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  “You left him in there?” Scowling down at him, all he did was hand me the lights and return me a smirk.

  “Yep,” he answered proudly. “Drea needed help,” was all he offered as an explanation before asking, “So what’s going on with you two?”

  I laughed. “Are you kidding me?”

  “What?” He shrugged, handing me another string of lights. “You said it yourself the other night. You figured he’d never call you again and that was that.”

  I stepped down and moved the ladder over a few feet. “So I was wrong.”

  “Clearly. So tell me, what’s going on?”

  We moved over again as I strung more lights around the portion of the ceiling above the stage. “Nothing,” I deflected like a petulant teenager. We worked quickly, completing the task without exchanging another word on the topic of Parker.

  Just as I fastened the last light in place, the band came through the doors, loud and raucous, trailing a shitload of equipment behind them. “Stage is all yours,” Gabe said, pumping the hand of who I assumed was the lead singer. I’d never seen this particular band, but Paulie hired them specifically for Annie, knowing they were her favorite.

  Gabe and I cleared the ladder, giving the band all the space they needed to get set up. We moved over to the small grouping of tables near the side of the stage. Pulling all the supplies out of the bags, Gabe and I made quick work of covering the tables. “Where’s Parker anyway?” He’d been gone for a while and even though I didn’t want to seem overly concerned, I wanted to make sure Drea and Murray weren’t annoying him.

  “Still going to stick with ‘nothing’ as your answer then?” Gabe quirked an eyebrow at me as he straightened a tablecloth.

  Knowing Gabe wouldn’t leave me alone for the night if I didn’t tell him something, I figured it was in my best interest to start talking. “I’m being honest.” Sighing, I sat in a chair. “I have no clue what’s going on. It could be nothing. It could be something.”

  “But you want it to be something?” Gabe pulled out the chair next to me, resting his elbows on the freshly covered table.

  “I don’t think it can be,” I answered honestly. Gabe simply sat there, patiently waiting for me to clarify. “We’re so different. I’m different.” There was a pathetic note to my words that I absolutely hated.

  “I heard this awesome saying the other day. How did it go?” Gabe played up his thinking, scratching his chin, eyeing the ceiling as if the phrase he was searching for had been written there. “Oh, yeah. That’s it.” He snapped his fingers, adding drama to the ribbing I knew would be coming my way in about two seconds. “It was something about opposites attracting, or some shit like that.”

  “Asshole.” Though I spat the word at him, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

  “Hey, watch it.” Gabe feigned injury. “That’s the second time you called me that tonight. I might develop a complex.”

  Distracting myself with an imaginary piece of lint on the table, I tried to find the words to explain my concerns. Sadly, all I could come up with was, “He has a lot of money.”

  “So?” Gabe didn’t miss a beat. He never did.

  “And I don’t.”

  “So?”

  “Don’t ‘so’ me. It’s a big deal and you know it. Maybe there could be something there, but it can’t. You know that.”

  Anger twisted on Gabe’s face. “Like fuck it can’t. Look,”—he leaned forward across the small table, “The only way something won’t happen is if you don’t want it to.”

  Looking over Gabe’s shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Parker helping Drea as she set up the trays of hot food. He was laughing with her, clearly at ease and having a good time. The doors to the back room opened, as Annie’s sister Maria and her friend, Alec, walked through. A few other guests had begun to show up, slowly filling the small space. Drea looped her arm with Parker’s, pulling him to greet the guests. Of course he went with her, but it looked as if more than politeness made him do so. From where I sat, I could honestly say it looked like he was having a good time.

  “I just don’t know,” I blurted out of nowhere, running a hand through my hair.

  “Bullshit.” As usual, Gabe called my bluff, forcing the issue. “Did something happen?” Concern forced the question from his mouth and, of course, it softened my heart. Gabe would always be on the lookout for me, and I was getting pissed at myself for keeping my guard up around the one person who’d proved he’d be there for me, no matter what.

  Since this was going nowhere fast, and knowing Annie and Paulie would be here soon, I cut to the chase. “He bought a car.”

