Page 16 of The Complication
A minute later, Parker jogged up with a black plastic thing under his arm and another bag slung over his shoulder. It appeared as if it might contain more things for Joy.
“She smiled at me,” I announced the moment Parker joined us. My chest might have been puffed up at this news, and my chin might have risen with pride. I hadn’t seen her smiling at any of the other people.
“What?” Parker gasped.
“Yes. We were talking, and she smiled at me.”
A shaky grin spread across Parker’s lips as he looked down at me. “You were talking, huh?”
I lifted her chair and hooked the handle on the inside of my elbow as I led the way to my SUV. Parker followed closely, Joy’s bag on his shoulder. “I believe she likes the sound of my voice. She smiled at me.”
“Well, maybe she knows the sound of a superhero when she hears one,” he teased.
I spun my face away from Parker and gazed straightahead, my attention on reaching the car while trying to ignore the burning sensation that was creeping into my cheeks.
“Holy shit,” Parker whispered. I was about to ask what his curse was for, but the tip of his finger brushed the corner of my lips. “You’re smiling.”
“What?” I snapped, jerking my head away from his hand.
“I saw it. You smiled.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m not. You smiled. I’ve known you for almost a year, and I have never once seen you smile. At least not until today.” Parker huffed out a laugh that sounded a little bitter. “Fucking weird day.”
Thankfully, I briefly took his mind off my so-called smile and all the other chaos at the car. He worked on getting the base for the car seat set and then got Joy properly secured in the car while I put the bags in the trunk. Parker elected to sit in the seat beside Joy rather than up front with me.
A blessed silence fell over the car as the doors were closed and I pulled us out into traffic. The air conditioning was turned up high to chase away the stifling heat that had settled in while the car was parked. Parker didn’t speak for a long time, and I thought that he might have drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the day’s ordeal.
He finally broke the silence, his voice low and weary. “Thank you. When you called today, I’m sure you weren’t expecting to have your hands full with me and a baby.”
That much was true, but I couldn’t say that I wasn’t glad that I had called. Would Parker have reached out to me for help? Where would he have turned? The only friend I’d ever heard him mention was Molly, and she was gone now. That didn’t mean he was utterly friendless, but I was glad that I could step up to help him.
“I promise we’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow morning. I just need a night to wrap my head around things, make a game plan for what to do next. Then?—”
“Shut up,” I growled.
“What?”
I glanced in the rearview mirror to see that he’d perked up from where he’d been leaning against the window.
“You’re talking nonsense. You can’t be nonsensical right now. Joy should be the most important thing on your mind. I have plenty of room for you and Joy to stay in my home for as long as you wish. There’s no need for you to rush away. Not until you’re ready.”
“Seriously? Why are you doing this? We’re barely ‘friends’ with benefits,” he demanded, lifting his hands to make the air quotes with his fingers.
I chewed on the inside of my mouth for a second, considering possible answers. My first choice was to say that he needed help, and I wanted to help him, but some voice in my head argued that Parker would never believe that.
“What if we removed the quotes from friends? Would you believe it then? Besides, you’re the one who pointed out that we’ve known each other for nearly a year. It’s not like I’m a stranger.”
Parker snorted. “You are a stranger to me in a lot of ways.”
Sadly, he had a good point. We’d shared very few personal details about our lives, despite having sex regularly. I knew a lot of things about Parker, but most of them couldn’t be repeated in polite conversation.
“But I know you, and you’ve done a lot for Joy. We’ll stay…for a little while. Just until I get things sorted out.”
“Don’t worry. If I tire of having you and a baby in my home, I will tell you.”
A soft chuckle escaped Parker, followed by a sigh. “I totally believe that.”
