"Oh." Disappointment flickered across his face as he jumped to the wrong conclusion. "That's okay, sweetheart. Don't worry about it, I got the message loud and clear. Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying, right?"

"What? No, that's not why I'm here."

"It's not..."

"I came to say yes."

"Yes," he blinked. "You mean yes, yes? As in..."

"Let's do it, let's get married." There, it was done, and I immediately felt the burden lift from my shoulders. There was freedom in making that choice, freedom to take control of my future and freedom to be happy again.

Parker pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my hair and I relaxed into his solid embrace. "It's gonna be great, Merce, I promise."

"I know it is."

"s.h.i.t, I don't have a ring for you." Parker pulled back, his brow creased with worry. "I didn't think you'd give me your answer so quick."

"I don't need one."

"Don't be silly, every girl needs a ring. Hey, this way you can pick it out yourself. Otherwise I'd probably end up giving you something you didn't like anyway."

I tried not to think about the perfect ring in the top drawer of my jewelry box back home. "Maybe later, after I have the baby. Right now my fingers are as fat as sausages."

"You are not fat."

"Have you seen me from behind?" I raised a single brow and his grin spread wider.

"I like a girl with a little junk in her trunk."

"Ugh, you're disgusting, you know that?" I smacked him in the shoulder and Parker laughed, in too good of a mood to care.

"Come here," he pulled me close. "You're gorgeous, you know that, right? You're practically glowing with good health."

"It's the Grace, it's not me. I look like a big, fat milk cow."

"It's never been the Grace, Mercy." Parker let me see his true feelings for once instead of hiding behind the shield of humor, and my lips parted with a swift intake of breath at the depth of emotion I saw there. That time when he leaned in I met him half way, eager to feel something spark between us again. That time I knew the flare in my heartbeat had nothing to do with adrenaline or danger, it was all Parker. That time I wasn't blindsided, I was right where I wanted to be.

"I do have something for you." Parker remembered as the kiss drew to a close. "Come with me." Grabbing my hand, he tugged me upstairs, and I couldn't help but wonder if I should worry that the something he had for me lay in the general direction of his bedroom. Sure, I felt things when he kissed me, but marriage proposal aside, I wasn't sure if I was ready to kick our physical relationship up that notch yet. I'd only just gotten used to the idea of kissing him, let alone...

"Um, Parker? Don't you think this is a little sudden?"

"Sudden?" He stopped at the top of the stairs, brows drawing together in puzzlement. "Why would... oh." The easy grin returned as he caught the direction of my eyes. "Relax, darlin', I had something else in mind." He turned in the opposite direction of his bedroom, leading me to the room on the other end of the hallway. "So... what do you think?"

As I stepped inside, my skepticism melted into stunned awe as I beheld the transformation from ratty spare room into a dream nursery. The walls were painted a soothing blue, the white trim brightening the room even in the dim light. Parker snapped on the lights, revealing a matching crib and changing table tucked into one corner of the room and a large wooden rocker by the window with a fat, stuffed penguin pillow. There were cartoon penguins on the bedding too and on the mobile arcing over the crib.

"Penguins?"

"Yeah, why... you don't like penguins?" Worry clouded his features and he let go of my hand to wind up the mobile which started to play a song about jolly holidays from Mary Poppins. "I got the idea from the movie... we can change it out if you don't like it though. It's just an idea."

"It's... perfect," I breathed, stumbling over the words as my emotions got the better of me. "I can't believe you did all this for me." It was so much more than a bank account, Parker had gone out of his way to make a place for us in his home without even knowing if I'd accept his proposal. It was overwhelming, and I could feel tears gathering at the corners of my eyes.

"I did it for us." He pulled me close, hand resting on the swell of my abdomen between us. "For all of us."

For the first time in months, I started to think things might be alright. G.o.d, I'm an idiot...

"OMG, look at this one!" Daphne's eyes got all soft and dreamy as she showed me another frothy confection from the stack of bridal magazines on her lap. Even though I'd look ridiculous in a get up like that given my advanced pregnancy and I couldn't afford those prices to boot. When I'd told her the good news, she'd shown up on my doorstep with an armload of inspiration material. Every day since she found another new bit of inspiration she had to share with me.

Gently, I shook my head, not wanting to insult her taste. "I don't know why you even bought those magazines, Daphne. I told you, I don't want to make a big fuss over this wedding." I believe my exact words were more like "small and tasteful", a direct contradiction to the flounce of ruffles on the picture she wagged under my nose.

"How can you not want to make a fuss? We've been planning our weddings since junior high."

"You have. I've never been into a giant wedding with tons of people I don't even know." Maybe it was to avoid a big family get together, but I'd never shared those dreams with other little girls. Such a huge waste of money by my way of thinking, all for one big party and then what would you have to show for it? A dress you could never wear again and a bunch of embarra.s.sing pictures.

