Page 5 of Inviting Trouble
“Is Dad up?” she asked.
“Yeah. He went to get bagels for everyone.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Man, I’ve got a killer hangover. I barely remember the party.”
She studied him, unsure if he was being serious or not. Did he really not rememberanything? “How drunk were you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know how I got to the sofa. One minute I’m chugging beer with Ty, next minute I’m out cold.”
She swallowed hard. He really didn’t remember. He hadn’t meant to kiss her back. It was a reflex. Probably any guy would do that if someone kissed them. Her first kiss was a joke. What if she’d slept with him and he didn’t remember it? That would’ve been horrible.
“Yeah, you were totally wasted,” she said.
The front door opened and her dad appeared with a bag of bagels and a to-go coffee. “Park and I gotta run.” He jerked his chin at Park. “Five minutes,” he said before heading to the kitchen.
Park went upstairs for a few minutes and returned with a duffel bag. “The guys are sleeping. I said bye to them last night.”
Mad waited. Her last chance for a goodbye. Her last chance with the love of her life.
Her dad took the duffel bag and headed to the car.
Park looked at her for a long moment, his hazel eyes direct. “Study hard, okay? Keep your grades up.”
Her lower lip wobbled. “You’re not my dad.”
He wrapped her in a big bear hug and kissed the top of her head. Her eyes welled. He pulled back and ruffled her hair. “Bye, little bit.”
He left, the door shutting quietly behind him.
Chapter Two
Present day…
“What do you think about a sex-toy party?” Mad asked casually, then waited for the fireworks. Her friends from the Happy Endings Book Club, a romance book club that Mad had somehow gotten roped into two years ago, were at her house, helping her decorate for Park’s homecoming party.
Hailey Adams, leader of their book club and Clover Park’s one and only wedding planner, slammed her hands on her hips and glared. “How did we get from what do you think about a paranormal romance selection to sex toys?”
Mad jerked her chin. “I thought we were playing thewhat do you think aboutgame.”
Charlotte Vega, a personal trainer with brassy confidence, bumped Mad with her hip. “You’re as bad as your brother.” She meant her older brother Josh, who razzed Hailey all the time because Hailey was just that much fun to rile up.
Hailey tossed a pack of balloons at Mad. “Use your hot air for a good cause.”
Mad caught them and looked around the living room of the house she’d grown up in, trying to decide where to put balloons. The other women—Hailey, Charlotte, Lauren, Carrie, and Ally—were hanging red, white, and blue streamers around the edges of the room, the windows, and the front door. Park was coming home for good after ten years away in the Air Force. He’d only visited a few times over the years because he’d volunteered for a lot of year-long deployments to classified locations that paid extra for the high risk. Her worry over him was never ending. Every time she saw him, her heart ached something fierce at the way he kept his distance. She told herself it was better that way, easier to say goodbye, but deep down she feared he knew how much she cared about him and just didn’t feel the same way. It was embarrassing to admit, but he’d always been the gold standard for her and no man had ever measured up. Now that he was coming home for good, she was determined to breach that distance, to put up or shut up once and for all so she could freaking move on if that was what she had to do.
She still thought all the decorations were too much. Just give a guy a brewski and some cake. Done deal.
Hailey shot her a sweet smile and gestured for her to get moving with the balloons. Mad still didn’t know how she ended up with Hailey for a friend. The woman was a former beauty queen with long strawberry blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a perfect curvy body always tastefully displayed in designer dresses. The kind of girl that would’ve been homecoming queen and looked down at Mad with her skinny, boyish athletic body in hand-me-down shirts, ripped jeans, and black combat boots. She glared at the balloons, pissed at how emotional she’d been all day today. The decorations were beside the point. The women, the first women friends she’d ever had, were here for moral support. That was all Hailey’s doing, who somehow read between the lines with all Mad couldn’t express.
“Guys,” Mad croaked.
The women looked over at her. No words could get through the emotion clogging her throat. She’d hardly slept last night she was so nervous about seeing Park and finally letting him know just how much she felt for him. It meant so damn much that her friends were here for her.
“We should start the party early with some beer,” Mad finally said, completely inadequately. She never did get the hang of girl talk. All she knew was the gruff bluster and joking around she was raised with. She tossed the balloons on the coffee table and headed for the kitchen.
Hailey intercepted her and gave her a warm hug. Mad let her. They were the same size, five foot four, so Mad had to blow Hailey’s long hair out of her face. The woman was her best friend, though Mad could never find the words to say so.
Hailey pulled back, her pale blue eyes bright. “I know you’re nervous, but you’ll do great. You’ve got this. Hanging with the guys is your thing!”
Mad swallowed hard and gave a quick nod before heading to the kitchen. Hanging with the guys wasnotthe same thing as being with Park. Especially now that she’d decided to put it all on the line. She just couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to see what might be there between them. No man had ever gotten close to her heart the way Park did. It was like her heart closed when Park left and only now when it was possible for something between them did it creak open again. Painful fact. Hell, she was strong and fierce and unafraid to face anything or anyone.
