Page 47 of Parker

Several times tonight—earlier, in the taxi, for example, and again when we were laughing together about the sea lion pups—I wanted to tell her how I feel about her, how I’ve felt about her for as long as I can remember. But with cab drivers and lost children interrupting me every time, I have to consider that the universe is trying to tell me something, and it’s this. Slow down. It’s thesame advice my mystery texter gave me.Don’t move too fast or you’ll piss her off.

But our time in Vegas—only three more nights, including this one—is halfway over. And if we return to Skagway without my telling her how I feel, I fear things could revert back to how they were. I mean, I won’t start pranking and teasing her again, but being home might make her start hating me again. And after seeing her smiles, and sharing her laughter, and holding her sweet, sexy body in my arms? How could I bear that?

I couldn’t.

I couldn’t bear it.

While I’ve been in my head, I’ve also been enjoying our embrace, so it’s over way too soon. She pulls away, looking up at me, her expression as surprised as mine. I loosen my arms around her, remembering that she wasn’t too pleased with Rick Jones’s handsy ways, andIjust pulled her into a full-body hug.

“Sorry,” I say. “I just—”

“It’s okay,” she says, taking a step away from me, though her eyes are bright, and her smile is sweet. “I needed a hug, too.”

“I swear, if he comes near you again…” I growl.I’ll fucking level him to the ground. “I’ll be watching, Park.”

“Thanks for that,” she says, “but I’ll be okay. I’m pretty sure that coming near me is the last thing he wants to do.”

We pass a sculpture of a five-headed cobra—more good theming—and finally come to thecoup de graceof the whole attraction: the first of two shark tunnels. As if on cue, a sea turtle glides over our heads, eliciting a delighted gasp from Parker, who covers her mouth with one hand and points upward with the other.

“Quinn!” she cries. “Look!”

“Handsome beast.”

She beams at me, then back at the turtle, who swims out of view.

“This is the best,” she sighs.

I’m staring at her beautiful face. “Agree.”

We visit the blue-lit jellyfish tank, which reminds me of a piece of modern art, and at the sunken ship, Neptune’s Fury, with its many viewing windows. Sharks and fish of all kinds swim round and round the tank, but nothing comes close to grabbing Parker’s attention like the turtle did. Walking through one more 360-degree tunnel, we exit the aquarium into a small gift shop.

Directly in front of us is a three-tiered display of ceramic turtles in various colors and sizes. I choose one the approximate color of my eyes, place it in the center of my palm and show it to Parker.

“If I get this for you,” I ask her, “would you throw it at me?”

Her lips wobble for a second before she lets herself smile. “No.”

“No, don’t buy it? Or…no, I won’t throw it at you?”

“I won’t throw it at you,” she says softly. Her cheeks blossom a delicate shade of pink. “I’m going to find something for Wren.”

I watch her from a few feet away—her graceful strides, the way she squats down to see the stuffed animals on the bottom shelf, how she picks them up, gently inspecting them, before replacing them carefully.

How did I miss the fact that the girl I plagued so relentlessly was so soft and gentle under her barbed quips and angry retorts? No wonder she likes turtles. She sort ofisone. Hard shell, soft heart. I smile as I head over to the cashier to buy her a souvenir.

“Hey,” says the young woman behind the counter. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going good,” I tell her. I place Parker’s turtle on the glass. “Just this, please.”

She grins at the turtle, then licks her lips slowly, lifting her gaze to me. “I would have pegged you for more of a shark guy.”

“That right?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, arching her back to show off her assets. “You’ve got that apex-predator-who-gets-what-he-wants energy.”

“And what is it you think he wants?”

Suddenly Parker is standing next to me, a stuffed penguin in her arms. The cashier looks at her, then at me, then back at Parker, whose face is neutral, but…but she’s putting out an intense vibe. An energy. I feel it. And I’m sure as hell that the cashier feels it because she puts away her smileandher boobs.

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