Her sisters’ weddings also meant enduring them bickering and trying to outdo each other. They each tried to top the last sister’s wedding and went to ridiculous lengths to achieve it. Brianne got married in Scotland. So Beatrice threw a destination wedding in Bermuda. Bianca had one hundred white doves at her ceremony, so Britton rode in on gorgeous white horse at hers.
It never stopped.
But the thing Beth hated most about her sisters’ weddings was the insensitive things they said to her. ‘You’ll have your day too, Bethy.’ Or, ‘You’re just a late bloomer. There’s still hope for you.’ And her all time least favorite, ‘One day you’ll find your prince.’
In Beth’s opinion, none of her sisters had found princes. They weren’t even frogs. More like toads.
Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. Her sisters’ husbands weren’t particularly foul. They seemed to treat her sisters well enough, but Beth always resented them just a bit for taking her sisters away from her. Beth would always love her sisters—craziness and all. And though they’d all married, Beth knew no man could ever replace the special bond of the Bennett sisters.
Beth occupied her mind on the ride back to Bellemora thinking about her brothers-in-law. There was Thomas, Bianca’s husband. He was possibly the dullest person on the planet. He was an accountant and Beth would rather stab her eyes out than try to carry on a conversation with him. Plus, he had really bad breath. It made Beth shudder to think of Bianca kissing him, but Bianca certainly didn’t mind. She was gaga for him.
Then there was Josh, Britton’s husband. Josh was a lawyer and always seemed to think that made him more important than everyone else. He liked to make a point of saying things like, ‘I’ve gotta take this important call.’ It just rubbed Beth the wrong way, yet Britton said no man had ever treated her better.
Brianne’s husband was Jaime. He was a wilderness guide in Scotland and was as cool as he sounded. Beth’s only problem with him was that he made her favorite sister move all the way to Scotland. Beth didn’t fault her for it. Jaime was a sweetheart and treated Brianne like a princess.
Beatrice was married to Graham, the surgeon. Graham was actually pretty cool. He was easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor, but he was never around much. He practically lived at the hospital, which was why Beatrice was always so overrun by her kids. But Beth knew Beatrice wouldn’t trade Graham and the kids for the world.
And soon, there would be Eric, the Marine. The jury was still out on Eric, but anyone who could make Brenna settle down earned a few points in Beth’s book.
Beth pondered how all of her sisters had ended up with such different spouses. She wouldn’t have put them together, but they each seemed undeniably happy. She wondered what it meant for her. None of her sisters’ relationships helped her figure out the question gnawing at her heart. Was Jared right for her, or Parker?
Beth certainly knew who fit best with her family. Her one saving grace when she was surrounded by her crazy family drama was that Beth had always had Parker by her side. He’d come to every wedding with her, and somehow kept her sane throughout them. He even managed to help her have fun, sneaking drinks from the bar and busting a move on the dance floor. But now that was ruined, and it was all her fault. Why the hell had she kissed him?
She wished she could claim heat stroke or insanity, but deep down Beth knew why she’d done it. It was partly because Jared was being an ass, and Parker was . . . well, Parker. He was kind and always there for her, and the things he said . . . it was everything she’d ever wanted to hear.
Beth couldn’t have stopped herself from kissing Parker if she’d wanted to. But even now, knowing how badly she’d wrecked things, she wouldn’t take it back. She’d always wanted to kiss him. But what surprised her was how much Parker seemed to want it too. And how right it all felt—up until the moment the sky opened up.
When they finally pulled up under the carriage porch at Bellemora a valet driver ran out to open Beth’s door, but she was already out of the car. She heard Parker call after her but she didn’t wait. She needed space. She needed time to think this all through. What she wanted more than anything was to take a shower and wash away everything that happened on the beach so she and Parker could go back to the way things were before.
Beth bounced on the balls of her feet as she punched the elevator button. “Come on,” she muttered.
Parker arrived before the elevator did, worry etched across his handsome face. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
“Yeah.”
“So you decided to ignore me?”
The hurt on his face was enough to make Beth want to curl up and die. “No, I just . . . I don’t know. I just need some space to figure this out.”
“Beth, let’s figure it out together,” he pleaded.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The elevator doors dinged open and Parker followed Beth inside. At the last minute a member of the hotel staff joined them. Beth and Parker endured the ride to their floor in awkward silence, but as soon as they were back in their room Parker picked up right where they’d left off. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
“You know why,” she whisper-hissed, starting to pace the stuffy room.
Parker followed. “No, I really don’t.”
“Parker! This is a problem,” Beth said gesturing between them.
“Fine, then talk to me about it so we can figure it out.”
Beth whirled on him. “I can’t talk to you when the problem is you.”
Parker stopped in his tracks. “But we always talk to each other.”
“I know,” she whispered. “That’s what makes this so hard.”
Parker took her hands. His own were trembling. “Beth, it’s not hard. Just talk to me like you always do. I need to know what you’re thinking or I think I might lose my mind. Why did you kiss me?”
