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Troublemaker
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Victoria
“How can two small words cause so much trouble?” Victoria whispered aloud as she stared at the name flashing across her cell phone screen. Her body stiffened against the soft fabric of her high-back office chair while she bit down on her ruby-colored lower lip, a nervous habit she’d developed when she was a teenager. The name PARKER BRIGHTWOOD flashed at her like a warning light, and she knew that a call from him was something for which she needed to brace herself.
She sat forward, propped one elbow on top of her large mahogany desk, and debated whether she should answer his call or let it roll into her voice mailbox. She knew she’d have to talk to him sooner or later, so rather than avoid and ignore him—a costly mistake she’d made in the past—she hit the talk button.
“Hello, Parker.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because you sound so formal. Not like your usual self.”
She wanted to ask him how he could possibly know what she usually sounded like. After all, it wasn’t as if they talked on a regular basis. Those days had ended many years ago. But she also knew that as much as her life and circumstances had changed in that long span of time, a few delicate, if not complicated, things hadn’t, and Parker was one of them.
“You sure you’re okay?” he repeated.
“I’m sure. Now how can I help you?”
He chuckled. “There you go again, talking to me like a greeter in a department store.”
“I have to keep things on a business level with you.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
She took a deep breath. “Because you don’t know how to act.”
“Well, since you’re the consummate purveyor of proper etiquette, maybe you can give me a few lessons. I’m a very good student and I catch on pretty quick, but you already know that, don’t you?”
She smiled on the other end, despite not wanting to.
They were both quiet for a short pause. Victoria could hear him breathing through the silence on the other end, and she imagined the sly grin that was no doubt spread across his lusciously soft lips, which carried a perfect tint of pink. She was almost pulled in for a moment, but she quickly regained her focus. “I don’t have all day, Parker. What do you want?”
“Victoria, I think you’re losing that gracious Southern charm that always made you so lovable, and I might add, irresistible.”
“Get to the point or I’m hanging up.”
“Okay, okay. I want to know if I can add two more guests to the list for the reception?”
Victoria reached for her silver-plated pen and softly tapped it against the top of her desk as she let out a small sigh. She knew that Parker’s question was nothing more than an excuse to talk to her. When he’d called last month asking her the very same thing, she’d told him then that according to the guest list that she’d spent hours meticulously creating, all in preparation for the final headcount for his son’s and her daughter’s wedding next month, there was room for up to five additional guests.
Ever since that bright, sunny afternoon one year ago when her daughter, Alexandria, had happily told her that she’d reconnected with PJ, her childhood best friend, who happened to be Dr. Parker Brightwood Sr.’s son, Victoria had known that trouble was waiting to find her.
A storm cloud of memories had rushed back into her life that day, but unlike her encounters with Parker from the past, she now knew she’d have to handle him, and their dealings, in a very different way.
Rather than rehashing the fact that she’d already answered his question last month, and pointing out that his phone call was basically a ruse to engage her in conversation, she simply went along with the flow. “Yes, Parker, that’s fine. You can bring two more people. Anything else?”
He chuckled again, this time in a slow, seductive tone. “Damn, that was easy. If I’d known you were going to be so accommodating I would’ve asked for more . . . much more.”
His smooth, deep, and sexy voice hadn’t changed over the years. And even though his words were laced with dangerous innuendo, coming from his mouth, they sounded as good and as sweet as apple pie. Silky seduction was part of his undeniable charm, and it had worked on her more times than she cared to remember. Victoria knew she couldn’t be drawn in by his sexiness or the natural chemistry they’d always shared. She had to use her head and shut things down before they had an inkling of a chance to get started.
“I know exactly what you’re hinting at, Parker. And I’m not having it. We’re too old to play these ridiculous cat-and-mouse games.”
“Who’s old, and who’s playing games?”
Victoria pressed her hand against her left temple. “Bring whomever you want. Just make sure you all show up on time.”
“Are you upset?”
“No, I’m irritated.”
“Have you been having a rough day?”
“Not until you called me with this foolishness.” Now she couldn’t hold back any longer. “You knew full well when you dialed my number that you could invite more guests because we discussed this last month when we talked. You didn’t have to call me today.”
