by Addison Cole
“I can’t bury everything in candy, can I?”
He cocked his head to the side.
“Yeah, I know. This new habit of mine is pretty sucky. Bert wouldn’t want me to be this person for much longer.” She knew Bert would understand her need to grieve, but she could picture him standing before her now, his hands perched on his hips, shaking his head. This is no kind of life for you, he’d probably say. He was forever trying to get her to go out with other people her age. But she had a hard time relating to most of them. So many were materialistic or only interested in gaining press—bad or good. She hated the paparazzi that seemed to be everywhere back home, which was probably one of the biggest reasons she liked staying in, or visiting with Bert, where she could be herself without worrying about what anyone else thought. Which, she realized, was something she really liked about Grayson, too. He was so real and so confident in who he was. It made her long to be Polly even more than she ever had.
Christmas woofed and darted out of the room, startling her from her thoughts. The dog must have selective supersonic hearing, because he hadn’t heard Grayson last night until he’d appeared in the room. She turned off the movie, grabbed another handful of M&M’s, and shoved them in her mouth for the walk upstairs. Dinner of champions.
She found Christmas standing on his hind legs looking out the sidelight window by the front door, whimpering.
“More birds?” She cupped her hands and peered out the other sidelight. She couldn’t see anything in the dark yard, so she nudged past Christmas and peered out that window. Grayson smiled back at her. Her heart—and her dog—went a little crazy as she threw open the locks and the door. Christmas barreled headfirst into Grayson’s crotch.
“Whoa, hey, buddy. Careful there.” He redirected Christmas’s snout, eyes on Parker. “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call first.”
“Seems like a habit.” One I’m beginning to like.
Christmas’s giant paws inched up Grayson’s stomach to his chest, and he licked Grayson’s face. She wanted to shove her pup out of the way and take a turn climbing—and tasting—Grayson. But she was frozen in place, watching Grayson’s gaze drop to her mouth. Her lips tingled with anticipation. His gaze moved lower, lingering on her breasts and waking up all of her very best parts for the party.
Christmas ran into the yard, apparently having had his fill of Grayson. She was beginning to wonder how anyone could get their fill of him. Two tastes and he was almost all she could think about, which was perfect, because he provided a happy distraction to her grief.
He reached into his pocket and handed her a ten-dollar bill.
“What’s that for?”
“Sweetheart, if you don’t know, you probably shouldn’t offer it up.” He shoved the money into his pocket.
She followed his gaze to the words emblazoned across her chest and gasped.
“Ohmygosh. I forgot I had this on.”
“Were you expecting someone else? I can take off.” He pointed to his truck in the driveway.
“No!”
He flashed a wicked grin and reached into his pocket again. “No?”
“No, don’t leave. And no, don’t…do that either.”
His eyes darkened as he stepped closer. His thick, muscular arm circled her waist and tugged her against him. She. Couldn’t. Breathe.
“Ah, a freebie. Nice.” He nuzzled against her neck.
Oh, she liked that. Oh my…She halfheartedly tried to push him away. He was an immovable wall of rock-hard abs and other lickable muscles she shouldn’t think about. But she was. Constantly.
He brushed his thumb over her lower lip, sending delicious shivers of heat down her spine. Grayson held up his thumb, showing her the smudge of chocolate he’d wiped off, and made quite a show of sucking the sweetness from it. She wondered how many M&M’s it would take to smear chocolate over her whole body.
“I see my chocolate girl is in full force tonight. It’s a good thing I’m here to rescue you. Come on. We’re going out.”
Her mind was still a little fuzzy thinking about his mouth, and thumb, and just about everything else. “Out?” she said absently.
“Yes. Out. I can’t let you sit around and eat junk food all night. The next thing I know, I’ll be prying your mouth from a tequila bottle and carrying you up to bed.”
Oh, yes. Come right in. She gulped that thought down.
