by J. Kenner
“A cure?”
He shook his head. “No. But a treatment. And that’s something.”
She reached over and pressed her hand to his thigh. “I had no idea. I’m sorry about Cecily, but I’m so glad she has an uncle like you. And I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet Becky.”
He took his eyes off the road long enough to meet her eyes. “I promise,” he said, his voice heavy with meaning. “You will.”
They drove in silence the rest of the way, until he turned off the highway and maneuvered his way over surface streets to finally park in front of Amy’s Ice Cream in the Arboretum parking lot.
A high end outdoor shopping center, the Arboretum had become popular with everyone from little kids to high schoolers to college students not only because of its variety of stores and restaurants, but because of the carved stone cows that dominated a grassy area near the center of the property.
They found the rest of the group already there, with Eva walking around the cows as Reece—Mr. January—sat atop one, his shirt off and his incredible tats gleaming in the morning sunlight that came dappled through the trees.
That’s why they were starting here; Eva wanted the effect of the light piercing the canopy of leaves. Sunset would be for the shot at the bridge.
“That’s good,” Eva was saying as Parker and Megan stepped beside Spencer and Brooke. “Just lean forward a bit.” Spencer had won the title of Mr. February and was the co-star of The Business Plan with Brooke.
“I never would have thought straddling a cow could be hot,” Mina said, coming over with Cameron, who was Mr. March. “But I gotta admit it works.”
“We should have it on video,” Brooke added, shooting Megan a grin. “Those things are slippery. You should have seen the trouble Reece had getting on.”
She laughed, but Parker just said, “Great,” then went to take a seat on a blanket someone had spread on the grass. Tyree was already there, his chin perched on his fist as he watched Eva work. He might be Mr. May, but Megan was certain he would have come even if he wasn’t taking a turn in front of the camera. And as for Mr. April, Nolan, the local drive time DJ was sprawled on the blanket, eyes closed, with headphones tight on his ears.
When Eva finished with Reece and called Spencer up to the cows, Brooke sidled closer to Megan. “I keep wanting to talk to you, but every time I see you Parker is right there next to you.”
A niggle of worry tugged at Megan, but she shoved it down. “What about?”
Brooke laughed. “Nothing bad,” she said, apparently hearing the trepidation in Megan’s voice. “It’s just that I went to high school with Parker. So I saw him for years, you know? But I’ve never seen him lit up like this.” Her smile widened. “You must have really gotten under his skin.”
Megan sighed happily, appreciating the woman’s words. “I don’t know about that,” she said, glancing sideways to where Parker sat chatting with Tyree. “But he definitely got under mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I can’t believe you’re just blithely abandoning me,” Parker said, tugging her fingers lightly as if to draw her back into bed.
“Too bad for you,” she said, pulling her hand free, then laughing as she danced backward out of his reach. “I mean, I can only spend so much time with my boy toy.”
“Mmm. I think I like the sound of that.” He twined his hands behind his head as he sat up, then he reached over and pressed the button for the electronic drape, flooding the penthouse condo with light. “Hop back in bed and play with me some more.”
She let her eyes roam appreciatively over his truly exceptional bare chest that she’d come to know so intimately. Her gaze dipped lower to the sheet that covered the rest of him, but was tented enough to prove that he’d been serious about his offer to play.
“Hold that thought,” she said, forcing herself not to laugh.
“Why don’t you hold it for me?”
The laugh bubbled out. “Perv.”
She took a step toward his bathroom. Like everything else in his condo, it was brilliantly appointed and wonderfully luxurious, with the most incredible shower she’d ever seen, complete with a rain-style head above and a series of jets that sprayed from three of the four walls.
She turned back to him. “Although it is a big shower, and I really should clean up before I meet the girls…” She was having breakfast at Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin Boulevard with Taylor and Mina. Originally, they’d planned to go running, but they’d unanimously agreed that being lazy and catching up on gossip would be much more fun.
“You really should,” he said, tossing the sheet aside, and then striding toward her. She glanced down, her pulse kicking up at the sight of his erection, hard and huge.
She swallowed. “Wow. You’re really excited about that shower, huh?”
His smile was pure sin. “You have no idea.”
She narrowed her eyes as she watched him approach, her own bare skin feeling hot and itchy with anticipation. “Just promise me you won’t make me late to meet the girls.”
“Cross my heart,” he said, then took her hand and led her to the shower.
She was twelve minutes late for breakfast, and although she swore it was because of traffic, she saw the knowing glint in the other women’s eyes.
“You’re off the hook,” Taylor said, her hair tucked under a BoHo style bandana. “We just got seated. The wait here just gets worse and worse.”
“Worth it, though,” Mina said. “I’m splurging on gingerbread pancakes.” She gave both of them the evil eye in turn. “And we are running tomorrow. Otherwise my ass will not survive the way I’ve been eating lately.” She leaned back in the booth, looking smug. “Great sex makes you hungry.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “I don’t even want to hear about it. You and Cam. This one and Parker. Honestly, I feel like I’m going to shrivel up and die if I don’t get laid soon.”
