Addicted to Mr Parks (The Parks Series #2)(83)

“I doubt they get better than Mr. Parks, honey bun,” the first John called over, teasing Pat even more.

“Or bigger,” I played along.

“Disgraceful,” Pat uttered, and that made us worse, laughing even harder.

“Oh come on, Pat,” John continued to goad. “Maybe you should go find some nookie; that would lighten you up a bit.”

Clarke gasped from behind me, I hid my face with a sheet of paper, and the other John remained quiet after a gulp. Pat pushed off her desk and pointed a crooked finger at John. “How dare you!” We were all waiting for her to explode, but she surprised us. “My sex life is probably better than yours. I could teach you kids a thing or two,” she added on a smirk.

We all looked at each other and howled with laughter.



***



I met Parks on the ground floor. He was waiting for me with that spectacular smile he hit me with every day after work. Today, his splendid body was dressed in a grey suit, white dress shirt, and grey tie. When he held up his palm for me to take, I placed my hand in his, only to be pulled into his chest. He kissed me deeply, making my back dip, ignoring the crowds of passing people.

“I’ve missed you,” I breathed when he finally released me.

“Of course you have. Come on, we have a plane to catch.”

“Whoa, what?”

“We’re flying to America, Evelyn. Did you forget?” Parks shook his head, playfully exasperated. He was slowly learning of my insanely forgetful brain.

“Um. I didn’t forget.” Lie. “We’re meeting your parents in America?”

His brow arched, as though he was unsure of my unsettled nerves. “That’s where they live,” he teased. “My mother is holding a charity ball. That’s the main reason we’re going.”

My hand had slipped from his grip, and I was suddenly pushed into slight panic mode. “I’ve just never been on a plane before.”

Parks chuckled and took my hand again to lead me through the lobby. “I gathered that when I checked your passport.”

The only reason I had a passport was because I needed one for photo ID when I turned eighteen or I couldn’t buy alcohol.

“It will be fine, Princess. I have a private jet.”

My jaw dropped. “You have a privet jet?” I rolled my eyes. “Course you do.”

“Come on.”

Cleaver drove us straight to the airport. My leg was bouncing the whole way as I tried to ride out my mixed emotions. I’d never been on a plane, and my first experience was going to be with a private jet. Just another one of those pesky factors that drew my life and Parks’s miles away from each other’s.

“Okay, baby?” He shook my knee, looking for reassurance. I couldn’t give him it.

“No. I’m absolutely shitting myself. I mean, how does the plane actually fly in the air? It’s so big and…” Oh God, I was starting to panic and become ridiculous.

“Calm down, Princess. You’re with me. What’s the worst that can happen?”

My upturned eyebrow gave him the answer to that question. It only made him laugh.

Cleaver opened the door for us. Out climbed Parks, then he dipped to take my hand. I placed my sweating palm in his, stepped out of the car, and saw the plane we were about to board. My breathing became shallow, and I prayed I wasn’t about to have a panic attack.


Parks took me to one side, cupped my cheeks, and gazed into my eyes. “If at any time you don’t want to do this, tell me, and I will take you off that plane.”

“But how will we get to America if I don’t do this?”

“Fuck America. I want you happy.”

“No.” I shook my head in determination. I was being pathetic. “I can do this.”

Staring into to my eyes to make sure I was being honest, he waited, then nodded once and let my cheeks go. Taking firm hold of my hand, he led my wobbly legs to the stairs leading up to the plane. My knees felt like jelly, shaking absurdly as I climbed.

“Good evening, Mr. Parks. Ms. Banks.”

“Evening,” Parks greeted the air hostess, but all I could offer was a weak smile as she checked our passports. Really? It’s his damn plane.

“Okay?” he asked again before leading me in.

“Just get me in the goddamn plane before I change my mind.” I had a vision of myself hightailing it down the stairs and never looking at another plane again. But my reactions were unreasonable. How the hell did I know I didn’t like it if I didn’t try?

Tugging on my hand, Parks lead me into the plane. And…wow. My breathing eased as I looked around the inside of the jet. It was sublime. Everything I didn’t expect.

“This is the main lounge.” The main bloody lounge? It was stunning. Cream leather seats, soft white carpets, and a gorgeous mahogany dining table with beautifully arranged roses in a vase that set them off. And the intimate glow from the small side lamps finished off the polished, magnificent room. There was also a large, wall-mounted TV, a bar, obviously containing no alcohol, and two other rooms vacating off the lounge.

“There is also a bathroom, a study, and more importantly, a bedroom.”

I turned to catch his grin. “This is beyond anything I would have imagined.”

He brought his arms around my neck and rubbed his nose along the bridge of mine. “I told you, I will treat you like a princess. Anything less than that is unacceptable.”