Page 60 of The Last Date

I woke up to the sound of a loud knock.

Sitting up, I blinked at the daylight coming in the windows, as things fell into place. Sasha must still be here somewhere since her purse was still on the dresser. Grabbing my phone, there were plenty of texts, but nothing from anyone about coming over.

What sort of person just knocks on the front door without calling first?

Sitting up with a start, I looked around the room, getting my bearings. Information slowly slotted into place. Sunday morning. My house. Sasha is here somewhere. She’s wearing my ring and agreed to marry me.

My grin tried to split my face in two as I grabbed pants and a t-shirt, heading downstairs to answer the door.

Flinging it open, I assumed it might be a neighbor with a landscaping problem. Or some local kids selling those cheap cookies that tasted like cardboard that I always bought several boxes of anyway because those little faces were so cute and earnest.

Not in a million years would I have expected Sasha’s parents to be standing on my doorstep. They were so still I almost wanted to poke them to check for signs of life.

“Carter. Allison. Come on in.”

“Thank you,” they both murmured at once, following me to the living room.

I could smell that Sasha had already put the pot on. “Can I get you a coffee?”

“No, thank you,” Carter said stiffly as they sat on the couch. He looked so uncomfortable that it was awkward to look at him.

I took the easy chair beside them, watching them closely as Alison elbowed Carter gently in the ribs. “Just get it over with, Carter,” she muttered.

He cleared his throat. “After doing a little online searching, I saw that your...shall we say, troubles, were only about two years out of a solid career that is nearing two decades.” His tone was stiff, almost rehearsed, as if this were some sort of business presentation.

I remained silent, not wanting to change his direction on the way to making his point.

“We know that we’ve been too overprotective of Sasha. We’ve just always wanted only the best for her.” Carter paused, staring into the space in front of him. “I never wanted to make her so afraid of me that she’d jump off a roof to get away.”

“But you were right there to catch her, Oakley,” Alison said, her eyes softening. “I can see now that you’re good together.”

“Yes. We are.” The three of us spun our heads toward the doorway where Sasha was standing.

She was a glorious mess. Hair pulled up in a sloppy topknot, my t-shirt and sweatpants hanging off her frame. There was a smudge of green paint on her left arm, violet streaks on her right hand, and a tiny speck of it on her cheek.

Her bright eyes were more clear and calm than I’d ever seen. She was ravishing. But the most gorgeous thing about her was that she was wearing my ring.

“Hey, angel,” I said, waving for her to come sit on my knee in the easy chair. She didn’t even hesitate.

Once her warmth was against me, I felt that everything was going to be fine. “You were painting,” I smiled, rubbing the peach paint off her cheek with my thumb.

“I had to break in my new studio,” she said.

Alison’s eyes lit up. “You made her a studio here?”

“Yes. I figured that if I had her here for dinner a few times a week, I could gently encourage her to paint. But the little sneak woke up early and got started on her own.”

“That’s wonderful,” Alison gushed. She was smiling warmly, then her eyes dropped to Sasha’s sparkling finger. Instantly she grabbed Carter’s hand. “Oh my god.”

“What?” he asked, startled.

“Look!” she pointed, already tearing up.

I always had the impression that the Radcliffe family were pretty rigid. The way Alison rushed over to grab Sasha, pulling her to her feet to hug the daylights out of her, was truly heartwarming.

“Congratulations!” she shrieked. I stood up, and she immediately hugged me as well. “Welcome to the family, Oakley.”

“Thank you.”

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