She met his gaze. “Then what is?”
Parker didn’t say anything and something began to unravel in Beth’s chest.
A hot tear rolled down her cheek. “He’s cheating on me, isn’t he?”
“He’s an idiot, Beth. He’s a God damned idiot if he doesn’t know how lucky he is. If you were mine . . . I would never . . . Beth if you were my girlfriend. . . ” Parker’s expression was pure anguish as he scrubbed a hand over his face in frustration.
But she had to know. “What?” she whispered. “What would you do if I was your girlfriend?”
Park dropped his hands and a flood of words came pouring out. “If you were mine I would spend every day making sure you knew just how much I love you. You would never doubt it for a second, Beth. You would know how madly in love with you I am. You would know you’re the most important person in the world to me. I would tell you how perfect and beautiful you are. I would protect you and never hurt you. I would never let you go, Beth. If you were mine—”
But she didn’t hear the rest because her lips found his and Parker didn’t hesitate. His fingers slipped into her hair, holding her in place as his lips tasted hers. Their kiss was salty and sweet, and it swept Beth away. She’d imagined what it would be like to kiss Parker a million times, but never had it been like this—so sure and natural and spectacular. It was so much better than she ever could have hoped.
Parker was gentle but passionate, as though he too was unleashing years of longing in that one endless kiss. The wind picked up and sand bit at them, but Parker only pulled Beth closer, sheltering her with his body. They were both on their knees now, their bodies pressed together as their kiss deepened. Beth’s hand rested over Parker’s hammering heart, the other caressed his jaw as he kissed her like it was the only way to draw breath.
It wasn’t until thick drops of rain started splattering them that Beth pulled away from Parker. They looked up as thunder rumbled in the distance. The heavy gray rain clouds had blown onshore, and the way they flashed and crackled gave Beth a prickly feeling in her gut. She wasn’t someone who believed in signs, but this was hard to ignore. She’d finally kissed Parker and the heavens themselves seemed angered.
“Come on.” Parker pulled her to her feet and they took off running toward the car.
Parker
Parker clung to Beth’s hand as they bolted down the beach. But the sky opened up, pouring down stinging rain. He could hardly see even as he tented a hand over his eyes. Thunder roared and Beth shrieked. Parker could smell the lightning in the air. He needed to get Beth somewhere safe. He gave up their mad dash to the car and changed direction, pulling Beth toward the nearest lifeguard tower.
Parker didn’t stop until they were up the ramp to safety. The door was locked but they were sheltered enough under the narrow awning. Beth shivered and Parker instinctively put his arm around her, but she flinched. She actually flinched away from him.
His heart was slamming in his chest, and it wasn’t from the dash on the beach. What the hell had he done? He’d kissed Beth. And she’d kissed him back. She’d more than kissed him back. And for a few seconds the world was perfect. But now Beth was flinching away from his touch and she was looking at him with a sadness he’d never seen before.
“Beth . . .”
“Don’t,” she warned. “Don’t say anything.”
“I think maybe we need to talk about what just happened.”
“No! If we talk about it then it makes it real.”
Parker gawked at her. “It is real, Beth. We kissed.”
“No! I have a boyfriend. And you’re my—”
“Do not say friend,” he begged.
Again she stunned him with the sorrow in her eyes. Had he really ruined everything for one kiss?
You’d do it all over again, his subconscious chided.
Parker rubbed the back of his neck. “Beth, I’m sorry but I can’t pretend it didn’t happen. It meant something to me.” Tears began mixed with rain on her face and Parker gently wiped them away. “I think it meant something to you, too.”
“I know,” she whimpered. “But I can’t. I just can’t, Parker!”
“Beth . . .”
“No!” she said pulling away.
A strange voice echoed into their space. “Is everything alright?”
Parker looked down the ramp into the beam of a flashlight. A lifeguard stood halfway up the ramp staring between Parker and Beth.
“We’re good,” Parker replied.
“I wasn’t asking you,” the lifeguard replied sternly.
“We’re fine,” Beth said. “We just got caught in the rain.”
The lifeguard lowered his flashlight. “This storm’s not letting up anytime soon. I can give you a lift into town.”
Beth quickly skirted past Parker to follow the lifeguard down the ramp and into his waiting truck. And just like that Parker’s world slipped through his fingers faster than a grain of sand.
25
Beth
The ride back to Bellemora was excruciating. Parker gripped the wheel like he was trying to strangle it and he stared straight ahead, unblinking. He drove so slowly it made Beth’s skin crawl. She knew it was because of the rain, but neither of them spoke and the silence in the car was almost as deafening as the rain pounding down around them.
Beth knew this whole trip was a disaster from the start. She should’ve found some way out of Brenna’s wedding. Her sisters’ weddings were pure torture. It’s not that Beth didn’t love her sisters. She did. But when they were planning a wedding they all turned into the worst PMS versions of themselves and ordered Beth around like a servant instead of a sister. ‘Beth, help set up the tables and chairs. Beth, collect the linens. Beth, bring the DJ a drink.’
And once Beth learned to drive, it only got worse. ‘Beth, pick up your cousin from the airport. Beth, drive drunk Uncle Tommy back to the hotel.’
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 princes
s.
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 would
n’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.
The Stand-In Boyfriend: A YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series Book 5) Page 14