"Your mom's going to want a big wedding for you though," she reminded, and I had to admit, she had a point. My mother's frustration over Matty's lack of frills wedding would translate into an even bigger furor over mine.

"Which is exactly why I'm not going to tell her anything about it until it's over and she comes up to visit to see the baby."

"She'll be disappointed."

"No she won't, she'll be glad I'm not an unwed mother anymore." She did seem to like Parker too, at least when she'd thought he was my boyfriend. "Plus, she'll be thrilled to hold her granddaughter in her arms for the first time." I counted on that as a major distraction in my master plan.

"Still, are you sure you don't want something fancier than City Hall? That's not very romantic, you know."

"This marriage isn't about romance, it's about partnership and family," I reminded her before she tried to turn it into something it wasn't. "Besides, Parker doesn't want a church wedding anyway." His views on that were crystal clear.

"If you say so."

Poor Daphne, I hadn't given her much as a way of living vicariously through me for the wedding planning business. "It's just going to formalize things between us, like I said, make us a family. It's not a romantic day at all."

"Don't be too sure about that," she muttered, and my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why, what do you know?"

"Nothing..." Daphne squirmed, realizing she'd said too much. "I'm just saying, you know Parker..."

"Yes, I do. And...?"

"And... maybe it's not a romantic day for you, but it is for him."

"Parker knows we're not there yet." At least, most of the time I thought so. But sometimes when we kissed... I wasn't so sure what was holding me back.

"Then the two of you haven't..."

"No, of course not."

"Oh right, of course not. How silly of me to a.s.sume you've had s.e.x with the guy you're going to marry." A roll of the eyes was given. "You're telling me you don't have the hots for Parker at all? How can you marry a guy who doesn't do it for you?"

"I didn't say I wasn't attracted to Parker. He's all kinds of s.e.xy when he wants to be. But even if I wanted to, it's hard to feel s.e.xy myself when I look like I swallowed a basketball."

"I bet you Parker doesn't care."

The way he looked at me sometimes I didn't dispute that. "I'm not saying we won't eventually, but it'll probably be after the baby comes." It felt like I said that to myself a lot lately, putting things off until the baby came, like a magical talisman for change.

"Then the two of you aren't planning to, ah... consummate the marriage on your wedding night?"

"No," I replied with more confidence than I felt. Did Parker have expectations in that area? He'd said he didn't want to rush me... but we'd definitely grown a lot closer physically over the past few weeks.

"I still think you should..." Daphne's advice went unspoken as Oriana and Matty arrived, letting themselves in without knocking. If nothing else I looked forward to a bit more privacy after I moved in with Parker.

"Oh good, you're here." I hauled myself up to my feet, watching in amus.e.m.e.nt as Mimsy immediately left her spot by my feet to bound up to Oriana with a squeak of greeting. Sometimes I thought she could communicate with the little cat from the way she spoke to her.

"You said you had some stuff for us?" Ever the opportunist, Matty's eyes swept my apartment before lighting on the small stack of boxes by the bedroom. Since making the decision to combine households, there didn't seem to be much reason for hanging onto some of the duplicates we'd end up with. I wasn't ready to part with all of it yet, but Matty would inherit my fake leather couch and coffee table too.

With the baby coming in just a couple of months, I'd given notice to my landlord, and Parker had already helped me move over some of my winter sweaters and things I wouldn't need to get into for a while.

"Right. They're over there, help yourself. And anything you don't want you can give to Goodwill."

"Sweet, thanks, sis," he grinned. Giving a sharp whistle, the door opened again and Bert and Hubie stepped in to help him with the stack. I waited for the demons to leave, a placid smile on my face until it was just us girls again.

"Are you enjoying your entourage, Oriana?"

"You mean the boys?" Her face registered understanding with a sunny smile. "Oh yes, they're ever so helpful, you know. And Matty says they'll be wonderful stage dressing once we're on the circuit."

"The circuit?" Daphne asked, trading a blank look with me.

"Yes, he says my talents would be best served there and I could help so many more people."

A sneaking suspicion began to dawn on me as to what Matty had in mind. Oriana had gotten a job at the witchy store easily enough. Summer had a soft spot for the naive witch (thank goodness, because she still hated me for freezing her last winter), letting her set up a small table in the corner to give readings. Oriana enjoyed it and it provided a safe place for her to spend most evenings. From what I understood, she was pretty popular and had a bunch of regulars already. It wasn't much of a stretch to see Matty had bigger plans for her gifts though.

"I thought you were happy at the witchy store?"

"Yes, I love it there, but Matty says we have to go where the action is."

"What kind of action?" Daphne's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I confess, I don't know." Oriana scratched under Mimsy's chin thoughtfully. "But he's so excited, I can't help but think it'll be wonderful."

