Leave the Lights On (25 page)

“Are you thinking of having a party like this yourself someday soon?”

Parker nearly spit out his beer.
How the hell does she do that?
“Do they teach mind reading in physiology class?”

“No, I’m part gypsy. And I’m right, aren’t I?” She leaned closer. “Are you gonna propose to her?”

Lying to Tanya was pointless. “I’m planning to. Just waiting for the right time.”

In all the time he’d known her, he’d never seen Tanya get even remotely weepy, but when he looked at her, he saw tears in her eyes. “Aww, kid. Good for you.”

“I haven’t done it yet.”

“No, but you will. I get to come to the wedding, right? I bet she’ll plan a hell of a great wedding.”

Parker laughed. “If there’s a wedding, I promise yours will be the first invitation we send.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sunlight streamed through the bedroom window as Parker watched Sophie getting dressed. She looked so beautiful with her hair spilling down across her shoulders as she bent to put on her jeans. All he could think about was pulling her back into bed. He reached around her waist, tugging her off balance so she fell onto the mattress beside him.

He kissed her, groaning when she pulled away. “I really wish you didn’t have to go on this trip.”

Sophie laughed. “I’ll only be gone two days.”

“That’s two days too many.” He kissed her again, feeling her relax as she sank into the soft comforter.

“Mmmmm, I have to go. I’m gonna miss my plane.”

“Your plane’s not for three hours,” he whispered as he nibbled her ear.

“Yes, and I have to go home, shower and get to the airport.” She gave him a quick peck on the forehead and hopped off the bed, snatching her shirt off his nightstand.

“Call me when you get there.”

“I will.” She blew him a kiss and disappeared into the hallway. He listened as she trotted down the stairs and out the back door then he turned to look out the window, watching as she walked across her yard.

He flopped back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. Two days. It wasn’t a long time but he had a feeling it was going to feel like a lifetime. Not only was he going to miss her, but when she returned he was planning to take her back to where they had their first date and propose. He opened the drawer on his bedside table and reached to the back. The small black box fit neatly in the palm of his hand, the velvet so soft it felt warm.

It creaked when he opened it. The shiny diamond seemed to smile up at him. His father had given him the ring when he’d turned eighteen. “This was the ring your grandfather gave to your grandmother, and I gave it to your mom. One day I hope you get to give it to the woman you love.”

At the time, Parker had assumed the ring would go to Chrissie. Although they did technically get engaged in college, they’d never made it official. That was supposed to happen the summer after junior year, but by then everything had changed. The ring had remained in its box, in his room, at his house, untouched for all these years. Parker was certain it was time the ring found a new home. On Sophie’s hand.
If she’ll have it.
He could see himself slipping it onto her finger. Could hear her saying yes.

The doorbell rang, startling him out of his daydream. Knowing that Sophie would have just come in had she forgotten something, he pulled on a pair of sweat pants and grabbed a T-shirt, tugging it on as he trotted downstairs to get the door.

Seeing Chrissie standing on his front porch knocked the wind out of him.

“Can I come in?” she asked, chewing on her lower lip.

Parker remained frozen for a second then stepped aside. “Yeah. Sure. I guess.”

Chrissie walked into the house, turning in a slow circle. She wore a short summer dress, flowery, her blonde hair curled, makeup perfect. She looked as if she could have been heading to a party, while Parker stood there, barefoot, one minute out of bed.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, not even bothering to close the front door.

Chrissie pointed to the living room. “Can we sit down?”

Parker raked his hand through his hair, realizing how much it was sticking up as his fingers worked through some tangles. “Okay.”

He sat on the end cushion, expecting Chrissie to sit on the far side of the sofa but instead she plunked down next to him, crossing her leg so her foot was practically touching his shin.
What the hell?

“I would have called first but I was afraid you’d tell me not to come.”

Reasonable fear.
“I might have.”

“Then I’m glad I just came over.” She took a deep breath and looked around the room. “God, so many memories in here. Do you remember how many times we made out on this couch, listening to hear if your dad was coming down the stairs?”

Of course I do.
“Sure.”

“Do you think about it?”

“About what?”

“What it was like when we were together.”

Parker shook his head. “No.”

“I do.” She stood up and walked over to the table by the front window. Running her fingers over the ceramic pitcher, she grinned. “Remember when we knocked this over?”

Parker couldn’t help but chuckle. They’d been dry humping on the floor and one of them had bumped the table. The handle had cracked clean off and they’d spent the rest of the night trying out different kinds of glue until it finally reattached. “Krazy Glue and a coat of clear nail polish.”

“Did your dad ever find out?”

“If he did, he didn’t say anything.”

“Those are the kind of nights I remember.” She strolled back over to the couch and sat down again, tucking her legs under herself, facing him. Her eyes were filled with sadness. “My marriage is a disaster.”

“I told you already, I’m sorry to hear that.” He was. For the most part. He didn’t want her to be unhappy. But the thought that Mr. Perfect On Paper wasn’t so perfect in reality wasn’t an unpleasant one.

“I was such an idiot. You were everything I ever wanted. It was so hard when you were traveling. All those away games. I kept thinking that was what it would be like if we were married. That you’d be traveling all the time, and I’d spend half my days missing you. Jarrod was going to be a lawyer. I figured, great, they don’t travel. I thought I was saving myself from being lonely. Boy, was I wrong.”

Parker stared at her, wondering if he was having some weird dream because what she was saying sounded far too surreal. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you still wonder what it would be like. I mean, don’t you ever? We were so good together. Don’t you remember the heat?”

