No Regrets (A Stepbrother New Adult Novella)(16)

He shouldn’t care—actually he had promised he would stay away from her. But, who the hell was this guy? Parker downed his champagne quickly and enjoyed the burn. He hoped that he could simply stop himself from looking at her. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

“Parker, have you met Drew? Drew, this is Parker.” Olivia introduced them, and the jock held his hand out to Parker.

“Nice to meet you, Drew,” Parker replied in a clipped tone, shaking the other man’s hand a little harder than necessary.

“So, you’re in college, too, Parker?” The guy Drew asked pleasantly, and Parker forced himself to answer pleasantly as well, when all he really wanted to do was punch the guy in the face. All the while, Parker was aware of Liv standing beside them silently, the heat from her body hitting his synapses like burning ashes flying through the air. Somehow, he managed to get through the chitchat with Drew without killing him. If I see him touch her again…

“Cool, cool. Well, it was nice to meet you, man.” Drew shook Parker’s hand again. “Liv, can I talk to you for a few?” Drew asked her. They smiled as they left together out a side patio door.

Parker felt the overwhelming urge to go outside and follow them. He didn’t trust this Drew. Who are you kidding? You don’t trust anyone with Liv. You don’t even trust yourself. He told himself it was none of his business, tried to enjoy his cake, and was careful to keep an eye on the door through which she’d left.





Chapter Thirteen





Olivia





She thought about Parker and his behavior earlier with Drew. What was wrong with him? He was rude, and that was nothing like the Parker she knew. Perhaps that was the key factor—she didn’t know him that well.

Or, maybe he was jealous—no, he can’t be. All she knew was that he drove her crazy and made her angry at the same time. She had to find a way to put him out of her mind.

Her mother had all but made her promise to stay away from him. She would be lying if she pretended that she didn’t have feelings for Parker. She’d had months to forget about him, yet one night around him and she’d forgotten everything she’d convinced herself was for the best. She’d just been lying to herself for the last four months. Now she knew the truth—he had some kind of hold over her. Not a day went by that she didn’t think about him in one way or another. She almost felt free now that she had finally admitted to herself that her feelings for Parker were real, and not going away.

The evening had started to wrap up, and she and Parker watched their parents get into the limo for their trip to Paris. The excitement was contagious, and she watched until the car was gone. She felt Parker behind her, as if she had some built-in sense of when he was around.

“That was some wedding, wouldn’t you agree?”

She sighed. “Yes, it was beautiful. They were so happy,” she whispered.

Another moment went by, and she blinked rapidly to clear her thoughts before she glanced up at him. He had lost the tie now, as well as the vest. In his white shirt he was still gorgeous to look at.

“Well, I guess I need to get going, myself. It’s a good forty-five minutes to the house,” she said, not really wanting to leave him.

“Wait, are you going back to your mother’s house tonight?” He frowned.

“Yes, I’m not sure how much time I have left in that house and I want to enjoy it.” She felt the tension between them and wondered what was coming.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Is that really a good idea, Olivia? I mean, first of all, you shouldn’t be out so late by yourself. And how well do you even know this guy? Is he going with you?”

So, he was concerned about Drew? She decided to run with it.

“For your information, I grew up in that house, Parker. I’ve come home late quite a few times, and guess what? Each time I survived it,” she said. “Someday, some other family is going to raise kids there, and it will be lost to me forever. Do you know how that feels?” She sighed, getting angry as she thought about Amelia again. “No, I didn’t think so. I’ll be fine. As far as Drew is concerned, that’s really none of your business, is it? If you’re so worried over that, why not go find that skinny blonde who always seems to be looking for you? I’m sure she’d be happy to take care of your concerns.” She stomped off in a huff, leaving him to stare after her.

He had a lot of nerve. Why did he care what she did, or who she did it with, for that matter? She grabbed a bottle of champagne left from the reception, and tucked it under her arm to take back to the house. The man was insufferable, always doing his best to get under her skin. It was as if he enjoyed it. She drove to the house, still fuming. He’d had her lying there, practically naked, and he’d left her for that blonde. And now, he was going to act jealous?





She had started to calm down by the time she stepped out of the shower. The long day was wearing on her, and she needed to relax. She wrapped herself in a long robe and twisted her hair up on her head as she descended way downstairs.

She poured herself a glass of champagne and tried to focus on how happy her mother had been. It was good that her mom would be taken care of. For so long, it had been a driving force for Olivia—to take care of her mother. Now, she only needed to worry about herself, and it was a strange thing to realize—a lonely thing. Don’t think about Parker.