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Prologue:
Parker Donahue paced back and forth in the dining room of his house. Over and over again he recited the words he’d been practicing for weeks now.
“Cadence, will you make me the happiest man in the world?” He ran his hand across his jaw. “Cadence, will you make me a happy man?” He let out a groan. So far, he hadn’t gotten it right once. He was a stumbling, bumbling mess. Perhaps he should just take the ring out of the box and let her figure out the rest.
Lord, please give me a hint of grace, he prayed. Please let me speak from the heart.
“You better take it easy. You’re going to have a heart attack before you even have a chance to pop the question.” His brother Jason stood a few feet away from him, his handsome brown face lit up with merriment. With his chiseled features and amiable smile, Jason was the type of man who turned female heads wherever he went. Having light, caramel-colored eyes and an athletic build didn’t hurt either.
For quite some time now—ever since he had been on his path to sobriety—Jason had steered clear of relationships. Parker respected him for focusing on staying clean rather than on romance. Jason wasn’t just Parker’s brother—he was his best friend. The one who knew all of his secrets and his worst nightmares. The good Lord had blessed him with seven siblings—four adopted and three biological—and he loved them all dearly. He could honestly say that he forgot sometimes who was adopted and who wasn’t, even though there were clear differences amongst them—height, skin color, temperament. Parker could honestly say Jason was his spiritual twin.
Parker held out his hand. It was trembling. As a PI, Parker didn’t waver. He wasn’t a fearful
man. In his professional life he’d dealt with many forms of evil. He’d battled wife beaters, cheaters, tax dodgers, megalomaniacs, pyromaniacs. You name it. Parker had investigated it. But love was the one thing that made Parker’s hands tremble. And he was crazy about Cadence Johnson, the woman he loved beyond all reason. The woman he was proposing to tonight.
“Get it right,” he urged himself. “She’s worth it.”
“Of course she’s worth it. You’ll definitely be marrying up,” Jason quipped. The corners of his brother’s mouth twitched with merriment.
Parker grinned. “She’s pretty fantastic, isn’t she?”
Jason grinned. “You’ve got that right! She’s the whole package. Looks, intelligence, a sense of humor. And loads of compassion.” Jason shook his head. “Too bad she doesn’t have a sister.”
“Ha!” Parker said with a chuckle. “You’re a sworn bachelor, remember?”
Jason stroked his chin. “I might reconsider under the right circumstances.”
Parker grinned at Jason. His brother worked for him at Donahue Investigations. He was working his way toward becoming a full-fledged Private Investigator. Jason was a recovering addict. He had been drug free for two years. He’d been through hell and back with his addiction, and the entire Donahue family had been put through the ringer right along with him. Jason was doing well at the moment, but it was a battle he would be fighting for the rest of his life. Parker admired his courage and conviction. At his lowest moment, Jason had turned his life over to God and admitted he was helpless against his addiction. He’d been living with Parker for the last two years and rebuilding his life.
The sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of their younger brother, Micah. With his dark head of hair and blue eyes, Micah was striking. And he always had been, ever since he came into the world. As a baby, strangers had stopped their mother Penelope on the street to comment about Micah’s curls and his azure colored eyes. As an adult, Micah had parlayed those good looks into a successful modeling career.
“Are we done here, yet?” Micah let out a huge sigh. “Frankly, this is the girliest thing I’ve ever done.”
Jason let out a snort. “Spoken by a super model.”
“Right?” Parker said with a chuckle. “I can think of at least ten more girly things you do on a photo shoot.”
Micah held up his hand. “Okay. Okay. I misspoke. Seriously though. Are we done here? I have a date.”
“You always have a date,” Daniel said with a frown, appearing in the entryway with a basket of rose petals in his arms. Tall and serious looking, Daniel had probably never dealt with a rose petal in his life. He’d been strewing them all over the carpet in the living room. All the while he’d had a perplexed expression on his face. As the owner of a multi-million-dollar computer company, Daniel tended to focus more on his business than on his personal life. It drove their mother crazy. “How am I ever going to get grandbabies?” was one of her favorite questions. Parker wasn’t so sure she should hold her breath waiting on Daniel. He hadn’t had a girlfriend in forever.
