Page 89 of Eternal Hoptimist

“It is. Happy New Year.”

“It’s our anniversary, and he’s the one who gets a treat?” Parker’s pout looked alarmingly like Hector’s.

“I thought I was your treat,” I purred and ignored Hector’s gagging sounds. “There’s a treat for us in the car.”

Parker’s eyes lit up. “Any chance they had more of those cardamom rolls? You know Rosie is going to be asking.”

“He already had some sitting aside for her,” I said.

Parker sat on the edge of his desk and smiled. “I’m glad that bakery opened. The owner’s a nice guy.”

We both watched Hector pointedly stare at his computer screen like it held the best porn of all time. Parker and I shared a knowing look.

Parker’s eyes rounded. “I didn’t see Rosie in the car. Did you leave her at the house?”

Hector snorted. “God, I hope not. Or if you did, I hope she doesn’t venture into the bowels of your den of sin.” He shuddered.

We’d had an awkward incident when Hector temporarily stayed with us after moving to Dahlia Springs to give him some time to get settled. We’d told him not to explore our basement for his own good, but we should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to contain his curiosity.

“It’s your fault you didn’t listen,” Parker said.

Hector threw his hands up and spun his chair around to face us. He jabbed a finger in Parker’s direction. “Youbuy a house that has a basement and tell me not to go there. How can you expect me not to? What if it was a murder basement and I needed to alert the police? Or what if there was a killer lurking in there? I’m too pretty to die.”

“A killer like Hayden?”

“What? He’s hot, and I like to watch him work.”

I laughed. Hector cracked me up. Hayden did a great job turning the basement into a blank canvas for Parker and me to finish. He had some useful ideas on how to best use parts of the basement that could be weight-bearing.

“That may be so, but you learned your lesson,” I said.

Hector rolled his eyes. “I’m not a child.”

“You’re right. You’re nothing like a child who would do the exact thing they were told not to.”

He huffed. “I promise not to go into your sex basementagain.”

We’d turned it into quite the space. I had some plans involving Parker and that basement after Rosie flew to Arizona next week and before Evie came to visit.

“Then where is Rosie if she’s not at the house?” Parker asked.

“The guys are taking her to brunch, and she insisted on taking theGolden Girlsmug we got her. She said if the place won’t serve her coffee in her own mug, she’ll walk.” Austin, Ty, Dom, and I gave her a custom mug that had her face printed on it as the fifth Golden Girl. Rosie had even joined in on a few rounds of ourGolden Girlsdrinking game.

Parker smiled fondly. “She’s got the guys wrapped around her finger.”

“As if she’s not wrapped around your finger too,” Hector said pointedly.

“Who gave her a manicure and facial the other night?” he snapped back.

Hector stood. “Who’s researching golf carts so she has the safest one when she spends half the year in Arizona?”

Parker crossed his arms over his chest and sat on the edge of his desk. “Coming from the guy helping her decorate her McMinnville cottage.”

They stared at each other for several long moments before Hector cracked.“Well, what do you expect? If I don’t help, she’ll end up with doilies and floral wallpaper when she spends the warmer months here. It’s humanitarian aid. Especially since she took my advice for the Arizona place too. Now when you stay in her guest room, you won’t get a headache.”

I loved Hector so fucking much. My heart grew three sizes as I watched each person in my life adopt Rosie as one of their own. She planned to spend winter and spring in Arizona and summer and fall in Oregon. The sale of her Kansas house and land gave her plenty to buy both places, including an Arizona house with three bedrooms so the guys and I could visit her when we were sick of the rain.

I was thrilled Hector had taken Parker up on his offer to be his paralegal and get to know him better. He only had a couple more terms of classes left for his certificate. He was even settling into Dahlia Springs, though he said he missed the restaurant selection and nightlife in Portland. I’d heard he’d been trying to get Dave to turn his place into a wine bar during the evenings.

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