“And what kind of friend would I be if I made you sleep alone again? I’m not sure I could do that to a sweet girl like you.”
Stumbling backward with the visuals that brought to mind, she pointed over her shoulder. “Let me get the bottle. Chocolate.” Ack! Shoot me now! “I mean change.”
He laughed. “Don’t change. You look gorgeous.”
Her brain finally broke free from imagining him perched above her, naked.
“I can’t go out like this. I have to shower, put on makeup, do my hair. One cell phone picture will make someone a lot of money and make me seem like a skank.”
“Where do you come up with this nonsense?” He whistled toward the yard, and Christmas bounded into the house.
Now she had another reason to admire him. “How’d you do that?”
“Don’t change the subject. Come on, let’s go.”
Thinking of everything she’d have to do to prepare to be seen in public, and not in the mood for any of it, she said, “I really don’t feel like going out. I’m watching A Nightmare on Elm Street. Come in and watch with me?”
“What is it with you and horror movies?”
She wasn’t about to admit that she’d grown up using them to remind herself that she was brave and could get through anything—because sitting alone in the dark and watching bad things happen on television reminded her that there were worse things than not having a family.
Luckily, he didn’t seem to expect an answer.
“Come on, Parker. You need to get out of your own head for a while.”
“Maybe I do, but I don’t want to spend the energy getting ready.”
His tone turned serious. “Is that why you won’t go out with me?”
“Wait. Are you asking me out on a date?” Maybe she’d reconsider. The time it took to shower and do her hair and makeup would definitely be worth a date with Grayson.
He was looking at her like he wanted it to be a date. “Do you want it to be?”
Yes. But I need time to get ready. Would he wait? Where did he want to go? How should she dress?
Suddenly his arm swooped around her waist and he hoisted her over his shoulder.
“Grayson! What are you doing?” She struggled as he closed and locked the door, holding her against his shoulder with one arm. Him and that stupid key!
“You were overthinking,” he said casually. “I told you it would hold you back. You need to stop doing that and cut loose a little.”
“Put me down! I swear I’m going to kill you.”
“No, you won’t. That would definitely make the papers.”
Chapter Six
PARKER FELL SILENT halfway to the Beachcomber, arms crossed over her chest and an adorable pout on her lips, and she kept it up even as he parked. He knew she was worried about her image, and cell phone pictures, and whatever else went along with being a celebrity, but he wasn’t going to let anything like that happen.
“Are you really going to make me go in there looking like this?”
“I wish you knew how beautiful you looked right now. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen you look prettier.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wondering if she’d thought about him all afternoon, as he’d thought about her.
“Without all that makeup and your fancy clothes, you don’t look like a famous movie star. You look like a gorgeous beach bunny who needs to have a little fun. I don’t think anyone will recognize you.”
She rolled her eyes and finally cracked a smile. “Beach bunny?”
He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to see her smile until this very second, and now he
wanted to see her smile more often. “I’m better with my hands than words.” He liked the spark of heat that brought to her eyes a whole lot, too.
“You’re pretty great with words,” she said softly. “Typed or spoken.”
Her confession brought his own. “The truth is, the thought of you hiding out alone in that big house was killing me.” He added the surprise in her eyes to the growing list of things he liked about her. “I’ll be your bodyguard tonight, and I won’t let anything happen. No pictures, no autographs. But I really don’t think you have to worry. The bar’s dark, and it’ll be so crowded, you’ll blend in. Trust me?”
“Trust a guy who hauled me over his shoulder and kidnapped me?” She looked toward the bar.
“Yeah, trust that guy.”
“I do trust you.” She poked him in his chest. “But if I end up on the front of some rag magazine, I’m hiding out in your basement. With Christmas, chocolate, and a boatload of horror movies that you have to watch with me.”
