Page 79 of To Hold and Protect

Austin had almost destroyed her, and Parker had the power to make what she went through after Austin left her look like child’s play. Staying, falling deeper and deeper in love with Parker and Everly and then losing them if he walked away like Austin had...she just couldn’t, not unless she knew in her heart and soul that Parker’s love was true and lasting.

It was going to be hard enough to leave now, but she had to. She refused to be that devastated girl again. Austin had taught her that lesson well, and she’d meant it when she’d promised herself never again.

“Willow, please don’t go.” He perched on the edge of the bed. “Stay and see where it goes between us.” He brushed away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks with his thumb. “You can’t deny there’s something between us.”

“You’re right, I can’t,” she whispered. “But is it enough? I’m not sure it is.” On his side. She would be all-in if only she was sure of him, but she wasn’t. If he really did love her, he’d fight for her.

“I...” His expression blanked, and he got up. “If that’s how you feel.” And then he walked out of the room.

Any hope that he’d fight for her died. If he was willing to give up that easily, then she was right to leave.

Two weeks at home, and Willow was climbing the walls. Her doctor was pleased with how well her gunshot wound was healing. She barely felt it anymore and knew how lucky she was that the bullet hadn’t damaged her internally. Physically, she was doing great, considering what she’d been through. Mentally? Well, she was working on that. Mostly, she was doing her best not to think about Parker. That was proving harder than she’d hoped.

As for being back home—she loved her parents but living with them was taxing. Her father babied her, and her mother was...well, she was trying. She might never agree with Willow’s choice of a career, but she was accepting that her daughter would never follow in her footsteps and join the academic world, apparently a dream her mother had had of that happening.

They’d had some good late-night talks, and Willow felt closer to her mother than she ever had before, and for that, she was grateful. Even so, it was time to find her beach house and get back to writing her children’s books.

She’d been having group conversations and texts with Skylar and Harper these past two weeks, but they’d said little about Parker, and she refused to ask. Twice they’d put Everly on the phone with her because, according to them, Everly missed her “so bad.” It was both wonderful and heartbreaking to talk to Everly. She missed Everlyso bad, too, and she’d cried both times after hanging up with the little girl who kept asking when she was going to come back home.

Parker’s art show was this weekend, and Skylar and Harper had asked if she was coming. No, she was not. She longed to, but to what purpose? Seeing him would only hurt, especially since she hadn’t heard a word from him. She couldn’t get past the fact that he hadn’t even tried to fight for her, the proof she needed that he truly did love her. Seemed apparent to her that he didn’t.

The doorbell rang, and since she was the only one home at the moment to answer, she sighed. She looked like crap—her hair was a rat’s nest, her leggings had a hole in the knee, and her most comfortable T-shirt had a big wine stain right over her left breast. But whatever. She trudged to the door.

“Willow Landry?” a deliveryman asked as he held a large, flat package.

“That’s me.” She tried to remember if she’d ordered something online.

“Sign here.” He thrust a signing machine at her.

Okay, that was weird. She knew she hadn’t ordered anything she’d have to sign for. After electronically signing her name, she carried it to the kitchen. Curious, she set to work getting it open. Inside the brown wrapping paper was a wooden frame protecting whatever was inside. She didn’t know what it was protecting but sensed that she needed to be careful not to damage the contents.

After she got the wooden frame and another layer of wrapping paper removed, she came to a layer of tissue paper. Taped to the paper was a white envelope with her name on it. What in the world? She pulled the envelope away and set it aside. It could wait. She was too curious to see what was under the tissue.

“Oh,” she breathed when a painting was revealed. “Oh.” The framed painting was of her, one she hadn’t posed for. She was standing in front of an open window, draped in emerald green silk that was billowing in the breeze. Her hair was tousled, her lips bee-stung and damp, and her eyes were soft and filled with desire. She was looking over her shoulder at a man sitting on a chair in the shadows. The man’s face was a mere outline, but she knew it was Parker. A bed was behind him, and it was obvious the couple had recently made love.

“Oh, Parker.” Was this how he saw her? Beautiful and sexy and a woman he loved? Because he couldn’t have painted her like this if he wasn’t in love with her. She cried, but it was happy tears this time.

When her tears dried, she opened the envelope. On a piece of stationery were the wordsWillow in the Moonlight. That was it, nothing else. She unfolded another sheet of paper and inside was a plane ticket to New York. Attached to the ticket was a sticky note.Please come.Under the words were the address and time for his show on Saturday night. She unfolded the third and last sheet of paper, a printout of reservations for a room at the Four Seasons hotel for three nights.

“Good gosh, Parker. When you go big, you go big.” She laughed, feeling all kinds of giddy. Was she going to go? Hell yes.

Willow walked up to the door of the gallery in New York City on Saturday night. She’d arrived the night before and had gone shopping this morning for a dress, since she didn’t own anything fancy enough for an art show at a New York gallery. Although her intention was to find a dress, she’d ended up with an emerald green lady’s tux. As soon as she’d tried it on, she had to have it. The tux was silk and consisted of just pants, the jacket, and a silver choker that had an emerald green gem-encrusted bow tie. The jacket buttoned low, showing more cleavage than she was used to, but she had a man to seduce. She’d also purchased strappy silver sandal heels and a small silver purse.

She’d considered calling Parker to tell him that she was coming but had decided to surprise him. Besides, he’d be busy today getting ready for his show, and she didn’t want to distract him.

Nervous, she smoothed down the jacket. A man in a tux opened the door for her, and another tux-clad man was inside at a table collecting tickets. She didn’t have a ticket. Had she missed seeing it in the package Parker sent her?

When she stopped in front of the man, he said, “Willow Landry?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Mr. Church showed us your picture. You’re to go right in.”

“Thank you.” Guess when you had an in with the artist, you didn’t need a ticket. She scanned the room but didn’t see Parker or any of his family. She walked toward the painting closest to her. It was the one he’d shown her.Bottom of the Ninth.Even though she’d seen it before, it still touched her so deeply that it brought tears to her eyes.

“You can see how much he wants to be out there playing ball with the boys,” said a woman draped in diamonds standing next to her. The woman glanced at her. “Oh, you’re her.”

“Her?”

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