by Jill Sanders
Once, when she’d been in third grade, her parents had repainted her room. Even though she loved the soft pink color, it had taken her almost five years to stop complaining about it.
She still drove the same old clunker her father had purchased for her when she’d gotten her license. The old Jeep was in great shape but still had more issues than a newer car would.
“It’s called Amazing Gray.” He opened the binder sitting next to his laptop and there were several color samples.
She glanced through them and, even though she liked the color, she was still leery of the change.
Just then, she heard Parker’s stomach growl loudly. Her own stomach responded with its own softer sound.
“Why don’t we order some food, my treat?” He waved Carrie, one of the full-time waitresses, over. Carrie was easily one of the prettiest people in town. Her vibrant red hair was long, full, and curly, and her skin and makeup always looked perfect. Sara had always been jealous of the woman, even though they were close friends.
“Hi, Sara.” Carrie smiled, her eyes scanning over Parker like he was a chunk of meat and she was starving. Sara had heard that Carrie had just broken up with her on-again, off-again longtime boyfriend, Joshua. Rumor was that she was looking for a long-term relationship while Joshua wasn’t. “Hi,” she added for Parker’s benefit. By the way Carrie was eyeing Parker, she guessed that she’d moved on. “What can I do for you?” Carrie practically purred it.
“What’s good?” Parker turned to her.
“Everything.” She chuckled. “Carrie, I’ll have the fish and chips.”
“Make that two,” Parker jumped in. “And some ice tea.” He glanced over at her, his dark eyebrows up slightly.
“Sprite,” she said. Carrie’s hips swayed more than usual as she walked away, but Parker hadn’t been watching. His eyes were still on her.
“Iian is your uncle.” It wasn’t a question, but she waited for him to say more. “Tell me a little more about your family.”
He remained sitting next to her, instead of returning to his side of the booth, which didn’t go unnoticed.
“Yes, Iian is my uncle. My father—Todd—and Iian are brothers. They have a sister, Lacey. She used to run this place, but since she became the mayor of Pride, she only comes in once or twice a month, when she has time.”
“Your aunt is the mayor? That’s exciting.” He leaned back, his arm brushing up against hers. Suddenly, the booth felt smaller. “I met Riley last week. I guess she’s one of your cousins.”
“Yes, one of the twins.”
Parker’s eyebrows shot up. “She’s a twin?”
“Her brother Jacob wants to be a fireman.” She smiled and relaxed slightly. “They graduate next year.”
“Are they only children?”
“No, they have an older brother, Conner, who’s nineteen, no twenty now. He’s going to school in Portland.”
He nodded and remained silent for a moment. “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”
“One of each. My older brother Matt works with my dad. Susannah, my younger sister, is in Portland for school.” She turned slightly to him, unsure of why she was suddenly so comfortable around him.
“You love them,” he said, as if answering her own internal question. “It shows in your eyes.” When he reached up and gently brushed a finger down her arm, she stilled. It was on the tip of her tongue to scold him for being so familiar with her, but just then, Carrie showed up with their drinks and salads.
“What about you?” she asked once they were along again. “Any siblings?”
“No, I wasn’t lucky enough,” he said between sips.
She chuckled. “Some days, I’d wished I’d been as lucky as you.”
“Why didn’t you head up to Portland?” he asked.
“I did for a while. My associate’s degree diploma is hanging in my father’s office collecting dust.”
“Not for you?”
“This is where I belong.” She looked around and smiled. For as long as she could remember, she’d dreamed of taking over here. She loved the hustle and bustle of the dinner rush, the calm of the times between rushes, managing the crew and staff. Not to mention the freedom that came with working with family and friends. “I’ve always wanted to manage this place.”
“Oh?”
“I could sit here all day and watch people I know and love come and go.” She nodded towards the dining room, which would be full of townspeople in less than half an hour. “What about you? What brought you to Pride?”
“Work,” he’d replied quickly. She could tell that there was something else.
“So, you came to the small town of Pride to start your own business? Because working in the city wasn’t a better prospect?”
He chuckled. “I’ve lived in cities. I like small towns better.”
“Why Pride?”
“Why not?” he responded.
“Are you being…” She didn’t get any further since Carrie walked over and set their food in front of them. Sara noticed the extra bright smile she gave Parker and tried to hide her chuckle as the woman walked away, hips swaying again.
“What?” Parker asked, looking at her sideways.
“Nothing.” She shook her head as she poured a massive amount of ketchup on her plate. He surprised her by nudging her leg and waiting. “It’s just… Carrie is recently back on the market.” She nodded to the waitress when he looked at her like he didn’t know who Carrie was.
Then his eyes moved across the room to where she stood at the bar, waiting for an order of drinks.
Sensing someone was looking at her, she glanced around and caught Parker’s eye. She smiled brightly.
“Oh.” Parker shrugged and stuck a French fry in his mouth.
“Oh?” She set the piece of fish down. “Just oh?”
“What more do you want me to say?” he asked, shoveling some more fries in.
