Vulnerable Pieces (Cape Isle, #4): A Cape Isle Novel

by Allie Able

  “What kind of cupcake should we do for the special today?” she asks.

  I think it over for a second while I move the chocolate ones to the cooling rack. “How about the key lime? That one is always a big hit.”

  “Key lime it is then.”

  We work in silence for a few minutes but I feel Summer’s eyes on me.

  “How can you be making that icing and staring at me at the same time?” I finally ask.

  “It’s a gift.”

  I laugh. “Do you have something to say, Summer? It looks like you’re about to explode.”

  “Yeah, I really don’t want to pry, that’s Lexie’s expertise, but Grant and I had dinner at his parents’ house last night and Parker was there.”

  I let out a groan and close my eyes.

  She chuckles at my dramatics but keeps talking. “We were sitting outside, just the three of us, and he may have mentioned having dinner with you Saturday night.”

  “I would hardly call that dinner. He came over unannounced with pizza and wine. We ate on my front porch.”

  “I’m just surprised you didn’t slam the door in his face.”

  “I thought about it, but I was hungry.”

  “Well, he seems to like you.”

  “He’s a psychopath.”

  She starts laughing so hard that she’s bent over at the waist.

  “Oh my God, only you would think a man that looks like Parker is a psychopath,” she gasps through her laughter.

  “What was that serial killer’s name that was so attractive? Oh, Ted Bundy! He was attractive too and he killed like thirty women.”

  That only makes her laugh even harder. Lexie walks into the kitchen and looks over at my scowling face before looking over at Summer who is still in hysterics over my comment.

  “What in the world is happening in here?”

  “Nothing,” I say glaring at Summer.

  She wipes her eyes and stands up straight, but she’s still chuckling quietly, when she looks over at Lexie. “Jenna just compared Parker to Ted Bundy.”

  “I didn’t exactly compare.” I try to defend myself, but I don’t think anyone is paying attention to me.

  “Why?” Lexie asks Summer.

  “I don’t know. She had dinner with him Saturday night, but then told me he was a psychopath and compared him to Ted Bundy”

  They both start laughing again. “She told me the same thing last week,” Lexie says.

  “Hey, guys, I’m standing right here,” I mumble, but I still go unnoticed.

  “I think she likes him.” This comes from Lexie and I narrow my eyes at her.

  “No I don’t.”

  “Oh, yeah. She likes him, but I don’t think she wants to like him,” Summer says with a smile.

  “Agreed,” Lexie nods.

  “You should have seen the way he talked about her at dinner last night. It was so cute. I don’t even think he realized he was doing it.”

  “Aww. I bet.”

  “Jesus Christ. Okay, this conversation is absolutely pointless. I don’t want anything to do with Parker. The only reason he’s coming around me is because he probably isn’t used to rejection. This isn’t a game. I am truly not interested in being in a relationship.”

  They both stare at me for a second unblinking. “Okay,” Summer finally says with a nod.

  “Okay,” I repeat.

  Lexie looks like it’s taking everything in her to hold back from saying something, but when I glare at her, she clamps her lips together and walks back out to the front.

  “Alright, so key lime cupcakes?” I ask, looking over at Summer.

  She gives me a small smile and nods. “Key lime cupcakes.”

  I turn around and get to work mixing the batch. I’m determined not to think one more second about Parker. I barely even know the man. It’s ridiculous really that they think I actually like him. I have avoided men for the last two years. I’m good at ignoring their attention and I’m not going to let a smooth talking lawyer in a well-tailored suit sway me, even if that suit does look damn good on him. He’ll get tired of his little game eventually and go away, hopefully.

  * * *

  “Bye, Jenna,” Lexie says as she walks to her car.

  “Bye. See you tomorrow,” I wave.

  I slip into my driver seat and crank up the air. It’s hot as hell here today. I’m so ready for cooler weather. While I try to decide what to eat for dinner, I let the air blast in my face for a second. This is seriously a nightly struggle for me and it’s a little ridiculous. I am a grown ass woman, but I eat like a poor college student.

  I finally decide to just go to the Mexican restaurant. A margarita sounds good right now.

  I put my car in reverse and back out of my parking space. I love how you can get almost anywhere in this town within five minutes. When I pull up to the restaurant, I look around at the parking lot in shock. It’s a Monday night and cars are filling almost every available spot. I finally find one and park before walking inside. It’s so loud in here. Maybe this was a bad idea. Before I can change my mind and just go home, the hostess greets me. I decide to just sit at the bar, so I don’t have to sit at a table all by myself. I point in that direction and she nods her head with a smile, before greeting the people behind me.

  There are few open bar stools, so I find the one that allows me to have the most privacy. No one is sitting on either side of me and I let out a sigh of relief as I sit down.

  “What can I get you?” the bartender asks, as he sets a menu down in front of me.

  “A margarita and a water please.”

  “Sure thing.” He gives me a wink as he goes about fixing my drink.

  I look down at the menu even though I already know what I want.

