“It’s the least I can do to thank you for saving me from whatever near-death experience I chose to participate in last night,” she said, looking between the three men. “And for the rude statement upstairs.”
“It wasn’t exactly a near-death experience. You got drunk and passed out,” Parker mumbled, shaking his head. Before he could shut her offer down, she forged ahead.
“Please let me do this. I would really like to.”
“Yeah, Parker, please.” She watched as he tried not to smile at his brothers’ begging. If she hadn’t noticed the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, she might have thought she lost the argument.
“Fine,” he growled at them, rolling his eyes.
“Give me your number so I can send you the details later,” Liam said excitedly. After typing her number on his phone, he waved it at his older brother. “I got her number first. Who's got the best game now?” Laughing, the twins ran toward the storeroom.
“You know you’ve created a monster, right?” Parker asked her as they disappeared into the back room. “Ronan won’t cause a problem, but you don’t know what you’ve volunteered for with Liam. He’ll pester you from now on.”
Setting down the broom he had been sweeping up with, he walked toward the hallway. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
When she caught up to him in the back alley, he was holding the door open to an old Ramcharger. He helped her into it and closed the door. He walked around the front to climb in the driver’s side.
“I like this,” she said, looking around. When her eyes landed back on him, he was looking at her with disbelief.
“Really?” he asked. “It was my dad’s in high school, would you believe? I just keep screwing it back together.”
“It’s very retro. I think it’s fantastic.”
“Retro, huh? Okay.” They sat in silence as he drove her across town, only broken by the occasional need for directions. He pulled up in front of the old house that had been converted into campus apartments and turned off the SUV. Astrid turned in her seat, catching him studying her house.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, deciding to throw caution to the wind. She took a quick breath when his eyes suddenly shifted to her. Had she noticed before how green they were? Of course she had, she had noticed everything. He cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.
“Is bartender Parker just an alternate personality? Because grouchy morning Parker is not near as fun.” There, she said it. She remembered how nice he was when he brought her first drink last night. It was a far cry from the man sitting in the seat next to her.
To her amazement, Parker threw back his head in a full-on belly laugh. He should laugh all the time. It made him even sexier than normal.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wiping his eyes when he finally regained control. “I’ll try to be less of an asshole.”
“Well, not exactly an asshole. Just… growly.”
“Growly?” he asked with that grin on his face. The grin that made his dimples appear and her panties melted off of her body. “Wait there,” he said, climbing out of the SUV.
She had a whole five seconds to watch that grin as he walked around the hood to her side. He opened her door and helped her to the ground.
She just stared at him for a minute taking in every inch of his face. He really was beautiful. Everything in her wanted to climb on him and never let go. It was like he was a flame that she was desperately trying not to ride her moth straight into. But men like Parker Donnelly didn’t take up with women as boring as Astrid Aaronson.
“Well, this is me. Thank you for… whatever last night was,” she said. Parker held out his hand palm up. After some intense consideration, Astrid took it in hers.
“I need your keys,” Parker said, the grin returning. “You said something about living here by yourself this summer. I’ll check it out to make sure you’re safe.”
“Oh,” Astrid answered, turning bright red as she jerked back her hand. She fished her keys out of her purse.
“But if you want to hold my hand, that’s fine too,” he said.
Astrid didn’t think she could get any redder. Once you reach cooked-lobster color, there should be some kind of natural law preventing it.
Parker took her keys before lacing his fingers through hers.
As he slid the key into the lock of her front door, they heard a burst of angry yelling behind them. Parker spun around pushing her behind him. She heard a mumbled curse as she tried to maneuver to the side. His response was to push her more securely behind him against the door. As much as she appreciated being pressed against Parker, there was an easy explanation for all of the yelling.
“It’s just the neighbors,” she said in a muffled voice against his back. “They do this all the time.”
“Why?” he asked, finally releasing her. She nodded toward the house across the street.