Micah grinned at him. “We can’t all be as work-oriented as you are, Daniel. Remember, even the Lord rested on the seventh day.”
Jason, Parker and Micah all chuckled.
“How did Nash and Heath get out of helping?” Micah asked, referencing two other brothers.
“Stop grumbling,” their sister Shayla said as she walked in from the kitchen and deposited a big bouquet of flowers on the dining room table. With her honey blond hair and gray-blue eyes, Shayla was beautiful. Being the baby of the family and the only girl made her the jewel in the Donahue family crown. She had the luxury of having seven brothers who would catch a bullet for her in a heartbeat. Parker pitied the man who fell in love with Shayla and wanted to get serious with her. He would have to walk a gauntlet of seven warriors in order to win the princess.
She was in school at the moment working toward her degree in education. Everyone in the family knew Shayla would make a wonderful teacher one day.
A heavenly smell drifted from the kitchen. Parker closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His brother Caleb was a chef-bistro owner and he was preparing a sumptuous meal for him and Cadence. Sometimes it took a village, he realized, to make a wonderful impression on the woman of your dreams. Parker couldn’t even express in mere words how grateful he felt for siblings who would go the distance for him. He couldn’t thank his parents enough for blessing him with a large, bustling family. It came in handy during moments like this.
Caleb poked his head around the doorway leading to the kitchen. “I’m almost done. The chicken piccata is on the stove. I’m just waiting for some cornbread in the oven. I made a Greek salad with a special dressing. It’s sitting on the counter. And there’s Tiramisu settling in the fridge.” He winked at Parker. “Not to mention a celebratory bottle of champagne is chilling in an ice bucket.”
“You’re amazing, Caleb,” Shayla said, moving toward her older brother and planting a kiss on his cheek.
Parker walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re one in a million,” he said. “I can’t thank you enough.”
Caleb grinned. “No thanks needed. After everything you’ve done to help me get my Bistro up and running, I’m the one who owes you a debt of gratitude.”
“We’re family,” Jason added. “We help each other out whenever or wherever it’s needed. Donahue strong!”
All of the siblings repeated the family motto in unison. No matter what challenges they faced, the Donahue family knew the importance of staying strong and holding fast to their faith. It was the staple of their family unit.
Jason rubbed his hands together and looked at Caleb. “Are you giving out any samples?”
Caleb frowned. “It’s dinner for two, Jason. There are no samples.” The sound of a timer went off. Caleb raced back into the kitchen.
Parker took a quick glance at his watch. “You guys better scoot. Cadence will be here in fifteen minutes. I’d like her to think I did all of this by myself.”
Shayla rolled her eyes. “She’ll never believe that,” she said with a giggle, reaching out and giving Parker a hug. “Good luck with everything.” She winked at him. “Not that you need it. Cadence adores you.”
Parker placed a kiss on his sister’s temple. “Thanks, Shay. I can’t wait to put this ring on her finger.” He patted his pocket.
“I’ll be back later on,” Jason said. “Probably not till eleven o’clock or so.” He winked at his brother. “I don’t want to mess up the romantic vibe.”
Parker smiled. “We should be finished with our celebration by then.”
“And you’ll have a fiancé,” said Micah, clapping him on the back.
“And I’ll be engaged,” Parker said with a nod. Engaged. The mere word caused adrenaline to rush through his veins.
Parker watched as his siblings filed out of his house. Although it had been great to have them all here, he couldn’t deny the fact that the absence of his best friend, Keith, gutted him. Friends since high school, Keith had been killed in a terrible car accident four months earlier. Parker still felt slightly responsible since Keith had borrowed his car the evening of the crash. Parker missed his best friend like crazy. Not a day went by when Parker didn’t pray for his family and his wife, Claire.
He ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t believe by the end of the evening he’d be an engaged man. From the moment he’d met Cadence, Parker had known she was the one. Every time he gazed into her blue-green eyes, Parker saw his future reflected there. She was his sweet inspiration. Parker couldn’t imagine loving a woman more than he loved and adored Cadence.
