Page 124 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"No. I'd like two or three. Whatever you want is fine though. I just want more than one." I offered her my hand. "Let's talk about something else. Like skiing."
She nodded, seeming a little off-kilter thanks to our conversation. "I haven't been since I was a kid. Mom and Dad took me when I turned twelve. Trisha actually came with us that trip. It was a great time, though I almost broke my arm and my leg by getting on the wrong slope and eating it down the side of a mountain."
"Can we make sure we don't do that this time?" I put on my blinker. The airport was just down the road and one of the nicer ones I'd been to.
"Yeah. I'm a little older and not nearly as ballsy."
I glanced over at her and smirked. "You? Not ballsy? That's funny."
"I've matured. A little."
"Doubtful." I pulled my hand from hers and turned toward the airport. "Hey, make sure you talk with Parker before we take off. I want him to stay away from my sister. She's a hot mess on a good day. All right?"
"Okay. Sure." She clasped her hands in her lap and glanced out the window.
"They might be good for each other."
"No way. No how. She's only twenty-one, Becca."
"And he's thirty-six."
"That's fifteen years!" It left my mouth before I could pull it back. "I mean, it's not about age, it's about experience."
"Wait, so Parker dating your sister is nutty, but you and me dating, isn't?"
"Not at all. I'm the man, and I act much older than most guys my age. Parker acts my age." I gave her a look, trying to change the message from a negative one that would get me into trouble to one that would have her helping me. "See what I mean?"
"No. Not in the slightest, but, I'll make sure to talk to him. He's not going to mess with your sister anyway. He's a good guy, Jason. He's just searching for lust to fill up the holes in his soul." She shrugged. "He's been tossed out and thrown around too many times."
"You love him." I pulled up to the parking lot and rolled down my window.
"As a friend. Yes. He's like a brother to me, but I'll talk to him for you. The last thing we need is him and your sister getting together and then having a fallout. You and I would have to take different sides, which would suck."
"Yeah, let's not do that." I leaned out and pulled the ticket from the machine. I wasn't so worried about Natalie, but Parker wouldn't survive my sister. She'd gone from being nerdy and dressing like a country bum to looking like a fairy princess and sleeping with every Tom, Dick and Harry. She wasn't the concern. Parker was.
CHAPTER 11
REBECCA
"You ready for this?" Parker was bouncing on the balls of his feet as I walked up to him. The flight was set to start boarding in fifteen minutes, which gave me a little bit of time to talk with him. Jason stopped by the restroom, and Adam and Natalie were nowhere in sight.
"Yes. Very." I reached out and ran my hands down his strong arms. "Hey, listen. Jason's sister Natalie is super cute, but she's young, so keep your distance, all right?"
"How young are we talking?" He gave me an odd look.
"She's only a year younger than him, but it's not about her age as much as it is about her just getting over a pretty bad divorce."
"Is she hot?" He lifted his eyebrow.
"That's not the question you should be asking." I popped the side of his handsome face softly. "Focus. We're going to ski and drink and have fun."
"Right, but sex is part of fun, Becca. You brought a partner to sleep with. I have to find one." He lifted his eyebrows, speaking slow as if talking to a child that had no sense in their head.
"No, you don't. Sex isn't going to make this trip any better." I smiled.
"The devil makes you laugh when you're lying."
"I didn't laugh. I smiled."