She bit her lip. She couldn’t talk to him. How could she tell him how she felt when she wasn’t even sure herself? On one hand kissing him had felt so incredibly right, so perfect. On the other, she had a boyfriend in Aspen, who up until a few minutes ago she had also thought was right for her. But after kissing Parker . . . everything was different
But did it really matter? Parker was leaving for Cornell in a few short months. And more importantly, he didn’t love her like that. Did he?
“Beth,” he begged. “Please don’t shut me out.”
“Parker I’m sorry. I never should’ve kissed you. I don’t know what happened. If I could take it back I would.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.” It wasn’t. But Beth was desperately trying to make herself believe it was. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m trying to apologize.”
“Well, I don’t accept it!” he bellowed. “I don’t want you to take it back. Not one second of it.”
Beth blinked. She’d never heard Parker yell like that before. “What?”
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you?”
Her heart skipped. “Parker—”
“No,” he said putting a hand up to stop her. “Maybe you need a minute to think this over, but I don’t. I know exactly how I feel about you, Beth. I love you. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. It’s always been you.”
She blinked at him dumbfounded. He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was saying. Beth’s thoughts bounced back to the Fourth of July, to Parker answering Brenna’s intrusive questions about why he never brought any girls around. ‘There’s only one girl for me.’ That’s what he’d said. Could he have meant her?
Beth’s body trembled. Her heart was beating too fast. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears and her knees were weak. She quickly sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands.
Parker took a few steadying breaths and collected himself. He put his hand on Beth’s shoulder for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to yell, but please don’t take it back.”
Beth didn�
��t respond. What could she say? That she’d always loved him too? She had a boyfriend! This wasn’t supposed to be happening.
When she didn’t respond, Parker sighed. “I’ll give you some space if that’s what you want.”
She nodded.
“I guess I’ll see you at dinner.” And then Parker grabbed his duffle bag and stormed out of the room leaving Beth stunned and alone.
26
Jared
Jared tried to get his gloves off to see who was calling him, but by the time he managed to free his phone from the inside pocket of his jacket the ringing had stopped. He checked the screen. Two missed calls from Beth. Guilt prickled in his chest but he shoved it back before it could take hold. He felt bad missing her calls, but he couldn’t talk to her right now anyway—not in front of the guys. They always gave him so much shit and that’s the last thing he needed. Things were already strained between him and Beth. The only thing Jared could do was wait out Caroline’s sentence.
And being stuck in Aspen wasn’t so bad. Jared spent the whole day exploring the backcountry of the mountain with his friends. He had nothing to feel guilty about. He was just enjoying some innocent fun with the guys. Beth was probably having fun too. She was with Parker, the guy took better care of Beth than Jared did.
The thought gave Jared pause. He wondered if it should bother him more than it did that another guy was easily more thoughtful than him when it came to his girlfriend. Before Jared could get too carried away overanalyzing his shortcomings, Sullivan came tearing down the trail, spraying Jared with a wave of snow. Brady, Vera, Caroline and some of the other guys from the lacrosse team were hot on Sullivan’s heels.
Sullivan skidded to a stop next to Jared. “Bro! How’d you get down the mountain so fast?” he asked pulling his goggles up.
Jared shrugged. “Gotta show no fear, Sully.”
Sullivan laughed. “You’ve got balls of steel, bro!”
Caroline unstrapped her board next to them. “Looks like somebody finally decided to cut loose,” she teased, grinning at Jared.
“You wouldn’t be talking about old frosty balls here, would ya?” Brady asked coming up beside them with a gleam of mischief in his eyes.
“Old frosty balls?” Jared asked.
“Ya know, cause Beth makes your balls so blue they’ve frozen off?”
Brady howled with laughter at his own joke until a snowball to the face shut Brady up.
“What the hell, Car?” Brady yelled, glaring at her.
Caroline packed another snowball in her hand. “From what I hear, you’re the one with the frosty balls,” Caroline taunted. “How long has it been since you got some? Oh that’s right, never.”
“That’s it!” Brady yelled, launching himself at Caroline.
She shrieked and dove behind Jared.
“Snowball fight!” Sullivan roared, and everyone erupted into chaos. Snowballs rained down around them and Jared pulled Caroline and Vera behind a chairlift pole while Sullivan hurled snowballs at Brady and the rest of the guys who retreated to the woods.
“Pussies,” Caroline called, chucking another snowball at Brady’s head as he sprinted toward the trees.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” Sullivan yelled. “Come on, Vera. Let’s flank ‘em.” Sullivan turned to Jared. “We’ll drive ‘em out. You and Car be ready.”
“You got it, Sully,” Caroline replied, packing snowballs like an expert.
“Cover me,” Sullivan whispered, slinking away like a sniper. He was communicating with Vera through hand signals that made Jared snort with laughter.
“He’s in full combat mode, huh?” Caroline commented.
“He lives for this shit,” Jared replied, helping her pack snowballs.
Caroline arched an eyebrow. “You seem to be having fun too, Collins.”
“Ya know what, Voss, I am.”
“See, I knew you had a little fun left in ya,” she said tossing a snowball at him.
