Page 43 of The Proximity Factor

“What is your mom saying?” I asked indignantly. I’d played by the woman’s rules and jumped through her hoops.

“That’s neither here nor there right now. What’s important is that you don’t sell your Porsche.”

“No deal.” I popped off the wall and opened the door.

“Parker,” she raised her voice. “If you sell that car, you’re going to hurt your sister and leave her with an incredible amount of guilt. Is that what you want?”

“That’s the last thing I want.” I steeled myself, ready with my defense. “Lanie, this is the only chance I have left to keep my company alive. If this doesn’t work, it’s over. My dreams are done. But my biggest dream is to be the brother Daphne needs me to be. Don’t you see I’m doing this for her? I promised her a better life than the one my bastard of a father left her. And ... I want out of this hellhole situation.” I wanted to add that I hoped if I got out of the hole, she might wait for me at the top. But I’d been as vulnerable as I could be at the moment.

“Parker,” she whispered. “You are so maddening and wonderful, and I just want to shake you.”

I paused in the hallway, catching hold of her summation of me. “You think I’m wonderful?”

“Well ... sometimes,” she sang. “I don’t know many men who would go to the lengths you have gone to help someone.”

“So let me go the distance,” I begged her to not convince me otherwise.

She took a moment to think. “Okay,” she relented. “But just promise me you’ll wait until I get home before you do this.”

“I can’t.” I felt a gorgeous trap being set for me.

“Please, Parker. I don’t want you to be alone when you do this. At least let me be there to hold your hand figuratively, or, you know, physically, if you’d like. You deserve that.”

She had no idea what her offer meant to me. Did I ever want to hold her hand, but I wanted to be worthy of it. I wasn’t sure I could let her watch me in my last act of desperation. The final nail in my coffin of loserdom. “Thank you, Lanie, but I can’t let you be there.”

“Why?” she demanded to know. “Because you think you’re a loser? Is that what this is all about?” She didn’t let me answer. “Well, you need to get over that and your stupid pride. You know, maybe if you let someone in, they might be able to help you. I could help you.”

“How?” I asked before I could stop myself, a little ticked off she was scolding me in a moment like this.

“Well, what if—now hear me out—what if I loaned you the money for this expo thingy, and if it goes well, you can pay me right back? If not, you sell your car afterward to pay me back.”

“That’s a no go.” No way was I borrowing money from Lanie. Might as well stamp loser on my forehead right now.

“You’re being so ridiculous and stubborn. Give me one good reason why?”

“I’ll give you two. First, you don’t even know how expensive this thing is. Second, you hardly know me. You would be an idiot to give me money.”

“Fine. I’ll give you those. But sometimes you have to take a chance on somebody. And as far as I can tell, you deserve a chance.”

Damn, she was good. But ... “I appreciate the sentiment more than you will ever know. I just can’t let you do this.”

“Yes, you can. You just don’t want to,” she argued.

“Do you think I wanted any of this?” I snapped.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” she was snippy right back. “But you’re being your own worst enemy here. There are so many people in your life who care about you and want to help, but you don’t want to acknowledge that because life hasn’t turned out the way you wanted. Well, guess what, buddy? Join the club. It has some pretty fantastic members in it, me included. And news flash: being in the club doesn’t stop me from living my life or letting people in, even though I know some of them will disappear or even disappoint me. But the ones who have stuck around, they’ve been worth the pain of everyone I’ve ever lost.”

The woman knew how to put someone in their place. I had no comeback as I thought about her infuriating, but wise, words.

“Now stay there until I get home,” she insisted. “I’m going with you to sell your car because I think you are someone who may be, and I mean may be, worth sticking around for. Got it?”

She was masterfully good. Too good ... for me. But I wanted her to stick around. All I had left to do was give in to her. “I’ll be here when you get home.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye, Parker.”

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