Page 406 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"Of course it is." She pulled back and looked up into his eyes, her heart skipping a beat at the depth of emotion she found. "He's going to meet another woman and she's going to save him. That's how love works."
"Maybe." He leaned down and brushed his lips by hers. "If I could pull all my Christmas wishes together, I'd give them all away forever for my brother to really live again."
"He will. I know he will." She snuggled against Jake, feeling the weight of his pain and realizing that she wanted to share it with him. They would help Kade if he didn't help himself. No one deserved the future he'd resigned himself to. No one.
CHAPTER 17
JAKE
Three Days Later
"Thanks for meeting up with me, man." Tyler smiled across the table at the little diner on the corner of the square in town.
"Of course, man. Kari was going to come with me, but some of my mother's sisters came into town last night. They're going shopping today. Antiquing. Should be fun seeing that Kari has no clue what the hell that is." Jake shook his head, not at all worried about his woman. She fit in perfectly with his family, even better than Bethany had, and she'd grown up down the road from him.
Tyler chuckled. "I'm glad you found her, man. I wasn't sure if you were going to get over that shit with Bethany."
"Me either." He picked up his coffee. "Kari didn't give me much of a choice. But enough about me. Tell me what's going on. You and Luke's firm is doing well?"
He ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Yeah. It's busting at the seams. Luke is supposed to be looking for a senior-level investment manager, but he's too busy scoring new accounts. I swear I'm going to fucking kill him if he adds one more customer to my roster. It's too full as is."
"Wait." Jake put his cup down and sat back. "I thought it was a good thing to get new customers."
"It is when you can support them. We have a hands-on business, so every customer, or client really, has a personal adviser. I'm picking up most of the clients while we're training the right staff to take over some of the accounts. I'm sleeping at the fucking office."
"You've been here for a few days though. How did you get away?"
"Threatened to quit." He gave Jake a cheeky grin. "Honestly, I was praying to run into Olivia, but it hasn't happened."
"Look her up, Ty. It can't be that hard to find her." Jake picked up his fork and worked to cut his pancakes. "You're not going to look though, are you?"
"Nope." Tyler picked up a piece of bacon and shoved it in his mouth. "She kicked me in the nuts the night after we lost our virginity together. I'd be a damn glutton for punishment if I really tried to find her."
"You were kids. You both made mistakes." Jake rolled his eyes. The story between Tyler and Olivia was a completely different tale depending on who you asked. Something got jacked up in the communication between them their senior year, and all hell broke loose. Shit happened. Tyler needed to get over it, but it was a six-year-old wound, and he was obviously still suffering. It wasn't happening.
"Anyway. I haven't run into her, so I'm thinking I'll start looking when I get back to New York."
"For Olivia? I'm lost." Jake ran his hand down his face.
"No, for someone to date. Shit. Keep up." Tyler chuckled and leaned back, wiping his mouth on a napkin. "You're just up in Maine, hm? We need to get together."
"I agree. It's a four-hour drive, but I'm not sure you have any time to spare."
"True. We'd be better off seeing each other back here." His attention shifted up to the waitress. “We’ll make it work. Surely you come to New York from time to time.”
Jake didn’t respond as the waitress approached. He and Kari could hook up with Ty on a trip to see Kari’s mother for sure. Why the hell hadn’t I thought of that before?
"More coffee, sweetness?" The older woman gave them a warm smile.
"No, I'm good. I'll pick up the tab though. One ticket." Tyler winked at Jake, but his expression tightened as he glanced back toward Jake. "Dude. Bethany just walked in. Have you seen her this Christmas?"
"Aw, fuck. No." Jake turned and stood up, plastering a fake smile on his lips as the beautiful blond walked toward him with a smile on her face.
He half-expected to feel the deep pain of rejection and loss he always felt when he saw her, but nothing... he didn't feel a damn thing.
Interesting.
"Jake." She reached for him, but he extended his hand instead.
