Page 80 of Taming Waves

“Because of Parker?” I ask.

He smirks as his eyes search mine. “No. Him I can handle.”

“Then, why? You were so adamant before,” I point out.

“Because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I noticed how you looked at him and how you fought with him. I’ve seen it before,” he says.

“I’m not following you.”

“I once fell in love with a girl who was still emotionally tied to a man from her past despite her best attempts to move on. I wasso close to winning her heart when he unexpectedly returned. When I watched the way they looked at each other—the pain and longing in their eyes, the way they fought—it became clear to me that I never stood a chance. I realized I was just a sympathetic side character in the epic love story they were living,” he explains.

“The way we fought? Really?”

“Oh, yeah. You can tell a lot about a couple by the way they fight,” he says.

“Not a couple. And what exactly can you tell by the way people fight?”

“The thing is, a couple—I mean, people—who don’t care about each other don’t usually bother to fight,” he says.

“Lots of people who don’t care about each other fight. I break up bar fights all the time,” I disagree.

“Fights started by some guy getting handsy with another guy’s girl. Or a girl catching her guy out with another woman. Or two girls fighting over a guy,” he lists.

“Sometimes, it’s just drunks fighting because they’re drunk. And trust me, ours isn’t an epic love story. It’s a tragic love story, at best.”

He reaches up and swipes a loose curl behind my ear.

“That’s the thing, Red. Some tragic love stories aren’t tragic at all. They’re just unfinished.”

“Whatever, quitter,” I say with a pout.

He laughs.

“And to think, I was gonna let you round a couple of bases in Bora Bora.”

“Ouch.”

Parker

Istalk back into Whiskey Joe’s and am met by Leonard’s and Leena’s inquisitive stares at the door.

“Meeting is being rescheduled,” Leena says.

I nod.

“Sorry about the outburst,” I say. “I let my anger get the best of me.”

She shrugs and looks at Leonard.

“We don’t blame you. It didn’t look good,” she says.

“Audrey and I—our relationship is …” I pause, searching for the right words.

“Complicated. We know,” Leonard says. “I’m starting to understand why Audrey doesn’t want us fraternizing though. It can get intense.”

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