“Don’t die,” Megan said, squeezing her friend’s hand. “Who’d stage manage the contest?”
“Bitch,” Taylor said mildly, then smiled sweetly at the waitress who arrived to take their order.
“Speaking of great sex,” Mina said after the waitress left, “you’re looking chipper this morning.” She raised a brow, focusing on Megan. “All brimming over with vim and vigor.”
Megan laughed. “I deny nothing. But I’m also not sharing details.”
“Totally unfair,” Mina said, as Taylor rolled her eyes.
“Vim and vigor?” Taylor glanced toward Mina. “Who talks like that?”
Mina ignored her. “Come on. Tell us everything.”
“Oh, great,” Megan said. “It’s analyze Megan time.”
“It’s going well, then?”
She sighed, remembering the morning. Heck, remembering all their time together. “I think I’m really falling for him.”
“And it’s mutual?”
Megan thought of Parker’s touch. The way he talked about her struggles to rebuild her business and his support of her ambition to take it further. She thought of the way they laughed, the heated way he looked at her. The way he’d stood up for her in LA against Carlton. And, mostly, about the way he made her feel safe and loved and special. “Yeah. It really is.”
“That’s so great.”
“I know, right? After the weirdo I dated in LA, I thought…” She trailed off, not wanting to let Carlton-the-prick into her thoughts. “At any rate, let’s just say that Austin’s been very good to me.”
“Excellent,” Mina said.
“Talk about reaping the rewards,” Taylor added. “First you screw him with the flyer, then you end up getting screwed right back. Only in the best possible way of course.”
Megan tossed her napkin at Taylor. “Crude, much?”
“But true,” Taylor said.
And since Megan couldn’t actually deny it, she only shook her head in mock exasperation.
“Do we want to catch a movie after this?” Taylor asked.
“I’m in
,” Mina said, but Megan shook her head.
“I need to run by work first, and then I have to do laundry and change the cat boxes.”
“You really know how to have a good time,” Taylor said.
“It’s because she’s having a good time that she’s avoided all those things,” Mina quipped.
Megan laughed, then batted her eyes innocently. “She’s not wrong.”
“So why are you going into work?” Taylor asked a few minutes later when the waitress delivered their food. “I thought you were off for the next couple of days.”
“Technically, I am.” She had a few makeup gigs lined up, so she’d pulled back on her schedule at The Fix. “This morning was supposed to be a bridal shoot, but they pushed it back a week—I guess the dress isn’t ready. So I thought I’d pop in and run something by Jenna and Tyree.”
“Yeah? Tell.”
“I was thinking that since Tyree’s releasing the cookbook with the calendar later in the year, maybe we should do a big, fancy food fair. The Fix could sponsor it, but we could invite other bars and restaurants. A community building thing, but also great promo. Because the other bars would have flyers at their locations, too, and the flyers would all prominently feature The Fix, what with us being the main sponsor.”
Taylor and Mina exchanged glances.
“What?” Megan asked, a little paranoid.
“That’s a really great idea,” Mina said.
“You’d need to do it someplace other than The Fix.” Taylor said. “Neutral territory, you know?”
“Hmm,” Megan said. “You’re right.” She was silent for a minute, then sat up straight. “That guy who Parker introduced me to the night of the Mr. June contest. Darrin or Derek or something. He’s some big shot hotel dude.”
“There you go. Ask Parker for an introduction.”
“I will.” She dug into her breakfast, moaning in ecstasy because the gingerbread pancakes really were like a slice of heaven. “But first, I’ll make sure Jenna and Tyree like the idea.”
Megan was so psyched by the idea that she finished the meal in record time, then actually left her friends before they even got the check, tossing enough cash on the table to cover her share and then some.
She hurried to The Fix, dragged Tyree and Jenna into the office, and was thrilled when they both thought the idea was fabulous.
Giddy, she walked home, planning to ask Parker for an intro that evening.
She was still smiling when she reached her building. And even the fact that some annoying person had used their bike to prop open the pedestrian gate didn’t spoil her mood. But she had to wonder why people went out of their way to make secure properties insecure.
She was slipping inside, when a woman in leggings and a helmet hurried toward her, apologizing as she grabbed the bike. “Forgot my water bottle,” she said, then gave Megan a wave as she headed off down the street.
Megan rolled her eyes and started walking the few yards to her front door, only to see someone waiting on the stoop. A man, sitting with his head down as he tapped out something on his phone.
She felt the chill first, even before she recognized him, and she started to back away. But then he looked up, his smile wide and welcoming and utterly charming.
“Megan,” Carlton said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Terror sluiced over Megan, and she stood stone still, her blood like ice, her eyes fixed on the man in front of her.
Casually, as if this were no big deal at all, he stood up, then flashed her that brilliant smile that had charmed her so thoroughly the first time they’d met. “Wow, Megan. You look great. Austin agrees with you.”
“Get away from me.”
His brow furrowed, and he shook his head as if confused. “Hey, whoa. What’s wrong?”
