Waiting (13 page)

Parker looked dazed. I could tell he was thinking, trying to replay it over in his mind no doubt, while I tried not to think about the fact that he'd stayed with another woman only a few weeks ago. I shouldn't care, didn't have the right to really, but it still stung.

"And Tiny. I know you saw him
a while
ago. He's gone too."

This seemed to surprise Parker even more.

"No. He's not. I talked to him last week. But Sam might be missing. Since there's a chance that it was my fault, I have to look for her."

"You don't
have
to do anything, but you will. And I'll help. Tommy and Gunner will be here
tomorrow
to help as well. I know you trust them, or you wouldn't have contacted them when you were there."

"Yes, but if they plan on helping, why are you making them come here? We can start the search for Sam there."

Francis walked around the corner to my kitchen then called for Parker to join him. He hesitated, then kissed my cheek and rose, quickly disappearing too.

I flopped my head back on the couch, only it didn't hit the couch, it hit a solid chest that I soon learned was Francis'. Parker now stood in front of m
e, eyes blazing, a muscle ticking
in his jaw while glaring at Francis behind me.

"See. This is why I'm having them come here. You can decide who y
ou want to stay behind with her.  I can be one of the two
but then you won't be able to communicate telepathically while being stealth." They could only talk to
each other
? It must not be a universal vampire trait then.

Francis continued to sit, his legs on the outside of my body, a hand playing lightly with strands of my hair. He was trying to sway Parker
's vote for them to go together
and it seemed to be working.

"You made your point. Stop touching her."

Before he could explode
I
extracted
myself an
d moved to stand by the windows. Parker's body visibly shed
his tension. I loved his possessiveness, if that's what it was, though I didn't want to be the reason he fought with his brother, or was distracted while looking for his friend. I couldn't be jealous of a friend looking for a friend, right?

"How long will you be gone?"
 

Parker moved fast before coming to a halt right in front of me, taking the same chunk of hair Francis had and smoothed it against the rest.

"A
few days. Tops. If you need me
I'll only be two hours from you. Tommy and Gunner won't bother you. In fact, they might not even show themselves to you while they watch
over
you." I
nodded
, but must've still looked sad because he changed the subject immediately. "Tell you what. Why don't you call Jules and tell her we'll meet them for dinner tonight."
 
He chuckled when I lit up. "Go call her while I let Francis out."

A thought
occurred
to me before I made it all the way down the hallway and turned back to face him. Francis and him both looked at me questioningly when
I
hesitated.

I’d watched plenty of relationships go down the drain while the woman was obliviously making long-term plans by themselves. That was a trait I planned on never having.

"Umm... we don't
have
to do dinner with them." They both continued to stare. "I mean, you don't
have to do anything you don’t…”

Francis' lips twitched before excusing himself from this awkward confrontati
on. Parker walked slowly toward
me, stopping less than a breath away
,
making me crane my neck to look into his eyes.

"
I know I don’t
have
to do anything.
I
want
to date you. 
If
you
don
't wana
date then I'll court you, worship you, anything you want as long as you allow me in your life."

He bent down when I stood on my tip toes to kiss him.

"Dating sounds good." Though the idea of him worshipping me
sounded like
fun.

NINE

"So there I
a
m, crouching down behind this
massive
boulder in the middle of Africa, just waiting for that lion to come rip me from lim
b to limb, when all of a sudden
out of
nowhere
one of the guides on the
tour bus comes charging toward
me and fires three shots." Bruce and Jules both gasped. "T
he lion fell a few feet from me.  A
pparently he'd been in midair when the guide saved my life."

"Unbelievable."

"Wow
.
"

We were at dinner with my friends, Parker blowing them away with story after story, whic
h I'm pretty sure were modified
because he could've ripped a lion apart with his bare hands if he wanted to.

When Parker showed back up at my apartment an hour ago, it was all I could do to keep breathing at the sight of him. He wore a tailored Armani suit, a white dress shirt sculpted to his form, showing me everything that I was missing.
His new do fit perfectly with the fancy clothes and muscled form.

I spent two hours getting ready and still felt like a mess compared to him. My strapless light blue dress hung below my knees, silver heels made me come
just shy of
his shoulders and my hair was wavy and parted on the side.
Of course my pearls were the finishing touch.
When I came out of the shower I found all my perfume missing, assumed Parker had gotten rid of them because the scents were too strong
,
and
was only wearing
deodorant
tonight. It wasn't quite fair, since he
emitted
a scent that drew me in. And others, I noticed.

"It seems you've been living quite the life, Parker." Julie took a sip of her water before placing it back down. "You're probably done with that though, and ready to settle down?"

My eyes widened and stared at her. What was she doing?

"Absolutely." Parker didn't hesitate. His answer came immediately and sounded so sure, like there's nothing else in the world that he wanted more than that.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Julie stood, then waited for me.

