by Candis Terry
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Yes.” He kissed her forehead. “I still believe in Santa Claus.”
She chuckled. “Not what I was going to ask but good to know. And if you’re on speaking terms with him, can you put in a good word for me? Because I think I might be on his naughty list.”
“Baby, with what you just did to my body, I know you’re on his naughty list.”
“But it was so worth the stocking full of coal.”
“I second that.” He kissed her forehead again. “So now that we know who’s going to get a present from Santa and who’s not, what else did you want to know?”
“Why do you feel the need to take on so much to make everyone else happy? And why do you drive yourself to exhaustion?”
“I told you about my past. I owe my family everything. And even though I’ll never really be able to repay them, I have to keep trying.”
The admission came out with such pain and guilt that he remained silent for a moment. Gabi slowly stroked his forearm without saying a word, hoping he’d continue, not blaming him if he didn’t. Reliving those days must be extremely hard. Lord knew when she thought about everything her teen years had brought, it was like hitting a wall at full speed.
“I’m really sorry you went through all that,” she said.
“Not everyone’s life is a carnival. But I can’t blame anyone else; I brought it all on my stupid self.”
“You were young.”
“And selfish.”
“That’s not so uncommon for teens.”
“Yeah, but now that I know what my mom and dad were going through at the time with their marriage . . .” He blew out a breath of air. “I’ll bet they wanted to kill me.”
“That’s not who you are now,” she said, unaware of what his parents had really gone through. “I like who you are. And you’ve become the man you are because of that experience.”
“You’re a hell of a lot more understanding than I am.”
Her chest tightened. “You mean if you found out some dark secret of mine you wouldn’t want to know?”
“Honesty is really important to me.” He tightened his arms around her and gave a questioning look. “I’ve spilled my guts. You got something you want to share?”
“No.”
She did, but she couldn’t. No, make that she wouldn’t. He’d been the one to request they keep their relationship strictly casual. If she shared her past too, that might put them in a different relationship category. He had enough going on to listen to her sob story, so she decided to just keep this all about him.
For now.
“I guess I can understand why, at one time, you might have felt the need to make up for your past,” she said. “But that was a long time ago. You were a boy then. You’re a man now. Responsible. Intelligent. Talented. And from what I can see, you’re a great brother. I can’t imagine anyone in your family would want you to still feel like you had something to prove. Or to push yourself so hard to please them. They just don’t seem like those kind of people.”
“You mentioned you had two half sisters from your father’s affair. Any other siblings?”
She nodded. “I also have an older brother.”
“Are you close?”
She snagged her bottom lip between her teeth while she tried to figure out how to answer that without being too revealing. She didn’t want to spoil the rest of the night. Parker needed honesty. In this case, a partial truth was better than a complete lie.
“I’d like to be close, but that really isn’t possible. My parents went through an ugly divorce a long time ago that split up the family.”
“I’m sorry.” He hugged her tight.
“Not your fault.” Not her fault. Nobody’s fault but her father’s.
Maybe she really needed to heed her own advice and stop trying to make up for the past. Even if the mistakes weren’t her own.
“So . . .” She trailed her hands down his sexy abs. “How about we get back to the fun part.”
“Yes, ma’am.” With a waggle of his eyebrows, he ducked under the covers.
Gabi knew she was in way over her head. Because while he performed magic beneath the sheets, she had to remind herself that they’d agreed to keep this relationship casual. Fun. No strings. Mission impossible in her books. Because whether she liked it or not, her heart was already tied up with a bow.
Saturday morning, Gabi had a hard time waking up Parker. She’d never seen anyone sleep so hard. He’d barely moved an inch all night. For hours he’d held her close, almost in a viselike grip. Not that she minded. But since he was the one who kept insisting they keep things fun and casual, she decided to tease him.
“I’m thinking of buying some velvet ropes.”
Eyes wide, mouth full, he looked up from munching on the Mediterranean omelet she’d made for him. “Excuse me?”
“What. Are you against a little bit of friendly bondage?”
He swallowed hard. “Did we just move to a different level?”
Gabi folded her arms, leaned against the counter, and grinned. “You don’t seem all that opposed to the prospect.”
He got up from the table and came to stand in front of her. “Is that what you’re into?” He settled his hands on her hips and drew her close.
“No, I was just teasing you because you hold onto me so tight when you sleep.”
“Hmmm.” He nuzzled her neck. “Maybe that’s just because you’re so soft and warm.”
“And you sleep so hard. I could barely wake you up this morning.”
“That’s because I’m exhausted.” He captured her lips in a quick kiss. “Not that I’m complaining about the sex.”
“I should hope not. You’re enjoying yourself too much to complain.”
“Yeah. I’m definitely willing to take one for the team. But what I meant was that I think I’m ready to admit that all the long hours of work, worry, rinse and repeat, are getting to me.”
He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, messing up the long dark locks that now fell to the tops of the broad shoulders on which he carried so much weight.
“I guess everything just finally caught up with me.”