  “The bastard.” Gabe gasped dramatically, laughing at me from where he sat.

  “Shut the fuck up and listen.” Twisting my hands together in frustration, my knuckles turned white. “It wasn’t just any car. It was a really fucking expensive car.” Instantly, the unease that I’d felt at opening up about our financial differences vanished as I saw Gabe listen on, genuinely interested.

  “Okay, so what’s the problem? I mean you said the guy had money. So buying an expensive car isn’t a terrible thing.” Always the pragmatist, Gabe had a habit of laying out all the problems and their solutions, needing to make sure he was seeing the situation the way it was. And when he tackled our conversations like that, it made me realize, more often than not, how foolish I was being.

  “He bought it so I could restore it with him. He wants to do it with me.” I stifled the laugh I wanted to let go at my response. But then heat flushed across my skin at the thought of Parker wanting me in the way I knew he did.

  “And you don’t want to do that?” Gabe was trying his best to get to the root of the issue. “Why? Too busy? Not interested in him?” The last suggestion forced a look of sarcasm on his face. “Hate cars?” We both laughed at that one.

  When the laughter settled and the noise of the band testing their instruments was quieted, I finally admitted the truth I’d been afraid to say. “I guess I’m just confused by it all.” Gabe leaned forward with interest. “On one hand it means I’ll be around him and he wants to be around me.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “But on the other hand, it made me feel cheap. Like I could be bought and used just because he had the money to do so.” This of course was the most ridiculously ironic part of my admission to Gabe. The word pussy came to mind trying to explain my feelings.

  “Can I say something?” Gabe’s smile reached his eyes as I nodded. “You’re an asshole.”

  Here I was, expecting one of his long, drawn out, over philosophized responses, but he’d simply called me out on my juvenile concerns. When he stopped laughing at me, he took the serious turn I’d expected in the first place. “Look, when you told me what happened to you, about the things that shaped you and your life,”—he paused, taking a deep breath as if he were reliving that painful conversation—“What did you expect my reaction to be?”

  “Uh,” I sifted through my memory, trying my best to remember exactly what my expectation had been. “I guess I didn’t have much of an expectation,” I answered honestly and Gabe’s little plan crystallized for me. “My past is my past. It’s part of who I am. I guess at that point, you either would have accepted it or not, but it wouldn’t have changed what it was.”

  “There you have it.” Gabe smiled, pushing himself up from his chair. “Parker is no different. His past is part of who he is. It’s part of why he has money. So you either accept it or not. The money isn’t going to change, but how you feel about it should. At least if you still feel the same way you felt two weeks ago.” Before Gabe headed toward the small crowd of guests waiting at the bar for their drinks, he dropped a hand to my shoulder and squeezed. “You’ve got a simple choice here. Accept him for who he is and what he has, or use who he is to push away from him. What you choose says a lot more about yourself than it ever will about him.”

  And with that, Gabe left me and my thoughts sitti
ng at the table. Unable to clear my head with the band playing and the growing noise of the guests, I slipped out the back door, desperately needing some fresh air to clear my head.

  It had to have been a solid five minutes before Parker came to find me, leaning against the railing on the small deck extending from the back room.

  “There you are. Drea just got word that Paulie’s on his way.” Hearing the names of my friends fall so casually from his mouth was both odd and comforting at the same time. He stood right next to me, looking out into the back parking lot. Since I still hadn’t said anything, he took it upon himself to ask, “Everything okay? You all right?”

  On a deep sigh, I spun around so that I faced the bar, my elbows resting on the beam behind me. Parker maintained his stare out into the lot. “Look,” he said into the darkness. “I know I pushed my luck by making you bring me.” From the corner of my eye, I saw him run his hands through his hair, before his head fell forward, sagging in defeat. “If you want me to, I’ll go.”

  “Do you really think this will work?” My eyes were trained on the back door, too afraid of what I’d see if I looked at Parker.

