Somebody to Love (Gideon's Cove #3)(65)

“The more the merrier,” Collier       said enthusiastically. “I’d love it!”

“Oh, are you sure, Collier?”       Althea said, laying a hand on his arm. “James wouldn’t want to put you out.       You’ve already been so, ah, generous with the locals.”

“I’d love him to come,” the man said, his       blue eyes blazing. Gay, maybe, Parker thought. “What do you say,       James?”

“Sounds like fun,” James said.       “Thank you.”

“Great!” Collier said. “Off we       go, then.”

“Parker, you simply must sit in       front,” Althea said as they walked down the path to the Porsche. “It’s such       a darling car. Parker’s father loves Porsches.” Translation: She comes from money, too.

“Oh, no, Mother. You know what       they say. Age before beauty.” Smiling at her mother’s murderous look, she       slid into the backseat with James.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

TWO HOURS LATER, James was fairly sure he hated Collier Rhodes.

Apparently, Collier knew every famous person on the face of the earth, from Lindsay Lohan to the president. He couldn’t stop talking about his famous pals, his money, his career, his travels, and all with such false modesty that it was making James ill. At least Harry was honest about his own self-admiration.

Maggie Beaumont and her fiancé, Malone, were here, in addition to Lavinia. And thank God for that, because otherwise, James was pretty certain Althea would’ve locked her daughter in a bedroom with Collier until consummation occurred. Between her references to Parker’s suitability as a bride and Collier’s name-dropping, James was feeling quite homicidal. He took another sip of whatever wildly expensive wine Collier was serving and tried not to roll his eyes as Collier dropped the seventh celebrity name of the night.

“You’re kidding!” said Maggie. “You actually went rock climbing with Aron Ralston? The guy who cut off his own arm?”

Collier considered the question. It wasn’t a hard question, but he seemed to need time to answer. “I guess I don’t really notice a person’s disabilities. It’s not my way of seeing people.”

“You didn’t notice that he only had one arm?” Parker asked. “That’s kind of a big thing to miss.”

Atta girl. She was sitting next to James, as ever so close and so out of reach.

“That’s how I’m made,” Collier answered thoughtfully. “To me, we were just two kindred spirits communing with nature. It was the same when Steve and I—Stephen Hawking, that is—were having drinks one time. I mean, yeah, he’s in a wheelchair, but to me, that stuff’s invisible.”

The invisible wheelchair. Like Wonder Woman’s plane.

“How do you have drinks with a man who’s completely paralyzed?” Lavinia asked. “Feeding tube? Straw?”

Good question, Vin. “Go on, Collier,” said Parker’s mother, staring at her cousin with her creepy frozen face. “Tell us about the, ah, climber.”

“Well, that Aron can really fly when it comes to free-climbing. He almost beat me to the summit.”

“That’s so neat,” Maggie said.

“It’s amazing,” Parker’s mother seconded. “Collier, the stories you have! Such a fascinating life you’ve led!”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Lavinia barked. “Who just said he cut off his own arm? Maggie, are you shitting me?”

“Let’s not discuss that at dinner,” Althea said. “Collier, tell us about that novel you mentioned. Parker, Collier wants to write a book, too!”

Oh, kill me now. Just one more reason Collier was perfect for Parker. James closed his eyes.

“Another thing you have in common,” Althea said brightly.

“You don’t really want to hear about my little idea,” Collier said, gazing upon each guest in turn.

“Most authors don’t like discussing their work,” James offered.

“I’ve heard that, too,” Malone said, giving James a commiserating look. At least James wasn’t the only one suffering.

“I just read a book,” Lavinia said, leaning back in her chair. “Pretty steamy stuff. Written by some Chinese chick. Very dirty. I enjoyed it.”

“Please tell us, Collier! I know I’m dying to hear about it,” Althea said.

“Well, Jim there has a point.” That was another thing. Jim. “But if you insist.”

“We do!” Althea chirped. Malone sighed.

“Okay, okay,” Collier said, holding his hands up in mock defeat. “It’s about this retired Microsoft executive.”

“Like you?” Parker asked innocently.

“Well, not really. But maybe. He’s a little like me in that he retired young after making his fortune.” Making his fortune? Did people talk that way? “And then he comes across this painting by Picasso. But there’s this code in it, and no one’s ever deciphered it before. But coding is what the Microsoft guy does. His name is Wolfe, Wolfe Shepherd, and he’s the only one who sees that this code is actually a treasure map, so then he embarks on this amazing journey that leads him to the secrets of the Vatican.”