“I’m not getting into a car with you. I don’t know you.”
He stuck out his right hand. “Parker Coles, Dr. Parker Coles. I’m an ER doc at City Med, and I am at your service. I could show you my hospital ID.”
She looked at his hand then back to his face. Her eyes were the prettiest cobalt blue one could ever hope to peer into.
“Isla,” she whispered.
He smiled. “Nice to meet you. Come on, let’s get you home.” He brought her to her feet, then pressed her against him. Helping her in the passenger’s seat, he put her grocery bag on her lap then went to the driver’s side. He drove to the apartment complex.
“That one,” she said, pointing to the end unit. He pulled into a space. She was already halfway out of the car when he got to her.
“Let me help you,” he said. “We’ve already determined that I don’t bite.”
She barely made it to the couch. “I’m just going to sit here for a minute.”
He helped her lie down, slipped off her shoes, and pushed a pillow under her head.
“That was enough work for one day,” Isla said.
“Has it been an hour since you last barfed?”
“Yes. Is that a medical term?”
“ER shorthand.” He grinned. “I can get you some ice chips. If that stays down, you can graduate to water.”
She studied him up and down, her expression guarded hopefulness.
He put his hands together. “I’m standing in your apartment, so you trust me on some level. Should I call your primary care?”
“My doctor? I don’t think so. I just have the mother of all stomach bugs. I’ve been tossing up things I haven’t even eaten yet. Right now, I just want to have some water and then sleep.” She sat up. “I appreciate everything, Dr. Coles.”
“Parker, please.”
“I can manage from here.”
“I’m sure. But you shouldn’t have to. If not your doctor, is there someone I can call for you? Friends? Family?”
“No family around here, and I’m not going to bother friends with a stomach bug.”
“Hmm, stubborn.”
“Independent.” Isla stood.
“Bordering on reckless.”
“I prefer feisty. Usually. Not right now.”
He laughed. “Okay, feisty. How about you go put on some warm pajamas and get into bed? I’ll bring you something to eat and drink.” He pressed her toward the hallway. “Go on. Do as you’re told. You don’t have the strength to fight me on this.”
Her shoulders sagged. “You’re right.”
When he opened the bedroom door, she was already under the covers. He put a tray on her end table. “Crackers, a pitcher of water, some ice chips. Start with the ice chips. If those go down all right, have some water, then the crackers after that. Is there anything else? I could go back to the store.”
Isla smiled. Her smile, even though she was as pale as a ghost with dark circles under her eyes that went halfway down her cheeks, made his heart race.
“No. Thank you, knight-in-shining-armor.”
He bowed. “My pleasure, damsel in distress.” He winked. “I hope you get better quickly.” He hesitated. “I left my card with my number on your counter. Promise you’ll call if you need anything. I’ll come right over.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Doctor, remember? Promise me.”
She paused a moment. “I promise.”
“I’ll lock your front door on my way out.”
Isla listened as Parker’s footsteps faded, and the front door closed. She took a few breaths.
“Sparkle. Where the heck are you?”
Sparkle peeked out from behind the brass bedpost. “Is he gone?”
“Yes. Where have you been?”
“All day fairy conference.” Sparkle hovered. “Oh, dear. What happened to you?”
Isla recounted her trials.
“That sounds horrible.” Sparkle alit on the pillow by her head. “He was super cute.”
“I didn’t notice.”
Sparkles wings drooped. “You’re sick, Isla, not blind.”
“All right, I did notice.”
“How did he end up in your house?”
Isla told Sparkle the story.
“You are one lucky lady,” Sparkle said with a grin.
“Oh, let’s not throw that word around.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
Isla told Sparkle the rest of the day’s events.
Sparkle flopped back on the pillow. “Wow. That’s a lot of bad news for one day.” She propped on her elbow. “If it were anyone else, I would have said it wasn’t possible to have that much bad luck.” Sparkle tilted her head. “But for you, it makes perfect sense.”
