His

I threw a towel at her that made her laugh uncontrollably.

“Come on. A girl needs to live vicariously through you. That man is perfect. Hopefully I’m next.”

I smiled at my best friend, feeling completely happy and enjoying that she was happy for me too. “You will be.”

“I’m in no rush. We can’t all be shackled down at nineteen.”

“Hey, when you know, you just know,” I said, smiling as I thought about Parker.

“Have you told your parents?”

Her question caught me off guard. During this whole time, I had never once thought about my parents. I actually hadn’t even seen them the whole time that I’d been home. They had only called once and texted a few times. They were taking a trip in Europe, my father on business trips while my mother was doing god knows what, probably shopping.

“It’s not like their opinion matters.” I said and I meant it. Their opinion didn’t really matter. They lost that right as soon as they stopped parenting me and passed me from nanny to nanny. “I call them by their names. My mom won’t even introduce me as her daughter to new people. I am fine with them not even being at the wedding.”

“A wedding?” Shelly said, spitting her pop out. “You’re already thinking about marriage. Damn, girl, I thought the moving in together was fast, but now you’re talking about an actual lifetime commitment?”

“He’s the one.”

“How can you be so sure of that? Like, you barely know him.”

“Shelly, I just know. I look at him and I see my whole life, and that life is full of him. He makes me feel like anything and everything is possible. He is kind, he is passionate, funny, sexy and a good man. What he does with his life and his influence is something else. You see the world we grew up with. Most people take their money and just act like overgrown children. He spends his days trying to make a difference in people’s lives. He also treats me like a queen.”

“Wow. I never thought you would be a goner. Our whole lives, you’ve barely even looked at a guy.”

“None of them were worth looking at.” I said, right when the back door opened and Parker poked his head out. “Hey, beautiful, I just have one of my partners here. He’s just picking up some paperwork. Hi, Shelly,” he said, waving his arm in a salute.

“Sounds good. We’ll be right in,” I said.

“Guess that’s my cue to be going,” Shelly said, laughing and wagging her eyebrows.

“Well, you know.”

“All I’m saying is, this honeymoon stage shit better end soon. I’m not okay with losing my best friend to Daddy hot stuff.”

“You’ll never lose me, Shelly. You’re the only real family I’ve got. Sisters forever.”

Shelly and I walked in the house, spotting Parker and a good-looking younger guy at the

island, their heads bent over a pile of paperwork. Parker looked up and smiled.

“Seth, this is Catherine and her friend Shelly.”

“This is the lady who has been keeping you from the office?” He asked before turning to me and offering his hand. I took it, smiling up at him but my eyes only on Parker.

“It’s nice to meet you, Seth. This is my best friend, Shelly.” I said as Shelly moved to my side. Seth, though cordial to me, was knocked out by Shelly. You could see it in his eyes. It was the same hungry way that Parker looked at me. He offered his hand to Shelly and when she took it, it felt like Seth wouldn’t ever let go.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Shelly,” he said, beaming at her.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said as a pink shade started to creep up her neck towards her face. “Well, I’ve got to be going. Thanks for lunch, Cat.” She hugged me. I knew Shelly, she was trying to run out of there not because she had anywhere to be, but because of her instant spark with Seth.

“I’ll walk you out. Parker and I are done here,” he said, grabbing his briefcase and shoving papers in there like a tornado to hurry himself up. Parker and I exchanged knowing looks at each other, and I tried desperately to control the laughter that was at the tip of my mouth.

When they left, Parker turned to me, and we both burst into laughter.

“Guess another one bites the dust,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

“Looks like it,” he said, kissing my lips.

We just stood there, holding each other for what felt like an eternity, and all I could think about was how lucky I was, because Parker Knowles was everything.

“So, I think we need to tell your parents about us,” he said, pulling away from me so he could look into my eyes.

“Why?”

“Because I want to marry you. I can’t exactly marry you without letting them know.”