Page 65 of Desired Hearts
We drank margaritas. Ate tacos. Laughed. The guys taunted and teased each other mercilessly as if they were brothers.
When Parker and I reached for a tortilla chip at the same time and our fingers touched, I had visions of last weekend. When he looked at me from across the room where he and Pia made a second round of margaritas, I had visions of last weekend.
Pretty much all night, anytime we got close, I had… you guessed it… visions of last weekend. Our chemistry was undeniable.
Pia asked if I needed to hit the ladies’ room.
“There’s one toilet,” Mason said.
“Right. We’re close,” she responded, grabbing my hand.
The second we were alone, Pia gushed, “Delaney, holy crap. It is ten times more intense than you described. He cannot stop looking at you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I said.
We stood outside the bathroom, speaking in hushed voices like two teenage girls. I couldn’t help feeling giddy, though, at the thought of Parker coming home with me tonight.
“He’s taking me home,” I added.
“Taking you home? Or staying over?”
“Good question. Hopefully, the latter,” I admitted.
Pia’s smile could not have been any bigger. “Makis who?”
24
PARKER
“What’s this for?” Beck asked as I handed him a hundred bucks.
“Sunday. Tonight. Whatever. Add it to the kitty.”
“Tonight?” Mason leaned against the kitchen counter. “You staying at her place?”
“Hopefully,” I said. “I can argue Sunday didn’t count, but tonight will. And I honestly don’t give a shit what you two assholes have to say about it.”
Mason threw up his hands. “Not casting stones here.”
“I am.” Beck pocketed the cash. “You stay the night, things happen.”
“Maybe I don’t care.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized how true they were. I didn’t care. Not with Delaney. If my choices were keeping her at arm’s length or risk getting close, I’d be picking door number two.
“Maybe you should.”
It was Beck’s tone that got me. He was rarely serious. About anything.
He shrugged. “Just sayin’… you remember the reason we took it? New relationships cloud the true story. Not one of us with parents who weren’t devastated in some way because of their significant other. And they all started out”—he waved his arm to Mason—“like him. Or you, from the looks of it.”
Mason opened his mouth to argue with him, but I stopped him. Arguing with Beck was useless. Forget about the fact that, before meeting Delaney, I’d have agreed with him. Wholeheartedly. “In other news, I signed up for a log cabin building workshop in Rochester next weekend.”
“Oh, yeah?” Mason took a swig of beer, side-eying Beck but playing along with me. “What are you thinking?”
“That it could be a good niche. I wouldn’t be directly competing with Rich, and the margins are high on log cabin homes. The big question is the market in our area.”
“Who gives a shit about Rich?” Beck asked. “He’s a dickhead anyway.”
“Maybe,” I agreed. “But he’s still the biggest construction game in town.”
