by Jo Leigh
Not that it was going to happen. She’d made the rules clear, and he didn’t want to break her trust, especially not after her generosity in offering him a place to stay. But he couldn’t help thinking about how it had been so long ago. What it felt like to hold her. It was as if the memory of holding her in his arms had stayed in his head, just waiting to be awakened.
Things could have been so different. If his father had been the man he’d pretended to be. If Parker had been able to finish his undergraduate work at Princeton and go on to Yale Law. He could have given Ginny a life like this. Although he’d have liked it if she’d kept that ratty old robe she’d had on yesterday.
“I’ll show you the laundry room,” she said, leading him to the hallway where she made a right that led them through the kitchen. “Make yourself at home. Feel free to make coffee, have whatever you want from the fridge.” She pointed to a side drawer. “There are take-out menus in there if you’d rather not cook.”
He couldn’t help noticing that her patter had sped up along with her quick step in those high heels. “I can still find a motel if you’ve changed your mind. I completely understand if leaving me alone here feels too weird.”
“Don’t be silly. I trust you. Why wouldn’t I?”
“As long as you’re sure...” He looked into her big green eyes, wondering if he could trust himself. “Uh, shouldn’t you be going? They’re probably serving dinner already. I know my way around washing machines, so don’t worry about that. I’ve even fixed a few.”
“Oh, really?”
“It’s not like most of my customers live near a Home Depot or anything.”
“So they ask the pilot who delivers their supplies?”
Parker shook his head. “They’re pretty self-sufficient, but I made the terrible mistake of fixing one old man’s snowplow, and everything went downhill from there.”
She laughed, the sweet sound lingering well after she’d shown him the washer and dryer, both with more buttons than his cockpit. There was even a bench where he could put down his rank duffel bag without fear of messing things up. After she’d given him a quick tutorial that he’d absolutely needed, she looked at the silver watch on her wrist, and frowned.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll order a pizza from Antonio’s. I’ll even save you a couple of slices.”
“I haven’t had a pizza from there for ages. They used to be so—”
His cell phone went off. It was Lily, one of his regulars. Man, he wished they’d all learn to text. He let it go to voice mail.
“Don’t mind me,” Ginny said. “Go ahead, take the call. I have something to do before I leave.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll call her back later.”
“Her?” Ginny’s eyes widened as color filled her cheeks. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
Parker grinned, tempted to tease her. Tempted to read too much into her reaction. Whatever she was feeling, he doubted it was jealousy. “Lily’s around eighty, has a bum leg, and three husky sons who are there to fetch and carry for her. She can wait.”
Just as Ginny stepped out of the laundry room, her own cell phone rang. A text message from one of her friends from the look of it. But she just frowned again. And sighed. Then she texted a reply. He thought he heard her mutter the name Jade.
As if some cosmic signal had gone off, his phone rang. It was Lily. Again. Now it was his turn to grumble as he answered. “Hey, Lily. What’s going on? I’m sure by now you know I’m away.”
“I do. I got my order today, but your friend was surly as all heck. He practically snarled at me when I asked him to put the flour and the oats in the big pantry, and then he just dumped all the bags on the porch.”
“Mark’s an okay guy. But he’s covering all my customers as well as his own, so he’s pretty busy.”
“Doesn’t mean he can’t be civil. When are you coming back? I heard you were in Florida. You’re not planning to move south are you?”
Parker rubbed the knot at the back of his neck. Their customers were all over the map, from one end of Alaska to the other, yet they all seemed to know his business almost before he did. “I’m not in Florida. And I’m not moving. But I’ll be back soon enough. In the meantime, get Bobby or Jacobi to lift those heavy bags.”
“Well, can you just pick up some gator jerky while you’re out there? You can get that at any drugstore or gas station.”
“I’m not in Florida. I’m in Rhode Island. No gators.”
“Oh, right. Okay, but I think Rhode Island has those big clams. How about bringing a few bags in the cooler? I’ll cook ’em up and we’ll have a real nice supper and a visit.”
“I’m not running a take-out service.” Parker thought for a moment, not liking the route his mind had taken. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“With me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Good grief. Better get on back here. Your brain’s already turning to mush from the smog.”
“You’d tell me,” he said, lowering his voice. “Wouldn’t you, Lily?”
“What would be wrong? I’m stronger than all three of my boys put together.”
“I know that. But it’s also not like you to call me twice.” Or suggest they have a visit over supper. “What gives?”
“I don’t know. I can’t shake a bad feelin’ I got when I heard you were gone. You know I got the gift.”
“I know you have a great imagination.” He shook his head, but no denying he was relieved. She tended to push herself. “Everything’s fine, Lily. I’ll be back before you know it. Just don’t go trying to lift the heavy stuff by yourself. You know what happened last time.”
“Hush, you. It was just once.”
“Look, if I can, I’ll bring you some clams, all right? Take care of yourself, pinnariyauyok. And watch your step.”
“You too.”
He disconnected and put the phone back in his pocket. When he turned, Ginny was still standing there, smiling at him.
