“I mean...crap, I’m sorry…” Lucy apologized, her pretty face turning even a darker pink.
Another knock comes to the glass door and the three of us snap our heads towards the door to look.
Low and behold it’s, Parker Stone.
Karma is a real bitch.
Parker
I watched from my truck as Thompson knocked on the door and I saw Liz open. She looked annoyed, but let him in. I wondered what that was about. What was Thompson doing with Liz?
I watched as a familiar looking redhead from last night knocked and walked into the shop. She was pretty, in a preppy girl next door kind of way. I wasn’t sure where but, I know her from somewhere. Something about the way she carried herself.
Stretching my neck, trying to push away the paranoid feeling I’m getting, I get out of my truck, and walk over. Before knocking, however, their voices carry outside to me.
“The cheater,” Red shrieked looking surprised and Jake looks chastised. That was definitely one way of describing Jake Thompson.
I knock on the door, three heads swing towards me. Three very different expressions fall on me. Red’s eyes are wide biting away a smile, Jake looks pissed, but Liz’ is my favorite. She looks at me the way a kid does Christmas morning. The hardness from her face drops away and her gaze is bright. Happy! The same expression she’d had at the beach and before I dropped her off this morning, and fuck me I like how the hardness wipes away from her face when she sees me.
I watch her gracefully walk to the door unlocking it. The bakery smells like sugar and vanilla, making my mouth water, but nothing could make my mouth water more than her in what she’s wearing.
Faded light blue jeans that look worn and soft, almost threadbare. The way they hug and fit every subtle curve, making her thighs and legs look great. Her feet are in flip flops, her toes painted a Barbie Pink, the color surprises me. I look at her in the black tank top, with her softly tanned skin glowing and looking silky soft.
“Hi.” Liz says to me as I lean towards her, with my hand going to her face and my thumb caressing her cheek.
“Hey, Angel, are you ready?” I ask and she nods.
“What the fuck,” Jake growls and Liz closes her eyes almost as if she’d forgotten we had an audience. Fuck me, I enjoy that too.
“Thompson. Long time no see,” I say not breaking my eye contact with Liz and she frowns.
“You know each other?” Red asks raising an eyebrow looking back and forth between us.
“What are you doing here, Thompson? Don’t you have an empire to run somewhere?” I ask.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He growls and I smile, still not taking my eyes or hands off of Liz.
“I thought that after such a great night and morning…” I start to say as I pull Liz’s body close to mine and she goes with me, “I would make sure that Liz got some rest.” I kiss her forehead and look towards Red, “We were going to go grab lunch, if you want you are welcome to come.” I invite Red, letting her know I am sincere. Red is blushing and opens her mouth to talk but Jake cuts her off.
“Liz, the food is getting cold, babe.” Jake says ignoring her, we look at him as he lifts a brown bag.
“You already had plans?” I ask her.
“No,” she immediately says just as Jake says “Yes.”
“I didn’t ask you, Thompson.”
“I don’t give a fuck, Stone.”
Liz pinches the bridge of her nose, obviously annoyed and frustrated. Red walks over to Liz, putting her hand on Liz’s back and she visibly relaxes. The gesture tells me volumes about how close these two women are.
“Liz, would you introduce us?” Red suggests, in a soft, sweet voice. Liz looks at Lucy and nods.
“Lucy Mack this is Parker Stone. Parker Stone this is one of my best friends Lucy Mack.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Stone,” Lucy says extending her hand and I go in for a hug.
“Sorry, I’m a hugger.” I say as I go in for a gentle hug and Lucy stands awkwardly.
“Oh….Okay.” she sounds uncomfortable and for a moment I wonder if I had somehow overstepped my boundaries.
“Sorry.” I murmur and Lucy’s face turns a bright pink.
“No problem.” she mumbles, stepping back standing next to Liz, “So how did you two meet?” she asks and I notice Jake step forward.
