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It had only been him, Parker, and Leah for lunch. He’d been surprised at how comfortable and at ease Parker was with Leah as he listened to them banter back and forth. He’d finally taken his head out of his own ass and paid attention to how Parker was around people. He remembered how she’d been so uncomfortable at Crazy Pete’s, both times they’d seen each other there. How she’d been around Wendy, Hannah, and even Garret.
She was shy and a little bit awkward, but he thought it was cute. And it filled him with a weird sense of pride, because she wasn’t like that with him. She was open and herself with him in a way she wasn’t usually with others, and he selfishly wanted to keep it that way.
Which was part of the reason he’d gotten her away from Sam. He didn’t want her uncomfortable and they’d been talking openly. He hadn’t wanted to ruin it.
He’d never admit it out loud, but he hadn’t wanted Sam around her himself, either. Sam was a great guy and he’d never say anything to upset or offend Parker, but he was a handsome, charming bastard. At least the ladies seemed to think so, and Ty wasn’t taking any chances with Parker.
The computer finally booted up and Ty opened the spreadsheet program, settling in to wait once again while it all loaded. He rubbed his full stomach, thinking again about lunch. The food had been good, but the best part had been seeing Parker relaxed and happy, a smile on her face like she was enjoying her time here.
It had maybe been the best lunch he’d ever had in his life.
Sighing, he decided to get something to drink while he waited for his program to load. He knew from experience that if he tried to rush it and start before it was done, it would go to hell fast. He walked from the room and then paused as he caught sight of Parker. She was in the sitting room, all scrunched up on a chair, laptop balanced on her knees. She couldn’t be comfortable like that.
“Hey,” he said, walking into the room. “What are you up to?”
Parker looked up at him, a mischievous smile on her face. “I’m just sitting in my chair, doing approved activities.”
“Smartass,” Tyler replied as his lips quirked up. “You know what I meant.”
“I downloaded the photos I took of the farm. I’m just going through them, seeing if there’s anything I like or anything I need to reshoot.”
Ty’s eyebrows raised. “You’ve already downloaded all of the pictures you took this morning?”
“Well yeah. It doesn’t take that long.”
He eyed her laptop, wondering how powerful it was. How new it was. She’d done what it would take hours for him to do on his computer, and she’d done it in the time it had taken his to just turn on. Impressive. And a little humbling. A lot of shit needed fixing or replaced on the farm, and his computer was high on the list. The farm had been in danger of going under for so long, though, that he hadn’t wanted to replace something that technically still worked. Their finances were slowly righting themselves now, and he was hopeful he would get off of the need list and onto the want list soon.
Forcing his thoughts away from that rabbit hole, Ty cleared his throat. “That position doesn’t look very comfortable.”
Parker smiled at him, and the sight struck him right in the chest, like it always did. “I sit like this at home, so it’s all good. This chair is actually pretty comfy.”
“Alright then. If you’d like to join me in the office, though, you’re welcome to. My desk is huge. There’s plenty of room for you and your laptop.”
Parker stilled for a moment before her smile widened. “Really? I wouldn’t be bothering you?”
“Of course not. Besides, we wanted to get to know each other better, right? And you need to know stuff about the farm. You can ask me whatever you want as you need to.”
She shut her laptop and stood up, stretching. She cringed a bit, and Ty made to rush forward but she waved him off. “It’s nothing. Just a twinge in my back. I get back spasms, have had them since I hurt my back when I was a teenager. They’ve become a little stronger and more frequent as I get further along, but they’re nothing, I promise.”
Ty frowned but nodded and stepped back. Back spasms didn’t sound like nothing to him, but he was trying hard not to hover. He’d done so much of that already since she’d been there that he was surprised she hadn’t run all the way back to California by now.
“I’m going to grab something to drink, and then I’ll meet you in the office. Do you want anything?”
“A glass of sweet tea would be great,” she replied softly.
He nodded as he turned and headed toward the kitchen. Quickly filling two glasses with ice, he poured the tea before rushing to head back, ignoring Leah’s knowing look as he did so. Leah always thought she knew everything, and knew everything best, but she’d been like a mother to him and Chase after their own mother died, so he let her have her moments. Besides, nine times out of ten, she was right.
He walked into the office and his breath stalled in his chest when he saw Parker with a chair pulled up to a corner of the huge desk. She had her laptop open and she was intently studying what was probably the images she’d taken of the farm. With those black glasses, she definitely had the sexy librarian look down. Now he just needed to see her looking exactly as she did now but with a book in her hand. In his bed. Waiting on him.
Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he sat her glass by her side before sitting down in his chair with his own. His spreadsheet was finally finished loading, but he found himself continually sneaking peeks at Parker instead of focusing on his work.
He forced himself to concentrate, but it hadn’t been long before his eyes drifted over to her again. This time she caught him.
“I know you’re busy, but do you want to see the images I have so far?”
“I’d like that,” he replied, moving his chair around the side so he was sitting next to her.
It took him a moment to focus on what she was showing him. He could feel the heat from her body seeping into his, smell the tangy lemon scent of her body wash, and the sound of her musical voice was washing over him, although he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what she was saying. He just loved the sound of her voice. Everything about her was invading his senses, and he lifted a hand to rub at the ache in his chest that being so close to her had brought on.