“For starters, how about asking me for her number?”
“Why?” He frowned at her.
“You are straight, right?” she asked, feeling a little frustrated. “I mean…” She nodded to Carrie again, as if the pretty redhead was enough explanation herself.
“Is there something I’m missing? I mean, do I have to be automatically attracted to every pretty woman within five feet?”
She shrugged and tried to play it cool. “Pride is a small town.” She shifted and reached for her fish again. “You’ll understand once you’ve been here a while. Everyone expects…”
“What?” he asked when she stopped talking and shoved the fish into her mouth.
She figured she’d give the guy a chance to settle in before warning him about the matchmakers that made up half the town.
“Nothing,” she said, taking a sip of her soda. “I suppose everyone will ask, but you are single, right?”
Once again, his eyebrows shot up. “You?”
“We’re not talking about me,” she added, feeling her face heat slightly at his gaze.
“I am,” he answered, causing her face to flush even more as his eyes ran over her slowly.
“I’m not,” she answered and instantly kicked herself for lying. Aiden hadn’t even called her back after their last fiasco of a date. Besides, she’d told him more than a month ago that she needed space. Still, it had been a gut reaction to tell Parker that she wasn’t free.
“Interesting.” He wasn’t reacting the way she’d expected. Instead of pulling away, he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. “I think you’re lying.”
“What?” She almost choked on a fry.
“You don’t strike me as a woman in love.”
She swallowed some soda to clear her windpipe. “What has love got to do with being available?”
Hearing Parker laugh, really laugh, did something to her insides. The rich, smooth sound was like silk to her ears, causing her to smile along with him.
“You’ve obviously never been in love,” he answered.
>
“And you have?” she asked, pushing her half-empty plate away.
“Three times,” he answered more quickly than she expected.
“Three?” She chuckled and shifted to get a better look at him. “I can believe that. What happened?”
When his smile fell away, she wondered if she’d crossed a line.
“Not everything ends with ‘and they lived happily ever after.’” He pushed his own plate aside and she noticed a look of pain in his eyes.
Reaching over, she laid her hand over his. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have joked.”
“Why not?” She could tell he was trying to change the mood again. “I don’t regret one minute of my life. How about you?”
There was plenty she regretted. The time she’d chopped her bangs off in seventh grade. Wearing the white dress to prom and then slipping and falling on the ice on the way into the gym. Letting Rory Collins take her virginity. The list was long, but sitting next to Parker, looking into those brown eyes, the only thing that really stood out in her mind was regretting telling him she wasn’t available.
3
There was something behind those green eyes of Sara’s that Parker couldn’t get over.
He hadn’t lied about not regretting things. His grandmother had raised him to look to the future, not toil over the past.
“Where you’ve been in life molds you into the person you’ll be tomorrow,” she would often say.
So, even though he’d fallen hard and fast three different times and crawled away each time with a broken heart and, on one occasion, an empty bank account, he’d never looked back.
But Sara claiming to have never been in love and her hesitation to own up to being in a relationship told him the door was still open.
He wasn’t looking for another roller-coaster ride of a relationship, but he couldn’t deny the instant attraction he felt for her. And he knew she felt something too. It was right there, behind those sexy eyes of hers.
Glancing up, he noticed the redhead waving at Sara.
“It looks like you’re needed.” He nodded towards the bar. Carrie was desperately trying to get Sara’s attention. He watched as the two women frantically signed across the space at one another.
“What was that about?” he asked when Carrie disappeared towards the front.
“Nothing.” She glanced down at his plate, “Well, I have to…” She motioned for him to get out of the booth.
“Oh.” He started to move but stopped when he noticed a tall dark-haired man quickly approaching their table, followed closely by Carrie.
“I tried to…” She stopped talking when the man arrived at their table.
“So, this is how it is?” The tone in the man’s voice told Parker that this was who Sara was currently or had recently been involved with.
Parker stood quickly, since he wasn’t sure if the man was going to pounce on him or not.
“Parker Clark.” He held out his hand. “I was just meeting with Miss Jordan and her uncle about the work I’ll be doing around here.
The man’s chest seemed to deflate in front of him.
“Meeting?” he asked.
Sara slid out of the booth behind him. “What are you doing here, Aiden?” Sara crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man.
“Betty had lunch here and she mentioned to my mother at the grocery store that she saw you snuggling in a booth with some man down at the Golden Oar.” His eyes flew between them quickly. “When my mother told me—”
“Your first thought was to come down here and what? Bash someone’s face in?”
“Well… no,” he finally admitted, running his hand through his dark hair.
“Aiden, we both know…” Sara stopped talking and looked between the men. Then, without another word, she took Aiden’s arm and pulled him towards the front door.
As soon as the pair was clear of the room, he gathered his belongings, paid his bill, and made his way out of the building. He was still in a good mood about Iian Jordan agreeing to his plans and because of the conversation he’d had with Sara.
Seeing the couple still arguing in the parking lot only reassured him that there was hope yet. He shoved his laptop and the binder with the samples in the back seat of his truck and tried not to overhear what they were saying.
