it out, and then her head shot up. “Where are we? How long have I been asleep? Jupiter, why are we going to Palm Springs?”
Her entire body spun around, and a deep crease formed on her brow.
“We’re not,” I grinned.
“We’re supposed to be at my parent’s! They’re expecting us.”
Marnie’s parents; Noah and Bryony Matthews. I no longer sighed internally at the mention of their name, which was progress on my part.
If I thought I’d been nervous about seeing Marnie again, it was nothing compared to how I felt about seeing her parents after fourteen years. When Marnie and I officially got back together, I thought I’d have a bit of time to see them, to figure out how exactly I was going to persuade them that I was for real this time. Because after she’d found out how I’d known about CalTech, her dad became her new enemy number one. It took a whole night in bed and the whole of the following morning to convince her not to say anything.
But then she announced they were coming to New York for the weekend, so I needed to call in the big guns.
The big guns being Drew and Emerson.
In return for them spending the weekend with Marnie’s parents while I was at the stadium – talking me up at each and every opportunity, bringing them to both games, even wheeling out Grey and Gabriella to squeal about how much they loved their Uncle Jupiter – I had to promise Drew that he could auction off an entire week of training with me for his foundation.
That’s right, an entire goddamn week of someone following me around.
But… I’d let someone follow me around for a year if it meant getting Noah on my side, because Marnie was worth that, and more.
She was worth everything.
I still wasn’t entirely convinced Noah thought I was genuine, though the conversation I’d had with him this morning – the conversation I’d snuck out of the house to have, while Marnie thought I was on a run – had certainly helped sway the arrow in my direction.
I laced my fingers with hers and squeezed. “Plans changed, my little Star.”
“What?” she barked out, because my girl liked changes of plans about as much as she liked surprises. “Why? When did this happen?”
I shrugged but offered no verbal response, because in about thirty seconds, her focus would be taken.
Twenty.
Ten.
She let out a loud gasp.
Bingo.
“Oh… Jupiter,” she breathed out in a way I definitely wanted to hear again later, maybe even as soon as we checked into our hotel. Her eyes widened. “We’re really going here? You’re taking me to Joshua Tree?”
I leaned over and kissed her, slowing down as we passed the ‘Welcome to Joshua Tree’ sign.
“Yep. I thought it would be good to get away for the night.”
Her mouth opened then closed, then she said “but-I-didn’t-bring-my-telescope!” so quickly, it took me a second to figure it out.
“Don’t worry, there’s something in the trunk just for you,” I winked.
She whipped around in her seat, forgetting momentarily she couldn’t see through leather, and then let out a little giggle. “Joshua Tree! I can’t believe it. I haven’t been since my seventeenth birthday. Thank you! This is definitely better than a barbecue with my parents.”
I wasn’t about to argue with that.
“Oh God, Jupe, look at it! It’s so beautiful.” Marnie’s neck craned back so far she slipped down the tub with a splash.
I made a mental note to add a bath to the observatory at the New York house.
After we’d checked in and I’d spent the afternoon showing Marnie exactly how much I loved her, we’d taken a walk while the veranda of our suite had been transformed into a sparkling, flickering, stargazing wonderland by the hotel. We’d returned at twilight to find the outdoor bathtub steaming full and overflowing with bubbles, all catching the light of a thousand candles, and a trillion emerging stars.
