Somebody to Love (Gideon's Cove #3)(50)

She fished her phone out of her bag and hit Ethan. Then, before it could connect, she hung up. She’d talked to Nicky three times today, and while she knew Ethan and Lucy wouldn’t mind one more call, it seemed…needy.

And sleeping with James—not that she was thinking about it (cough)—would be needy, too. A lonely older woman who was in the midst of financial ruin and a career crisis should not have a fling. No matter how chocolate lava cake was her housemate.

“Parker. Wait up.” Speaking of cake.

She turned as James loped down the half block that separated them. “Thing One,” she said.

“Miss Welles. I believe I said I’d walk you home.”

“Part of your duties for Harry?”

He gave her a measured look. “No. Just a concerned citizen who doesn’t want you falling into the ocean.”

“Please. I could drink you under the table.”

“That’s probably true. But since we’re heading to the same place, why not?” He grinned, and she looked away quickly.

“Fine. Thank you, James.”

“So were you girls talking about how handsome and strong I am?” he asked.

She snorted. “Little bit,” she admitted. “I hear you and Chantal have a history.”

“She kindly relieved me of my virginity,” James answered. “And I will forever be grateful.”

“You spent summers here, Thing One?”

“I did. A few, anyway.” He hesitated, and Parker got the sense he was going to say more, but he stayed silent as they walked past the little diner, the dock, the harbor itself.

There were no streetlights on Shoreline Drive, and though it was past ten, the sky was just now deepening from indigo to black, the stars brightening overhead. The loon called again.

“So, Parker, any thought of maybe staying up here for a while?”

She shot him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “You can work from anywhere, right? You have some family up here. You could have the house winterized—”

“I’d never take Nicky away from his father.” Her posture stiffened to Miss Porter’s Finest.

“Didn’t Ethan live away for most of Nicky’s life?” James asked, his tone mild.

“No! No, he traveled a lot, but he was home every weekend. And then he switched careers so he could live in town. We’re five minutes apart.”

“I see.”

There was something in his tone that grated on Parker’s nerves. “Ethan’s a wonderful father.”

“Of course he is. Isn’t my tone hushed and reverent enough? I’m sorry.”

“What’s your problem with Ethan?” she snapped. “I mean, really, Thing One. You barely know him.”

James nodded, then picked up a rock and threw it out into the sea, where it hit the water with a hollow dunk. “How long were you with him, back when you were dating?”

He probably already knew the answer. “A couple of months,” she answered, her tone icy.

“And why’d you break up?”

She walked a little faster. “Is it any of your business?”

“No, probably not. But he sounds so very perfect in every way. It’s a little confusing as to why you didn’t snatch him up.”

“Your dubious charm is wearing thin.”

“He married your best friend, right?”

“It wasn’t like that! I barely knew Lucy when he and I were dating. We only got close after I broke up with him. And I broke up with him.”

“Of course. So sorry, Majesty. Didn’t mean to criticize the Paragon.”

“The what?”

“Ethan. The Paragon of Perfection.”

Well, bugger. She was either going to smack him or—or agree with him. “Oh, look, home sweet home. Sleep tight, Thing One.” With that, she jerked open the front door of the little house, got Beauty and went out the back to go sit on the dock.

She didn’t slam the door.

But she wanted to.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“SO YOU GOT THIS? You can hold down the fort, and all?”

“Sure, Vin. You go. Have a great time.” Parker smiled at her cousin. She couldn’t wait till Vin was gone so she could start cleaning. The shop was filthy.

“Thanks. ’Cause I haven’t been laid in God knows how long.” She sighed. “That’s where I’m going. A sex date. And I cannot wait.”

“Thanks for sharing.”

“This guy? Knows what he’s doing,” her cousin continued, squinting appreciatively as she took a long drag on her cigarette, her face contorting into a sea of wrinkles. “Some men, it’s just in and out, right? Nawt him.”

“That’s…that’s great.”

“Does this little circly thing. Makes me crazy.” Lavinia stubbed the cigarette out on her palm, then fished her bra strap up from where it had slid down her crepey, mole-encrusted arm. “He might be hairy, God knows, but once you get used to the friction, it’s all good.”

Parker had never thought of herself as a prude, nope, but damn if she didn’t throw up in her mouth a little bit. “Well, then. Maybe you should get going. Um, traffic and all that.” Yes. The fabled traffic of Gideon’s Cove, Maine, where once in a while you had to wait four or five seconds to make a left-hand turn onto Elm Street.