“You sure know how to make a girl feel better.”
“I’ve known you forever, so I’m confident when I say that you do not have the luck of the Irish.”
“I have a fairy, not a leprechaun.”
Sparkle hovered in front of her. “So true. Your human family and my fairy family have been entwined for over two hundred years. If you wanted a leprechaun, you should have been born an O’Rourke or an O’Connor.”
Isla narrowed her gaze. “Thanks for that.”
“Get some rest. I’ll watch over you, my little human charge. We will tackle the rest of it when you feel better.”
“I don’t have the strength the argue.”
“That’s a first.”
“Are all fairies this sassy, or am I just fortunate?”
“I’m not sassy, I’m cheeky.” Sparkle shook her finger at Isla. “And you should be thankful. Quite frankly, you need a cheeky fairy. You are way too much for a lesser fairy to handle.”
“And you are in rare comedic form. Bye.” Isla waved.
“Good night. Sleep tight. Dream about that cute guy.”
Isla gave Sparkle a thumb’s up.
Sparkle flew out to the kitchen tapping numbers on her tiny cellphone.
“Fairy headquarters, how may I direct your call?” the fairy voice on the other end said.
“Hey, Sunny, it’s Sparkle. I need to speak to mergers and acquisitions.”
“Oww, the love connection. Hold on.”
The phone rang once. “M and A. Val here.”
“Hi Val, I have a quick question. Is Isla scheduled for a meet-cute? I didn’t get a memo.”
“Hold on. No. Nope. No love connections are scheduled. Nothing. Why? Do we have an unscheduled connection to report?”
“Probably not. Isla is sick, so it was a one-time random meeting, I’m sure. Thanks.” Sparkle disconnected the call. “An unplanned meeting, huh? This could be interesting.”
Chapter 2
Parker carried four bags of groceries up the sidewalk, then rang the doorbell with his elbow.
Hopefully, Isla remembered him. She was pretty out of it yesterday. He sure as hell remembered her. Her gorgeous eyes kept him awake most of the night. Her beautiful smile invaded his thoughts throughout the day, and now his heart was racing at the thought of seeing her again.
The door opened. Hair messy, wearing flannel lounge pants and an oversized hoodie, Isla stood in the doorway looking adorable.
“Knight in shining armor?”
“At your service, Milady. I bring sustenance.” He held up his bags. “How are you doing today?”
“Better. Exhausted.” She smiled, stepping back. “Come in.”
“I’m glad you remember me. I was afraid yesterday was kind of a blur for you.”
“I couldn’t forget you.” She looked away, clearing her throat. “Umm, so you have food?”
“Yes. Plain, simple, easy to digest food. The spiciest thing I have is Grandma’s chicken soup from the deli near the hospital. Has your stomach settled a little?”
“Yeah. No incidents in over twelve hours. Right now, I’m tired. My head hurts. And my abs are sore.” She plopped onto the couch then pulled a blanket over her.
He put
the soup in the fridge then unpacked the groceries. “Are you drinking fluids?”
“Yeah.” She held up her glass. “Maybe in a few hours I’ll be hungry. I must be better because hearing about food doesn’t make me queasy.”
“Progress.”
“Please, sit down.” She smiled. “I really want to thank you for everything you did yesterday. You helped a stranger. It hasn’t been my experience that people go out of their way for others.”
“I’m a doctor. Helping people is my job.” He put his forearms on his thighs. “But before you put a halo over my head, I helped a beautiful lady. I was hoping to get to know the beautiful lady a little better.”
“So, the good Samaritan was a sham?”
“No, I’m a good guy. I am also a guy who, if life gives me an opportunity to get to know you better, I’m grabbing that opportunity with both hands. I did my good deed by bringing you home.” He shook his finger. “Then I spent today trying to figure out a way to see you again.”
“So, you brought groceries.”
“Food is always a winner.” He searched her face. “You have some color in your cheeks.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you feeling well enough to tell me about the beautiful Isla?”
