One Good Reason (Boston Love #3)(78)

“You're staying with me,” he says succinctly.

I scoff. “I am not staying with you.”

He drops the bag to the bed and turns chilly hazel eyes to mine. “Remember last night, when I f*cked you until you couldn't move and you fell asleep in my arms? That moment — you became mine. I protect what's mine, darling. I protect it with every breath. Bottom line, I care about you... And I don't really give a shit whether you want me to or not.”

I suck in a breath. “I'll stay with Luca.”

His eyes narrow. “Like hell you will. That man has no concept of boundaries when it comes to you.”

“He's my friend!”

“And I'm your—”

“My what?" I cut him off. “What exactly are you to me, Parker West? Boyfriend? Bossy *? Annoying man-child who refuses to listen to reason?”

“You need a word or a definition for what I am to you, that's your problem. I'm not your fill-in-the-blank bullshit label. I'm just yours. And you're mine." He leans down and presses a hard, angry kiss against my lips. "That means you don't get to run off to some other guy's arms or bed."

"You're being outrageous!"

"This is me being reasonable, darling. You'd better f*cking get used to it, because I'm not going anywhere." With that, he slings the packed duffle over one shoulder, grabs my hand, and hits a button on his phone to make a call, all while tugging me across the loft in long-legged strides. We’re not even at the elevator when his voice cracks over the line.

"Nate? It's me. Change of plans…”



* * *



Thirty minutes later, I’m standing in the cabin of Folly, trying to keep myself from bursting into tears. My outrage at Parker’s bossy behavior has been replaced by a much more alarming emotion. I swallow once, twice, three times trying to dislodge the lump in my throat as I stare at the set of light blue foul weather gear in a woman’s petite size small sitting on the table. Beside the suit, there’s a set of tiny rubber boots that look about my size.

God dammit. Do not f*cking cry, Zoe Bloom. Get your shit together.

“What?” Parker asks, catching sight of my expression as he climbs down into the cabin after me. “Do you not like the color? I can get that same gear in pink or red or white if you like that better. Just don’t pick anything dark — the whole point is to wear something bright so I can see you if you fall overboard.”

I pull a deep breath in through my nose and manage to get a hold of myself.

“I like the color,” I murmur, staring at Parker.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

His expression is wary. “The look on your face says otherwise.”

Steadying my shoulders, I walk to him and slide my arms around his waist. “I promise, nothing’s wrong. In fact… it’s alarmingly close to perfect.”

“Oh, dear god, no! The horror!” He grins. “We can’t have that! Don’t worry – twenty minutes ago you wanted to kill me. I’m sure I’ll do something to f*ck things up or piss you off again soon.”

I stretch up onto my tiptoes and kiss him softly. “Undoubtedly,” I whisper against his lips, enjoying the sensation of his smiling lips curved against mine.

“Come on.” He squeezes me tight one last time, then pushes me away. “Put them on. We have to cast off soon or the sun will set, and it’s no fun sailing in the dark. Plus, we’ll miss our reservation.”

“Reservation?”

He nods.

“When in the world did you have time to make reservations?”

His eyes narrow. “You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were surprised by my ability to provide for my woman.”

“Your woman?” I roll my eyes. “What is this, an episode of Outlander? Because the only person allowed to refer to me as his woman is Jamie Fraser and you, my friend, are not wearing a kilt.”

“I understood literally none of what you just said.”

I grin, turn away, and grab my gear off the table. “Oh, never mind.”

“See?” he calls, just before I close the bathroom door. “We’re already fighting again! What’d I tell you?”

I laugh as I strip down to my skin and pull on the sailor suit.

It fits perfectly.



* * *



“Take the wheel.”

“What?”

“I have to put the sails up.” Parker’s voice is patient. “Take the wheel.”

“Last time you put it in that auto-pilot mode. Why can’t you do that again?”

“That was last time. You were new. Now, you’re a seasoned sailor. Take the wheel.”

“I don’t know how to steer this thing!”

“Zoe. Just hold it steady in one direction. It’s basically like driving a car, just… in an ocean. With no lanes or speed limits.”

“That’s really comforting, considering I never got a f*cking driver’s license.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Huh. Well… luckily, you’re a quick learner. Just head for that green buoy in the distance.”