  “Damned if I know.” Couldn’t fault the guy for being honest, but it sliced through me that he had the same reservations I did. “But we haven’t even said what this is.” Pushing up from the railing, he remained facing the opposite direction, but put space between his body and the deck. His sleeves still rolled up, left his forearms exposed. The thick cords of his muscles shifted when he locked his elbows, supporting his weight with his rigid arms. When he angled his head to meet my stare, I quickly looked away.

  With a lopsided grin on his face, he stepped in front of me, trapping me between his body and the railing behind me. “Let me tell you what I think.” Mesmerized by the way his Adam’s apple shifted in his throat, I couldn’t manage any words to interrupt him. “You’re afraid of how you feel when we’re together.” He banded one arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. With the other hand, he combed his fingers through my hair, resting it on my jaw before continuing to speak. “You don’t like the fact that I have money.”

  My body set in rigid lines as he called me out on my largest issue. Shaking my head, I needed to explain myself before his misunderstanding went too much further. “I don’t like that because you have money, you think you can get me to do what you want. Like I can be bought or something,” I clarified.

  He laughed, a soft carefree chuckle. There was something about his easiness, his confidence that drove me crazy, made me want him so much more. “I’m no fool, Liam.” His voice was full of heated desire. “I know I can’t buy you, but if I can buy a car and it happens to get me closer to you, then why wouldn’t I do that?”

  “But what if it’s too much for me? You’re intelligent and successful. Rich and . . .” Flustered, I couldn’t come up with the right word. “Just look at you. You’re everything I’m not. I didn’t even graduate high school.” His hand danced in soft caresses against my stubbled jaw as I spoke, both calming and enticing me at the same time. “I’m nothing more than a kid who ran away from home and made nothing of his life. I’m a mechanic. I’m the grease monkey your father didn’t want you to become.” Something inside boiled over. Maybe it was from the kind tenderness he exuded as he waited for me to finish. “So tell me, Parker,” his name was a curse twisting from my lips. “How exactly is this supposed to work?”

  “Like this.” His tongue darted out of his sensual mouth, licking at his full lower lip. Moving his thumb from my jaw, he touched my lip, pulling it from between my teeth. Need like I’d only known around him made me harden against him. It made me bold and I licked at his thumb as he stroked it along the seam of my mouth. My breath came out in short, staccato bursts, as if I’d suddenly become unable to regulate my own breathing. Parker’s eyes met mine and there was something so genuine written there, I had no choice but to close my eyes and simply trust him. The second before his lips pressed against mine, his warm breath flowed over my lips. He was fanning the flames of my need, stoking my desires. And he was doing it all simply by taking his next breath.

  When our lips met, there was no rush, no need to consume or be devoured. At first, it was nothing more than a sweet brush of exploration. It was chaste even. But the second his hand moved into my hair, pulling on it and angling my head back, everything shifted. In a demanding thrust, his tongue pushed past my lips. The combination of the slight spark of pain at him holding my hair and the erotically smooth caress of his tongue against mine made my body nearly shake with need. His arm wound around my waist and he locked me in place, both with his mouth and his thick erection pressing against my own. As he pulled away from me, he sunk his teeth into my lower lip. The sensuous glide of his teeth against my skin actually forced me to groan. With one last tender stroke of his thumb against my mouth, he planted a sweet kiss on the spot he’d just bitten.

  The dazed and lust-filled look in his eyes had to be similar to the one in my own. “Did that work?” Parker’s voice was barely above a croak, thick and heavily, laden with desire.

  Initially unable to do more than nod, I held his stare and barely mumbled a low, “Yeah.”

  “Good. I thought so.” The assertive tone made the blood pound in my veins. It made me want him more. “If you keep thinking of all the reasons it’s not going to work, chances are it won’t.” After briefly pressing his lips against mine, quickly stealing a second kiss, he said, “But you’re lucky I’m very persistent. I’ll be right there to show you all the reasons it’ll be worth the try.”

  “Get your asses in here.” The shrill and excited sound of Drea’s voice called out from the back door. “Paulie and Annie just pulled up.”