“Do not even try to bullshit me. Get the fuck away or I’m calling the cops.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “What the hell happened to make you so paranoid?” His eyes widened. “Oh, shit. Is it Parker? Am I too late?”
She opened her mouth to respond, realized she didn’t understand what he meant by any of that, then closed it again. “Just go. Dammit, Carlton, just leave me alone, please. Can’t you just leave me alone?”
“No, not when I’m scared for you.” Sincerity oozed from his voice. “I tried to call, but you blocked my number.” He exhaled, then shook his head. “I get cutting ties with an ex, Megan, but that seemed a little extreme.”
“Extreme!”
Before she could continue, he barreled on. “But since I was going to be in Austin anyway, I thought I’d warn you in person.”
She should tell him again to get lost, and then call the police if he didn’t. But, dammit, she wanted to know what he meant. Still, she pulled out her phone, then held it tight, ready to hit the SOS icon if she needed to. “Warn me about what?”
“Parker,” he said, the name like a bullet to her heart. “I saw a picture of you with him at some bar, and I just—oh, hell, Megan. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t warn you. Especially after he did all that weird stalking shit in LA.”
Her legs went weak and she stumbled backward. “What weird stalking shit?”
“Driving by your house. Calling you. Leaving flowers.”
“Bullshit.”
“I wish it was. I went to your place one night after we broke up. I had a pink T-shirt of yours I wanted to return.”
She remembered the shirt; she never had gotten it back.
“I got distracted when I saw Parker sitting in a car across from your place. I confronted him—he didn’t tell me the details, but I put together enough.”
She shook her head. “You lying sack of shit.”
“And then the son-of-a-bitch cornered me at my house and beat the living shit out of me.”
She swallowed. If nothing else, she knew that was true.
“Pretty fucked up, right? They arrested him for assault, but we’ve been friends for a long time. I figured he just snapped. So I cooperated when he wanted to sweep it under the rug. I mean, he’s got the kind of money to make that happen.”
He stepped toward her, close, almost pinning her against one of the stone support columns. “You should go. Get the hell out of Austin before he starts his shit all over again. He’s scarily obsessed with you, Megan. He has been for a long time. Did you know he used to ask around about you? Wanted to know where you grew up. Stuff like that.”
She swallowed, wanting to force out the words. Wanting to tell the bastard in her face that she didn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it. But the words wouldn’t come. She was trapped behind a wall of fear.
“You do know,” he said, his tone menacing as he leaned in closer. “I can see on your face that you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Megan!”
Relief crashed through her as Carlton leapt back. Megan gasped, then turned to find Parker racing toward her, her spare set of keys tight in his hand. He didn’t pause, he didn’t even stumble. He just slammed his fist into Carlton’s face and sent the little bastard crashing to the ground.
“Get inside,” he told her.
Her eyes went wide. “What are you going to do?”
He turned to her, his eyes hard on hers. “Do you trust me?”
“Don’t do it, Megan,” Carlton said. “You don’t even have to believe me. Just don’t trust him.”
She thought of all the horrible things that Carlton had said to her. Of all the accusations he’d made. Scary things that, if they were true, meant that she’d never seen the real Parker.
She thought of how Parker had intimated that he’d learned about her past recently, but Carlton suggested he’d poked around in LA. If it was true, then why did Parker lie to her? There were valid reasons, yes. But there were also scary ones.
She thought of the truth that Carlton had shared, too, about the fact that Parker had beaten him up. And, somehow, had kept it out of the papers and the court
s.
Then she looked into Parker’s eyes, and she thought about the truth she knew in her heart. The man that she knew. That she’d seen so intimately.
And that settled that.
“Yes,” she said. “I trust you absolutely.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Thanks, man,” Parker said to Brent as they watched a local detective haul Carlton’s complaining, bitching carcass away.
“Landon will make sure he gets on a plane back to LA,” Brent said, “but he’s only doing it as a favor to me. We can’t really press charges for today. After all, you’re the one who slugged him.”
“I don’t want him coming back,” Parker said. His mind was still reeling from the horror of knowing that it was only serendipity that he’d been there at the right time. “I don’t want him ever getting close to Megan again.”
“I’ve got an idea about that,” the ex-cop said. “I said we can’t press charges for today. But maybe the cops in LA can latch onto something from the past.”
“I’m listening.”
“You said you used to walk in the same circle as that piece of shit. How many women other than Megan do you think he harassed?”
“I don’t know. A lot, I’d guess.”
“So we talk to them. Get an investigator to do the leg work, then take the package to the cops, all wrapped up with a nice, shiny bow. He might do time. Even if he doesn’t, it’ll make it a hell of a lot easier to deal with him if he ever sets foot in Austin again.”
Parker went rigid. “Do you think he will?”
Brent shook his head. “In my experience, no. That kind of guy wants to stay in control, but only in the shadows. Once the gig’s exposed, he has no interest stepping into the light. He’s not about revenge. He’s about fear and humiliation and control. He knows Megan won’t be afraid anymore. She has you.”