She grinned. “You first.”
He shrugged. “All right. I’m thirty, single, live in Barco, in one of the condos in the Tobacco Factory on River Street.”
“Oh, I love those. I once did an open house with my friend a few years ago. They are amazing. How many bedrooms? The one we saw had two. Is there off-street parking yet? I remember the agent saying that each bedroom would have a carport space.”
“Are you looking to buy?”
Isla laughed. “Not even close. I just love those converted warehouses, with the exposed pipes and the brick walls.”
“They are nice. The view of the river is great.”
“And you’re a doctor at Med?”
“You remembered.”
“I wasn’t that out of it.”
“I work in the ER.” He gestured to her. “How about you? What do you do?”
The corners of her mouth drooped as her expression hardened. She looked to the ceiling. “Dang, I forgot.”
“Forgot what you do for a living? How dehydrated are you?”
“No. I forgot that I got my walking papers yesterday.” She rubbed her forehead. “Until Thanksgiving Eve, I’m an administrative assistant for a company that distributes paper products, then I’m unemployed.” She put her hands up. “But it gets better. When I got home yesterday, I found out my rent is going up five hundred dollars after the first of the year.”
“Damn.” He thought a moment. “Getting sick was actually the highlight of your day.”
Isla laughed. “Pretty much.”
“Do you have another job lined up?”
“Why? Are you offering me a job?”
“Only if you can stitch up a wound.”
“No wound stitching experience. Just expenses.”
An idea flashed and a plan quickly formed. Parker leaned forward. “You know, I have an idea. It will sound crazy but hear me out. Okay?”
She nodded.
“I told my family that I was bringing my girlfriend for Thanksgiving this year.”
“Something you haven’t done?”
“Never. They are on my case every year to find a nice girl, settle down, have kids, continue the family name. It’s annoying as hell. Last week, I got a little reckless and told my mother that I would be bringing the girl I was dating.”
Isla shrugged. “So, bring the girl you’re dating.”
“Well, as it turns out when I asked her about it, she was insistent that an exclusive arrangement in the form of a ring go along with the bird and the stuffing.”
“Annnd, that wasn’t part of your plan right now.”
“Or ever.”
“Got it. How long have you been dating?”
“Over a year.”
“Ah.” Isla grabbed a throw pillow. “Over a year. But you weren’t heading toward marriage?”
“No, I’m not the marrying kind.”
“I’m guessing that when you told her there would be no ring forthcoming, she wasn’t excited about Turkey day.”
“Or our relationship.”
“She broke up with you. And now you need to tell your family.”
Parker lifted his brows and twisted his grin to one side. “Or bring a substitute.”
“Why would you bring a new girlfriend when you didn’t even want to bring the one you were dating for a year? How does that help with your family thinking you’re going to settle down?”
He paused. “I was thinking of bringing the new girl as the old girlfriend.”
Realization took a moment. “Me?” She got to her feet. “You want me to pose as your old girlfriend?”
“Yes. No one in my family has met her, so they don’t know what she looks like. It’s only for the day, and I’ll pay you. We just pretend we are a couple for a few hours. You get a nice meal at the family cottage on the beach. The wine is superb, my mother is an excellent cook, the family isn’t too dramatic as families go, and it’s only one day.”
Isla swayed a little.
He grabbed her upper arms. “Sit down.” He helped her onto the couch again.
“Do you have Thanksgiving plans? Going home, maybe? Because we could split up the day. You can have dinner with your family and have dessert at my parents.”
“No plans. It’s only my mother. She goes to Boca every year to visit friends.”
“Every year?”
“Yeah, we’re not close. Even before she started going south for the holidays, we wouldn’t do anything special.”
He scowled. “That actually sucks.”
Isla shrugged. “I didn’t know anything else except what my friends told me, and most of those stories were about fighting by dessert.”
“Thanksgiving at my house would definitely be something else.”
