Page 25 of This Wild Heart

“Oof, is someone searching for a compliment? Because I never said he called you an asshole.”

Parker swiped a hand over his face. “Believe me, I saw his face. He was thinking it, even if he didn’t say it.”

I gave him a curious look. “Does that bother you? If he thinks it?”

“Nope,” he said easily. “I think any man who loves his daughter would feel the same way.”

My brows furrowed slightly because that easy tone felt too easy. Not real, I guess. There was something about the way I’d woken up, the sheer, overwhelming panic that broke down any barriers between us.

But it felt like a giant wall had smashed down in the middle of my car.

All I’d ever known about Parker were what I’d heard Emmett and Adaline say.He’s sofunny, he’s socharming, he’s such ahard worker. And he’stall.Anya, did you see how tall he is?

Even when I began dating Max (ugh, I even hatedthinkingit)—he’d asked me out shortly after we met at a Washington Wolves charity event my junior year of college—Adaline was constantly making pointed remarks about her younger stepbrother. Tall was no barometer of a man’s worthiness, but it sure didn’t hurt if I could wear heels and he’d still have a couple of inches on me. And yes, maybe it was judgmental, but I didn’t care if the guy was a billionaire with a heart of gold and an eight-inch peen. If he was five ten or less, it was an absolute no-go.

Well, I’d certainly won the lottery in that regard, as I stared at the length of Parker’s legs as he had them spread wide in the passenger seat. We passed another Jeep on the road, and I lifted my fingers in a J shape.

“What was that?” he asked.

“What was what?”

“The thing you just did with your hand.”

“Oh.” I smiled. “A Jeep wave. It’s just a thing Jeep drivers do with each other.”

“Why?”

At his tone, I laughed. “I don’t know. It’s a very social community. You leave rubber duckies on each other’s doors too.” I pointed at the small line on my dash. “That’s just from the past six months.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” I said with another laugh. “It’s harmless fun. Let me guess, you drive a big, serious truck with big, serious wheels, and it looks like you’re overcompensating for something.”

“I’m not overcompensating for anything, sweetheart.”

My cheeks were warm as I glanced in the rearview mirror. “I’ll have to take your word for that,” I said primly.

Parker’s phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. It had been doing that on and off for the past hour. He sighed but didn’t check the screen.

“Aren’t you going to get that?”

“No.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “My family is nosy and impatient, and they drive me crazy. I was planning on calling my mom once we got back to the house, and they’re annoyed I haven’t done it yet.”

“You can call her now. I don’t mind.”

“You’re the oldest, so this won’t make any sense to you.” He turned slightly to face me. “The more my older siblings bug me to do something, the less likely it is that I will do it. They should know that by now.”

“God, you and Violet would get along so well.” I shook my head, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear when it slipped from my ponytail. “She pulls that shit all the time.”

“Probably because you don’t leave her alone and she just wants to do things in her own time.” He settled back in his seat. “It’s not easy being the younger sibling, you know. Especially when the older siblings are really good at what they do.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Your oldest stepbrother, Erik, he played for Washington too.”

Parker nodded.

“Is that why you wanted to play football?”

He let out a long sigh. “Maybe. Sometimes I do wonder if it was little brother syndrome. Just wanting to be noticed after being the youngest boy of a huge fucking family. But it wasn’t because my parents treated Erik differently just because he played professionally. Our family was so proud of him, but it’s not like they weren’t proud of the rest of us, you know? Cameron is a builder, Ian designs furniture. Adaline has her event planning business, and Greer is an interior designer.”

---