“Ohmy goodness,” his mom said. “Parkertold us you were beautiful, but that was an understatement.”
Kelliknew she was blushing.Somuch heat rose to her cheeks that they must be bright red.
Hisdad nodded. “Healso tells us that you are smart, creative, talented, and dedicated, and thatZentCubewouldn’t be as successful as it is if it weren’t for you and your marketing skills.”
Shelooked over atParkerand saw that he was blushing, too, and looking down to hide it.Itwas so cute.
Theystarted by asking questions about her, but they all seemed to enjoy chatting, so she started asking them questions about them and aboutParker.Thenthey were all just chatting about random things—their three different trips, howEthanwas liking school, what his parents did for a living, favoriteChristmastraditions—all five of them.
Shehad thought she would be in his room for five minutes or less, but before she first even thought about what time it must be, a good half an hour had already passed.
Asthey said their goodbyes,Kellirealized she was falling in love with the whole family, and as she was getting ready for their carriage ride later that evening, she felt like she was floating.
Bythe time they walked out front to meet their carriages, she had to remind herself to pull her heart back and give some space between it andParker’sfamily.Withouteven realizing she had done it, she had fallen in love withJamesbecause of his family, and she didn’t want to do the same thing ever again.Andshe knew that right now she was especially vulnerable since she was feeling particularly lacking in the family department.
Fourbeautiful horse-drawn carriages were waiting outside, majestic horses at the front of each, standing tall and occasionally pawing a hoof on the wet road or making a snorting sound.Therewere spots for four people per carriage, soParkerandKellisat in the back seat in one carriage andJoyandThomassat in the seat facing them.
“Theyhave blankets for us, too,”Kelliexclaimed, pulling theirs up to her shoulders and snuggling up toParker.Heput an arm around her shoulders, so she reached up and adjusted the blanket so it would go over her shoulder enough to cover his arm.Itwasn’t as cold as last night, but it wasn’t the warm weather they’d had the first few days, either.
Asthe carriages pulled away and started heading down the road,Joysaid, “Ican’t believe they are awarding points to us for this.Idon’t know about you guys, butIdidn’t need to be bribed.”
Parkerchuckled.Kelliwas sitting close enough to him that she could feel his laugh rumble in his chest. “Eventhe people who have no chance of winning are here, soIthink you might be on to something.”
“Whodo you think’s going to win?”Joyasked.
“Me,” bothKelliandParkersaid at the same time.Theyall laughed, and so did she, but it wasn’t a joke—she was still determined to win.
Thomastapped a finger to his bottom lip. “Soyou’re sayingIshould either kick it in high gear or just accept the fact thatI’mnot going to win.”
KellilikedJoyandThomas.Andby how close they were sitting, they liked each other, too.Maybeshe andParkercould go on double dates with them once they were back inDenver.
Herstomach fluttered at the thought of her andParkerdating when they got back.Everythinghere felt like a magical dream—one that would disappear and be forgotten once they left.Butit wasn’t.Shewas going to be able to seeParkerevery day at work.Aftertheir hours of chatting on the bench in the snow last night, she knew that was what they both wanted.
Butwhat if she wasn’t as ready to head into another relationship as she had thought she’d been last night?Herfluttery stomach turned into a quivering one.
ThenParkerpulled her in a little closer as they went over a little bump when the carriage turned offTheRoyalPalm’sproperty and onto the streets ofMyrtleBeach.Shejust fit so well next to him.Andhe was so kind and chivalrous.Anytime she saw him, her entire body felt like it was filled with twinkle lights andChristmasmagic.Maybeshe was ready after all.
Asthey drove through the streets ofMyrtleBeach, looking at all theChristmaslights stretched across the main streets and decorating the buildings,Kellilaid her head againstParker’sshoulder.Hehad unzipped his coat, so apparently he was plenty warm with just the blanket.Sheput her hand right over his heart, feeling the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Hekissed her forehead, and when she looked up at him and smiled, he said, “StayuntilNewYear’sDaywith me.”
Shesat up straight so she could get a better look at him. “You’vedecided to stay?”
Hereached out a hand and brushed a lock of hair off her cheek, then ran his fingers down her cheek, across her jaw, and stopped at her chin, using one finger to trace her lips.Histouch sent electricity zinging through her and made her long to have his lips on hers again.
“IfIcould stay here with you forever,Iwould.”
Shewas so hopelessly gone at his words.Shejust stared into those dark eyes with the honey color nearest his pupils and forgot how to speak.Howto think.Howto do anything but fall into their depths.
Hecupped his fingers under her chin and leaned forward to brush his lips against hers and then smiled, showing a dimple that she loved so much.Withhis lips only an inch from hers—close enough that she could feel each beautiful breath—he whispered, “Isthat a yes?”
Shelaughed, realizing that she hadn’t managed to get an answer out. “Yes,Parker.Iwould love to stay here with you until the very moment they kick us out.”
Shefelt a buzz in her coat pocket and jumped before she remembered that she had brought her phone along just in case her dad got a chance to call or text.Shepulled it out and looked at the screen, surprised that it was someone other than him.
Itwas a text fromJames’ssisterCatherine, the sister that she had gotten closest to while she had datedJames.Thetext simply said,Imiss seeing you at family things.
Shetried to push down the memories of good times withCatherineandJames’sfamily that the text brought back, and shoved the emotions right along with them.She’dtry to respond later, but she couldn’t now.Shepushed the phone back into her pocket.
