Page 92 of Chasing Sunsets

Parker grins. “Guess we’re celebrating more than just a house, then. Our friend is growing up.”

“Guess so.”

Lennon lifts his drink. “To Anson. And to all of us growing up.”

The others follow, glasses clinking together, laughter rolling through the warm night air. We settle at one of the standing pub tables and order some appetizers.

“Hey, isn’t that Tabby? I thought she was going with the girls?” Lennon says, lifting his chin over my shoulder.

I turn to look behind me, and there she is, seated at a table inside the restaurant with a small group of people I don’t recognize.

I set my beer on the table. “I’ll be right back,” I say as I stand.

I walk inside and over to the table. An older gentleman is facing Tabby, speaking to her, and he looks angry. Concern hits me, and I rush over to find out what’s going on.

“This is absurd!” he bellows.

I clear my throat, drawing his attention.

“Is everything okay over here?” I ask.

Tabby’s back goes ramrod straight, and she slowly turns in her seat, her eyes widening when she sees me.

“Anson,” she gasps.

“Hi,” I say, confused by the panicked look on her face.

“What are you doing here?”

“Tabitha, who is this?” the older woman seated across from her asks.

She doesn’t respond, so I reach my hand across the table. “I’m Anson. And you are?”

She takes my offered hand. “Rosemary Harmony. Tabitha’s mother.”

Her mother?

I slide my eyes back to Tabby and lift a brow.

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” I say before offering my hand to the man who I’m now assuming is her father. “Sir?”

He shakes my hand as well.

The guy to Tabby’s left stands, and I face him.

He extends his hand and grins. “Quenton Belicourt. Tabitha’s fiancé.”

I take his hand, and he holds my stare as he grips mine with more pressure than necessary.

“How do you and Tabitha know each other?”

“Anson and I are friends. He helped me get settled in here,” she says.

Friends?

“How nice,” Quenton quips. “But it was unnecessary. We’ve come to take her home.”

My eyes move from him to Tabby, who looks like she’s about to get sick. She clutches the back of her chair like she might fall over, and that’s when I see it. A large, oval-shaped diamond ring on her left hand.

---