Sophie's Playboy (41 page)

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Authors: Natalie J. Damschroder

BOOK: Sophie's Playboy
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  • "Oh." Sophie watched Hippo through the sliding door. She'd b
  • Hippo trotted back in and she slid the door shut, then pulle
  • "I liked it because you liked it. I liked seeing your face w
  • She sighed. "But you felt left out, didn't you?"
  • He hesitated. "A little. But it's not your fault," he hasten
  • "What kind of childhood did you have that you didn't listen
  • He blew out a breath. "Well, while you were hanging out at t
  • "And when we were with Mother, it was opera and Broadway—she
  • Her heart ached for all he'd missed. Rock music and swingset
  • "No, I did. I played baseball and went to school dances."
  • "Yet no Bon Jovi."
  • He gave her a wry smile. "Private school dances. We had to w
  • She gazed at him for a moment, knowing he didn't need or wan
  • She stretched up to return his kiss. "As you wish."
  • CHAPTER 14
  • As you wish. Parker remembered hearing that somewhere. He ta
  • Frustrated, he tossed the pen on the desk. He'd come to the
  • But all he could think about were Sophie's last words before
  • "Last of the letters to sign, boss." Betty carried in a shea
  • "How the hell did you finish those all so quickly?" She hadn
  • "I'm efficient." She shrugged and pulled the signed letters
  • As you wish. The phrase rolled through his head again, like
  • "Betty, help me out. 'As you wish.' Why do I know that phras
  • "Ah. The Princess Bride." She picked up the last of the stac
  • Now he remembered. "It's one of Mare's favorites." The hero
  • The idea that Sophie could be doing the same thing stunned h
  • Was she pushing him toward the next step with that one gentl
  • "Parker."
  • He realized he was staring blindly at Betty's elbow. "What?"
  • "Is that all, or do you want me to watch you brood some more
  • "I don't brood." He picked up his pen again—might as well ti
  • "Like I have anything better to do." She went out the door,
  • Parker put thoughts of love aside as best he could. He still
  • His intercom buzzed. "Parker, Jason's on line one."
  • Parker grinned as he picked up the phone. "Jason, buddy. How
  • "Getting married, guy. Where've you been? You're supposed to
  • Parker searched his brain for the date of the wedding. Octob
  • "Don't you want me to be?"
  • Jason made a disgusted sound. "I haven't seen you or heard f
  • Jason was right. Parker rarely went to the club anymore. He'
  • "I'm sorry, Jason. I guess I let ... things get in my way. I
  • "Hell, yeah, I want you in the wedding party. Darlene would
  • "Uh, well, I'm going to dinner with Sophie's family."
  • "Geez. Fine. Blow me off again." But Jason's tone was jolly
  • Parker wished all his relationships were so easy to handle.
  • * * * *
  • He drove the Porsche to Brook Hollow on Sunday. He knew ther
  • Sophie didn't comment on the car. She relaxed into the drive
  • "Dad is a plumber. He's big and blustery when he wants to be
  • "Why?"
  • She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Well, I haven
  • Geez. "Well, let's not add any pressure, now."
  • "Sorry. Mom is a whirlwind and loves everyone. Last year she
  • Parker wondered how much of Sophie's recent rebellion and tr
  • "Whatever fulfills her. For nearly thirty years it was her f
  • Sophie adjusted her seatbelt so that it fell precisely betwe
  • "You'd better not do stuff like that in my parent's house."
  • His face burned and he realized he was flushing. "Sorry." Da
  • "Don't be sorry." Sophie's voice was husky. She laid her han
  • His hands tightened and jerked the wheel. "Jesus, Sophie, I'
  • She giggled. "The pup tent impression?"
  • "Yeah. The 'I-obviously-can't-keep-my-hands-to-myself-but-I'
  • "So finish telling me about your family."
  • "Okay. Jake and Kira you met, and you know what they went th
  • "Speaking of grandparents, Jake's mom and dad are coming to
  • Great. Two sets of judgmental parents. "What are their names
  • "Fran and Luke. They lived in France for a while. Luke was t
  • Which implied he wouldn't otherwise. That eased his misgivin
  • "You met Brianna at the station. She's an elementary school
  • "I could make some suggestions."
  • Sophie glared at him. "Nothing dangerous."
  • "With the proper precautions, skydiving and bungee jumping a
  • "That's what I'm afraid of. You don't need to push her along
  • "Jealous of you, because you have me?"
  • "Hm-m." The noise she made neither agreed nor disagreed.
  • You do have me. The words made it to his tongue, but he bit
  • Relax, he told himself. Wait to see how it goes before you c
  • He followed Sophie's directions and parked in front of a mod
  • Nothing could have been more symbolic.
  • * * * *
  • Sophie was acutely aware of Parker hovering behind her, nerv
  • She should have told Parker that. He looked six shades paler
  • "Mom, Dad, this is Parker Cornwall. Parker, Elyse and Duncan
  • "I think I'll stick to Mr. and Mrs. Macgregor for now." He s
  • "Oh, no, this is lovely, Parker." She stepped forward and wo
  • "Let's all go sit out back," Elyse suggested. "Kids, we're g
  • Sophie kept her hand in Parker's as they walked through the
  • She didn't want Parker to find her family beneath him.