“What does that mean?”
“Say yes and find out.” Parker smiled and winked. “I don’t need an answer right away. Take a few days. Rest. Get your strength back. Think about it.”
“I don’t understand why you want to go through all this. Just tell your family you broke up.”
He rubbed his chin. “If I bring Margo or you playing her, to Thanksgiving this year, I will get two, maybe even three years peace. I have it all figured out. I’ll bring her, I mean you, this year. Next year, I’ll tell them we broke up like a week before Thanksgiving. Then the year after that, I can say I just met someone, and it’s too early to bring her around.”
“Diabolical.”
“I’m a desperate man. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to stop the nagging about settling down, and don’t get me started on having kids.”
She laughed. “Why don’t you just tell them you’re not the marrying kind? And not the father type. They’ll understand.”
“That’s the one thing my mother won’t understand.”
Isla frowned. “Are you passing down an Earldom or something?”
He laughed. “That would be great, but no.” He stood. “Get back to resting and drinking fluids. Let me know if you’re interested in my little plan. My card is still on the table. My cell is on the back.”
Isla stood. “I will. And thanks for checking on me, and for the food.”
“Can I call you tomorrow? Not for an answer, just to make sure you’ll still doing alright?”
She paused. “I’d like that.”
“Good. You have my card. Text me your number.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. If you need anything, call me.” He opened the door.
“I will, and thanks again.”
Parker waved as she closed the door behind him.
Damn, she was as gorgeous as he remembered. The blue eyes were just the beginning. Her hair was blond waves, the oversized clothes couldn’t hide the tantalizing curves. Parker didn’t k
now it was possible to be petite and curvy. Or that plaid flannel pants and a sweatshirt could be friggin’ hot. But there she was, cheeks a shade above pale, lips coated with balm and nose a bit red, looking adorable and sumptuous and inviting. He planned on kissing her. As soon as she wasn’t contagious.
Isla leaned against the door and tilted her head upward with her eyes closed. She felt a tiny weight on her shoulder.
“That guy is so hot,” Sparkle said, tugging on Isla’s earlobe.
Isla pushed off the door. “Oh? I didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, right. You’re telling me you didn’t see the brown curls, those velvety brown eyes, and the square jaw?” She flew in front of Isla. “You didn’t notice the big shoulders and that cute little butt?”
“Okay, I did notice the shoulders. And the butt.”
“I knew it.”
Isla laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket up. She draped her arm over the face.
“He is the cutest guy you’ve ever dated.”
“I’m not dating him. He helped me when I was sick. That’s all.”
“It’s just too bad he’s crazy.”
Isla moved her arm to look at Sparkle sitting on the back of the couch. “What?”
“He’s crazy, obviously. He wants you to stand in as someone else at Thanksgiving. Be his girlfriend. He fills you in on their history, calls you by her name, sets you up to be ‘the one,’ and pays you like it’s a job, no less. Then after the holiday? He breaks up with you. Because he’s not the marrying kind.” Sparkle rolled her eyes. “Please.”
“He is trying to be honest. It’s actually kind of refreshing. It’s a no strings attached business arrangement. Truth is, I could use the money. And who knows, maybe, this little holiday will give me some contacts. Networking. Heck, maybe Mr. forever-bachelor knows someone who needs a receptionist or something.”
“That’s doctor forever-bachelor.” Sparkle thought a moment. “The proposal does have its merits. You get to hang out with a gorgeous guy who obviously wants to hang out with you, being the biggest one.”
“He does seem nice, and he is kind of cute.”
Sparkle flew over to take Isla’s face in her tiny hands. “Understatement.” She flew in spirals. “And I get to hang out with him, too. He said Thanksgiving at the family beach house, right? We haven’t been to the beach in so long. I know the ocean breeze is cold, and the sun isn’t warm right now, but it’s the beach.” She squealed.
A Fairy Crazy Thanksgiving Page 2
