“Oh, this one right here is priceless.”
“That’s quite enough, children, sit down,” my mother commanded with a smile. “And Marcus, those are not to be weaponized. I just thought…well, I thought you should know what you’re getting into.”
“Thanks for that,” I seethed, taking my place at the table.
“So what did you kids do today? Beautiful weather to be outside.”
Marcus glanced out the window like she was crazy, but I smiled. “We went down to the beach—the one by Miller’s Fish House. Took him around to all my old haunts.”
“That’s wonderful!” She brightened as she heaped us both a steaming plate. “Maybe tomorrow you can head down to Seattle, catch the ferry and do some hiking.”
Marcus flashed me a quick look, and I cleared my throat. “Actually, we won’t be able to do anything tomorrow. We’re heading back to Los Angeles.”
She sat back casually in her chair, but her eyes were sparkling. “Is that right?”
“Afraid so.”
Marcus leaned forward. “A bit more than that, Sharon. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to cancel your engagement party.”
Her fork clattered to her plate, and she stared between us with tears in her eyes. “Oh, I see,” she murmured softly. “Uh…yes, of course, I can do that. I didn’t realize.”
“The thing is,” he continued, “we’re getting married next month, so you’re going to have to move up the shower much sooner.”
There was not a single sound.
Then there was an explosion.
Chapter 9
The next day, the three of us got on a plane. Yes, you heard me right. The three of us.
“You’re going to have your entire lives to be together!” my mother had explained, frantically throwing a month’s worth of clothes into a bag. “I’m only going to get this little sliver of time to help plan your wedding.” When I hesitated, she continued with a more direct, “And I’ll be dead soon, so we should enjoy the time that we have.”
I knew the two of us needed time together to adjust to the newfound weight of our life choices. But we were ready and willing to give it everything we had. We headed back to the mansion and let my mom settle in. I would’ve helped her unpack, but as it turned out, I had some settling in to do myself.
I was moving in with Marcus.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” he asked as we headed through the massive double doors and up the ornate staircase. The staff shot us curious, sideways glances as they bustled around, but were far too professional to break character and ask what was
going on.
“Yeah, I am,” I replied confidently. And I found, with a bit of relief, that there actually wasn’t a hesitant bone in my body. Now that I’d made the choice, now that I’d decided to commit, I was suddenly sure I’d made the right decision. “I already think of this as home.”
His eyes glowed, and he flashed me a warm smile. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.” I grinned and headed down the hall to my room, when to my surprise, he caught me by the elbow. “I’m glad to hear it, but if you’re going to be staying here…maybe it’s time we talked about you moving into the master suite.” Those gray eyes sparkled. “With me.”
I froze in place and stared ominously down the hall. Despite my string of relationships over the years, I’d never actually advanced to the point of living with someone. Ironic as it seemed, Marcus’s place was about as non-threatening as could be simply because it could fit fifty other people into the house, and it was unlikely that anyone would really run into each other.
But staying in the same room? I guessed that’s what people did…right?
“Think of the bed,” he coaxed with a grin, “it’s far better than the one in your room.”
“I suppose so…” But I hesitated.
What if I needed time alone? Time to be with my thoughts? My genius thoughts? What if I decided to completely warp my personality and start exercising? Take up yoga? Of course, Marcus had a gym for that sort of thing…but what if I wanted to do it my room? I couldn’t do it in front of him. And singing in the shower! Where did that fit in?
“Will you promise to go somewhere else if I take up kickboxing?” I asked intently.
He blinked but recovered himself quickly. “Of course. You’ll never know I’m there.”