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“Kingston was recording my daughter?” Dad yelled, cutting Nix off. Dad swung around to me, wrath vibrating his entire body. “That son of a bitch! I’m gonna kill him. He’s fucking dead.”
“Dad, no. It’s not likethat.” God, this was embarrassing. “We weren’t making a film or whatever. It was from the nanny cam in the living room. I knew there was a camera in the room. I just kinda forgot in the moment. And so did he.” I buried my face in my hands. There were some things I never, ever wanted to talk to my parents about ever again. This topped that list. “Can we move on? Please? There’s a reason why we picked you guys up from the airport today.”
“Okay. Let’s all calm down. Take a breath.” Mom patted my dad’s leg and sent him a get-your-shit-together look. After a beat, she gave me a tense smile. “How can we help you with this whole crazy situation, honey?”
“I want to help Kingston. He might think he’s bulletproof or whatever, but he’s the most vulnerable when it comes to his little girl. He can’t lose her. Especially because of me.”
Everyone spoke at once, talking over each other. “Briar—”
“Oh, honey.”
“That’s not what’s going on,” Mak tossed in from the driver’s seat.
“However you see it.” I held up my hands. “He’s in this situation because he’s dating me. And I want to help him fix it. Public perception is so important. With the media, the general public, and you know judges see that stuff too. So I was thinking the best way to combat all this is to show that Zoe has a loving, stable environment. Which is why I’m taking you guys’ wedding dress shopping.”
“What? You’re getting married?” Dad asked, his eyes wide.
“Where’s the ring?” Mom grabbed my left hand. Her gaze ran over my bare ring finger before she stared incredulously at me. “He didn’t give you a ring?”
I winced. “He doesn’t exactly know about this.”
“What?” Mom shouted again.
My pulse pounded behind my eyes. I was definitely getting a headache. “It’s his last day filming, so he’s busy. We didn’t exactly get a chance to talk about it. But I think this is the best way to combat the insanity of those pictures and show that we’re a stable couple. My parents, and someone from his family, going to buy a wedding dress with me. We’re flipping the narrative.”
“I don’t know, Briar.” Mom grimaced. “Won’t people start questioning him about when the wedding is? Won’t you have to get married eventually?”
I leaned forward. “But that’s the point. People will be talking about us as a couple. About our wedding and storybook romance. The more we give them positive stuff to talk about, the less they’ll talk about the pictures. His publicist is totally on board. Along with King hiring a shark of an attorney, the best way forward for Zoe is a united front.”
Mom shared a look with my dad that was clearly full of uncertainty. They didn’t approve. They weren’t going to do it.
I swallowed hard. “I need to know if you guys are in or not. Mak can drop you off at home instead, and Nix and I will go to the boutique on our own. I understand if you’re not comfortable with this.”
My parents exchanged another charged look, then my mom nodded. “We’re in.”
“Are you sure?” I raised my eyebrows as I remembered her hesitancy from only a few moments ago. “It will be insane. There were dozens of photographers and news vans out front of King’sgates this morning. We think like half of them have followed us here.”
Dad nodded firmly. “We support you, Briar. We’ll go.”
“And we want to help King and Zoe.” Mom smiled sadly. “That little girl needs to have her daddy. She’s lost so much already.”
The last time I saw them I’d filled my parents in on the past on the tricks King’s ex-in-laws had tried to pull when he’d attempted visitation with them. And they knew firsthand how fervently he protected her.
I smiled in relief. “Okay. Great. We’re headed to the boutique, Mak. No pitstops.” He’d been driving in that general direction until my parents made up their minds. I turned back to them and took a deep breath. “The whole point of this is that we don’t say anything. The paparazzi will yell whatever questions they want at us, but we don’t respond. We’re not going on record that we’re getting married. I’m just going into the store with my parents and boyfriend’s brother.”
“But she will be trying on dresses while we’re there,” Phoenix tossed in, staring down at his phone. “It’s a real appointment so the shop girls can spill details to the media too potentially.”
“Well, here’s something that’ll help with appearances.” My mom slid off her wedding ring and held it out to me. “Might be best to twist the band around so the stone is in your palm. I doubt someone like King would buy a ring like this, but it’ll help with the story.”
Tears burned my eyes at my mom’s thoughtful, sweet gesture. This ring had literally represented everything I thought a marriage should be. And the thought of even temporarily wearing it…ermmygod.
“I thought we were over the whole Kingston obsession,” my dad muttered.
My tears melted away, and I laughed until my cheeks were sore. “Oh my god, can we please never talk about that again?”
“Yes. Please.” My mom’s eyes bulged. “Considering everything that’s happened, let’s never speak of that.Ever.”
Giggling, I avoided Phoenix’s questioning look. I definitely wasn’t filling him in about Kingston’s spot on my mom’s five freebie list in front of my parents. As I slid the ring onto my left ring finger, I stared down at the stone my dad had bought for my mom over thirty years ago. “I’d love it if King picked out a ring like this, Mom. It’s perfect. I’ve always thought so.”
