Page 66 of Chosen

Eventually, though, I headed back into the cabin, giving them space as I sat down with my laptop. My mind was still reeling from Anthony’s offer earlier, and it wasn’t like I’d had a lot of time to process it since Parker had shown up just when I’d told Damon about the situation. Wanting to weigh my options the best way I knew how, I started a pros and cons document, going through every possible scenario, including ones where I straight up told Anthony that I couldn’t do my job outside of Roanoke, that he’d have to find a clone of me if he wanted my quality work, no one could ever take my place, etc.…

By the time I was finished, the document was well over twenty pages long.

It also looked like the sun was setting? Which couldn’t have been right since I’d just sat down—

“Sorry that took so long,” Damon said, as he walked back into the cabin, Parker right behind him. “I really thought things would go a little faster than that.”

“Yeah, sorry to leave you on your own like that,” Parker apologized, too. “I think sometimes we get so caught up in the thrill of handiwork. Or at least one of us does.”

“Well, the good news is that there’s always tomorrow,” Damon replied. “We can head up to Wild Woods HQ, then. No point going out there tonight. You wouldn’t be able to appreciate any of it in the dark.”

“I also don’t feel like driving back right now, to tell you the whole truth.” Parker shrugged. “Working on a car all day? And then getting in the car to drive? That’s overkill if you ask me.”

“Would you be okay if Parker stayed for dinner?” Damon asked, his full attention now on me. “And if he stayed the night, too? Just to make things easier on him.”

“Of course.” I smiled, even as nerves bubbled underneath the surface of my skin. “Parker can stay for as long as he’d like.”

“Yes!” Parker pumped a fist into the air. “I’m this much closer to a Damon dinner.”

“Who said anything about me cooking dinner?” Damon quirked an eyebrow. “I was thinking we could go pick out a frozen pizza at the convenience store—”

Before Damon had a chance to finish his response, Parker punched him in the shoulder.

“Don’t! Don’t fuck with me!” Parker laughed. “If you’re not cooking dinner, I swear I’ll walk back to HQ right now.”

“Why would you walk when you could take the car?”

“Because I want you to feel bad if I get eaten by a bear!” Parker laughed again. “I’m willing to risk it all if you don’t cook dinner for us tonight!”

“Fine! Okay! I’ll get started on dinner!” Damon laughed now, too. “Just give me a sec to come up with something.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for the smell of Damon’s cooking to waft through the house, the scent taunting us as it floated through the air. Parker and I had been waiting in the living room for Damon to finish up, Parker mostly on his phone and me mostly on my laptop. Still, it was a comfortable kind of silence, like we were familiar with each other.

Thank God.

I didn’t want to imagine what it would’ve been like to be awkward around Parker. It was bad enough that my future with Damon felt like it was slipping through my fingers, I didn’t need Parker to trigger a bout of sudden social anxiety, too.

“Dinner’s ready!” Damon called out as he stepped into the living room, setting dishes down on a nearby table. Parker leapt at the announcement, sitting at the table, hastily putting his phone in his back pocket. I followed suit, also making my way over to the table.

“This looks great, Damon,” Parker started, his eyes wide as he looked at the spread.

“Yeah, this looks amazing,” I added, as I grabbed for my fork, locking eyes with a nearby pasta dish. “Like something off one of those home cooking shows.”

“Thanks for the compliments, guys.” Damon smiled, before he went back to the kitchen, a few seconds later bringing out another dish and setting it down on the table. When he was finished, he took a seat at the head of the table, right across from Parker and me.

A silence fell over the room, only filled by the sounds of chewing and the occasional moan of pleasure from how good the food was. I looked over at Damon a few times, subtly, not wanting to tip Parker off about anything going on between us—

Wait.

Did Parker already know?

What if Damon had told him while they were working on the car together earlier?

The question rolled around in my head, as I quietly continued with my meal, sparing a glance or two over at Parker as I tried to read his mind.

“Did I ever tell you about the time Damon made everyone evacuate HQ because of a deer?”

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