Parker cleared his throat. “Victoria, I have a hectic schedule and a very busy practice at two hospitals. Sometimes it’s hard to keep everything straight. I know we’ve talked about this before, but I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d reached the headcount you gave me, so I wanted to check with you before extending an invitation to two of my colleagues.”
“Uh-huh, right . . .”
“It’s true.”
“Sure, Parker. Whatever you say.”
“Listen, I’m being straight with you. I have no reason at all to lie. You know I don’t play games.”
“Sure, you don’t.”
“Damn, I don’t remember you being this cold.”
“Put on a jacket and get used to it.”
Parker laughed, then lowered his voice. “You’re really something else.”
“Are you finished?”
“No, I have one more question.”
Victoria sighed, not sure she wanted to hear what he had to say, much less answer to it. “Go ahead.”
“I want to know what’s wrong with me calling you? We’re going to be in-laws . . . family, in a manner of speaking. A phone call is much more personal than an e-mail. I can get personal with you, can’t I?”
Victoria squirmed in her chair. “Get personal? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Anything you want it to.”
“Parker, I don’t have time for this. Like I said, bring whomever the hell you want to bring, and as I told you at the beginning of this conversation, don’t call me again with any more foolishness.”
Parker’s deep voice took on an even deeper tone. “Our children’s wedding day isn’t foolishness.”
“You know what I meant.”
“I know what you just said.”
Victoria stood up and walked over to her office window, pacing back and forth in her black patent leather peep-toe heels. “Of course the wedding isn’t foolishness. It’s going to be the single biggest day of Alexandria’s and PJ’s lives, and I know without a doubt that it will be the start of a happy future for them both. What I’m talking about is the way you’re always dropping hints and alluding to things . . .”
“Alluding?” Parker interrupted her in a surprised voice. “Victoria, we go way back, and you know me. I don’t allude, I take action. I might flirt, but I don’t drop hints. I’m direct and I say what I mean.”
“Then why are you calling me during the middle of the day with this?”
“I thought I already explained that.”
Victoria took a deep breath, continuing to pace back and forth.
“I hear you taking those deep breaths,” Parker said. “Just calm down and st
op pacing back and forth in front of your window. Relax.”
Victoria stopped in her tracks. He knew her too well, even after all these years. She walked back to her desk and sat down. “You’re right. We’re going to be in-laws soon. We’ll be seeing each other at the holidays and other occasions as the years go on, so I want to get something straight right now.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“I’m happily married. Our children are getting ready to be happily married. And from what I hear, hopefully you will be happily married, too. So please stop this flirting or whatever you want to call it. This isn’t right and it needs to end with this call.”
Parker cleared his throat and let out a small laugh. “That’s really interesting. I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but I can assure you that marriage isn’t on the table for me. However, I couldn’t agree with you more about PJ and Alexandria, and I wish them nothing but the very best. I love Alexandria like the daughter I never had, and I have no doubt that she and my son will enjoy many years of happiness.”
Victoria wasn’t about to tell him that PJ had been the source of her information, or that he wasn’t a fan of his father’s significant other, and now she regretted making the comment. “I’m happy to hear that, Parker, and I’m glad we understand each other.”
“I think we always have.”
“Okay, well, you take care and I’ll see you at the wedding.”
She didn’t give him a chance to respond. She hit the end button and leaned back against her chair as she let out a deep breath. She thought about the wise saying that Alexandria had told her grandma Allene had whispered to her one evening. You can never go wrong doing right. Victoria knew that Parker was anything but right, and if she wasn’t careful with him, she could find herself going in the wrong direction.
Parker had broken her heart in what seemed like another lifetime, and the poor choices she’d made with him years later had nearly cost her the happy marriage she’d talked about moments ago.
“This time I’m going to do the right thing. I’m not going to make the same mistake a third time.”
But even as Victoria spoke those words, a small voice told her to hold on tight for the bumpy road ahead.
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2011 by Grace Octavia
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ISBN: 978-0-7582-6538-8
First Kensington Trade Edition: November 2011
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eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9147-9
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Kensington electronic edition: October 2014
Should Have Known Better Page 28
