Page 88 of Heartless
Two. He was still in mourning.
Three and the most important one. Parker Wilson was one of those loyal men who wanted a family while the idea of a long-term relationship had zero appeal to me.
So even if he managed to come to terms with his wife’s death and move on, I could never be the woman he would move on with.
Soon I would be out of here, back to my city life in New York and my time at The Gem would be just a distant memory. And the chemistry that fueled the past weekend would be forgotten.
My phone pinged with a new message.
Parker: I had an amazing time this weekend.
I smiled, feeling a warmth in my chest. Warmth that shouldn’t be there. Warmth that would turn to hurt eventually. So why wait for that to happen when I could save us both time and get it over with?
Me: Yeah, casual sex is often underrated.
He didn’t reply. I caught a glimpse of him twice during the day and he made sure to ignore me thoroughly. His coldness stung, but I had made my decision. We were just a weekend fling, and that was it. I just needed the right circumstances to actually be able to stick to it. And since I was the type of woman that created the circumstances, I called my sister.
“Madison? Hi.” Clem’s surprise was evident in her tone.
“I need a night out. Do you want to join?”
After a moment of not-so-brief silence, Clem said, “Um…Yeah. Friday?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Okay…Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. You pick. Just text me the address.”
“Is everything okay?” Clem asked warily.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’ve been here two months, we haven’t gone out together even once, and now you want to go out but can’t wait four days? Seems like something is up.”
I took a deep breath and released it with a loud puff. “There is something but I don’t want to talk about it.”
Clem sighed. “Fair enough.”
***
Later that evening I found Hannah waiting alone at the bar at the Poppy’s. The owner, aka my brother, looked at her from the other side of the counter, eyes shining with adoration that made my stomach turn.
That was the same look Parker had on his face when we watched his wedding video. And yes, his was mixed with pain and sadness, but the love for Franny was still there. There was no missing it.
I approached Tyler and Hannah and dropped my purse on the counter. “Where’s Clem?”
My brother tilted his head to the side. “Good evening to you too, big sis.”
“She’ll be a bit late,” Hannah said. “She’s having a hard time leaving Daphne with the sitter.”
“Oh, right,” I mumbled. “I forgot about the baby.”
Hannah sent me a disapproving glare, which I ignored.