“You old softy.”
Parker snorted. “Not likely. I just know that wily old woman, and she’d talk my ear off, if I let her. Considers herself an angakok, or shaman, and thinks she has visions of people’s future.”
“And what was her vision about you?”
“Yeah, like I’d ask. She sees only one thing. Disaster. I learned a long time ago to ignore her. And what are you still doing here? Your friends are gonna send out the cavalry.”
“I’m skipping the dinner.”
“Why? Look, I can find another motel. I don’t want you to miss out on your friends. And I sure don’t want to make you feel like you have to stay.” He turned and grabbed his bag, ready to walk.
Ginny stopped him with her hand over the one holding the duffel. “I’m not staying because of you. It has nothing at all to do with you.”
He couldn’t seem to look away from that delicate hand, the soft warmth of her silken skin covering his, scars and all. When he dragged his gaze up to meet her soft green eyes, emotion flared inside him, a longing so strong he had to look away before he did something foolish. “I don’t believe you. You probably think I’ll run off with the good silver.”
“Nope,” she said, moving her hand away. “But I’m a little worried about the antique tea set.”
“You got me,” he said, finally ready to look up again. “It would go so well with the decor in my cabin.”
She laughed, and that made him grin.
“Why aren’t you going, Ginny?”
She drifted over to the kitchen and opened an upper cabinet, from which she brought out a coffee press. “It’s just that they’ve all got dates for tonight, which I don’t blame them for, honestly. What I’d looked forward to was being with them—you know, just the girls, but that’s not in the cards. Even worse, they found someone for me.” She faked a shiver. “A s
tranger. At least I assume he would be, but I’m not interested in a blind date. That’s not my style. Never has been. I’d like to know someone before I invest any time in a date.”
Parker believed her. That’s why it didn’t add up that she would’ve been intimate with another guy so soon after he left.
“I know they just want me to let loose, have some fun. But they forget that I have a child. None of them do.” Ginny shrugged. “They mean well, but frankly, I’m more interested in sharing a pizza with you than going to the dinner. If I won’t be spoiling your plans.”
“I hope you’re not just saying that.”
She shook her head. “The other thing they forget is I still live here. I don’t need the whole town talking about who I’m seeing.”
“They do that here?”
She laughed, then frowned at the coffee press as if she’d just realized it was there. “How about I open a bottle of red while you go shower? I’ll get changed, and by the time the pizza gets here, we can sit out on the terrace. Have a civilized meal.”
“You mean with plates and napkins?”
“And wineglasses too.”
“You still like the half pepperoni, half veggie?”
“You remember that?”
He tapped his temple. “Memory like an elephant.”
“And from what I remember, an appetite like an elephant too. Better make it an extra large.”
“Will do,” he said.
As she got a bottle from the very nice wine rack that sat in the corner of the kitchen, he wondered if she really wasn’t interested in going on a blind date while the kid was away, or if she just didn’t want the rumors that came with it. Could it be that she already had her sights set on someone who wasn’t a stranger?
He headed to the guest room, ready to climb into that shower and wash more than the motel off his skin. It was time to get that idea clean out of his brain.
If only he hadn’t seen the look of longing in her eyes just after she’d touched him.
CHAPTER NINE
GINNY WANTED ONE more slice of pizza. And another glass of wine. But since she’d had two of the former and one of the latter, she didn’t dare. Not when Parker was being so charming. He looked refreshed in a clean pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that hugged his body like a second skin. She’d changed into a pair of silky lounging pants that were forgiving, and a cropped shirt. Plus, wonderfully, some comfy summer sandals.
“If I lived here,” he said, after taking a sip of the merlot, “I’d put out a hammock and sleep on this patio all summer long.”
“With or without clothes on?”
Parker nearly spit out his wine.
“I was just wondering how much of a scandal you’d cause. Arianna, the head of the homeowners’ association, is not a woman to be trifled with. She’s hauled people into court for less.”
He smirked. “She wouldn’t dare.”
“Hmm...” Ginny murmured, looking him over. “You’re probably right. She’d have other plans for you.”
Parker laughed. “Should I be flattered, or hide the wine?”
“Both. Here I thought staying home would keep me out of trouble.”
Their gazes met and held, until Ginny looked away. Focusing on how the moonlight glinted off the water didn’t help at all. This was a mistake. Him here. The two of them alone.
Parker cleared his throat. “Okay, I’ve got a real dilemma,” he said. “If I eat another piece of pizza, I’m going to regret it. But if I don’t, I’ll regret that.”
She smiled. “Life is full of difficult choices.”
His mood shifted, but only for a moment. If Ginny hadn’t been watching him so carefully she would have missed it. Had she been able to she read him this well in the past? Or was she misreading things in his expression now?
“Don’t I know it.” Leaning back in his chair, he looked out at the smooth, glassy ocean, the sailboats gliding like clouds.
“The calm before the storm.” She folded her napkin, put it on her place mat and went for the age-old safe topic. “Literally. The news forecasts are talking more and more about the hurricane.”
