Page 57 of Maverick

“Thank you. I’ll give you a tour after we settle you into your rooms,” Maureen offered.

“Rooms? As in plural?” Maverick frowned in confusion.

Parker let out a snort of laughter, causing Maverick to lean over and whisper in her ear.

“I guess you’ll have to sneak into my room.”

She shook her head with a smile. “No way. I am not having sex in your parents’ house,” she whispered back.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, making her laugh again.

After entering the house, Parker followed Maverick as he carried their bags upstairs and showed her to his old room that his parents had turned into a guest room. He set down their bags and sat on the edge of the bed while Parker took a seat beside him.

“I really like your parents.”

“I used to,” he mumbled bitterly.

“I heard that,” his mother chimed in as she entered the room.

Maverick laughed sheepishly. “Sorry, Mom.”

“If you had told me, you wanted just one room, I wouldn’t have made up the other room,” Maureen joked.

“It’s okay.” Parker smiled genuinely.

“No, it’s not. Mom, we’re sleeping in this room together.”

“I figured as much. I’ll see you both downstairs in fifteen minutes for lunch.” She gave Maverick a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s good to have you home, honey.” And with that, she left the room.

****

Maverick relaxed on the back porch with his feet resting on the deck rail, sipping a beer and enjoying the day with his dad. Inside, Parker was laughing with his mom, and he couldn’t help but grin at the sound.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” his dad commented.

“What?”

“Parker and your mother laughing together.”

Maverick chuckled in agreement.

“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” his dad asked.

“Yeah, she really does.”

“You haven’t brought a woman home since Kat. I’m glad to see you happy. Parker seems like a wonderful woman.”

“She is.”

“I can tell you’re in love with her. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

Maverick glanced at his dad before turning his gaze back to the scenery. “Yes, I am. But I don’t know how she feels yet.”

“You haven’t told her?”

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