Page 97 of Forbidden Game

“You need rest, Syd.”

“I rested yesterday.”

“No, yesterday you were recovering from a flu you ignored.”

“Same thing.”

“No, it’s not.”

I’m trying to get mad at him, but it’s kind of impossible with the magic fingers he uses to ease all the tension out of my feet. God. I don’t even remember the last time I had any sort of massage.

“I looked into it. You haven’t used any of your PTO this year except for that weekend in April you always take. Even Mathias has used more PTO than you.”

I snort because the PTO I did use wasn’t even a relaxing one. I take the same weekend off every year because it’s the anniversary. It was an emotionally draining weekend.

“So?”

Parker squeezes my foot hard and lets go. My eyes close, and a moan slips past my lips at the feeling.

“So, I’m forcing you to take time off. We all are.”

I crack my eyes and stare at him.

“Parker, now isn’t the time for me to take time off.”

“There’s never a perfect time, Syd.”

I open my mouth to argue, except he has a point. I never take a break because it never seems like it’s the right time. I keep waiting until there is enough of a lull or something comes up where it makes sense.

I let out a huff and pull my feet from his grasp, tucking them under my butt.

The pretty boy is trying to distract me.

“What do you want me to do, Parker?” I drain the last of my juice.

Parker takes the glass from my hands and places it on the coffee table before dragging me from my corner of the couch. He places me on top of his body and cocoons me in his arms, his legs cradling mine.

His warmth seeps into me and lulls me. My traitorous body relaxes into his hold, feeling safe with him.

“I want you to spend the day with me doing absolutely nothing. And then tomorrow, you are going with Stevie, Lee, and Deer for a spa day at a hot spring up in Napa.”

“I can’t just go to Napa.”

“Sure, you can. I booked the helicopter and everything already.”

I blink at the mention of a helicopter and force myself to ignore it.

“Helicopter aside, we have to leave for Miami tomorrow.”

“Syd, I promise you, I am perfectly capable of going to the tournament by myself. You can’t look after me if you aren’t looking after yourself. The girls all agreed, so you can’t back out. They’ll hunt you down if you skip it.”

Traitors.

There are a lot of things I can get around, but trying to avoid all three women? Basically impossible. Especially since Lee has been begging for us to do a girls’ trip for eons.

What a sneaky man.

I hate him and love him.

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