13
DELANEY
This was nuts.
I’d sworn off dating, and men, about as well as I’d stayed away from Makis even after I knew our relationship was toxic.Hewas toxic.
Parker is not. He’s one of the good guys.
That was what Pia had said last night after we danced. Apparently she and Jules had decided the two of us were perfect together and had, in Pia’s words, “amazing chemistry.” Not that I denied it. I’d wanted nothing more than to find myself in a dark corner of the bar making out with him.
Yet there was a part of me, a huge part of me, that wasn’t the same after Makis. Healing from that relationship had not been easy. I was just finding some hard-wrought peace from dreams that had haunted me for months.
Did I really want to do it all over again?
No. The answer was no. I didn’t.
And yet here I was, dragging my duffle bag down the stairs, about to get in a car for an hour—not to mention stay overnight—with a guy who I’d spent the better part of last night, and this morning, thinking about.
Stupid. Delaney, you are stupid, stupid, stupid.
Knowing he would be here any minute, I grabbed my coat and purse, locked up and headed out onto the porch. Just about to put on my coat, Parker’s pickup truck pulled up. Even if he hadn’t stopped in front of my house, I’d have known the silver truck was his. It fit him perfectly.
Kind of like his jeans. Or that light green, form-fitting long-sleeved shirt he’d had on last night which didn’t hide the fact that Parker worked out.
Jumping out of his truck, Parker jogged onto my porch, reaching out his hand.
“Hey there,” he said as I gave him my duffle bag.
“Thanks for waiting.” I followed him to the truck. And of course he opened my door, waited for me to get in, and shut it for me. That was what all guys did at first. And then a few weeks later, there’d be no more door openings. A few months later, he would take ten hours to text back. And so on from there.
I knew the drill.
“No problem,” he said, tossing my bag in the small back seat. “I was surprised you could get out so early.”
“I’ve been putting in a lot of extra hours,” I said, glad not to have messed Parker up too much. It was not even noon now. “The boss used to split time with me until his son got his pharmacy license. Now he just fills in here and there. Like today.”
“Glad it worked out,” he said.
It was impossible not to notice how good he smelled, like musk and cedar.
Talking to Parker was so easy. For almost an hour, we chatted about work and things we liked to do and our favorite foods. We moved from one topic to the next effortlessly. I couldn’t help a wave of disappointment seeing the rolling hills east of Seneca Lake that served a small ski town which I hadn’t been to in years.
Like last night, I enjoyed time alone with him and wished it could be extended. All while knowing it was good to be with the group, which kept me from doing something foolish. Like accidentally kissing Parker. He’d been giving off enough of a vibe for me to tell the difference between friendzone and… what was happening between us. Kissing would not be off the table.
“According to the directions, the house is up there,” he said as the truck began to climb a hill. There didn’t seem to be many other houses on the road, which was thick with trees on both sides.
“Holy shit,” I said, seeing it for the first time. “A log cabin.”
“A huge log cabin,” he clarified.
“I love them,” I admitted. “But don’t think I ever stayed in one.”
“One of the first houses I built was a log cabin,” Parker said, pulling his truck into the massive driveway. “I’ve done a few over the years and really enjoy them. There’s actually a weekend workshop in Rochester I’ve been thinking of taking, specifically for log cabin builders.”
“That makes sense,” I said, marveling at this one. “That it would be a specialized thing.”
The deck on the second floor went around the entire house. I could see the hot tub in the corner just before the deck wrapped around to the right. Part of me wanted to go explore and see the view, but it was freezing.