“Sweetheart, if you move into my house, you won’t be watching movies or hiding out in the basement. You’ll be lucky if you make it out of the bedroom. In fact”—he slid his hand to the nape of her neck, causing her eyes to glaze over with desire—“maybe I should take a few of those pictures and make that happen.” He’d taken a chance, saying something so brazen and holding her like this in the cab of his truck, but he couldn’t hold back.
Her breathing hitched, and her lips parted, a whisper away from his, giving him the clue he’d been looking for. So tempting. Too tempting. He forced himself to step from the truck before he succumbed to the lust coiling deep inside him, and inhaled the brisk sea air. Focusing on the music coming from the building instead of the kiss he’d just given up, he helped Parker from the car and slid an arm around her waist. He wasn’t about to take her out in public and not claim her as his. Confusion filled her eyes, and he couldn’t be sure if it was from what he’d said, that he hadn’t kissed her, or his arm around her waist, so he went with the lightest of the three as he found his way through his own tangled thoughts.
“Bodyguard, remember?”
Thankfully, she didn’t fight him on it. They made their way to the rear deck of the Beachcomber, which was packed with scantily clad twenty- and thirtysomethings bumping and grinding to the beat of the band. Parker’s movements were rigid, her eyes wide with worry.
He tugged her tighter against him. “I’ve got this.”
She nodded and slipped her arm around his waist. An added bonus.
His eyes swept over the crowd, looking for signs of recognition, but while a handful of men were checking Parker out, there was no indication that they recognized her as the Parker Collins. He moved through the crowd with her safely against him, ignoring the women checking him out, and focused on keeping Parker comfortable.
“Gray!” Pete waved from a table across the room.
They made their way to the two large tables his friends had pushed together. His younger sister, Sky, leaped to her feet. Her fiancé, Sawyer, tugged her down for a kiss before releasing her to greet them.
“My fiancé is so needy.” Sky hugged Grayson. “I’m so glad you guys came. Hi, Parker. I’m Sky, Grayson’s sister, and the hot guy I was kissing is Sawyer.”
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Parker waved to Sawyer.
Grayson arched a brow, wondering when she’d heard about Sky.
“In the emails,” she reminded him. “You talked about her tattoo shop and a bonfire. Oh, and a birthday party for your niece, Bea.”
While he tried to process the fact that she’d remembered those things from months ago, Sky pushed past him and hugged her.
“He’s crazy for Bea,” Sky said. “Where’s your entourage?”
“She doesn’t have one,” Grayson said possessively. “Speaking of which”—he moved to the head of the table and motioned for his friends to lean in and listen—“Parker’s going incognito tonight. Let’s keep it that way.”
Sky put her arm around Parker. “You’re just one of the girls tonight.”
“Absolutely,” Pete said with a nod. “Hey, Parker, I’m Pete, and this is my wife, Jenna. Bea’s our little princess.”
Jenna came around the table and squeezed her petite self between Grayson and Parker. “We know all about you, because Grayson’s been working for CCF, and it’s our job to be nosy. Let me introduce you to everyone or you’ll be standing here all night.” As the organizer of their close-knit group, Jenna loved to take control. “You know Hunter from the competition, and the woman hanging all over him is his fiancée, Jana.” Jana waved. “The perky blonde and her surfer man across the table are Amy and Tony. The other blonde, currently kissing her husband, Caden, is Bella, our resident prankster.”
“Prankster?” Parker asked.
“Don’t worry,” Leanna said. “She only pranks the property manager at our community, Theresa. Bella’s scheming tonight, so you’ll get a good dose of what it’s like to live in her brilliant brain. I’m Leanna, by the way, and this is my husband, Kurt.”
Kurt waved. “Nice to meet you, Parker.”
“Leanna, you make jam, right? Grayson mentioned you had a new flavor out when I was filming. I had a few cases of Sweet Temptation delivered for the cast and crew. It was so good! It tasted like chocolate and strawberries,” Parker said, stunning Grayson again with not only her recollection of his emails, but also that she’d bought Leanna’s jams. “And, Kurt, I’ve read some of your books. You’re an amazing writer. I hope they make Bonds of Steel into a movie.”
