Page 172 of Twisted Needs

Emelie’s expression softens for half a second when she looks at me. Then it hardens again the second her eyes land on Parker. “I think you should go inside, mon lutin,” Emelie tells me, soft but still assertive. She never uses her serious voice with me. “Your brother and I will have a talk with⁠—”

“No,” I shake my head.

“Anders.”

“No.”

Em huffs, her jaw tightening. “You’re making this harder⁠—”

“I’m not leaving him.” The words are out before I can stop them.

Parker goes completely still behind me. Emelie closes her eyes, looking exhausted for a second. There’s no anger there, but there’s still something complicated. When she opens them again, she’s looking at me instead of Parker. “Mon lutin.”

I immediately look away. She’s giving me the voice. The one that always works on me. “You don’t have to protect him,” she tells me.

My throat tightens. I hate that she can still read me so easily. “Maman.”

The word stops her cold like it always does. Her expression crumples for the briefest second before she recovers. The evening breeze pushes a few loose strands of golden blonde hair across her face. “Okay,” she concedes. She brushes her hair away, tucking it behind her ear. “Okay.” She flicks her eyes to Parker, her expression hardening. “I don’t have much to say to you,” she tells him. Her French accent thickens around the words the way it always does when she’s upset.

“That’s fair,” Parker murmurs, swallowing hard.

“No.” She shakes her head. “It isn’t.”

The lake water laps softly against the dock. Behind her, Luca hasn’t moved. He’s still standing exactly where I left him. Still watching us.

“I think you should’ve told us sooner.”

Parker nods once. “I know.”

“I think you should’ve told Luca first.”

“I know.”

“And I think you’ve made this infinitely harder than it needed to be.”

“I know, Em.”

I think the fact that Parker isn’t trying to argue genuinely catches her off guard. Her shoulders loosen slightly. “And don’t mistake this for approval.”

“I’m not.”

“The only reason I’m not screaming at you right now is because my brother loves you.”

My grip tightens. Emelie notices immediately, as per usual. For a moment nobody says anything. Finally Parker speaks. His voice is so quiet I almost don’t hear it.

“He is my whole heart.”

Something flickers across Emelie’s face. It’s sadness, but there’s something else. It’s like she can see the truth. She acknowledges our love. And that’s what makes all of this so difficult. She nods once, then turns and walks past us toward the dock where Luca is waiting.

With the way the house is set up, my family and Jen’s family get their own floors where the bedrooms are concerned. Because she has two more kids than my brother does, Jen and Vince keep their clan of gingers down in the basement. My family takes the bedrooms upstairs, which is usually where mine is, too.

When Parker and I first got here this morning, I followed him into the ground-floor master where he’s always stayed.

I think it’s the best room in the house.

The bedroom itself is cozy, tucked away from the insanity of the rest of the house. The bathroom has a massive jacuzzi tub and an even bigger walk-in shower with five separate shower heads. Then there’s the private deck. A comfortable outdoor couch. A small fire pit. A hot tub that overlooks the lake.

Moonlight dances across the surface of Lake Tahoe, turning the water silver wherever it catches the light. Hundreds of glowing fireflies drift lazily through the air around us. The warm buzz of cicadas fills the world beyond the deck while the cool evening breeze slowly chases away the lingering heat from the day.