Page 53 of It's Always Sonny

A cold wind blows, and a collective shiver sweeps over the family. All except for me. PJ’s quirked eyebrow has me boiling inside.

Sienna laughs softly.

“Shake it off, Tay Tay.” Gabe says in my ear.

Daniel shoots after me, and he sinks his arrows into the red and blue rings. Not quite as good as PJ or I did, but not bad at all. He gets back in line behind me and says, “What’s the deal with Parker?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is she single?”

My boiling insides freeze over. I open my mouth to tell him no in the loudest and clearest of ways when I stop myself. I can’t tell him no, mostly because I don’t know the answer.

I can call dibs, though.

“She’s my ex.”

“I heard.”

I turn back to look at Daniel. I’ve never thought of him as a romantic rival, but he’s a good-looking guy. He looks like the pictures I’ve seen of our grandpa—tall, strong jaw, dark eyes. No dad bod in sight. He does well for himself, according to Nonna, who loves to brag about other grandkids when she’s talking to you, just to keep you in your place. You should hear her talk about the twins. They were part of some massive tech start-up that got bought out, and they gave Nonna a house and car when their payday came in. To hear Nonna tell it, Emma and Eli’s net worth makes mine look paltry. We all know she does it because she’s proud of us, but we also know she doesn’t mind trying to keep us humble.

If Nonna is to be believed, Daniel is a catch. And the dude better stay away from my girl.

“You would date my ex?”

“Why, do you have a problem with it?”

“Are you messing with me? Yes, I have a problem with it.”

“But would she?”

I want to punch his face a bit, but I look at PJ, at her over the top cheer. My PJ would eat Daniel for breakfast. This isn’t PJ, though. It’s … Parker. She’s a total mystery.

Doubt grips me.

I take a long look at her as she cheers for Lauren. In her casual sweatshirt and jeans, bouncing on the soles of her platform sneakers and throwing her hands in the air like she would after I’d scored a touchdown, she looks so much like the girl I fell in love with.

But with that wide smile that doesn’t touch her eyes, I barely recognize her.

“I have no idea.”

Chapter Fifteen

Parker

Iam spent.

I slept a total of zero seconds last night putting together this new itinerary, and then when I tried to take a catnap at five a.m. after I finished, my restless legs kicked in. Thank heavens for de-puffing facemasks, caffeine, and fake lashes, because nothing else could make me look as energized as I need to be today.

All I want is for Sonny and his family to be happy, and as much as I don’t want to impose on his family time, being with them when they’re so warm and welcoming is genuinely a dream come true.

If not for Sonny.

This morning, he seemed so happy to see me, but since then, it’s like he hasn’t wanted me encroaching on his territory. Every time his family asks me to stay, he practically pleads with them to stop.

Is this residual pain from our breakup? Or does he really not want me around anymore?

I love competing and playing with his family. I love competing and playing with him. Every once in a while, he’ll taunt or tease me, and it’s so exciting, I get almost dizzy. But then he stops himself, reels it back in, and seems like he’s trying to push me to be anywhere but here.

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