“Yeah Liz, how exactly did you two meet?” Jake asks sarcastically, Liz scowls at him, opening her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.
“I actually saw her at a wedding. An old friend of mine was getting married, I was in the wedding. I had been put in charge of being at the reception site early to make sure vendors got there on time and Liz was the delivery girl.”
“Really? I thought you didn’t do that anymore?” Lucy asks and I laugh.
“It was a while ago, back in August.” I look at Liz her eyes going wide in surprise and then her face softens, so I decide to put it out there. I completely forget about Lucy and Thompson being there, “I took one look at you and felt frozen in place. You were wearing this soft summer dress, it hit your knees, your hair was down and you took my breath away.”
“The Mickelson-Neely wedding,” She whispers looking at me as if she’s looking at me for the first time.
“Yeah.” My hand went to caress her face, the softness of her skin made everything in my body start to buzz.
“You’ve kept quiet about him since August? Did you know he was going to be there last night?” Lucy asks Liz, her eyes wide and I shake my head, completely cutting Liz off.
“I chickened out. By the time I built up enough courage to talk to her she was gone and I was worried I missed my chance. In October, I arrived early to the Breast Cancer Gala to avoid the ‘Pink” carpet and she was there. I went up to talk to her with the lame excuse of asking her about birthday cakes,” I tell Lucy, my eyes never coming off of Liz’s face. The more I say, the more she softens, her eyes going warm.
“I’ve come in to the shop ever since trying to catch a glimpse of her, but she’s always in the back. Last night I saw her at Wind and took a chance and she gave me her number.” I smile breaking the intense gaze between Liz and me, to look at Lucy, completely ignoring the daggers that Thompson is sending my way. I look at Lucy, “When I saw you guys outside last night waiting for your car, I took a chance.”
“Wow.” Lucy whispers, and I swear that Liz sighs.
“I called Liz earlier about hanging out today, like I said, if you want to join us for lunch the more the merrier.”
“Oh no that’s fine, but thanks. I stopped by because I didn’t want her to be alone on her birthday,” I hear Liz groan and Lucy covers her mouth, her face once again flushing.
It’s her birthday.
“It’s your birthday?” I ask and she frowns.
“It’s not a big deal,” she says sounding slightly annoyed.
“It is. She has a thing about them because…”
“Luce.” Liz warns and Lucy turns a brighter shade of pink.
“Sorry.”
“Jake, I’m sorry you came all the way here, I already had plans.” She tells Thompson and he looks pissed.
“We need to talk.” He tells her and she shakes her head.
“That’s the last thing I need.” She tells him and I wonder more about what happened between them.
“Lucy…,” Liz starts to say but I interrupt.
“You’re sure you won’t go with us to lunch?” I ask, Liz’s head snaps to look at me.
“Oh! No, thank you. I just really wanted to make sure she wasn’t alone… Liz, do you mind if I wait here till Matt can come for me?”
“Of course not, you have your key?” she asks and Lucy nods.
“Do you need a ride?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“Matt is in a meeting nearby. He’ll be here soon.”
“I can wait with you if you want?” Thompson offered, and I notice Lucy blush.
“That would be nice thank you.”
“Okay, you have the key. Turn the lights off. Oh and there are some cannoli shells packaged on the main table in the kitchen with a bag of chocolate chip cream, if you can give some to Matt please?” Liz says leaning over to hug Lucy. Lucy whispers something in Liz’s ear and Liz nods.
“Jake… it was...interesting,” Liz says and Jake scowls. Then Liz does something that surprises me. Taking a deep breath she says, “Thank you for waiting with Lucy.” He’s obviously also surprised at her comment and he nods. She closes the space between us and we walk towards my truck.
Once inside, I smile at her and she smiles back. My eyes go to her mouth. I want to fucking kiss her, but not yet.
“This Matt guy isn’t going to be pissed at Jake being in there alone with her, right?” She giggles and shakes her head.
“Matt is her bodyguard.” She says surprising me. Why would Red need a guard?