  “Trust me?” Parker’s blue eyes stared into mine, begging me to agree. He held out his hand, waiting for me to take it, to accept his challenge. When my fingers wrapped around his, my skin felt instantly hotter, as if he’d actually set it on fire. He pulled me to him, stealing another kiss before finally releasing me.

  Rather than pulling me through the door, he fell in line behind me. His hand dropped to my lower back, his fingers grazing the upper curve of my ass. Eyeing him over my shoulder, he shot me a smug-ass look, like he’d won.

  And he had.

  Not that I’d ever really stood a chance, or put up much of a fight.

  No, letting Parker win didn’t mean being defeated.

  It meant being taken and that was something different entirely.

  It was something I couldn’t wait to be. And based on our kisses, I wouldn’t have to wait all that long.

  A searing flash of heat burst across my lips, making it impossible not to keep touching them—as if my fingers grazing against their swollen skin would somehow calm the blaze that Liam’s lips had set. We stood next to each other, among the other guests, waiting for Paulie and his wife to walk through the doors.

  Even though he’d looked less than amused with me as we re-entered the bar, I caught him stealing glances at me from the corner of my eye. Though he was distracted in casual conversation with Gabe, it was impossible not to notice how he let his hand drift across my arm often, how his leg found a way to bump into my own.

  “They’re here,” Drea whispered as she poked her head through the door, holding her finger up to her mouth. Bits of whatever she was telling Annie about being needed in the back room floated toward us, quieting us even more.

  With an overly dramatic sweep of her arm, Drea pushed the door open, yelling, “Surprise.” We all joined in, letting the genuinely shocked look on Annie’s face split our own in huge smiles. It was true I didn’t even know the woman, but there was no denying she was admired by her friends and family.

  She made her way through the crowd, greeting everyone with tight hugs and lots of kisses. “There you are.” As soon as she stood in front of Liam, she wrapped her tiny arms around him. Effortlessly, he lifted her from the floor, spinning her around like a little rag doll. After he put her down, he pressed
a kiss to her forehead. And even though I knew it was nothing more than a kiss given to someone he considered family, I was instantaneously jealous that his lips weren’t moving against my own skin.

  “And who do we have here?” Annie slapped Liam playfully on his bicep as she gave me a sidelong glance.

  “This . . . uh, he’s . . . a friend.”

  Without missing a beat, Annie held out her hand. “Well, hi there, friend.” Her greeting was full of sass and sarcasm. I liked her on sight. Liam rolled his eyes when she asked, “Do you have an actual name?”

  Pulling her hand up to my lips, I noticed Liam watching—a flash similar to what I’d just felt when he’d kissed her forehead pulsed in his amber eyes. “Happy birthday, Annie. I’m Parker. Liam’s friend.” Eyeing her over her hand as I kissed it, she laughed at me. My exaggeration of the word “friend” popping the bubble of awkwardness around us.

  Before we could say anything more, who I could only assume was Paulie walked up behind Annie. He looped his arm around her waist and stood at her side, easily towering over her by more than a foot and a half. “Sweetie,”—she leaned against his beast-like frame, staring up at him—“this is Liam’s friend,” she emphasized it just as I had. “His name is Parker.”

  Standing rigid at my side, Liam was clearly annoyed by his friends. Even though we hadn’t spent very much time together, it was crystal clear that Liam was an easily agitated man. Very quickly I made the decision to be the man who set him at ease—and I couldn’t wait to test out a variety of ways to do so.

  Holding out his massive hand, Paulie shook mine, saying, “Parker. Nice to meet you, we didn’t know you’d be joining us.” His formal greeting stood out in such high contrast to his casual look that I had to bite my tongue and not laugh at the sound of his words. He did nothing to contain the touch of discomfort he clearly felt for having me here, when I wasn’t expected.

  “Likewise. And thanks for having me.” Turning my focus back to Annie seemed safer, like it would help me win Paulie over—if that was even necessary. Though, it did seem like he was still on the fence about me. “I didn’t have time to get you anything.”