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He nodded.
“Interesting…”
That didn’t sound good, he thought. But rather than question her, he opted to put the focus on her instead.
“So, what are you doing in Laurel Bay?” He motioned to the print shop. “Do you work here?”
“What?” she asked with a hearty laugh. “Uh, no.” After a quick pause, she snapped her finger. “That’s right! You’ve been gone and probably don’t know all about my new business!”
“What business?”
“I’m opening a day spa!” She pointed down the block. “It’s right down there on the corner and it’s going to be fabulous! I was just here picking up some brochures and…” Glancing back at the glass door, she added, “Wait here.”
Jackson watched as she ran inside and paid for her order. When she came back out carrying a fairly large box, he automatically took it from her hands.
“I could have managed,” she murmured.
“It’s not a big deal, Parks. C’mon, let’s see your spa,” he said as they began to walk.
Parker went all of five steps before stopping. “Is your knee bothering you?”
Crap.
“Uh…yeah. A little.”
“Have you ever gone for a massage?”
His bark of laughter was his first response. “No. Other than the brief rub down I get after PT, I don’t. It’s totally not my thing.”
“Nonsense, it’s everyone’s thing.”
“Not mine.”
“Oh come on, Jackson. You really should try it. On the house!” she quickly added.
“I thought you weren’t open yet?”
“We’re in the soft opening phase.”
“Yeah, I don’t know what that is.”
“It means we’re kind of open, but only to friends and family right now to test things out. Please come in for a massage,” she begged as they started walking again. “I’ve got a new therapist who I promised a client to this afternoon. She’s phenomenal and I’m sure if you told her your issue with your knee…”
“No. Absolutely not,” he said firmly. “I don’t want any stranger…massaging me.” He shuddered at the thought. “And I really don’t want to engage in pointless small talk to tell them where to…you know…rub. That’s just weird.”
Beside him, she groaned. “Please, Jackson…this is all the trial period phase and I need the feedback! It’s only an hour of your time and if you do this, I promise not to tell anyone that you’re home.”
He immediately stopped in his tracks. “Are you like…blackmailing me? For real?”
She turned and looked at him apologetically. “That should tell you how desperate I am. Everything has been going smoothly, but I need someone I trust to let the new therapist massage them.”
“So you do it!” he argued and silently vowed not to leave the apartment again until he was ready to move back to Magnolia.
“I’ve had…like a bajillion massages this week!” she countered loudly. “Plus, she did just give me a facial and it was freaking glorious, so I’m not going to be fair or partial. But you will!”
The last thing he needed was his family swarming around right now—not yet. It hadn’t even been a full week and he fully believed that easing his way back into civilian life was what he needed to do.
Parker stood there looking up at him and he knew he was going to have to cave.
