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Parker smiles hesitantly. “Iamgoing to make it on the coveted guest list, right?”
Cecile’s eyes light up, and she claps her hands together. “Of course you are! You were first on the list.”
Parker looks almost relieved. Then he takes a seat on the bleachers in front of me, and his smile turns to a look of sheer determination. “I’m not letting you avoid me any longer.”
I wince, and at the same time, my pulse reacts to his dominant alpha male act. Cecile interrupts our staring match. “Oh! Parker, darling.” She snaps a couple times to gain Parker’s attention. He looks her direction, and I suck in a deep breath. I hadn’t realized I was holding it.
“Since we have you here,” Cecile says, “would you be a dear and help me come up with a few more names to add to the guest list? You know most of the vampires in the metro area. The point of this party is to introduce Nora to as many nice vampires as possible, after all. We need to get our girl used to your kind.”
Cecile winks at Parker, and he chuckles. “I’m sure I can come up with a few names for you, though…” He looks my way and pins me with another determined stare. “I know a better way for you to get used to vampires. Have dinner with me.”
Everyone around us falls silent. Parker holds my gaze, refusing to let me look away. I want to say yes. I know I need to get over both my fear of vampires and of men in general, and I know Parker would be a good person to start with. He’s a good guy, and there’s no denying he makes me feel things I thought I’d never feel for a man, but he’s Henry’s right-hand man, and IhateHenry.
“I—”
“Please, Nora. I really need to talk to you.”
His deep blue eyes are pleading with me, making it hard to stick to my plan—which was to never spend time with him again. The truth is, I’m scared of him. Or, I’m scared of myself around him. He lowers my defenses in a way I don’t like. And he gets my blood pumping in a way I like too much.
“You’re here,” I say stubbornly. “Let’s talk.”
Parker sighs. “I need to speak to you privately. It’s important, Nora.Please.”
I think I surprise everybody when I break down and agree. It’s just that I don’t think he would lie to me or try to trick me into hanging out with him, so whatever it is he wants to tell me, he must really think it’s important. I’m intrigued. “Okay, fine. But dinner’s on you, and I’m not dressing up.”
Parker’s mouth curves up into a smile that reaches his eyes. “I can live with that.”
“Fine,” I say again. “I’m going to hit the showers. Don’t give Cecile too many names while I’m gone. This is supposed to be a small party.”
I glare at Cecile, and she simply waves me off with a beautiful smile.
Once I’m clean, I change into the only clothes I brought with me—a pair of jeans, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and Rook’s jacket that he told me to keep. It’s not much, as far as date outfits go. I also don’t have a blow dryer or any makeup. “Stop it, Nora,” I chide myself when I realize I’m stressing over what I look like for Parker. “This is not a date.” But I can’t help thinking that the last time I went out with Parker strictly for business, it totally ended up being a date.
Parker likes to push my boundaries. On our not-a-date-date last month, he struck a deal for a kiss good night that I ended up not being able to follow through on. I’d nearly had a full-blown panic attack right there in front of the restaurant. I’d rather not have a repeat of that tonight, and at the same time, I can’t stop thinking about that almost-kiss. “Get a grip, woman.”
With a deep breath that I let out in a long puff, I zip up the track jacket that’s too big for me and head back out into the gym, where Parker is still talking with Cecile. Ren and Enzo are involved in the conversation now, too, and Cecile is scribbling down notes in a notebook with a look of delight that makes me groan. “Small, Cecile!”
“Themed!” she replies.
I shoot Oliver ahelp melook, and he lifts his hands, palms out, as if to sayWhat can I do about it?
“You ready?” Parker asks, rising to his feet.
I have to push down a bundle of butterflies when he offers me his arm like a true gentleman. As I accept it, I look over my shoulder back at Oliver. “You working tomorrow?”
He nods.
“Great. I’ll stop in before I go to work and bring you dinner.”
His face lights up at that. His eyes flick to Parker quickly, and he says, “It’s a date.”
I almost laugh when Parker’s jaw clenches. Oliver, the rascal, only said that to annoy Parker. Usually, Oliver is sweeter than sugar, but he’s not a big fan of Parker. Aside from having his own feelings for me, he doesn’t like the way Parker pushes me until he gets his way—like with dinner right now. His attempt to be rude and overprotective is adorable. I find myself grinning and winking at him, even though I shouldn’t be encouraging his behavior.
Parker takes the high road and doesn’t comment as we head out into the small parking lot in front of Wulf’s warehouse gym/home. He clicks his key fob to unlock his black Mercedes and quietly says, “Thank you for agreeing to dinner tonight.”
“You’re welcome.” I huff into my hands, jumping from toe-to-toe. I didn’t realize how cold it’s gotten just in the last week. “It’s freezing out here.”
When Parker opens my door for me, I dive into the car and rub my arms while I wait for him to get in and turn up the heat. As soon as he’s in and he shuts the door, instead of reaching for the heater, he breathes in a deep breath and wrinkles his nose. He eyes me for a long moment, chewing on his thoughts while I continue to warm myself with good old-fashioned friction. “Okay, I’m sure vampires must be impervious to the cold and all, but the human needs heat.”