“Why does she need a bodyguard?” I ask and she looks towards the windshield.
“It’s complicated,” she answers, her face a little sad so I decide to change the subject.
“Okay… so what would you like to eat?”
“Surprise me.”
“Are you sure about that?” I ask her, automatically knowing exactly where I wanted to take her.
“Yeah.”
“Okay… Let’s go.”
Chapter Five
Liz
He drives us to Brentwood, and I start to get slightly nervous at the fact that we’re now in a residential area instead of a commercial area close to restaurants. I glance at him trying not to smile. He’s driving this huge black truck and looks completely at ease. Something about watching the way he handles the truck, his mammoth looking hands on the steering wheel are strong and sexy. My mind is in overdrive wondering what else those hands can do.
“So… you don’t like birthdays?” he asks and I shake my head, trying not to let my thoughts go there.
“Why not?”
“My parents died the night of my tenth birthday.” I tell him quickly not looking at him, surprising myself that I shared that with him. It had taken me two birthdays to share that with the girls, and I don’t think I ever told Jake. Looking around, I notice the neighborhood we are in is older. Mature trees, huge beautiful houses with neatly trimmed lawns.
“Shit, Liz…,” he starts to say as he takes one hand off the steering wheel and places it on my knee. The heat from his hand feels strong… it feels right.
“It’s okay. It’s been eighteen years. Where are we going?” I ask trying to lighten the mood. I look at him as he glances at me and lightly squeezes my knee. Something about the silent way he tries to soothe me, forms a lump in my throat. He is definitely a sweet guy.
“My house, I can cook for you or we can order take out.”
“Your place?” I repeat, looking at his hand still on my knee, taking in the way that his thumb strokes my knee gently, with feather light touches and suddenly the truck feels really, really warm.
“Yeah, if that’s okay…I mean if you don’t feel safe we can go to…”
“It’s fine,” I blurt out, my cheeks heating up. I like the idea of looking at where he lives.
He parks in front of a beautiful Spanish style home, and I glance at it then back at him.
“You live here?” I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice if I had tried.
I’d expected a bachelor like him to live in an apartment or loft or maybe a condo, not an actual home. Shit. I had assumed he was a bachelor. Maybe he was a divorcee with three kids, he had every other weekend?
“Surprised?” He asks staring at me sitting back in the driver’s seat, obviously not in a hurry to get out.
“Honestly? Yes.” He smiled at my response.
“Not what you expected, huh?” he asks slyly and I laugh.
“Not at all.” I admit not able to bite away the smile that seems to be a permanent fixture around him.
“Good, I want to keep you on your toes.” He says. The way he carries himself, confident with a sliver of cockiness is beyond sexy.
We walk into his home and I can’t seem to keep my shock to myself as I take in the vision that is his home.
“How old are you?” I ask thinking maybe I missed something. He chuckles, and I notice even though I am deep in my own thoughts. Maybe he is divorced. Not that I am against it, he didn’t give off that vibe.
“Why?”
“You have a house.” I state and he grins, his grey eyes clearly amused with my reaction.
“Yeah...and?”
“Are you divorced?” I accidentally blurt out.
“Never been married.” he says now completely amused by my weird questions.
“Huh…umm...did you have a live in girlfriend and got to keep the house when you guys broke up?” he chuckles again and brings me in close. So close I thought he was going to kiss me and I realize that I would not be opposed to kissing him, if anything my lips tingle in anticipation. I want him to kiss me. I close my eyes, feeling his warm minty breath in front of my face, when I feel his lips on my nose. Nose!
“You’re cute, Liz. No live-in girlfriend ever. I’m thirty-four, like I told you last night, what about you, birthday girl?” he playfully squints his eyes at me.
“Still twenty-eight.”
“Twenty-eight, huh?” He smirks, his eyes on my mouth looking as if he sees something he really likes.
“Yup,” I mumble, trying to control my breathing. The warmth of his body, the scent of his cologne and his skin so close to me are doing funny things to my head.