“You and me both. Thank you,” Kurt said.
“No shop talk tonight, remember?” Jenna said with a sweet but authoritative smile. “The two cuties whispering to each other at the end of the table are Jamie and Jessica Reed.”
Jessica waved. “What’s a mustache ride?”
Parker covered her shirt and glared at Grayson.
“Jessica, how about asking your man?” Grayson chuckled when Jamie flicked him the bird. In a more serious tone, he said, “I made her wear it. It’s part of her disguise.”
She could have thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him for that. Instead, she turned and mouthed, Thank you.
“Smart thinking,” Bella said as everyone took their seats. “Heck, I’d wear that shirt.”
“Not when I’m not around, you wouldn’t,” Caden said.
Grayson draped an arm over the back of Parker’s chair, and she eyed the incredibly well-muscled limb.
He gave her shoulder a possessive squeeze. “Just go with it.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Or I could start taking pictures and calling rag magazines.”
Her eyes went wide, then filled with heat. No pictures necessary.
PARKER HAD BEEN nervous about all the wrong things when they’d arrived at the Beachcomber. She’d worried about having to deal with autographs and embarrassing attention in front of Grayson and his friends, when she should have been worried about not having any control over her emotions around him. Her pulse had been racing since he’d made the remark in the car about his bedroom, and every brush of his leg, every stroke of his hand, every heated innuendo, only made it worse.
She wasn’t used to the rampant desires heating her up every time they were near each other. Between that and his innate understanding of exactly what she needed, like being out with his friends tonight, she felt even more connected to him than she had when they were emailing.
They’d been at the bar for a couple hours, but it hadn’t taken long for Parker to realize that it was nothing like the clubs in Los Angeles and that Grayson’s friends and family were polar opposites of most of the people she knew. They didn’t dress to the nines or wear formfitting clothes that showed off their figures. The girls wore pretty summer dresses, skirts, or shorts, and the guys were wearing either jeans or shorts and T-shirts, save for Kurt, who wore a short-sleeved collared shirt. Parker didn’t even feel out of place with her raunchy T-shirt and old shorts. But
it wasn’t just their warm welcome or casual attire that struck her. The thing that made the biggest impression was that they weren’t hanging on to their cell phones like they were their lifeblood, or looking in mirrors every few minutes to make sure their hair and makeup was perfect. They were holding their significant others and gazing into their eyes, the way she’d always dreamed life should be.
“Hey,” Grayson said. “You okay?”
“I’m better than okay. Thank you for kidnapping me. I needed this.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a quick, unexpected, and welcome, kiss. “I know you did. No thanks necessary.”
The quick kiss left her hoping for more. She was getting used to the way he took what he wanted and gave her exactly what she needed. Her eyes skirted around the table, and she was relieved to see the approving looks from his friends. They were all so close. It was no wonder he’d missed them when he was working on site for CCF. She recalled the day Grayson had accepted the contract, when he’d explained that he would be traveling and Hunter would be staying on the Cape for the sake of his new relationship. Parker had thought Hunter’s decision to remain on the Cape with Jana was about the most meaningful gesture a man could make. She’d been so focused on Hunter’s chivalric decision, she’d failed to realize just how big of a sacrifice it had been for Grayson to be away from the people he loved for so long. Seeing him with them tonight drove that point home, and she knew she’d had it all wrong. It wasn’t Hunter who had made the most meaningful gesture. It was Grayson, and he’d done it for a different kind of love. He’d done it for his brother.
That realization opened her heart to him even more.
The girls broke out in laughter, and she realized she’d missed whatever had been said.
“Remember the summer we pulled a Thong Thursday prank at the pool?” Amy’s blue eyes widened.
“Theresa got Bella good with that one.” Leanna laughed and elbowed Bella, who rolled her eyes.
