One Good Reason (Boston Love #3)(80)

“Money is important to most people. I’d say every relationship in my life, with the exception of Nate, Phoebe, Chase, and Gemma, is driven almost exclusively by financial motives. People who want my lifestyle, who crave a stake in my company, who want to work their way up the social ladder using the West name.”

Hearing him say that in such a matter-of-fact tone makes my heart clench.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you I have no interest in your money? In fact…” I whisper, moving closer. “I’m really just using you for sexual favors.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” He grins. “Now let’s go. It’s f*cking freezing out here. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in the middle of the ocean on Christmas Eve.”

“This was your crazy idea,” I remind him.

“True.” His eyes dance with humor. “I have no idea why you went along with it.”

“I must be crazy, too.”

“Must be.”

Before we freeze to death, Parker slings our duffle bags over his shoulder and hurries me inside the lighthouse. It’s the strangest thing — it should seem totally uninviting, this rock castle in the middle of the Atlantic… and yet, I’ve never felt more protected or secure than I do when the heavy door closes behind us, the thick metal screeching like a submarine hatch as Parker spins the bolt closed.

The lighthouse is narrow — maybe twenty feet wide — but it’s well over a hundred feet tall. Parker never drops my hand as he leads me up a spiral staircase from the entryway into a tiny living room.

“This place has everything — kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. It’s just…” He trails off.

“Vertical?” I supply, laughing.

“Pretty much. The rooms are stacked like a layer cake, the stairs hug the walls and wind all the way up. I put the bedroom at the top. You won’t believe the view in the morning.”

“I’ll bet,” I murmur, looking around.

It really is incredible. I feel like a princess, making her way up to the tallest turret in some kind of fairy tale. Through the thick-paned windows, I can see the last bit of sunset slipping over the horizon. My face must show my awe, because Parker sounds almost worried when he speaks next.

“I know this probably isn’t what you were expecting.”

“You’re right. It’s not what I was expecting.” I pause. “It’s better.”

“Really?”

“Are you kidding me?” I marvel, turning to take it all in. “This is the most amazing place anyone has ever brought me. Ever.” I grin. “You never do anything by the rules, do you, playboy?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” I step closer to him, craning my neck back to keep our gazes locked. “That’s what I like most about you.”

His eyes soften. “Come on. I want to show you the top.”

Like little kids running through a jungle gym, we race up the stairs as fast as our legs can carry us, passing a kitchen, a small office, a bathroom, and eventually barreling to a stop when we hit the bedroom. Parker tosses our bags on the bed and pulls me toward a ladder that leads up through a portal in the roof.

“Let me go first.” He grabs a rung and starts to hoist himself up. “The hatch is heavy.”

Once he’s got the narrow skylight door open, I watch his legs disappear out onto the top landing. Heights have never exactly been my favorite thing in the world, but I tell myself to stop being such a chicken as I grip the ladder rungs with shaky hands.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared, snookums.” Parker’s voice drifts down to me. “It may cause irreparable damage to your so-called street cred.”

“Have I mentioned that I hate you?” I call back, climbing slowly up the ladder. As soon as my head pops out into the brisk air, Parker grabs me under the arms and lifts me up onto my feet.

“Only about a million times,” he says, kissing me until I’m breathless and panting against his lips. When he pulls back and whispers, “Look,” I turn around and lose my breath all over again.

The entire ocean is at our feet, stretching for miles as far as my eyes can see. We’re so high, Parker’s sixty-foot sailboat looks like a toy, bobbing along the dock far below. The giant bulb flashes just above our heads, illuminating the coastline in rhythmic intervals like a massive flashlight shining in the dark. Boston glows in the distance, small and insignificant. Beyond that, a million stars blanket the sky — far more than you can ever see inside the city limits.

It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.

“You live here,” I say, laughing as I spin in a circle. “You literally live here.”

Parker shoves his hands in the pockets of his waterproof jacket. “I could live here. Right now, I mostly live on my boat in the harbor and come check on this place every few weeks. I pay a guy to keep an eye on it, the times I can’t get here.”

I stop spinning and look at him. “Why wouldn’t you stay here all the time?”

He smirks and gestures out at the ocean surrounding us on all sides. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, Zoe, but it might get kind of lonely out here. They say no man is an island but, in this case, I would have to disagree.”