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be great." My eyes flicked down to where I could see Matty ordering the demon pair around on the street below. "Excuse me for a minute, ladies. I'll go make sure they're not having any trouble getting the boxes into the car. Daphne, why don't you show her the dress you showed me." Eager for the distraction, Daphne readily agreed, and I snuck out while their blonde heads bent together over the bridal magazine.

"Take a break, guys." I dismissed the demons, gratified to see them scurry away without having to be told twice. "What do you have up your sleeve now?"

"Nothing," Matty blinked, looking around guiltily. "You said I could take this stuff."

"That's not what I'm talking about. What's this I hear about you taking Oriana on 'the circuit'? Please don't tell me you're running away to join the circus!"

"Oh, that." His shoulders relaxed visibly. "No, not the circus, Las Vegas!"

"Not that again..."

"It's perfect. You've seen what she can do. No more of this nickel and dime stuff, Mercy, we're taking it to the big time."

"I've seen she isn't the most... well adjusted person. Are you sure Las Vegas is the best environment for Oriana?"

"It's the perfect environment for someone special like her." His face lit up, convinced in the brilliance of his plan. "No one blinks an eye when a stage performer talks all kooky, they'll a.s.sume it's part of the show."

"Part of the show. What exactly do you have in mind?"

Matty talked animatedly about the ideas he had for Madame Oriana and her stage show, featuring Bert and Hubie as part of the act. I have to admit, it did sound entertaining.

"I don't know, Matty. I still think this is kinda risky. You don't even know if there's a market for a show like that in Vegas."

"I've already talked to an agent, he sounded very interested."

I let out a breath, surprised he'd gotten that far. My brother tended to be more talk than action. "So, you're definitely doing this?"

"As soon as we can put something together, yeah."

"And when were you going to tell me? I thought you wanted my couch and stuff, and now you're moving to Vegas?"

"I didn't want to say anything until I had a deal worked out." More likely he didn't want me to try and talk him out of it. "And the guys have all kinds of people they know in Vegas. We're guaranteed a place to crash until we get settled."

I shut my mouth without reminding him that any friends Bert or Hubie had in Vegas were likely to be demons as well. He was a big boy. I'd stopped trying to make his decisions for him a long time ago, no matter how idiotic I thought they were.

"I hope it turns out to be what you wanted," I said finally, giving him a hug. "Are you still going to be here for the ceremony?"

"Oh yeah, we'll be here next weekend. Ori would kill me if we left without giving you her blessing on your big day."

"Good. Remember, mum's the word to Mom, or Dad for that matter."

"Yeah, I remember. I still think Mom's gonna go completely mental when she finds out you didn't invite her to the wedding."

"Oh no, I'm pretty sure she'll be distracted by finding out you ran off to Las Vegas without telling her," I smiled sweetly. His uncomfortable look told me he hadn't planned on sharing that with her either. "I'd better get back up there before they have this whole thing planned without me." I glanced up at my window.

They were whispering together when I returned to my apartment, and I considered making myself dim to listen in on the conversation for a moment, but I wasn't sure I could hide from Oriana entirely. It turned out I didn't have to bother, as Daphne and Oriana happily filled me in on everything they'd talked about in my absence. It took me a good fifteen minutes to talk them out of the bachelorette party they'd cooked up between them.

Skillfully, I directed the conversation back to Oriana's impending move to Las Vegas and they were both easily distracted enough to drop the subject before it inevitably returned to wedding plans. The last thing I wanted was a drunken pub crawl with me as the designated driver to celebrate my last night as a single woman. In fact, the more they chatted about the wedding, the more I wanted it to be over and done with. Maybe I could talk Parker into going down to City Hall with me alone and we could have a reception at the club afterwards?

I knew Parker would go along with it; he'd wanted to marry me the day after his proposal, and we didn't need blood tests in the state of Washington. We could get married in less than an hour if we wanted to. Convinced in the brilliance of that idea, I let them make all the plans they wanted.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Parker about it that night though. It was busier than usual at the club and whenever he was on the floor, it was to help out or to give me a break. After work he walked me to my car (which was running again after a ridiculously priced motor mount was replaced), and I was too distracted by his attempts to get me to follow him back to his place to talk about wedding stuff.

Resolving to talk to him about it the next day, I drove home, my mind spinning all sorts of happy scenarios as to how the next day would go. By the end of the day I'd be a married woman, and baby Bunny would have a real father. It was almost enough to make me turn the car around to talk to him about it that night, but the thought of surprising him with the idea was too much fun.

Nelo greeted me at the door and I should have noticed the nervous way he danced from side to side right away. I was distracted by sunny thoughts of the future, until he wouldn't step out of the way to let me in.

"We have a guest..."