“You’re a baby.” He says softly his face moving in closer to mine.
“Not even close.” I whisper, enjoying the ways he's holding me close and tight.
He’s playful and his eyes are bright and happy. His happiness is contagious. Being around him, makes me want him to know everything there could be to know about me. I want him to see every dark corner of me and still want me around. What is wrong with me?
“Have you been married before?” he asks still being playful by making slightly dramatic facial expressions and I laugh.
“No.” I smile.
“Engaged?” he squints obviously being playful.
“No.” I answer smiling
“Live with a boyfriend?” he asks and I hesitate and he tilts his face. His eyes softening slightly, he stays quiet clearly interested in what I have to say.
“Once upon a time, a lifetime ago… yes.” I admit as his hand goes to my cheek. The pad of his thumb strokes my jaw softly it surprises me. He is a big guy. Tall and broad, but he has the ability to be incredibly gentle.
“A lifetime ago, huh?”
“Yeah.” I whisper clearing my throat I ask, “Any kids?”
“Nope. No kids...You?”
“None.” I answer not able to step away from his hold. He smiles and steps back and I hear him take a deep breath.
“Let me give you the tour.” He points towards the living room and I look at it. Stark white walls, dark grey oversized couches, great art pieces on the wall.
I can sense his eyes on me and he clears his throat I look back at him.
“My younger sister did her undergraduate work at UCLA while I was in London and my mom didn’t want her living in a dorm, so I bought this place. She decorated it. She lived here until she graduated and a couple of months later I moved back here, so it worked out.” He shares and then extends his hands out, “As you can see, this is the living room.” grabbing my hand in his, our fingers intertwining as if we have held hands a million times before. He leads us to the open kitchen and dining room.
“My sister has a thing for white and greys if you haven't been able to tell.” he jokes and I smile.
“It’s a beautiful table though” I say, not able to stop myself from touching it. A farm style table sits in the center of the dining room. The wood has been distressed a beautiful white color. It is beautifully finished. It’s old, large, and simply charming.
“Wan
t to know a secret?” he asks pulling my hand to his lips, and I nod like an idiot, his lips touch my skin.
“I made that. Well I refinished it.”
“Really?” I ask surprised. I wasn’t sure what I thought about Parker, but I wasn’t surprised to know he could do something so manly with his hands, “It is beautiful, Parker.”
“Thanks. Want something to drink?” his hand in mine. I’m surprised at how incredibly comfortable I am with him. As if I’ve known him forever, instead of just mere hours.
“Water would be great.” He lets go of my hand, I watch him walk to the cabinets, bringing out two glasses filling them with ice and water from the fridge. As he does this I take a moment to look at the kitchen.
Like something you would see in a magazine. Beautiful white cabinets, some with glass doors that show off gorgeous square shaped grass green plates and mugs. Stunning white granite countertops with light glimmers of silver running through it, a double-oven, an exquisite six burner stove, a huge stainless steel double door refrigerator and a center island work station with a butcher countertop.
It is a kitchen that I would love to cook or bake in.
“Your kitchen is beautiful.”
“Thanks… anytime you want to bake me something… please, feel free.” he suggests and I laugh.
He shows me the guest bathroom and two guestrooms. One that obviously had been his sisters, since some of her things are still in residence there. He then walks with me into the master bedroom, which is beyond breathtaking.
“This is my room,” he says sounding a little nervous, and my breath hitches when I look at it.
Double French doors, with flowing wispy white curtains hung on bronze cast iron curtain rods hang from the very top of the wall. Beautiful floor to ceiling windows all around the room, allow the outside to flow in and bathe the room in warm light. Massive yet stunningly beautiful a wooden headboard is attached to a king sized bed in the middle of the room and it is adorned with soft black bedding.
He takes a step back then leads me into the master bathroom and it’s even better than the bedroom.
Etched in Stone (Six Degrees Series Book 2) Page 7