He was just about to climb in the truck when hands spun him around and suddenly, Sara was plastered against him, her lips crushing his in a wild kiss with a heat he’d never felt before.
He only had time to register the softness of her lips before they were gone.
“See,” she said angrily, turning away from him before he could lock eyes with her. “I’m free to kiss whomever I want, whenever.”
“I’m warning you…” Aiden started as he moved closer to them.
Sara crossed her arms over her chest and threw her chin up. “What? What will you do?”
To his credit, the man stopped a few feet away from them. Parker saw his eyes turn sad. “You’re playing with fire,” he said in a low tone.
“Oh, and you weren’t when you slept with Jenny?” she threw back.
At that point, Parker had ideas of quietly sliding into his truck and driving away, except he was still pretty much pinned between Sara and his door. If he moved, he was sure she’d spin on him and… well, he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to chance it.
So he stood there and listened to the argument. From what he could gather, Aiden had cheated on her, which had led to the couple taking a break. Aiden appeared to be under the assumption the hiatus was over. Sara was not.
“I told you… I didn’t sleep with Jenny.”
“No, you just finger banged her in the back seat of your car in this very parking lot.” Sara’s voice was surprisingly calm.
“Sara.” Aiden made a move forward, but Sara threw up her hands.
“I think you need to go.” Parker finally jumped in, after seeing that the situation wasn’t going to solve itself anytime soon.
Sara turned on him and he got a full view of her green eyes. He’d expected anger, hurt, and pain. Instead, he could only see relief and a little annoyance. What was strange was that the annoyance was aimed at him instead of the guy who’d cheated on her.
Aiden took the hint though and took a step back. “We’ll talk later, once you’ve calmed down.” The man continued to back up as his eyes narrowed at him. He could tell that the guy was sizing him up.
They were similar in size, but Parker worked a physically demanding job every day and worked out, so he easily out-muscled the guy.
“Business meeting,” Aiden mumbled as he turned around and walked away.
“So, that was your…” His eyebrows rose slightly as he let the question hang in the air. Aiden drove out of the parking lot, the rocks of the gravel crunching and spraying behind him.
Sara’s eyes narrowed towards him as she took a step towards him. Heat flooded them and they turned emerald green. His own eyes locked and held there, enjoying the color change.
They had been sitting next to one another before, but now, looking down at her, he could just imagine how wonderful she would feel pressed up against him.
What would it feel like to kiss those lips again? This time he’d be in charge and take what he wanted. He’d make sure to go slower and a hell of a lot longer than before.
His eyes moved down to her lips and held there. He heard her breath hitch and smiled as she swayed slightly towards him. Reaching up, he held her shoulders gently to steady her.
“Are you okay?” he asked when she remained silent.
She surprised him by leaning a little closer as she spoke.
“Thanks for your… help.” Her eyes dipped to his lips and his smile grew. “I’m sorry you had to witness that meltdown.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” His fingers moved up and down her arms slowly.
The sound of a car entering the parking area seemed to wake her up, and she took a giant step back as his arms dropped to his sides.
She blinked a few times and glanced around. “Yeah, well… thanks” Shaking her head slightly, she turned and walked back into the restaurant without a glance back.
Sara watched through the windows as Parker drove away from the Golden Oar. What was she thinking? She leaned her head against the glass and sighed. Why had she kissed him?
Aiden had egged her on and, in truth, he’d asked for any pain it had caused him. After all, finding out that your boyfriend had cheated on you and the entire town knew it was the worst kind of pain.
Not that they had made it to the next level in their relationship. They hadn’t really committed to one another.
Looking back, it was clear that they were doomed from the start. Dating the sheriff’s son wasn’t something she’d planned on. They’d grown up together and she’d always had a thing for him, but now… friendship was the only possibility left between them.
Her mind wandered back to that kiss. She’d wanted to hurt Aiden and hadn’t expected to get her socks knocked off when her lips touched Parker’s.
“You okay?” Carrie asked from behind her. “My brother can be… well, a jerk.”
“I’m fine.” Sara wondered how much of the fight everyone in the restaurant had witnessed. Then she remembered the kiss again and groaned. “How was the show?”
Carrie chuckled and glanced around. There were only a handful of employees and guests in the place at the moment, but still, news would spread quickly that she’d kissed the new guy in town.
“So, how was it?” Her friend took her arm and led her towards the back.
“What?” She tried to play dumb but knew Carrie was too smart for it. Carrie gave her a look. “Fine,” she lied, not wanting to go into details of how amazing the short kiss had been.
“It looked better than fine.” Carrie sighed and plopped herself down on the old sofa in Iian’s office. Even though her uncle didn’t like employees using his office as a break room, everyone did anyway. Her uncle was too much of a softy towards his employees and family to make a big fuss about it.
Leaning against the desk that had been her great-grandfather’s, she smiled. “The guy has sexy lips.”
“That’s not the only thing sexy on him.” Carrie sighed and leaned her head back. “Did you see those arms?”