She stepped closer, reached up, and pushed back the lock of hair that fell over his forehead. “You need to stop working so hard.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Yes,” she said. “And I know that’s crossing the keeping-things-casual line, but I can’t help it.”
His dark brows came together as he searched her face.
Just when she thought he’d jump in to reinforce their agreement, he grinned.
“So . . . no velvet ropes?”
A little sigh of relief lifted her worried heart. “Never say never.”
Late in the afternoon, Parker’s phone chimed with an incoming text. He pulled it from his pocket and read Ethan’s message.
Me and the brothers are at main house getting ready to watch Alabama take on LSU. Beer. Football. Cussing. Get your ass up here.
Parker looked around at the construction activity in the restaurant and reluctantly decided Sean had things under control. He took a deep breath, texted his brother back, and walked away.
What could go wrong?
Just because he wasn’t there every second to watch over everything didn’t mean it would all fall apart. It wasn’t like he was some kind of control freak micromanager. Maybe his being around was only getting in the way of reaching the completion date on time. Maybe all this time he thought he’d been helping where really he was only hindering the process.
He zipped up his Sherpa lined coat and ducked his head against the wind and the snow flurries as he headed up the hill to the house.
If Jordan could take the time away from playing Groomzilla, then it couldn’t hurt for him to take a break. Right? Unfortunately he had too much invested to see things that way. It wasn’t just time and money. For him the restaurant was a symbol of healing. It was a sign th
at the family was whole and that they were going to be able to put the past behind them.
Together.
Even so, taking an afternoon off wasn’t going to destroy everything he’d been pushing hard for. And ever since he’d pulled his head out of his ass, he savored the time with his brothers. Even if some of those times came with yelling at the TV or yelling at each other.
Trudging up the hill, his boots slipped on the icy path. Falling and breaking his neck wouldn’t be any damn help to getting things done, so he took smaller steps.
Finally he opened the front door and his ears were immediately assaulted by his brothers cursing over the roar of the college stadium crowd and the announcer’s game commentary. He and his brothers would be a divided group, with half pulling for Alabama and the others rooting for LSU with a shitload of fuck yous and shove it up your asses volleying around the room at full speed. But that’s what made watching football so much fun in the Kincade household.
The moment he walked into the den, Ethan gave him a nod and Dec slapped a cold bottle of beer in his hand. They both scooted over on the sofa to make room. Ryan and Jordan hogged the recliners while the rest of them sat shoulder to shoulder. As the Alabama quarterback threw a bullet into the end zone and it was caught by the wide receiver, Parker and his brothers all came up out of their seats with various four-letter exclamations on the perfection of the pass.
When they all sat back down, Jordan looked over his shoulder at Parker. “About fucking time you took a day off.”
If Parker rolled his eyes any harder they’d have stuck at the back of his head. “How can I take a day off when your pussy ass alter ego, Groomzilla, keeps pushing me to get the restaurant done in time for his reception?”
“Someone has to keep you on your toes. I’ve got a wedding checklist I have to stick to, you know.”
Next to Parker, Declan chuckled and said, “Know what I’m buying him for his bachelor party?”
“What?”
“Feminine hygiene products.”
As the brothers laughed, Jordan flipped them his middle finger without taking his eyes off the action on the big screen TV.
“I thought about buying him a French maid outfit so he could really turn into Lucy’s bitch,” Ethan said.
Jordan’s middle finger remained raised.
Parker laughed. “Guess I’ll buy him an apron then.”
“Hey.” Jordan shot him the stink eye. “You wear an apron.”
“Yeah. But not the kind with ruffles.”
In the recliner, Ryan snorted. “Damn it’s good to have everybody back home.”
“Yeah,” they all said in unison, even though Jordan’s middle finger remained fully extended.
As the Alabama kicker sent a perfect PAT through the uprights, Declan looked at Parker and said, “My fiancée’s coat is missing. You know anything about that?”
“It was Brooke’s coat?”
“Yeah. She took the spare one home.”
“Sorry.”
Dec chuffed. “That contented look on your face says you aren’t sorry at all.”
“Yeah.” Ethan swung his gaze around. “That look says you got laid. Plenty.”
“You jealous?” Parker asked.
“Fuck yes.”
Parker raised his bottle and took a drink. Even though it would be easy to brag, he didn’t like talking about his sex life with anyone. What happened between a man and woman in bed was their business. But if he even tiptoed into that discussion with his brothers they’d want to know more. They’d want to know where things stood between him and Gabriella. They’d want to know his intentions. And he’d have to tell them he had no intentions. Which made him kind of sound like an ass. Like he was using Gabriella for sex and then when he was done with her he’d toss her aside. But it wasn’t like that at all.
He wanted to be with her. He just didn’t want her to expect him to be with her.
Shit. Did that even make any sense?
“She’s a nice girl,” Ryan said. “Don’t fuck it up.”
“Jesus.” Parker slugged down a drink. “It’s not like I have some kind of love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation.”
“You sure about that?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.” He was sure. Wasn’t he?
