Page 27 of The Proximity Factor

Parker glanced at me warily.

“I really appreciate you coming home with me today,” I said, hoping to ease the tension.

“There’d better be potato salad.” He grinned.

Oh, that smile of his. It wasn’t the you-are-all-the-universes kind of smile I’d seen in those photos of him—I knew I would never get one of those from him—but his run-of-the-mill smile was comforting and warm.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your potato salad—along with a big heaping side of scrutiny.”

Parker grimaced.

“Just tell my mama I repulse you, and hopefully that will do the trick.”

“I’m not going to lie.” His ears turned a shade of Barbie pink.

Surprised, I tilted my head. “I don’t repulse you?” Daphne had surmised as much, but I wasn’t so sure. Truth be told, she was sure that he was attracted to me. Part of me hoped it was true, even though I knew I shouldn’t wish for such things. Something about the thought of a smart guy like him being attracted to me gave me hope that maybe someday I would find my own cute nerd. Even so, Parker and I were all wrong for each other. Besides, it would make living with each other awkward.

He cleared his throat before jumping in the car. “We’d better get going.”

Well, that answered that question. I didn’t totally repulse him. Smiling, I opened the door and slid into his impeccably clean car that still had the lingering new-car smell mixed with Parker’s spicy scent. It was nice. Real, real nice. I settled into the soft light-brown leather seat. “Wow, this is comfy.”

“Yeah,” Parker said, full of melancholy, as he pushed the button to start his car.

“Hey.” I rested a hand on his thigh before I even thought about it. I blame it on southern mannerisms—we’re handsy down here. While my hand was there, it couldn’t help but notice how lean and toned his leg was. My fingers thought about digging in, but I popped those babies off before they did something stupid. “Uh,” I said hastily to cover up my actions. “My mama always says not to borrow trouble. Everything will come out in the wash.”

Parker stared at the spot on his leg where my hand had just been. “I’m not sure things will work out this time. At least not the way I want them to.”

It pleased me he understood what I meant. “So you do speak southern.”

Parker chuckled. “I’ve picked up a few things.” He carefully backed the car out of the garage.

“You’ll need to use those skills today. Mama is about as southern as they come.”

“Duly noted.” He clicked the garage door opener to close the door.

I gave him general directions, and we were on our way.

“Do you mind if I connect my phone to your car’s sound system?” I asked as he turned out of the neighborhood.

“I suppose,” he grumbled. “How often do you talk to my sister? She’s conveniently not answering my calls right now.”

Daphne mentioned she was ignoring him. “It depends on the day. But we update each other on our Wordle score every day. She’s a smart one. I call her the Wordle Witch.”

Parker’s lips twitched.

“I saw that, by the way. Go ahead, smile. It won’t kill you, I promise. Neither will my budding friendship with your sister.”

“That’s debatable.”

“You say that now, but how else would I have known that you have a semiserious crush on Amy Lee and that you think her voice is a national treasure?” When I clicked play on my phone, the car filled with the ethereal voice of the aforementioned singer. I had to admit, she was amazing. I mean, she wouldn’t replace Taylor Swift for me, but I got her appeal.

Parker instantly relaxed when he heard her voice coming through his amazing Bose sound system.

I didn’t mention it. Instead, I pulled up my list of getting-to-know-you questions on my phone.

“Maybe I should start calling your brother,” Parker half groused.

“It wouldn’t bother me. But ... for your wellbeing, you might want to think twice about it. You are, after all, living with his baby sister. He won’t care whether that’s platonic or not.”

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