Page 109 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"Please tell me. I'd love a little bit of guidance here. I've been sleeping with a different woman every week. I'm starting to feel like a slut."
"Starting to?" I laughed and walked toward the exit. "You're not the kind of guy who sleeps around, Park. You can try and heal your heart by sleeping around, but it's not going to work."
"You saying I'm a softie?" He stopped beside my car as I worked to get in it.
"You're totally a softie." I put my stuff down and turned to face him. "You're a good man. You need to join a dating site, or let me set you up."
"With who?" He snorted as his phone started to ring.
"With someone." I shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll find a few girls."
"Women, please, and you talk to me and Trisha. I'm pretty sure we're going to be limited by your lack of choices."
"You don't know that." I pursed my lips as he lifted his phone to his ear and motioned for me to be quiet.
"Parker here. What's up?" He turned his back to me and walked a little ways away.
I wrapped my arms around myself and let out a long sigh. I didn't want to go out for a drink. I wanted to go home and make dinner for Jason. He'd be there in a few hours and curling up on the couch beside him sounded like pure heaven.
It had taken me almost nine months to get over our age difference, and I still struggled from time to time, but it was getting easier. Namely because he made it easy. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't remind me how beautiful, intelligent or successful I was. He was far too good for me, though he readily disagreed with my assessment.
"Hey. Something has come up." Parker walked back toward me.
I tilted my head to the side. "Like your dick?"
"Yep. It's going to at least. A cute little number I met at a bar last weekend wants to get together for a quick dinner and maybe some dancing."
"Horizontal dancing?" I smirked.
"You know it. That's the only type I do." He shrugged. "I'm a player. What can I say?"
"You're a player all right, but not by choice."
"Life hands me lemons and I make lemonade." He smiled. "Rain check?"
"For you? Of course." I got in my car and turned on Christmas carols as I headed toward the house. We needed to decorate soon. December would be over before I knew it. Maybe Jason would be willing to help me.
I ignored the concern that rose up in the center of my chest. Decorating was often domesticated. Would I give him the wrong idea? I wanted to take another step together, but I wasn't sure he'd understand if it was just one step and not ten.
* * *
I'd just finished pouring a red sauce over the chicken when the doorbell rang.
"You have a key," I mumbled and set the pan down. Nervousness rose up in the center of my chest, which made no sense at all, and yet... there it was. Ever present.
Falling in love was terrifying, and yet I'd done just that somewhere over the last nine months. The man at the door had stolen my heart, and some part of me was waiting for the other shoe to fall. For him to wake up and realize that maybe he'd made a mistake. Twelve years between us was a lot. Surely it would come back to bite me in the ass.
"Hi, handsome." I opened the door and smiled as my heart fluttered in my chest.
"Hi, baby." He moved into the living room and wrapped me in a warm hug. His lips were soft against mine, his skin cold. The bouquet of red roses in his hand were more than I expected, and yet he was always bringing something with him.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and forced the voices in my head to hush for a minute. The warmth of his tongue was delicious, soft and wet against mine.
"I missed you," I mumbled against his mouth.
"Yeah? Maybe I should go away more often." He pressed his hand against the small of my back, trapping me against him. "I smell something good. Did you cook for us?"
"I tried to. You know I'm talented in the office and the bedroom. I'm humbled in the kitchen." I kissed him one more time as he smiled.
