Page 4 of Gaining the Heart of a Gemini (BLP Signs of Love #15)

The Proposal.

“You’re so sweet, Loyal. Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Parrish, please. You know one thing I’m going to do is celebrate you. Now, look at your gift.”

Loyal pulled out her phone and started recording me.

I side-eyed her before hesitantly setting the bag on the ground and digging in.

Inside the bag, Loyal had put together the cutest basket with new perfumes, body oils, and skin care items I’d mentioned to her.

When I lifted the basket to get a better look, there was something underneath it.

“What is this?” I quizzed, picking it up and observing the pretty decorated cover.

Slowly, I ran my hand over the deep blue, velvet fabric before opening it.

My eyes watered at the very first picture of us.

It was one we’d taken years ago, a few months after we first met.

“I remember this day as if it was yesterday. We had so much fun.”

“We did until you were throwing up all night. I told you not to drink as heavily as you did, but you didn’t listen.”

I gave Loyal the finger and continued flipping through the pages, brightly smiling at the pictures of us over the years.

“I love this so much, Loyal. Thank you.” I set the photo album to the side and embraced her. The gift was sentimental, coming straight from her heart, and it meant more to me than she knew.

“I was hoping you would. It took me a few months to make it, trying to find all our pictures. I didn’t realize we had so damn many together.”

“Yeah, we do. We’ve been down with each other for years, so I’m not surprised.” I pulled away and fanned my eyes as tears threatened to spill over onto my cheeks. “Are you coming to my dinner tonight?”

Loyal playfully flitted her eyes toward her waxed brows and kissed her teeth. “That was a crazy ass question, Parrish. You know good and well I will be.”

“I’m only making sure. I wouldn’t have been upset if you didn’t.”

My phone vibrated against my glass coffee table. I swiped it off to see it was my mother video calling me. She never missed. It was 9:23 on the dot, making me officially thirty-one.

My fingers slid across the screen. I didn’t have a chance to greet her before she started singing the birthday song. I grinned and bobbed my head until she finished.

“Thank you, Mommy.”

“You’re welcome, baby. How are you? Is your father there yet?”

I got up and peeked out my window. “No, he’s not. Why aren’t you with him?”

Mommy glanced to the side, and her shoulders dropped. Her hands raked through her short, pixie cut as she exhaled. Loyal and I shared a look. Something was off with my mother, and I had a feeling she wouldn’t tell me what it was.

I asked anyway. “What is it?”

“Your father will explain when he gets there. Just know I tried.”

“And what does that mean?”

Before she could answer, my father sauntered through the front door. I whipped my head up, brows meeting in the middle.

Mommy whispered, “He’s there, huh?”

“What is Mommy talking about, Daddy?”

Daddy stood there with balloons and a bouquet of red and white roses. He didn’t answer me as he made his way over and kissed my forehead. He put his face in the camera, blowing a kiss at my mother. I snatched my phone back and grilled him.

“Is that the type of love you give your father on your birthday?”

“It is if you don’t tell me what’s going on. This is not how I imagined my birthday starting. I was in a good mood until Mommy started acting funny, and you came in here like nothing is going on. One of you need to start talking, please.”

Loyal held her finger up and headed to the back of my house to give us some privacy.

Daddy set the vase down and let the balloons hit the ceiling.

He held his hand out for me to grab. Hesitantly, I did, and he led me over to my cream-colored couch.

I propped my phone up to where Mommy could see us.

Something told me she needed to be included in on the conversation.

I tucked my legs underneath me, dragging my nails up and down my bare arm. Daddy reached over to stop me.

“Everything is going to be okay, Parrish,” he assured me.

“Are you going to tell me what it is?”

He glanced over at Mommy then back at me. “This is hard for me to say, but it’s already done.”

What’s done? I’m lost. Spit it out, Daddy.”

“Years ago, Javier and I made a deal. You know I only have a hand in Grove Shadows. It wasn’t what I desired, but I settled instead of walking away.

It was all out of respect for Javier, since he started it and wanted to keep it within his family.

Now, with Javier being sick, things are changing.

Klay wants to step down, and the only way he can do so is to marry. Once he marries, I take over.”

I continued to drag my nails along my arm with a hiked brow. “And what does that have to do with . . . No.” My head swayed from side to side, hoping Daddy wasn’t trying to say what I thought he was. “Explain. What does that have to do with me?”

Daddy leaned forward into the camera to stare at my mother, silently asking for help.

Mommy scoffed. “This isn’t on me, Patrick. You better explain it to her.”

