Page 139 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"And I'm brilliant. I break them down and we make shit-tons of money."
I rolled my eyes. He was still a little drunk from the night before - obviously.
"Yep. Shit tons. Whatever measurement that is." I reached up and fixed the collar on his shirt. "Get some sleep and come see the kids with us tonight."
"No fucking way. I can't stand kids." He turned his back to me and opened the door before glancing back. "That's a lie. I like kids, I just feel like my time’s up, you know? That I'm going to be the only guy in the world who never has them."
I reached out and squeezed the back of his shoulder. "You're wrong, and the liquor burning through your system is telling you lies. Go lie down and I'll come find you later."
"You promise?" His expression tightened a little. It was the most serious I'd seen him since Mina left him nine months before.
"That I'll come get you?" I smiled.
"No, that I'll eventually have a family. You know, a wife and kids that love me."
I moved around him and pulled him into a hug. "Yes, and they're going to love you just like I do."
"But she'll tuck me into bed naked?" he mumbled against the side of my neck.
I laughed and swatted at him. "Get in there, you ass."
"You love this ass." He walked in and the door closed behind him.
He did have a point. I did love him. I just needed someone else to join me in that venture.
* * *
I spent most of the middle part of the day learning to snowboard with Adam, and surprisingly enough, I had a blast.
"You were a natural out there." Adam glanced over at me as he offered me his hand.
We walked back to the lodge together. "Yeah? I loved it, actually. It was fun. I thought I would suck at it, but it's so much better than skiing."
"I think so too." He held the door open for me. "We only have an hour before the program thing you guys wanted to go to. You want to get everyone to meet up for dinner before or..."
My stomach burned with hunger. "Yeah. I'll go find Jason and Natalie. You grab Parker and we'll have a burger at the pub near the back of the resort. That work?"
"Perfectly." He reached out and took my snowboard. "Let me go turn these in. I'll see you shortly. Thanks again for going with me. I had a blast."
"Me too." I turned and walked toward my room with a smile plastered on my face. Adam was a true gentleman, and I could see why him and Jason were close friends. They reminded me of each other. Parker on the other hand was like the black sheep of the group, and yet he wore the title with a badge of honor almost.
A chuckle left me as I walked into the room and spotted Jason lying on his side on the bed.
I had to get a running start, but I hoisted myself up on the bed and landed beside him as he jerked around, his expression sleepy.
"Hey, crazy woman." He rolled the rest of the way over and pulled me in tightly. "Wow. You're freaking cold."
"It's frosty out there." I smiled and snuggled against his warmth.
"I missed you." He kissed the side of my face and slid his hand down the back of my wind pants, grabbing my rear and squeezing. "Your butt's even cold. We should warm you up."
I laughed, feeling all of twenty. "No way. We get started with that, and there will be no stopping you. We're supposed to meet everyone for a burger before the children's program at six."
"Sounds good." He searched my face before leaning in and brushing his nose by mine. "I'm a little surprised you want to see this program thing."
"You shouldn't be. I want children and I feel like my time is running out." I blinked back all the hard emotion that usually came along with me bringing up having a family. My best friend, Trisha, had four kids and another on the way. I was insanely jealous, though I'd never told a soul about it.
"Your time isn't running out, baby. If kids are one of your goals, then you're right on track." He touched the side of my face. "How about this, we go to dinner and the performance and then come back here and start working on conquering those goals together."
