to say, I was probably going to pass out and make a scene.
“It’s just that if she has too many—”
His hand pressed against my lower back, nudging me through the open elevator door. “I know, babe. I told her.”
“And if she bangs at her cheek—”
“Give her the teething pain relief. I told her.” His voice was patient and didn’t even border on patronizing. “She’ll be fine. It’s only for a few hours.”
“But—”
The elevator doors opened again, and we were suddenly there. The sleek high-rise office of Merchant, Greene, and Chandler sparkled in minimalist perfection. I glanced down to make sure I didn’t have my dirty boots on somehow by accident.
Parrish stood on his toes to brush his lips against my ear. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
I closed my eyes for a second and breathed in his familiar clean scent, nuzzling the top of his hair with my nose before leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. “I l-l-like being reassured,” I finished lamely. I’d come this close to telling him I loved him, which was ridiculous. We’d known each other for a hot minute, and I had no business having strong feelings for a man so far out of my league.
But his sweet words of comfort—hell, his noticing I even needed comforting in the first place—were enough to make me feel all kinds of ways.
Now wasn’t the time, though. We were here to get things squared away for Marigold and me, and if there was one thing I was willing to walk through all kinds of fire for—including wearing a suit and tie to a Nashville law firm—it was the future of that baby girl.
Parrish studied my face for a beat before plastering on his polite smile and approaching the reception counter. “Good morning, and how are you today, Kerrianne?”
The woman dropped her own polite smile and grinned wide. “Hey, Parrish. Doing fine, and you?”
“Good. How’s Brady? And Hoss?”
“They’re good. Brady started kindergarten already, and I about cried my eyes out on the day. Even Hoss had to wipe off a tear, not that he’d ever admit it.”
I gritted my teeth against the small talk. Social niceties were one of the things I liked most about Parrish. He was attentive and kind, thoughtful like a true friend. But right now I wanted to get down to business. Parrish must have sensed my lack of patience because he leaned forward and whispered, “We’re here for our ten o’clock, but is there any way of tracking down a Coke or something for this guy? This is my fiancé, Diesel Church. Diesel, Kerrianne Timothy.”
I smiled as best I could and nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. I sure can get you something. Follow me.”
She led us back to an all-glass conference room with views of the river leading northeast to Opryland. I walked over to take it all in while Parrish continued to chat with Kerrianne.
I remembered wanting to go to the Opryland theme park when I was really little. By the time I was old enough to ask for a visit for my birthday, the place had closed down. After that, it became a fancy hotel and convention center, not at all the kind of thing a kid gives a shit about.
But my parents had tried to make up for missing the theme park by taking us on a riverboat cruise. It had been boring as hell, but Beth had gotten a new camera for her birthday that year, and the two of us had taken a million pictures in crazy poses on the deck. I wondered what had happened to all of those photos. Did the Kensingtons have a box somewhere in their attic full of my family’s memories?
“Babe?” I turned to see Parrish’s forehead crinkled in concern. He handed me a cold glass of Coke poured over ice cubes.
“Yeah, thanks.” I took it and swallowed down a big sip, letting the caffeine work its magic.
Parrish had known I wouldn’t want coffee. I was already sweating in the suit despite the cool air-conditioning in the office, but the cold soda was perfect. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you,” I said again, making sure he knew how much I appreciated his thoughtfulness. With him by my side, there was no reason to be nervous. We were going to be fine.
His face relaxed into a smile as he pulled out two chairs for us next to each other. “Anytime.”
When the attorneys and their assistants began streaming