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“But in all seriousness, everything is great.” I took a step closer to him. “Thanks for letting me stay.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” he grumbled. “My siblings forced me. Trust me when I say this is the last thing I wanted.”
I blinked. “Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel welcome.”
Chapter8
Parker
Small wasn’t quite the word I would have used to describe Lovewell, Maine.
Minute? Itty bitty? Either was more fitting.
Main Street, the center of town, ran alongside the river and housed all the things one would expect it to. Post office, town hall, diner, grocery store, and a bakery. Trees lined the sidewalk at regular intervals, and across from town hall was a large green area with park benches.
Across the small valley were clusters of small, tidy homes that got farther apart the higher they sat in the mountains.
The scenery was nothing like Portland, where I’d grown up.
The minute I climbed out of the passenger door of Paz’s BMW, heads were turning my way. I was wearing jeans and a Patagonia fleece, so I couldn’t attribute the attention to my ravishing beauty. No, each glance was more curious than the last. I was an outsider, and in stereotypical fashion, that meant I garnered immediate attention as I walked along the sidewalk beside Paz.
As the bell over the door rang, another dozen people picked their heads up to see who had come in, and the confusion on their faces when they were greeted by my unfamiliar presence hinted at just how hard this job would be.
I focused on watching Paz. He wore a mask of contentment, yet his posture was ramrod straight.
After we were seated, I reached across the table and took his hand in mine. It felt like the right gesture, regardless of the people who were staring.
Across the table, his brown eyes widened on me as his large, warm hand enveloped mine. And for the briefest moment, it was as if we were sitting here alone. We were two people trying to figure one another out rather than a sideshow in a small-town diner.
While we were touching, he didn’t feel like an adversary. All the animosity and snarky remarks faded away. In their place was a man who was deeply uncomfortable but pushing through it for his family. And as much as he annoyed me, I respected his commitment to them.
Maybe it was because my own family was so broken. Or maybe because I’d never experienced that kind of sibling love. Either way, it made me want to help him that much more.
So, under the scrutiny of every eye in the place, I did something rash. I leaned over that diner table and kissed him on the cheek.
It was only a peck, but his skin turned pink, and his mouth dropped open. His eyes were full of a mix of confusion and fear and maybe a little awe.
“This place smells amazing!” I said with faux enthusiasm. “What’s your favorite thing on the menu, stud muffin?”
In an instant, his blush turned into a glare. “No stud muffin,” he growled under his breath.
Ignoring him and the stares of every other patron here, I picked up the menu. Perusing it would give me a minute to center myself and decide on how best to play this. Before long, an older woman with winged eyeliner and a frilly blue apron came out of the swinging kitchen door with a pot of coffee in one hand and headed straight for us.
“Pascal,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “I feed your siblings almost every day, but you never come to see me.”
Another flush creeped up his neck and into his cheeks. “Watching my figure,” he said, patting his flat stomach. “You know I can’t resist your blueberry pie.”
She rolled her eyes. “Louie makes veggie omelets for Remy when he’s training. That’s no excuse.”
She turned her gaze in my direction. “And who is this young lady?” She raised one drawn-on eyebrow in my direction.
I gave her my mostaw shuckssmall-town smile. “I’m Parker,” I said, offering her my hand.
She didn’t take it. She was too busy sizing me up, and no inch of me was safe from her inspection.
“Parker is my girlfriend,” Paz said calmly. “I told her how incredible the pancakes are here, so she begged me to bring her.”
Bernice’s expression softened a bit. She wasn’t smiling, but the scowl was gone. From her apron pocket, she pulled a notepad out and looked at me expectantly.
