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“Oaklynn’s going to join us,” I said.
Parker jerked his gaze up and furrowed his brows in displeasure. “Do I need to bounce?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
The look he shot me was full of question, doubt, and censure. “So you’ve told her?”
“Told her…?” I repeated, wondering how he knew I’d been considering telling her that I loved her—because that had been the only thing on my mind all day—until I realized… “Oh! You mean, about Thalia? No,” I started uneasily. “But Hudson said not to because—”
“Whoa!” he exploded in dismay. “You’re listening to fucking Ivey now? Oh Jesus, man. No. The only advice you should ever accept from Ivey is which position is best to sprawl in when jacking off. He isnotthe source to go to when you need a clear conscience.”
“Then, what?” I snorted. “I should listen toyou?”
Parker made a horrid face. “Absolutely not. I’d probably keep my mouth shut and never tell her shit either. I’m saying listen toThane. Thane knows what’s up when it comes to taking the high road, and he said to be honest with her.”
Leaning forward, I hissed. “But if I listen to Thane, I lose her.”
“Dude…” He arched an eyebrow and leaned forward as well. “If you have to lie to keep her, you don’t have hernow.”
He was right, and pain seared through my gut in a nauseating wave.
It was so overwhelming that I didn’t even notice Oaklynn approaching until she was standing right there.
“Howdy.”
I jumped and looked up, only for panic to crowd my throat. She looked so good. So fresh and happy. Her dimples were on full display, her black hair was glistening sleekly, and her dark eyes were alive with pleasure as if she was actually glad to see me.
And it was all a lie because she didn’t know what I was keeping from her.
For a moment, I felt so shitty that I couldn’t even answer. And she just stood there, starting to wrinkle her brow in question as she glanced between me and Parker as she held a tray in front of her with a lunch plate on it and a backpack strapped to her shoulders.
Parker spoke up before I could, nodding his chin in greeting and sliding over in his half of the booth to make room for her next to him.
“Hey. I hope you don’t mind having a third wheel for your lunch date.”
Relief flooded her gaze at his invitation, and she stepped forward to set the tray beside his laptop before slipping off her book bag and seating herself. “Not at all,” she answered. “If anything, I’m the third wheel interruptingyoutwo.”
Parker winked. “Best interruption I’ve had all day.”
With a laugh, she picked up a French fry from her plate and brought it to her mouth as she turned her attention to me. “Hi,” she started, only to frown curiously as she chewed. Leaning toward me, she reached out her hand. “Are you okay?”
I reached back, meeting her fingers halfway across the table before I covered them with my other hand.
“I am now,” I said as I smoothed my thumb over the soft skin covering the back of her palm.
But my reassurance didn’t seem to reassure her. Her eyebrows lowered more. “Whatwaswrong?”
I hissed out a breath and shook my head. My gaze slid to Parker who was watching me with lifted eyebrows before he returned his attention to his laptop.
“I just…I was remembering something I needed to do that I really don’t want to do,” I fumbled out evasively.
Oaklynn’s face filled with sympathy. “For one of your tenants?” she guessed.
I tipped my head thoughtfully and said, “Actually…yes.”
“Well…” She patted my arm and then took her hands off me so she could pick up the cheeseburger she had on her plate. “My philosophy is to get the unpleasant stuff over and done with as quickly as possible so you can move past it faster.”
“Yeah.” I sent her a sad smile as I watched her enjoy her food. “Good advice. Hey, did you turn in the sample piece that Alec helped you with yet?”
