Page 26 of Lovers at Seaside
Darn him.Her entire body felt like a bundle of exposed nerves.
He leaned close to her ear and said, “You’ve got me wired so tight I’m going to explode if I don’t get some seriously cold water on my face in about ten seconds.”
She followed his gaze to his impressive arousal. The smile lifting her cheeks must have made her look like she was gloating, which she most definitely was.
“Sorry,” she said lightly before popping into the ladies’ room.
Ten minutes later they were standing beside Abe’s bed. Parker’s heart was beating so hard she wanted to hook herself up to one of his blinking machines to make sure she wasn’t having some sort of attack. But it wasn’t because of what she’d done with Mr. Naughty in the elevator. Seeing Abe, who looked as though he’d aged ten years overnight, had shocked her back to reality. His skin was ashen, and his breathing sounded rough, like he had rocks in his throat. Parker’s heart ached for him. She wanted to climb into his bed and hold him so he wouldn’t suffer alone, despite how mean he’d been to her and Bert.
“It’s nice to see you again, Abe. How are you feeling?” She reached for Grayson’s hand, needing his support to steady her nerves.
“I’m still here,” he grumbled.
Would he rather be dead? Grayson cocked a brow, and she knew he was wondering the same thing.
“I’m glad you’re still here. My friend Grayson is with me again today.”
“I figured.” Abe sounded bored. “Lacroux?”
“Yes, sir,” Grayson said. “How do you know my name?”
“You think I let just anyone into my room?A friend, you said,” he scoffed. “A little money goes a long way. I knew who you were before you came into the room yesterday. Ironworker. Pretty darn good one, from what I’m told.”
“Thank you,” Grayson said, giving Parker a what-the-heck look.
Given Abe’s wealth, Parker wasn’t surprised he’d had them checked out. That was practically a no-brainer in her industry. Although she was surprised at how quickly he’d done so.
“Talk to me,” Abe snapped, and launched into a coughing fit. His frail chest rose off the mattress, his neck muscles straining with each gravelly hack.
Parker grabbed tissues from the bedside table and placed them in his hand. “Are you okay?”
The doors opened, and the nurse hurried toward the bed. “Sir?”
He waved his hand dismissively, clearing his throat with a long, low sound before lying back on the mattress again. The nurse ran an assessing eye over him, then left the room without a sound.
“We can come back another time,” Parker offered.
He waved his hand again. “Talk.”
Parker squeezed Grayson’s hand. She’d practiced what she was going to say in her head on the way over, but nothing she’d practiced felt real. It feltpracticed, like a role, and that wasn’t what she wanted, so she let her heart speak for her.
“I’m sure you don’t want to talk about the past, but—”
“Don’t tell me what I want to talk about.” Abe curled his fingers around the sheet. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to take control of a situation?”
“I’m sorry. I’m nervous.” She swallowed hard at the unexpected confession.
“Nervous is good. It means you’re alive,” Abe said with a nod. “Spit it out or your boyfriend’s going to explode.”
She looked up at Grayson, who did in fact look as though he was still tightly wound. He cracked a smile, and a hint of seduction from their secret tryst passed between them, helping to put her at ease.
“This isn’t easy for me to explain,” she said, “but I’m going to try.”
“Quickly,” Abe said.
“Yes, sir. Quickly.” She drew in a swift breath. “I loved Bert. Regardless of what happened between you two, he was a good, kind, talented man, and I wasn’t there for him when he passed away. I was on location, filming.” She felt Grayson’s eyes hone in on her, and she realized this was new information for him, too.
“I never had a chance to say goodbye, and he never told me why he left me the letters you returned. But I know you were important to him, and Bert was important to me. And I hate that you both lost out on all those years when you could have been close. You were family!” No amount of acting lessons could have prepared her for the anger and sadness spewing from some deep emotional well she didn’t know existed. “There are people who would kill to have family. I would kill for a family. I grew up in foster care, dreaming about the very thing you threw away. Pushing him out of your life was selfish and mean, and I want to understand it. To, I don’t know, mend the fence before, before…”