  When he delivers my drink a few minutes later, I order a chicken quesadilla before talking a large gulp of my drink. Tequila. Yum. I lean back in my chair and look up at one of the many TV screens in the bar area. The news is on and I’m trying to read the captions, so I barely notice when someone sits down beside me. I jolt when I feel his warm breath way too close to my ear.

  “Hey, Freckles.”

  I ignore the way his deep voice makes me feel in places I most certainly should not be feeling them and I turn to him with a glare. “You have got to be kidding me. Are you stalking me now?”

  He chuckles as he sits down on the bar stool next to me. “Nope. Just wanted some Mexican food.”

  I continue to glare at him until the bartender comes over to get his drink order. Parker looks over at my margarita and smiles. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

  I roll my eyes and look back at the TV. I do my best to ignore him, but damnit it’s hard. I can smell his cologne and he’s sitting so close that I can practically feel the heat coming off of him. I sneak a glance at him out of the corner of my eye, as he stands up and removes his suit jacket, before unbuttoning the sleeves of his dress shirt and rolling them up. He’s already lost the tie. I guess he took that off before he got here. He turns and I have to admire the way his dress shirt stretches across his broad back. Someone who sits at a desk all day should not look like that. I can admit it to myself that Parker is my type. Everything about him appeals to me and that scares the fuck out me because it’s been a long time since a man caught my attention. He sits back down and I quickly school my features into a look of disinterest before picking back up my drink.

  “How was your day?” he asks while stirring his drink. My eyes go to his hands and I watch, a little mesmerized. Why are his hands so sexy? Goddamnit, seriously. Why am I even noticing these things? I give my drink a dirty look like it’s the tequila’s fault when I know damn well even if I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol he would still affect me. On Saturday night, it took everything in me not to react when he put his hand on my leg.

  “Jenna?” His question, brings me out of my inner musings.

  “Yeah?”

  “I asked how your day was,” he chuckles.

  “Really?” I
ask turning to him with an eyebrow raised in question. “You want to make small talk?”

  He shrugs his shoulders. “Well, yeah. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Isn’t that the polite thing to do?”

  I stare at him for a second and decide the hell with it, we might as well have a conversation while I wait on my food. It won’t kill me to be nice. “My day was busy, but good. How was your day?”

  “Busy. I had court most of the day.”

  “You’re a defense attorney, right?”

  He takes a drink of his margarita before answering. “Yep.”

  “So you keep criminals out of prison?”

  “Not exactly,” he chuckles.

  “Hmm… I don’t believe you.”

  He turns towards me and his knee touches mine. I focus on that area before looking back up into his eyes. His looks mischievous, but also like he genuinely is enjoying talking to me.

  “I represent people. Some of those people may be guilty of the crime they are being charged for, some of them may not be. My job is to get them the best deal I can. I don’t decide their fate though.”

  “So if you know someone is guilty, you still represent them?”

  “Yes. That’s my job.”

  “Is it hard? Representing people that have questionable morals?”

  He looks a little shocked by my question. Like no one has ever asked him that before.

  He takes his time answering. He lifts his drink to his mouth and I follow suit, but keep my eyes focused on his.

  “It depends on the day, and it depends on the crime,” he finally says.

  I nod my head like I understand, but I don’t really. The laws seem so black and white to me. If you do something wrong, you should be punished but it seems like Parker operates in a gray area.

  The tension between us is broken when the bartender comes back and asks for Parker’s order. I listen as he orders his food and both of us another round of margaritas.

  “What if I didn’t want another drink?” I ask, when the bartender walks away.

  He smirks at me and gestures towards his drink. “Today was one of those days that it was hard representing one of my clients. You aren’t going to make me drink alone, are you?”

  I study his eyes for a second and I see through that ever-present cocky smirk of his. He really did have a bad day. Now that I study him a little closer, I can see the tension around his eyes and his hair looks like he’s been running his hands through it all day. At first glance, you would think that Parker is a carefree hot shot lawyer, but now that I look at him, really look at him, I can see that he really does have a lot going on under the surface.

  “Okay,” I agree quietly.

  His eyes study me the same way I was studying him. He gets a heated look on his face and I suddenly feel like I may be in over my head because when Parker Hamilton looks at me like that, I want things that I haven’t wanted in a long time. Things that would end with my body under his. Shit!

  Chapter Six

  Parker

  I REALLY WISH I COULD read Jenna better. Usually I’m so fucking good at that. It’s what makes me a good lawyer, but with her I don’t have the slightest clue as to what’s happening in that pretty little head of hers, and it’s driving me insane.

  Her food comes shortly after our second round of drinks arrive. She pushes it to the side and I raise a questioning eyebrow at her.

  “It’s rude to start eating before everyone has their food,” she explains.

  That one little statement tells me something about Jenna. She has either taken a few etiquette classes and they are so deeply ingrained in her that she does it without even noticing or she’s just being nice. Something tells me it’s the first. This girl is such a mystery to me.

  Instead of pointing all of that out, I just nod my head. “So, you are obviously not from here. Where did you grow up?”

  She straightens her spine and gives me a hard look. “Why?”

  “I’m just making conversation.” I have to chuckle at her suspicious expression. God, this girl has some secrets, but I’ll let her keep them, for now.