She was going to hound me and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but I did have to use the restroom.

Parker stood and pulled out my chair, then helped me stand while holding onto one of my hands, which he kissed before watching me walk away. Gentleman seemed too tame of a word, what with all that sexual energy rolling off him.

Julie took my hand and led me across the
well-manicured
restaurant.
 
Red and white
tablecloths
adorned each table, with black
candlesticks
to make the setting romantic. We usually ate in bars or chain
restaurants
when we went out, but tonight, Julie picked this place instead. It seems she was on a mission to land me a keeper, and though she had nothing to do with it, he might just be.

She didn't bring anything up until we were washing our hands and checking our faces.

"He is the perfect combination of man. Sweet, charming, sexy, knows how to tell a good story and how to listen. When did he pop back into your life? Wait, don't tell me, I'll ask him when we get back. I l
ove how he tells stories."

I do
too.

"He
is
amazing.
 
I actually want to keep this one." I
smiled
at her when she lit up. "Don't scare him away tonight and maybe we can go out to dinner next week, when he's back in town." I'd almost said,
once he finds his friend
, but stopped myself just in time.

"I am so happy for you!
" She couldn't contain
her glee
and it was pretty obvious. "I'll be on my best behavior, promise."

We came back out to our table and our meals quickly followed suit. Parker ordered a rare steak and I found myself waiting for him to take a bite. I'd never seen him eat anything before and found watching his jaw work
mesmerizing
while he chewed. He winked at me and took another bite while I turned to focus on my own meal.

"So how and when did you two run into
each other
again? I doubt you've been in contact since high school."
 

I rolled my eyes and stuffed some mashed pot
atoes in my mouth to keep
busy, and not staring at the beautiful being next to me. It worked, until he started talking.

"Happy coincidence actually. It was last Friday and I was on my way home when out of the Hilton walks the beautiful Piper." He paused here to kiss my cheek. I closed my eyes and my lashes brushed against his skin. "I reintroduced myself and we ended up sharing a cab together. We talked until after midnight, then I walked her to her door and said good night after giving her my number."
 
Well some of that was true. "She didn't call me, but we ran into
each other
again on Wednesday night
where I tried again to woo her enough to give me a chance." Julie giggled. "Then I showed up at her doorstep this morning, she called in sick and now we're enjoying a very lovely dinner with her closest friends."

"Amazing." Bruce smiled at me. "All you needed was a guy that took initiative."

I smiled back but didn't respond. This was borderline embarrassing, what with the man I'd dreamt about for years hearing about my non-
existent
dating life from my friends. I know he already knew how much of a loser I was, but it was embarrassing all the same.
Not as embarrassing as this afternoon, but still.

"Wait. Francis showed up last night and said he needed to talk to you." She turned to face her husband and explain. "Francis is Parker's brother." He nodded in understanding and she turned back to face us. "Did you tell him to go get her or what happened there? How did Francis even meet her?"

Uh, oh.

"Francis was with me last Friday when we ran into
each other. I introduced them
then sent him on his way so I could be alone with her. Last night he saw her in the bar and was on his way to meet me, and since I've been talking about her non-stop, he decided to surprise me, bringing her to dinner with us."

Few, close one. He's a fast thinker.

"It's like a fairy tale love story. You just keep running into
each other
." Julie accepted his story with ease, not questioning him anymore. "That also explains his clear dislike of Brian." She pursed her lips together as soon as the words escaped her.

"Brian?" Parker asked, though I knew he already knew.

"Brian Collins, from high school. You went to his senior keg party. Remember?" Now I was in on the acting and felt a zing of emotion roll through me when his lips twitched.

"Oh, yes. Now I remember." He looked back at Julie. "Sorry
if Francis was rude to anybody.  H
e seems to live by the motto, act first, think later."

The table laughed again.

"The senior keg party. That brings back memories, huh? Why didn't you come to the reunion last Friday?"

"I didn't really have all that many friends back then, and didn't think anybody I cared to see would be there." He looked at me and we smiled at
each other
.

"You weren't real popular with the football team since they begged and begged you to play for them, but you continued to say no and ended up just working on play sets instead of putting that muscular body to work." Parker just shrugged. "But you were really popular among the girls, especially Ashley Goodwin." My heart started to pound too loudly. "You guys made out or something and she talked about you for years, but she said you practically fell off the face of the Earth and was impossible to contact." Julie looked amused and
curios
.

Parker stiffened beside me, though his face remained relaxed.
He’d told me that he’d rem
oved the kissing memory from her
mind
, but I guess it didn’t work
.

"We kissed one time and it was nothing memorable."

To keep from looking into his emotional eyes, I picked up my drink and took a big gulp of wine before smil
ing at Bruce who seemed to be
enjoying himself as much as Julie.