“Hey! I thought we were on the same team?”
“We are,” she replied. But there was something more in her eyes—something that made Jared’s blood sizzle. He had no doubt Caroline could melt all the snow in Aspen if she turned that seductive gaze of hers on the mountains. It made him uncomfortable. The last time he’d felt this way around her they’d ended up in a janitor’s closet.
If Jared was smart he’d back the hell away, but no one had ever accused him of being smart.
“I’m glad you decided to come to Aspen,” Caroline said.
Before Jared could respond, Brady and his men came charging out of the woods with Sullivan and Vera chasing them. The game was back on.
Parker
Parker took a golf cart to the country club. The rain was still pouring down, but he didn’t care. He was already soaked and he couldn’t feel much worse than he did. He needed to cool off and collect his thoughts before he did something stupid. Or something more stupid than what he’d done already. What the hell had he been thinking telling Beth all of that?—‘I know how I feel. You’re everything I want.’
One kiss and he’d professed his love to her! What had he expected? That she’d leap into his arms and declare her undying love for him? Never mind that she had a boyfriend in Aspen. Was that what prompted Parker to abandon all common sense? Perhaps the seriousness of Beth and Jared’s relationship pressed Parker to finally tell her how he felt.
He hadn’t come here with an agenda. He’d honestly just wanted to spend time with Beth. But that was the problem. Parker always wanted to spend time with Beth. And it wasn’t until Jared came into the picture, monopolizing all of Beth’s time, that Parker realized there really wasn’t anyone else he wanted to spend time with but her.
Parker pulled up to the clubhouse and stomped into the locker room. Thankfully, he had the whole place to himself. He cranked on a shower and stripped off his sandy wet clothes. He stood under the stream of hot water, loosing a long breath of frustration. What was done was done. At least Beth finally knew how he felt. There was no going back now.
Beth
They had to be able to go back. Beth had gone round and round in the shower drowning in tears as she tried thinking of ways to go back to how things were before. But she couldn’t come up with anything solid. Every scenario Beth conjured left her without Parker in her life. And the searing pain of such a loss made her want to talk to the one person she couldn’t—Parker.
She kept getting stuck on his words. He’d told her he loved her! He’d said, ‘I know how I feel. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.’ She was still trembling from the shock of it. The whole thing felt like a dream, especially their perfect kiss.
Beth didn’t know what the hell had come over her to make her kiss him like that. She’d always known their bond was special and that it went deeper than an average friendship—but was it love?
The way Parker kissed her certainly felt like it could be. But then Beth thought of Jared and she felt nauseous. How could she have done that to him? She’d been so worried that he was cheating on her and here she was kissing another boy.
She needed to talk to Jared. Maybe if she could just see his face or hear his voice she’d know what to do. She’d tried calling him as soon as Parker left the hotel room but as usual, Jared didn’t pick up. But Beth wasn’t about to give up. She wouldn’t be so upset about kissing Parker if she didn’t have real feelings for Jared. She knew she needed to talk to him and see where her heart was at before she could move forward.
With renewed determination Beth cranked off the shower and toweled dry. She changed into a black shift dress for dinner and swept her wet hair up into a bun. She added a necklace and strappy flats. After a few swipes of mascara and her favorite red lipstick she was ready. Or as ready as she’d ever be after what she’d done.
Beth still couldn’t believe everything that happened today. Just a few hours ago everything was normal—good even.
It’s funny how quickly life can change.
She steeled herself with a deep breath, set her shoulders and pressed the video call button next to Jared’s name in her phone. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
The line connected and Jared’s voice boomed over the speaker before the video came into focus. “Hello?”
“Jared! I’m so glad you answered.”
“Beth? Hey, the reception is terrible on the mountain. Let me call you back when I get back to the house.”
“Wait, I need to talk to you.”
“Is that Beth?” someone in the background yelled.
“Yeah,” Jared muttered.
“What up, Beth?” Sullivan shouted, poking his head into view. “You should totally be here. The powder is wicked!”
Beth heard a chorus of laugher in the background and Jared shoved Sullivan out of the frame.
“I gotta go,” Jared said giving her a frosty wink. “I’ll call ya later, babe.” And just like that he was gone.
Beth hadn’t gotten two words in and she was getting annoyed. It’s not like she could just blurt out ‘I kissed Parker’ to get his attention. Although Jared would probably have time for me then, she thought bitterly.
Beth’s conversation with Jared did nothing to ease her worry. If anything it made her feel even more certain that things weren’t right between them. Ever since she told Jared about her sister’s wedding it was like he didn’t have time for her. People who loved each other made time for each other, didn’t they?
People who love each other don’t kiss other people, her guilty conscience replied.
Beth flopped back on the bed letting the impossible decision she faced weigh on her heart.
27
Parker
Parker stood in the lobby with the rest of Beth’s family. The Bennett clan was all in attendance. All except Beth. Parker was busy firing off texts to figure out what was taking her so long. He had a sinking feeling she was avoiding him.
The Boyfriend Series Box Set (Books 1-6): YA Contemporary Romance Novels Page 93
