Page 17 of The Heart of Smoke


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“She’s an ‘influencer,’ she says,” Dempsey reveals with a wolfish grin. “I think she made that up to sound cool.”

I can tell he uses ribbing his sister as a security blanket to keep the attention off him. Rather than bite, I dive right in.

“You like having a twin?”

He snorts out a laugh. “She’s all right.”

“Are you close with your other siblings?”

“Callum not so much,” Dempsey offers, “but Willa helps with that. I was going to fuck Willa, but I let him have her since he’s so obsessed and shit.”

Dempsey, not unlike Gemma with her social media job, likes to put on his own show for outsiders. I’m skilled at pinpointing this behavior, though, and cut straight to the point.

“Do you feel guilty for what happened between Callum, your dad, and your mom that resulted in the birth of you and Gemma?”

Dempsey’s eyes glimmer with a fiery emotion, but his easygoing expression gives nothing away. “How is that my fault?”

“I didn’t say it was. I asked if you bear guilt for that?”

“Did you get Jude to take off his mask?” he deflects, voice sharp.

Undeterred, I continue on. “It’s not your fault. I know you know that. Sometimes people fall in love and it’s terrible timing. Hearts get broken. It is what it is.” I lean forward in the chair, pinning him with a serious stare. “I know your parents love you. I know Callum loves you too. Despite his beef with your dad, he is protective of his family.”

“I guess.”

“How are things with you? Life treating you okay?”

He smirks. “I’m a Park. Life was made for us to consume and then shit out. Easy.”

Liar.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

His entire body stiffens and his jaw clenches. Good to see there’s an actual nerve I can hit with him. Interesting.

“Most girls try to date me because they want to marry a Park one day. I’m easy pickings.”

“What about guys?”

“Sorry, bro. I heard you’re gay, but I’m not interested.”

At this, I grin. “You’re not really my type.”

“Oh yeah? You like the pissy older guys like Callum?”

“Not going to lie, your brother is extremely attractive. No, my type is actually all wrong for me. It’s why I’m not going to date again for a long time.”

“All wrong how?” He sits up, brows pinching. “You’ve piqued my interest.”

“I attract toxic men. I guess they see me as someone they can control. I don’t like who I am when I date. I’m not me.”

“Who’s having the therapy session now?” he jokes, grinning.

“I want to help you all,” I admit. “I know this is in a professional capacity, but I’d like to earn your trust. If that means revealing parts of myself to help make that happen, I will.”

He relaxes and nods. “I only love one woman and she’s off-limits.”

“I didn’t think anyone was off-limits for a Park?” I lift an eyebrow at him to see if he follows my drift. Spencer said Dempsey knows about their little threesome.

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