Page 52 of Beneath The Surface

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Lao Tzu

Taking her hands in my own, I cleared my throat again. “Olivia, this is not how I expected or planned to do this, but I can’t wait any longer.” I took out the box I had put in my pocket. “Will you do me the incredible honor of being my wife?”

She appeared to be at a loss for words as a tear ran down her cheek. It was her turn to clear her throat. “Yes Parker, I will marry you. Yes!” She yelled and laughed at the same time. She jumped up after I slid the ring on her finger, and into my arms she went. We kissed, and excitement overfilled our hearts.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, as she stopped and looked at me: “Parker, since your house is being renovated, due to circumstances we won’t discuss, why don’t you sell it? I don’t know where we’ll go from here after we marry, but it would be the perfect time to sell since it’s empty. We can live our lives out here or, if we decide to move, we can sell this one as well.”

Olivia…

I could tell he was giving it some thought by the way he tilted his head and for a moment, I wasn’t sure he was going to accept or agree to my offer. Then suddenly, as if it was the easiest question he ever answered, he simply agreed. He spent most ofhis time here, and so did Simba, for that matter. They’d sell his house, and he’d live here with me.

“Under one condition,” he stipulated. “I, as your husband, will pay for our living expenses. I’m not saying you can’t pay for anything. We can split vacations, fun stuff, and you can buy groceries. But if you were moving into my home, I would pay the bills.”

I understood where he came from; it wasn’t a matter of money issues. We both had enough that we’d be frivolous to run out and I agreed with his terms as I smiled at him, our eyes locking onto each other’s.

Olivia

“Doing nothing is very hard to do. You never know when you’re finished.”—Leslie Nielsen

Over the next few weeks, we got his house ready for the market. We decided the day he asked me to marry him that we would have his family and our friends over to celebrate the engagement.

Excitement filled the air as I decorated while Parker cooked some nibbles for the guests. While I strung up little twinkling lights around the lanai, Parker made crabby patties, fondue, strawberry shortcake, and salsa with cream cheese for the tostadas, and lobster bites. A champagne fountain was centered on the bar area that we had rigged up using my credenza. I sprinkled rose petals over the top with some confetti and put the fountain on one side with glasses, mixers, and other liquor on the other side. It worked out quite well; as we looked around the lanai, we were pleased.

When my job was completed, I began to help Parks mix the crab meat in the old English cheese with the other ingredients it called for, then generously spread the cheese on the English muffins and pop them into the oven. Meanwhile, the cream cheese salsa was chilling in the fridge. The lobster salad was ready, except for the toasted bread. The steak chunks were cut and ready for the fondue.

Satisfied and with only a short while before guests would arrive, I showered and put on my sexiest dress, the green one that laced up each side and hugged every curve. I was no longer embarrassed or ashamed of my scars. I let my hair flow below my shoulders. My plump lips wore soft pink lipstick.

Parker let out a low whistle when I entered the kitchen. “Baby, you look beautiful.”

Blushing at him, I smiled and stood on my toes to kiss him. “Thank you, you look pretty damn hot yourself!” I raised my eyebrows, teasing him. He grabbed me into his arms and kissed me hard on the mouth; our tongues danced together as one. I let out a moan of pure fire and pleasure. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t wait for the guests to come and go. I wanted to be in this man’s arms in my bed, wrapped up all around him.

Blushing at my thoughts, I turned and made a drink. About a quarter of the way through my first drink, the door bounced open to a bubbly Elliot and Anthony; I hugged both, kissing their cheeks and inviting them in. Parker shook their hands, then gave them a hug with a pat on the back. The next to blow in with the wind were Parker’s parents, Martha and Brett who were beaming. Parker greeted them and kissed his mom, hugging her affectionately.

Following them on their coattails was Kayla, solo: she’d not been with Javier for little more than three weeks. She immediately made a drink and started mingling with the others.

Nicole and Derrick showed up with a little bump in her belly; she’d just turned five months pregnant and couldn’t have glowed more. Last but not least to arrive was my agent and long-time friend Sabrina, along with the PGA head honcho, Cliff, who had reached out to Parker.

Everyone was in a festive mood as they congratulated us repeatedly. I didn’t think there was an unhappy thought in the room as we kept going on about when the wedding would be. We laughed with each other and pondered a date.

“Guys, when we set a date, we’ll let you know. Let’s just have fun and enjoy the company today.” Parker jumped in to handle all the questions.Thank you,I mouthed to Parker as he sent me a wink. We ate, talked, and even toured Parker’s house.

A while later, Sabrina cornered me, hugged me, and told me she missed her favorite model. Teary-eyed, I hugged her and told her I missed her too. We talked about the industry for a bit, and that’s when Sabrina asked the question she’d been wanting to ask: “Would you consider consulting?”

I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my brows. “What do you mean, exactly?”

Sabrina, a short, spicy lady with lots of punch for her size and spiky black hair, explained: “You would help other models perfect their image; their style. Teach them how you made love to the camera; mentor them.”

I thought about the possibility of that and asked a few questions. Then I told Sabrina I would let her know. Meanwhile, I needed to get back to the guests before Parker sent a search party looking for me.

I wandered around searching for him when I saw him and Cliff walking back from his place. He smiled and gave me a quick kiss and wink as we went to refill our drinks.

As dusk drew near, the lights I had strung earlier came on; I looked at them in awe, as did all the other guests. Parker walked over to me and gave me a soft, warm kiss, inviting and enticing me as to what would come later.

The guests started to thin out as we said our goodbyes. The last to leave was Kayla, who had gotten intoxicated. Parker walked her home while I cleaned up the empty trays that oncewere full and the liquor bottles that now were empty, a true sign that everyone had enjoyed themselves.

Parker was back almost as quickly as he’d left, winded from the jog home. “Man, she was toast.”

I nodded in agreement as I stepped into his arms. “Want to sit on the lanai? It’s a beautiful night.”

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