Page 122 of On the Ropes
“How was that astral plane?” she asked, brow raised.
Once I started laughing, I couldn’t stop. She held me like the other night, when I wasn’t happy but in agonizing pain. Both times I was in love with her. This time, we had a future to look forward to.
“You’re really staying here?” I asked.
“I really am,” she said, brushing a curl from my forehead. “I’m staying because I miss my family and I’ve wandered long enough. Because I love this place all the way in my soul and leaving it again seemed impossible. But even if you were going to Vegas, I would have done the same thing you did. Buy a ticket. Commit to this no matter what. Fight for our love.”
I cleared my throat. “In that case, can I take you on a date?”
She blushed adorably. “You can take me on a hundred dates.” Her eyes slid to the plane ticket I’d bought. “Eric and Alexis told me they’ve always wanted to go to Austin for a family vacation. We could donate that ticket to them, and I could buy the other one. They deserve it.”
“Perfect.” I ghosted my lips across her temple. “And I’ll come up with some first date ideas.”
A blast of music from the street had her pushing up to peek over the couch and out the window. “Oh shit. It’s already time.” She started wiggling out from under me, the exact opposite of what I wanted. “We gotta get going, Mr. Machine.” She paused as she was sliding her underwear back on. “Is that still an appropriate nickname, or would you like another one?”
I stroked my knuckle up her throat. “I like that one.”
“Good. And from now on I will formally be known as Dean’s Lady.”
I grinned and tried to drag her down to the couch. “Where are we going? And can it be back to bed?”
She pursed her lips. “We will definitely be spending a lot of time in bed. Later. Much later. Because first I’ve got a spontaneous-and-fun activity lined up for us.”
She tossed me my shorts, waggled her eyebrows. I stood slowly, getting redressed. Enjoyed the way her eyes trailed up and down my semi-naked body. “Does it involve a dessert?”
“It’s way more adventurous than that.” She opened the door and peered out. Whatever she saw there had her looking ecstatic.
“Are we running up something? Or doing something touristy?”
“We’re stealing the Liberty Bell. Are you in, or are you out?”
I shook my head, laughing against my hand. “I’m never getting that innocent reputation back, am I?”
She paused, hand on the doorknob. “Do you still want it?”
“Hell no.”
She crooked her finger. “Then follow me.”
Intrigued, I followed Tabitha into the hot summer sunshine. Now that the haze of telling Tabitha I loved her had lifted, I was aware that the pocket park was filling with people. And food. And music.
“What…” I started, dazed. She held my hand and tugged me down the sidewalk until we stood in front of what had been an abandoned, trash-filled lot.
And before that, the lifelong home of a cherished neighbor.
“What’s going on?” I asked. There was a grill heating up. My parents were dancing. Kids were running through the gardens. It was still unfinished, would need time and work. But there were string lights hanging from the wall down to the fence. Paper lanterns on the tables. Flowers blooming. A sign, in the front, that read Welcome to Annie’s Pocket Park.
“Tabitha?” I glanced over and was swept away by the joy on her face.
“Surprise,” she sang softly. “Late last night, a member of Kathleen’s book club got me connected with a land bank here in the city. They do the opposite of what Oswald Properties does. They purchase abandoned lots from the city but then give full control of their care and maintenance to the neighborhood. For things like parks and community gardens. We were lucky because Oswald hadn’t purchased it yet, so the land bank swept in with the paperwork to purchase it at auction. It’ll take a few weeks for everything to finalize, but at the end, this lot will be yours. Ours.” She turned to me, cupping my cheek. “Kathleen’s book club and all the neighbors were happy to plan a classic Tenth Street block party totally last minute. Rowan and your parents were supposed to be distracting you all day so that you wouldn’t notice.”
I arched an eyebrow. “So that’s why they wouldn’t leave me alone. But it wouldn’t have mattered. I was too focused on figuring out how to show you how much I loved you.”
Her lips curved. “You definitely showed me.”
I rubbed a hand across my mouth, stunned at the joy surrounding us.
“The neighbors wanted to celebrate the good news that the park was saved. And I was very happy to celebrate you, Dean Knox-Morelli. As was this group of people, our found family, who adore you so very much.”