“I don’t think it’ll end up being too bad this far north. Although, nowadays it’s hard to predict anything. But since you’re not on the beach, you shouldn’t have to worry too much.”
“I’m not concerned yet. However, up here on the bluff we have high winds to consider. But the bay has mostly protected us, and we have a generator in the garage, which is handy when the lights go out.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help prepare, just let me know. Water, storm shutters, whatever.”
His offer warmed her. Probably too much. The night was magical, with the sweet breeze that carried the scent of sea and sand, the great food, and the ease she felt with Parker. She wanted it to last forever. But Tilda would be back in two days and the spell would be over before her return. Even the thought of keeping him around longer than Monday morning made her nervous. So much was at stake.
Still, it was difficult to think of anything in the future when her thoughts kept sending her back to another evening on this very terrace. Fifteen years was a long time, but time was a slippery thing. They’d been watching the sailboats that night as well, although the sun had been lower in the western sky. Naturally, the topic of conversation had been Meg.
He’d come to the house to question Ginny. To compare notes, to find something. Anything. After Meg had gone, he’d taken a leave from his job in a law firm near Princeton. His father hadn’t returned from his assignment yet, and Parker had tried to be there for his mother. To fix the Meg situation, since he had no hope of fixing anything about his father’s long absences.
Ginny had been frantic herself. Since her own father had been on a case, staying at his apartment in Providence, she and Parker had been alone. She’d explained that Meg had met a boy, someone Ginny had never seen. He was older, somewhere in his early twenties. He lived in New York. Where, Meg had never said, if she’d even known. She’d asked Ginny to join her on the tantalizing adventure, ditching school and taking the train to the city to meet him. But Ginny hadn’t gone. There’d been a test that day, and she’d needed her grades to be top-notch.
If only she hadn’t been so stupidly eager to please her father and had gone with Meg, things might’ve turned out differently.
The guilt had brought her to tears, and Parker had held her close, assuring her she wasn’t at fault in any way—although she hadn’t really believed him.
And then they’d kissed. She wasn’t sure how comfort had turned so quickly to escape in each other’s arms, but it had.
“You know,” he said, his voice low and careful. “I had no idea you were such an innocent back then, or I’d never have kissed you.”
She blinked at him. Had something on her face given her thoughts away? “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
“Okay, I might have kissed you, but I wouldn’t have coaxed you into doing anything more.”
“Coaxed? You’re mixing me up with someone else, because I wasn’t exactly fighting you off. I’d already had a crush on you.”
“Since when?”
“Since your family moved to Temptation Bay. It didn’t stop when you left for college either.”
“Huh.” He looked so handsome in the light of the setting sun. Young. His hair was longer and shaggier than it had been back then, but with his jaw clean-shaven it was as if he hadn’t changed at all. “You were always so reserved. I had no idea, and Meg never said. Which was odd, considering she delighted in tormenting me about everything from my clothes to my taste in girlfriends.”
“I didn’t confess to her about that. We were mostly open books with each other, but you were off-limits. At least for me.”
“Huh. What else didn’t I know back then?”
“Let’s see.
You probably didn’t know that Meg and I were responsible for that little explosion in the chemistry lab.”
“Little explosion?” He laughed. “They had to practically replace two walls. My mother wanted to sue the school for endangering her baby.”
“Wouldn’t that have been something? I’m sure Meg talked her out of that because no one ever knew we were the culprits.”
“It was Meg’s idea though, wasn’t it?”
“Wait. First, we didn’t do it on purpose. Second, I was a willing accomplice.” Ginny decided not to mention she’d almost had a heart attack when their little experiment had gone wrong. She’d felt so guilty she’d almost confessed. “Whatever Meg’s faults, she was daring and brave, and she showed me that I could be too. Not that I went on to have a career in vandalism, but I’d always been so obedient. Never skipped practice, did my homework, obeyed all the rules. Jade and Harlow and Cricket were all excellent students, but they weren’t innocent little lambs like me. But it was Meg who truly made the difference. If I hadn’t met her, I doubt I would have ever thought twice about my future. I never would have considered leaving Juilliard.”
“Wow. I just thought Meg was a pain in the butt and determined to test the limits of my mother’s patience.”
“Actually, I think it was your father’s attention she was trying to get,” Ginny said, and wished she hadn’t when Parker turned a solemn gaze toward the ocean.
“I remember you guys spent a lot of time at the beach,” he said after a moment. “You even got her surfing.”
“No, that was Cricket. She was the instigator of our beach adventures.”
“Like taking out her father’s boat for an unsanctioned trip to Nantucket?”
“You knew about that?”
“Who didn’t? You were the talk of the town. Remember, I was home for that little stunt.”
“I know,” Ginny said, feeling her cheeks heat up. She hadn’t stalked him or anything, but she’d always made it a point to know when he was in town. “You used to go down to the fish market a lot.”
“Oh, man, that’s right. Meg had gotten that job with the fish people. That’s when she started swearing like a sailor.”