Page 83 of Promise and Punishment

“Not tonight,” I smiled, pretending not to care.

“Gemma…” Camilla broke the silence immediately. “These things are complicated. I’m sure it will—” A loud ding rang from my phone, shocking us both as I fought to silence it. “Who is it?” she asked more excited as I stared back down at my phone.

“I don’t know. But, it’s an email.”

“Is it Alex?”

“Wait… this doesn’t make sense…” I said to myself, shocked at a message I had to re-read three times before continuing, assuming it was some cruel joke. Camilla grew nervous as my hands started to shake.

“Gemma! Who is it?”

I tried to answer, forming into words that wouldn’t sound as ridiculous coming out as they did in my head, because honestly, it was unbelievable; acknowledging a name I’d only seen on countless bags, shoes, and dresses across New York.

It was my hero.

My idol.

The man who lived in my heart and in my closet, whose legendary name had been passed down from Mama Meg.

“It’s St. La Vie,” I mumbled. “He wants to meet me…”

Chapter28

Parker

It was hotter than the typical summer day at eighty-four degrees, but damn if it didn’t look fucking good on Gemma’s long, smooth legs, and how they shimmered in the bolstering heat.

“Smiling and sweet, or brooding and bold?” Mila asked another question, chomping at the tail end of her pink glitter pen.

“Both,” Gemma answered, leaning over the adjacent poolside lounger to peer over Mila’s shoulder.

“No peeking!” Mila shouted. “And you can’t answer ‘both’. You can only pick one.” I dunked my head under the clear turquoise water, pushing myself off the edge of the pool towards where the girls sat. “The answer to this can make all the difference, so choose carefully,” Mila guarded the Cosmo magazine that her and Gemma bought this morning. Gemma flipped a page of her Vogue magazine, then stopped to seriously consider the question.

“What are you guys doing?” I ran my hands through my wet hair.

Mila lowered her white, cat-eyed sunglasses with a devilish grin. “It’s a Celebrity Soulmate Quiz,and now that Gemma’s going to be a big star with St. La Vie, her dating pool just exploded exponentially.”

“I amnotgoing to be a star… he just wants to meet, and I’m not even sure for what yet.”

Gemma’s modesty paired eloquently with her bathing suit, a flesh-tight halter top with matching white bottoms. Not even the decency of her look stopped how hungry I was for her, or how that sheer knotted coverup above her navel begged to be undone with my teeth.

“Celebrity soulmate?” I joked, hiding the subtle dismay on my face. One Hollywood man seeking her attention was already bad enough, but now all of them?

I dunked my head under the water again, exhaling a few loose bubbles before rising back up to hear Gemma’s response.

“Smiling and sweet,” she finally replied. Mila pursed her lips while jotting the answer down.

“Netflix and chill or dancing and disco?”

“Ohhh, Netflix for sure.”

“Arms or eyes?” Mila asked, but I already knew the answer.Eyes,I mouthed to myself, leaning over the edge, my back baking in the sun.

“Eyes!” Gemma answered, shimmying in her seat.

I knew her so well, what she liked and what she didn’t, her habits, her fears, her joys. Of course, I wanted to tell her this, but first I had to get through this trip. I knew it would be painful, but once we got home, I’d be honest with both girls, accepting whatever consequences came my way; positive or not.

“I like both!” Mila said. “But I can say that because I’m not taking the quiz. Isn’t that right, Parker?”

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