“You offered me to marry him, didn’t you?” I inquired, digging my nails a little deeper into my arms. “Didn’t you?”

“Listen, baby. It’s going to work out great for everyone. Klay is a great man, and I wouldn’t trust you with anyone besides him.”

I jumped to my feet and threw my hands in the air. “How dare you pawn me off as if I’m some object or something. And how dare you allow him to do this, Mommy.”

Tears stained my cheeks. If I could cuss them out, I would, but I respected them too much to do so.

I paced back and forth, biting back the words on the tip of my tongue.

This was the biggest bomb for them to drop on me, especially on my birthday of all days.

The news rained on my entire parade. I no longer cared to do anything with anyone. All I desired was a moment alone.

“Leave,” I demanded without looking at Daddy.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I whipped my head around to glare at him.

For the first time, my father had broken me.

“I’m so damn pissed with you for you to even think I’d do something like this.

For you to even think it was okay to do this to me.

I’m a grown ass woman, and I decide what I want for my life.

I’m not marrying Klay. You better figure out something else, and so should he.

It’s not right to drag me into this, and you know it. ”

“The deal is done, Parrish. There’s nothing we can do to change it. I signed the contract and so did Javier. It’s final. We never go back on our words, especially when it’s been written.”

“And you decided to do this without consulting me first?”

Daddy dropped his chin to his chest. “I knew you wouldn’t agree. I’m sorry you feel betrayed and pawned, baby, I am, but this is the only way.”

“No, it’s not. It’s your way. Javier could’ve easily found someone else for Klay to marry. Why me? Did you offer me?”

“Javier actually chose you. I didn’t agree to it right away. I prayed on it and talked to your brothers about it.”

My eyes widened then lowered. “They know?”

“Yes.”

My breathing hitched as if all the wind had been knocked out of me. I picked my phone up and stared at my mother who was crying as well. “And how long have you known?”

“He told me this morning, Parrish.”

“She’s right,” Daddy defended, standing up and rounding the table. “I knew she wouldn’t agree either, so I kept it from her. It wasn’t easy to keep it from either of you.”

“Pfft. I don’t believe shit you say anymore. Can you leave now, please?”

“I understand you need time and space to process it all, but you only have about a week to process everything. You and Klay will be meeting about it soon, to get everything together. You finally get to plan the wedding you’ve always desired.”

It took everything in me not to cuss my father out.

He walked over to me, kissed my cheek, and left.

I hung up on my mother, powered my phone off, and balled up on the couch.

On my thirty-first birthday, of all days, my life was taking a turn to the point I didn’t even want to celebrate my life anymore.

All I desired to do was melt into the couch and cry.

With all the chaos, I’d forgotten Loyal was still at my house. Quietly, she came into the living room and lifted my head to lay on her lap. I was grateful she didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she replaced my nails with her hand, rubbing it up and down my arm.

Minutes passed before I asked, “Did you hear everything?”

“I did.” She expelled a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Parrish. I can’t believe Patrick did that to you.”

“Me either, Loyal. I’m in utter disbelief. Pawn me off to be married because he wants to take over Grove Shadows? How fuckin’ dare he. You don’t know how hard it was for me to bite my tongue and not call him every cuss word in the book.”

“I would’ve come out and did it for you. That’s fucked up, for real.”

“Tell me about it.” I sat up and brought my knees to my chest, resting my chin on top of them. “How am I supposed to accept this and not be mad at him forever?”

“Honestly, that’s something you’ll need to figure out on your own. It’s going to take time, and Patrick, as well as your brothers, have no choice but to respect it. Don’t take your emotions out on your mom either, Parrish. I know how you are. Everyone will feel your wrath behind this.”

I snickered and nudged Loyal with my elbow. “Don’t call me out like that.”

“You know it’s the truth. Let’s try to look at some positives about this.”

“Like what?”

“That Klay is finer than a muthafucka.”

Klay and I had known one another since we were kids.

Our fathers had been friends for as long as I could remember, but I’d never had a relationship with Klay.

We’d talk whenever we were in the same setting or whenever he did his rounds at work, but that was it.

I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me.

How were we supposed to make a marriage work?

I agreed. “That, he is. He’s always been fine, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry him, Loyal. I don’t know him.”

“How much time do you have before the wedding?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t have any information other than knowing I’m being forced to marry. I was too upset to ask anything else.”

“That’s understandable, but you do need to find out more.”

“I will. Right now, I need time to digest it all.”

While I’d always dreamed of being married, I never in my life imagined it would be like this. There were no butterflies or me being madly in love. No. It was me wondering how in the fuck my father could put me in such a trying predicament.