AllFreeNovel
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Was fun having a secret just us again for a day, ready to tell everyone now though.
Ready for everyone to know we finally sorted our shit out.
I can’t wait to see my dad’s face. Can’t wait to see Harley’s.
Walk in hand in hand and everyone, especially Henry and Jo, cheers.
But Bridget — fucking Bridget — stares at us for a few seconds, pinches her eyes and nods at Parks’s hand in mine.
“Are you wearing a ring?”
Magnolia’s face freezes.
“Are you wearing a fucking ring?” she repeats.
Magnolia rolls her eyes, gives her sister a dark look and then flashes her hand.
My mum screams. Covers her mouth in an embarrassing kind of maternal delight and Bridget forgets her sister has broken bones as she bull-rushes her, picking her up off the ground, excited.
Parks squirms in pain but grins and bears it, then Bridge stares over at me for a couple of seconds then about knocks me over with a hug.
After that, Parks and me are swallowed up in hugs and kisses and congratulation-y shit from everyone. It’s nice how happy they are for us. We put them all through the fucking ringer to get here.
Jonah grabs my face, kisses me on the mouth before smacking my face excitedly. “Fuck, man—” He grins. “About fucking time!”
My dad’s off ordering the best champagne they have.
Henry’s hugging Parks from behind while my mum’s crying, holding her face, welcoming her back — like she was ever really gone. I guess she was for a bit. Never again, though.
Madeline is Instagram Live-ing the whole thing.
Taura, Arrie, Allie and Jemima are fawning over the ring and Bushka’s not talking to me because she’s miffed I didn’t ask her.
Then Marsaili broaches me, squinting.
“You didn’t ask permission.”
Magnolia looks over, curious. God’s honest truth is she wouldn’t have cared if I had or hadn’t, she’d have said yes either way.
Harley shakes his head. “That’s not true actually, love.” He looks at her, nodding his head at me. “He asked me when he was seventeen.”
I cock an eyebrow at Mars because I love an unsaid fuck you.
“Seventeen?” Marsaili blinks.
Harley nods. “We were in…” He pauses, trying to remember.
“Saint John.” I smile at him.
“Virgin Islands.” He nods. “And I walked in on something—” He eyes me and then Parks, who uses my brother’s hand to hide her embarrassed face.
“I blocked this out,” Magnolia says quietly before she calls to my mother, “Lily, stop listening. You won’t care for this story.”
“I took him aside, tried to scare him a bit with ‘What are you doing with my daughter?’ and ‘If I ever see you touch her again…’ You know…” He smirks over at me, a bit amused. “And this cocky prick says, ‘Sorry, but I’m going to touch her forever, Sir.’ I pulled back, couldn’t believe my fucking ears.” He chuckles.
Parks is staring over at us, surprised and wide eyed. Never told her this story. “And I said, ‘Will you now?’ And he said, ‘Mmhm, I’m going to marry her if you let me.’ And I said, ‘Is that you asking me?’ And he shrugged and said, ‘Suppose it is…’”
Magnolia’s staring over at me, eyes back to heavy with that old want. Same want that was being met that day in Saint John he walked in on us, actually.