  She somewhat relaxes against her chair and takes a sip of her drink. “I grew up in Franklin, Georgia. What made you come back home after college?”

  She surprises me by her question. I had convinced myself that she didn’t give two shits about getting to know me.

  “That was always my plan. I love it here.”

  She nods her head. “Yeah, me too.”

  The bartender delivers my food and I tilt my head towards Jenna’s plate. “Yours is probably cold now.”

  “Still better than two-day old pizza.”

  I laugh. “Please tell me you wouldn’t have eaten that.”

  “Okay, I wouldn’t have eaten that,” she smirks, as she uses her fork to cut up her food.

  “Liar.”

  She laughs before taking a bite of her food. “Oh this is good. I’m happy I came here.”

  I look over at her as she puts her pouty lips on the glass and her tongue comes out to lick the salt. Shit, the things the woman does to me without even trying. “Me too,” I mumble.

  * * *

  After our food is finished and our plates have been cleared, I order us another drink.

  “I think you’re trying to get me drunk,” she jokes.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it Ms. Hudson and something tells me that you can handle your alcohol.”

  “Maybe, but this is my last one. I have to be at the bakery early in the morning.”

  I nod my head in response because I know all too well about having to be up early for work. I’m usually at the office before the sun even comes up.

  “Will you let me drive you home?” I ask.

  She squints her eyes at me in suspicion again, looking so damn cute while she does it. “I can’t tell if that’s code word for something or not.”

  I smile. “These drinks are strong and I want to make sure you make it home safely.”

  She studies my eyes for a second. “No, I’m fine to drive. Thank you though.”

  “Okay.”

  She signals the bartender over and when he brings our checks I insist on paying for hers.

  “That’s not happening,” she protests, shoving her card in the confused bartender’s direction.

  I finally just give up knowing this is a fight I won’t win.

  After we’ve both paid our tabs, I scoot my chair back and slip on my suit jacket, while she tucks her card back into her purse. We both stand there awkwardly staring at each other, before I finally place my hand on her lower back.

  “Let me walk you to the car.”

  She nods her head and lets me lead her outside and into the parking lot. I can feel the heat of her body though the thin material of her dress and it takes everything I have to be a gentleman and not drop my hand any lower.

  “I’m over there,” she says, pointing to where I can now see her Audi.

  She unlocks the car when we get close and I expect her to quickly jump into the driver seat, but she surprises me when she turns and looks up at my face. I should just drop my hand away, but I don’t. Her sudden movement causes it to slide towards her hip and I leave it there, giving her little waist a squeeze as she looks up at me.

  “Thanks for inviting yourself to dinner again,” she smiles.

  “You’re welcome. I’ll be sure to do it again soon.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  I watch her eyes, as I lift my hand to her face and brush her hair behind her ear. Her breath catches in her throat and her lips part. My eyes drop to them for a second before focusing back on her eyes.

  “I’m going to kiss you, Jenna,” I warn.

  I give her a second to retreat or say no, but she stands still and licks her lips.

  My hand on her hip pulls her closer, as my other hand goes to the back of her head. I thread my fingers through her silky hair and bend down until my lips are touching hers. They are so soft and I hold still fo
r a second just relishing in the way they feel pressed against mine.

  Her arms hang loosely at her sides for a moment before she slips them under my suit jacket and grips onto my sides.

  I press harder against her mouth. Parting my lips and swiping my tongue along her lower lip, I taste her. I bite down gently where my tongue just was and she groans deep in her throat, her hands pulling me closer. Her tongue comes out to meet mine. She taste like tequila and cherries and it’s fucking intoxicating. I walk her backwards until I have her pinned against her car, tasting the inside of her mouth like I’m starved for her. My hands move down to her ass where I squeeze the firm flesh in my hands. My cock is painfully hard and she is grinding her hips against me, making me want to fuck her right here.

  I break away from her delicious mouth and kiss my way down her neck. “Fuck, Jenna,” I groan as I lick and bite at her flesh.

  She is breathing heavily. When I look down, I can see her hard nipples through her dress.

  “Goddamn,” I whisper to myself.

  She is suddenly pushing at my sides and I lift my head from her neck to look into her eyes.

  They are still clouded with lust, but she looks panicked. “What’s wrong?” I ask quietly.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this.” Her eyes leave me to look around the parking lot.

  I let go of her hair and move my hand to her cheek, pulling her attention back to me. “No one can see us. Is that what you’re worried about?”

  She doesn’t answer right away, so I bring my lips back to hers, needing to taste her again.

  I kiss her slowly and deeply this time. I want to remember everything about this moment because something tells me that she’s about to pull away again, and I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to have her like this.

  She moans again, right before she pulls her mouth away from mine. “No, I mean we shouldn’t be doing this at all,” she whispers.

  “Why not?”

  “Because, it’s a bad idea.”

  “It feels like a spectacular idea to me.” Just to prove my point, I push my hard cock against her hip.

  She smirks up at me before shaking her head. “That may feel good, but us together would be a fucking disaster and you know it. I’m not even sure I actually like you and I’m certainly not looking for any type of relationship.”