“What about that Katrina chick?” Declan wanted to know. “You know, the one you met at the Seahawks game last year? The hot blonde with the big . . . personality? The one—”
“Yes,” Parker interrupted. “I remember. What does she have to do with anything?”
“One week of some pretty hot stuff, from what I remember,” Dec said. “And then you were over it.”
“That doesn’t make me the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. We just didn’t have anything other than sex in common.”
“And then there was Madison,” Ryan reminded him. “Nice girl.”
“Again. Nothing outside of the sheets.”
“But you do have something more with Gabriella, right?” Jordan wanted to know. “I mean, you’re both chefs. That’s a lot of in common.”
“Yes,” Parker admitted. “We have a lot going on.”
“Like I said.” Ryan sipped from his beer. “She’s a nice girl. Don’t fuck it up.”
Apparently while Parker had been trying to focus on just enjoying his time with Gabriella, his brothers had been paying a lot closer attention than he’d ever have guessed. It wasn’t like he planned to fuck anything up. He just . . . what? He really liked her? He enjoyed the hell out of being with her? He couldn’t wait until he could see her again? Yes. All of that. But right now he just needed to focus on the pile of shit he had to get done. He wasn’t ready to hang drapes, start planning a wedding, or start making babies. Not that he would mind all that somewhere down the road. But right now he just wanted to enjoy the occasional spare moments he had with a woman who made him smile, made him laugh, and made him feel damned good all over without feeling guilty if he had other things to do than pay attention to her.
Was that too much to ask?
By the time Parker left her apartment the day before, Gabriella had successfully helped him place an online order for the booths, tables, and chairs. She couldn’t be happier that she’d helped him over a hurdle he could now check off his list. Hopefully with at least one thing off his mind he’d be able to sleep a little easier.
He still had so much to do before Jordan and Lucy’s big day, and Christmas was sneaking up fast, not to mention his day-to-day work with the food truck. As she’d spent the quiet afternoon working on some issues of her own, an idea had popped into her head. No matter how much coffee she drank or how many projects she invented, she couldn’t tame the thought. So she decided to act.
Hopefully, to Parker it wouldn’t seem like she was interfering, especially now that she’d put the idea into full gear. All she really wanted to do was help the man she’d quickly come to care about very much.
Main Street in beautiful downtown Sunshine had come alive as Gabi drove toward Sugarbuns Bakery. Christmas greenery now lined the street and shimmery candy canes adorned every light pole. Each mom and pop store was decked out in garlands and lights. Festive wreaths brightened the doors. And at the intersection of Main and Burgundy, the Back Door Bookstore had perched a life-sized Santa on the cast-iron bench outside their window. In his white-gloved hands he held an array of children’s books and a sign that said “Books Ignite Imagination.”
Not wanting to reach her destination with empty hands, Gabi parked in front of the pastel pink building in the center of town and went inside. The mouthwatering aroma of Sugarbuns’s locally celebrated cinnamon rolls greeted her along with the jingle of the bells above the door.
“Welcome to Sugarbuns. I’m Pearl.” The woman behind the glass display case flashed a broad smile. “Today’s specials are chocolate almond rum ring and southern butter almond coffee cake. We also have fresh almond crescent cookies and, of course, our cinnamon rolls. What can I get for you?”
Gabi scanned
the display cases and her mouth watered. “My stomach says one of everything.”
Pearl chuckled. “You won’t believe how many times I’ve heard that. Haven’t seen you around before. New in town?”
“I live in Portland. I’m going up to visit the Kincade family and I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”
“Ah. The Kincades. Lovely people. Which one are you friends with?”
Friends or lovers? Gabi hoped they could be called both. “Parker.”
“So you’re the one.” Pearl gave her a nod. “Gabriella, right?”
“How did you know?”
“Their aunt Pippy is a good friend of mine. She came in here just this morning talking about how her nephew Parker had found his girl.”
Accustomed to large-scale gossip and slander but completely unaccustomed to small-town chatter, Gabi didn’t know how to respond. So she took the long road. “If she meant that I’m the chef who’d like to work with Parker in his new restaurant, then yes, I’m the one. And yes, I’m Gabriella.”
“Good to meet you, darlin’.” Pearl stuck her hand across the display case for a handshake. “Have to say those Kincade boys are dropping like flies off the available list. Can’t say I’m surprised though. Who wouldn’t want to catch one of them? I might be old but I’m not dead.”
“I’m not really . . .” Hmm. Gabi was rarely caught so off guard, but she didn’t know how Parker would want her to counter since, in his mind, their relationship was to be fun, casual, and no strings only.
“Oh.” Pearl waved her hand. “No need to confirm or deny. I’ll get verification once the wedding cake is ordered.”
And there was her conversation detour.
“Speaking of wedding cakes. Have Jordan and Lucy placed an order for theirs yet?”
“Oh sure. Jordan placed the order weeks ago. And changed it. Then changed it again.” She chuckled. “I keep expecting Lucy to show up and set things straight, but I hear she’s put him in charge of everything. Though I can’t imagine what she’s thinking. He’s not really the type to be in touch with his feminine side. If you know what I mean.”