“Chrissie that was all a million years ago.” Parker shifted, feeling uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading. He’d spent years wondering what it would have been like to have sex with Chrissie. But that was a long time ago.

“It doesn’t feel like that long to me. I felt it as soon as I saw you again. Didn’t you?”

Did I? Not really.
Sure, there was history and she was still an attractive woman, but heat? “No.”

“Well, I did. And I can’t stop thinking about it. About you.” She looked into his eyes and for a split second he saw the old Chrissie. The spark was back in her eyes. He flashed back to their times on that very couch. “It’s not too late, you know. We could still find out. We could…” She looked down at her lap then up at him.

“What are you talking—”

Before he could finish his sentence her lips were on his. Her mouth was hot, aggressive, her tongue pushing its way into her mouth. Floored, he sat still for a second then grabbed her shoulders to push her away. Instead of moving back, she swung herself onto his lap, straddling him, sinking her hands into his hair.

He wrenched his mouth away from hers. “What the hell?”

Looking past Chrissie his heart fell into his stomach. Sophie stood in the front doorway, mouth gaping open. “I’m sorry,” she stammered, stepping backward, nearly tripping over the entryway. “I left my watch upstairs. I…never mind.”

Watching her turn and run out the door, Parker felt as if his head might explode. “Fuck.”

He scrambled off the couch and ran after Sophie, catching her just as she got to her car.

“Soph, it’s not what it looked like.”

“It looked like you were sitting on the couch kissing Chrissie.”

Okay, so it is what it looked like. Fuck.
“That’s not what I meant.”

“Jesus, Parker, you could have at least waited until I was out of town. Your bed’s still warm from us.”

The horrified look on her face made Parker feel like throwing up. “She just showed up. I had no idea she was coming over.”

“Whatever. Better I found out now than—” Her voice caught, and he could tell she was fighting off tears.

“There’s nothing going on. I swear to you.”

“I know what I saw.” She scrambled inside her car and yanked the door shut.

“Sophie, stop. Don’t leave like this.”

Through the window he could see tears streaming down her face. She grabbed the gearshift, threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway at warp speed. Watching her take off down the street, all Parker could remember was the night of his accident. Driving. Upset. Distracted.
Oh God.

He raced into the house and grabbed his keys off the hall table and jammed his feet into a pair of sneakers. “Lock up when you leave,” he yelled to Chrissie.

“I’ll wait here. Or I’ll come back…”

Parker stared at her for a second. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t going to happen. We’re over, Chrissie. We’ve been over for a long time. It took me a long time to get over what you did, but I did. And I’m happy now. With Sophie. I love her. And you don’t get to ruin my life a second time. Lock up when you leave. Or don’t. I don’t care. Just don’t be here anymore. And don’t come back.”

Speeding off after Sophie, Parker found it impossible to keep the bad thoughts at bay. He kept seeing the look on her face. So hurt. So shocked. Bewildered. And all for nothing. The kiss with Chrissie meant nothing to him.
Please let her be okay.
His accident replayed over and over in his mind as he zipped through the streets.

Shit. What airline did she say she was flying?
Praying that he remembered correctly, he pulled into short-term parking and ran through the terminal, scanning the check-in lines.
Where is she?
As he spun around he saw her riding the escalator up to the security checkpoint.
Fuck.
If she made it through security before he got to her, he wouldn’t be able to get to her.

He took the escalator steps two at a time, catching up to her just before she showed her ticket to the TSA guard.

“Sophie, please, talk to me.”

She pulled away from him. “No. I’m gonna miss my flight. I can’t believe you followed me here.”

“I’ll go downstairs and buy a fucking ticket if I have to and follow you all the way to Cleveland if you don’t let me explain what happened before you get on that plane.”

People were staring. The transit cop by the security entrance eyed them both. Sophie glanced around, her face flushed. “Fine. But just for a minute.”

“Thank you.”
Thank you.

He led her to a quiet alcove near the courtesy phone. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you walked in when you did, but it wasn’t what you thought. Chrissie rang the doorbell right after you left. She was acting all weird and talking about the past and she leaned over and kissed me. It lasted for a nanosecond before I pushed her away and you were standing there. That’s all that happened.”

“That’s all? You were on the couch making out with your old fiancée and that’s all that happened? Sorry, Parker. Been down this road before. I walked in on Nate and told myself never again.”

Parker cursed Chrissie and himself for being such an ass that he didn’t see what was happening in time to stop her. “Listen to me. Chrissie means nothing to me. Nothing. I’ve known that for a long time but today really underscored it. I didn’t know you were standing in the doorway. For all I knew, you were already on your way out of town. I didn’t even kiss her back. I pushed her off me. I felt nothing.”

As he said it, he realized it was true. He’d have thought old feelings would have made him more curious. That old habits would have kicked in and he’d have at least kissed her back. But he didn’t. It all felt totally foreign to him. It felt wrong.

Sophie’s face remained tense, her brow furrowed, lips tight, eyes dark and angry.

“Do you really not know how I feel about you?” he asked, reaching out, running his hands up and down her arms.

She didn’t pull away.
Please let that be a good sign.

“I thought I did,” she said. “Now I don’t…I’m not…”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Her mouth fell open. “Don’t…”

“Don’t what? Don’t tell you how much I love you? Don’t tell you that I wake up every day happy to know you’re in my life and go to sleep every night thanking God that we found our way back to each other?”

“Parker…”

“Marry me.” He hadn’t planned to say it. Not like that. Not with security guards eyeing them from five feet away and Sophie holding a carry-on bag and about to get on a plane. He didn’t even have the ring.