Addicted to Mr Parks (The Parks Series #2)(97)

“Enjoying the night?” he questioned cryptically, rolling a short glass of brown liquid in his hand.

“Yeah.” My reply was sceptical as I sensed he had an ulterior motive.

“Of course you are. You have a necklace that’s worth more than you could ever dream of having in a lifetime. You’re mingling with celebs and people of a high profession, and you’re wearing a dress that costs thousands of dollars.”

“And you’ll be wearing your drink if you don’t f*ck off.” How dare he slither over to my table like a serpent and insult me that way?

The jerk moved in closer, shifting his drink to one side and out of the way of my reach. “I want to make you a proposition, Evey. You leave Wade, and I will make it worth your while.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh come on,” he drawled, leaning back in his chair, exasperated. “We all know you’re only with him for his money. A woman who was brought up with drug-using parents on a council estate? What do you take me for? I have a check waiting for two hundred thousand. It will set you up. Just leave Wade and we won’t say any more about it.”

For the first time in my life, I was completely and utterly gobsmacked. Did he seriously think I was going to consider his proposal?

“You cheeky bastard,” I snarled, and the shrug of his shoulder made me want to blow.

“You’re a distraction. A mess. If your past got out, it would ruin his name. Why would you want to ruin him? It would be best all round if you left.”

My temper was brewing. My temperature soaring. I knew he hated me; I felt it the first time I met him. But trying to bribe me to leave? Hell no.

“And it would be better all-round if you moved the f*ck away from me, because I will not hesitate to punch you in that smarmy face of yours.”

Stiffening his back, he got up to leave, but not before bending down to my ear and whispering, “Think about it.”

I grabbed his bow tie, pulled him down, and snarled in his face. “Fuck off.” I released his tie, and he scarpered away, fixing out his appearance.

Parks was still dancing with his gran, so I was impatiently waited for them to finish so I could go straight over to inform him about his trusted publicist. I swiped my glass into my hand and watched Jasmine slip into the seat David had just left. Jesus. I felt like a bloody chat-show host.

Choosing not to acknowledge her, I kept my focus on Parks. She followed my gaze and smiled at the image of her gran and brother, then glared back at me. If her intention was to try and intimidate me, it wasn’t working.

“He can’t love you, Evey.”

I almost spat out the water that was just falling down my throat. “What?”

She narrowed dark green eyes at me, and a disgusted expression suddenly formed on her pretty face. “You’re an alcoholic. It would never work for reasons you wouldn’t understand.”

The blood that had heated up from her interference had quickly drained from my face, leaving me feeling frozen inside. I felt sick, completely betrayed.

“He…?” Not another word came out of my mouth. I couldn’t speak over the lump that had wedged in my throat.


“Yeah, he told me.” She shrugged with a bare shoulder. “He tells me everything. We share the same problems. I get him. No one understands him the way I do.” Leaning forwards, she made sure I could hear her every word. “You see, you may think he likes you for you, but just know that Wade is a magnet to broken souls. If he focuses on others’ misery, it takes the focus off his own. Wade doesn’t want to try and fix anybody, so if you’re thinking he will heal you somehow, you’re wrong.”

My wounded soul was paralyzed. Struck by the hurt she was throwing at me. But it was all lies, wasn’t it?

I tried to swallow down the ball in my throat, but it wouldn’t go away. The more she spoke, the bigger it became. The blissful thought of Parks wanting me for me was slipping away and getting replaced by a thought that ripped at my heart. He only wanted me because he knew I was broken? Damaged goods?

“He’d rather f*ck the fragile and leave them that way,” she went on. “Call him cruel, but that’s just the way he is. If I were you, I’d spare myself the heartache.” She glanced over her shoulder, catching Parks’s narrowing his eyes at her, but that didn’t stop her. “Wade’s f*cks are just something to occupy his mind, and when he’s done, they get left on the shelf. But you see—” she twirled a polished fingernail around on the table, “—these woman don’t feel heartbroken because they didn’t have a heart to begin with. Therefore, my brother feels no guilt.”

She pointed at me before settling back comfortably, her dark hair falling across her shoulders. “You seem different. You seem like you’ve got a wise head on you. So do yourself a favour.” Jasmine pushed back the seat and sauntered off, smiling and waving at others as she passed.

This wasn’t me, allowing a woman to speak to me that way. But my temper wasn’t coming to me. Pain was. Emotion was.

Tears threatened to fall and expose me, so I forced myself into action and pushed my own chair back, almost running out of the marquee.

I hurried out of the tent and into the empty tree-lined lane that would lead me into the house. The trees looked stunning dimly lit, and their branches towering over my head making a romantic arch.