AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve seen many versions of Parker—professional work mode Parker, playful Parker on the ice, dressed like some kind of dream for the gala Parker, pajamas and no makeup Parker. I can’t choose a favorite.
But this version—Parker on a rampage—is close to the top.
“Logan and I have talked about the past. He apologized. I accepted it. We moved on. That’s whatadultsdo. You, dear brother, are acting like a child in a three-piece suit.”
Once again Brandon tries to speak. This time, Parker puts a hand over his mouth and leans in.
“I’ll bet,” she says, glancing back at me, her eyes softening briefly before they turn hard again as she swings her gaze back to Brandon, “Logan already apologized to you. Did he?”
Brandon’s eyes shift to me, then back to his sister until he finally nods once.
“And did he tell you why he left?”
I step forward. “Parker, no. Don’t worry about it.”
The last thing I want is to cause a rift between Parker and her brother. I know they’re close. I’m not about to be the reason they have an issue.
But Parker flattens a palm on my chest. When I keep coming, she bunches my shirt in her fist. Now she’s got two grown men pinned in place—him by his mouth and me by the chest. No wonder all the guys call her Boss.
“I don’t want to cause an issue,” I say, but Parker shakes her head.
“You are not anissue,” she says, her voice softening. But only for a second as she swings her gaze and attention back to her brother. “Before he left, Logan overheard you telling mom and dad that your friendship was based on nothing but hockey and would end as soon as college started.”
She gives this a moment to sink in, but Brandon looks confused.
“Dad was saying Logan was a bad influence on you,” Parker supplies. “See if that jogs your memory.”
I see the moment when Brandon remembers. I'm sure he never thought about that conversation again until now.
While for me, it played on repeat in my head much longer than it should have. More than just losing a friend, that day I lost the only people who really ever supported me. The ones I’d let get closer than anyone. The only people who were anything close to family.
Though now it seems like such a small thing Brandon said, at the time and long after, it crushed me.
“That’s right, dummy. You were why he left the way he did,” Parker says. Then she removes her hand from her brother’s mouth and flicks him in the center of his forehead. “Stop being an idiot. You’re not Dad. Don’t become him. And as for Logan?”
Parker releases her grip on my shirt, sliding her hand up my neck. Slowly. Much more sensually than I’d like in the presence of a man already jonesing to throw a punch. Brandon’s presence doesn’t stop my heart from thudding in my chest and heat from rising up my neck as Parker’s eyes find mine.
Her gaze is soft but also somehow heated.
“Logan ismybusiness,” she says. “Not yours.”
The elevator doors ding open with perfect timing. Parker yanks me out of the elevator so fast, I drop my bag. I half expect Brandon to follow, but he doesn’t. The doors slide closed behind us, leaving Parker and me in the dimly lit area above the rink. The entrance to the catwalk is just a few feet behind her.
“Parker—”
But before I can get another word out, Parker slides one hand around my neck, lifts up on her toes and presses her lips to mine.
I’m so startled I completely freeze. I’m hardly breathing as Parker softly kisses me once. And again. Tentative, seeking, questioning.
Then, like some heavy, locked door has swung open, she abandons all softness and practically launches herself at me, wrapping her hands around my neck, pulling me closer until there’s no space between us.
I finally stop just standing here like a statue. Whenever—ifever—this happened, I wanted Parker to set the pace. And she just stomped on the gas.
Time to catch up.
We’re both almost frantic, charged with the leftover tension from the elevator confrontation. We’re kissing with a desperation and hunger I’ve never felt before.
Sliding one hand into her hair, I move the other onto her low back, pressing her closer until I’m leaning against the wall and Parker’s chest presses to mine. I match her movements and her heated energy for a few seconds, then take the lead and slow things down.
