AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wait…that reminds me,” Quinn says, holding her stomach as she grimaces.
“You okay?” I ask, concerned.
“I’m fine, just some gas pains. Probably from all that birthday cake the girls kept insisting on feeding me.”
“Do you need some meds?” Sloan asks.
Quinn waves us off. “Back to the other thing. Now that you say that, I kinda remember Eli mentioning something back in college about Parker’s girl doing him really dirty. At the time, I didn’t know him well, so I don’t recall details.”
It’s hard for me to imagine a younger, more vulnerable Parker going through all these painful events that caused him to be the closed-off man he is today.
“There they are.” Sloan nods toward the wakesetter pulling back in, Eli at the steering wheel with his twin Maddie at his side. Wes, Parker, and Quinn’s brother, Brayden, are all sitting around the back, beers in hand as they guide the boat in from their sunset cruise.
“One last question before they walk up here,” Sloan says, observing me. “What made you keep it from us? You’re normally the first to run to the girl chat and tell it.”
I contemplate that for a second and give them the raw answer I don’t even like admitting to myself.
“The way he makes me feel…it scares me.”
“Like, you have feelings for him?”
I shake my head. “No, or at least I don’t think so. But I have never had such a primal need for another person in my life, and it's unsettling.”
The knowing look Quinn and Sloan give each other does nothing to settle those feelings seeping in as I watch him walk up the hill from the boat dock.
Thirty minutes later, Parker and I are the last two sitting around the bonfire, and I have no doubt in my mind that my friends made sure it happened this way. I almost get up, unable to handle the tension flowing across the flames between us, but I can’t bring myself to walk away from him.
Thankfully, a comfortable silence settles around us. One we’ve never been in before. It’s peaceful almost. When I gaze in Parker’s direction, I notice him staring off at the massive rose bushes lining the edge of the yard. The setting sun enhances the varying colors and shades of the flowers. It’s actually quite beautiful.
“Gorgeous, aren’t they?” I ask.
“Huh…oh yeah. They are,” he responds absentmindedly. His thoughts are clearly elsewhere. “I didn’t realize Eli and Quinn were rose connoisseurs.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I sort of insisted Eli put the garden in when he hired me to decorate the house,” I admit.
His gaze stays focused on the roses for a few minutes more before he shifts in his seat. Then with his chin resting in his hand, he sets his stormy greys on me.
“Why the roses?” he asks.
“There’s something so fascinating about a rose. How it flourishes amongst its thorns, colors shining proudly. Their scent draws you in, but those thorns keep you away from their beauty.”
A small smile spreads across his lips. “My mom loved them too.”
I try my best to hide my surprise at his candidness. This Parker sitting before me is in complete contrast to the one I wrestled balloons with earlier today.
“Did she have a garden too?” I ask, hoping like hell he continues sharing and doesn’t shut me out.
“She did.” His smile softens, as if picturing her. “She would always be tending to them. The peach ones were her favorite. She had a bench in the middle of the garden, like her own little sanctuary. I’d find her reading out there all the time.”
That explains the rose tattoo on his neck.
I study his face for a few moments plastered with an expression of complete serenity. It’s definitely a drastic change from the grumpy asshole I’m so used to. However short this fleeting moment is…I relish the fact he’s opening up about something that he clearly holds dear to his heart.
“What was her name?”
He searches my eyes for a second. “Miranda.”
I offer him a warm smile. My ‘thank you for sharing this with me.’ And to my surprise, he offers me one back. Fuck, he’s gorgeous…even more so when he’s not being a dick.