  • Of course, if she was really worried about that, he wouldn't
  • "Lemonade?" her mother offered on their way through the kitc
  • A chorus of "yeahs" was punctuated by a simple, "yes, please
  • Sophie went ahead to the deck and tried hard not to worry ab
  • This was completely different.
  • "Calm down," Kira said, pulling Sophie's hand away from her
  • "You really think she's interrogating him?"
  • Kira shrugged and handed the baby to her sister. "How should
  • "That's what I was just thinking." Sophie rested Joey on her
  • "Don't worry." Kira rubbed Sophie's back reassuringly. "He's
  • "What makes you think you know everything?" Nerves made Soph
  • "What's she predicting?" Parker set the tray on the glass pa
  • "That smile is just like your mama's. Going to have her hair
  • Sophie noticed the bemused look on Kira's face. Kira folded
  • Parker smiled his charming smile. "I'm trying to make points
  • Just like that, Kira was won over. Not that she'd had far to
  • Elyse stepped outside then and urged them all to sit and be
  • "Duncan and Jake," she called, "stop worrying about that stu
  • Sophie had no doubt "the other day" was the day they reveale
  • "So, are you any good?"
  • Sophie choked on her lemonade. Apparently, her mother hadn't
  • Parker opened his mouth, obviously about to answer. Sophie t
  • "The station thinks so," he said. "Ratings have skyrocketed
  • Elyse smiled approvingly. "He's a gentleman, this one. So fa
  • God, did her mother have to be so blatant?
  • "I like the rave part of the show, myself," Elyse went on. S
  • Jake and her father climbed the steps to the deck. Duncan gr
  • Parker nodded.
  • "Well, Parker, what are your intentions toward my daughter?"
  • Sophie growled under her breath. But Parker just blinked. Le
  • "My intentions, at the moment, are whatever Sophie wants the
  • She averted her gaze when she heard that. She wanted the who
  • "Hmm." Duncan eyed him over his glass. "Good answer." He tur
  • "For God's sake." Sophie lurched to her feet. "I want him to
  • "Her glass was half full," she heard Kira say before the scr
  • Warm hands closed over her shoulders and chased away the phy
  • "It's okay, Sophie."
  • She shook her head. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I'd
  • Parker turned her and cupped her jaw with both hands. "I'm n
  • She heard more than he was saying. "Your family cares, Parke
  • He dropped his hands and paced half a circle around the kitc
  • "Why does it matter so much?" Stupid, she thought. He's the
  • "He doesn't care at all, Sophie." His jaw tensed. "I should
  • Sophie grinned wryly. "No, we're here to stir up mine."
  • He tilted his head at her. "Do you really have problems here
  • Now she looked out the window. Kira and her mother were chat
  • "No," she said. "I don't really have any problems here."
  • "Then let's just go enjoy the dinner, okay?"
  • "Okay." She reached her hand out. He took it, and they walke
  • CHAPTER 15
  • The aftereffects of the family dinner lingered long after So
  • For some reason, that was enough for him. It had always been
  • After their initial attack, Sophie's parents had opened up t
  • "So what will be?" he asked her. She shook her head impatien
  • "If I knew, I wouldn't be taking impromptu trips to L.A. and
  • "So you do know those impulsive acts won't fix anything."
  • "Of course I do." She handed him a shrewd look with the wet
  • Parker refrained from giving her any romantic advice. He fig
  • He had driven Sophie home to his townhouse that night. She'd
  • And all he'd felt was content.
  • No panic assailed him at any moment. He didn't have to swall
  • He had hope.
  • There was no such thing as destiny, especially one set by yo
  • Three days after the Macgregor Family Dinner, he was standin
  • It took three rings for him to realize the vibration in his
  • "Cornwall," he answered. The amethyst in the back corner loo
  • "How bad is she?"
  • "I don't know yet." Mare sniffled. "We just got here. I don'
  • Parker could almost see her wringing her hands. Or at least
  • He didn't want her to lose that baby.
  • "I'll be right there," he told her. "I'm about ten minutes f
  • "We're on the med-surg floor."
  • "I'll find you."
  • At the first red light Parker called his office and told the
  • "Stevie." He changed lanes while he waited for the reception
  • To Stevie's credit, he didn't whine about ratings and advert
  • "I'm fine. It's my stepmother. I don't know how bad, but I c
  • "No problem. Sophie can handle one show."
  • Of course she could. "Uh, Stevie? I'll have to turn my phone
  • "Sure."
  • Parker left the Porsche in outpatient parking and ran into t
  • "God, Parker, I was so scared." Mare folded herself into his
  • "Why, what happened?"
  • Mare sat on one of the olive green chairs and propped her fo
  • Biff and Fawn had a house in Boston as well as the one on th
  • "There was blood everywhere. She said she hadn't had any cra
  • Details Parker didn't understand and wasn't sure he wanted t
  • Tears welled in Mare's eyes and she covered her mouth with h
  • His throat burned when he thought of what she must be going
  • "How is she?" he asked when Mare had calmed down again.
  • "She's fine. They did a D&C and are keeping her overnight be
  • "Can we go see her?"
  • Mare nodded and stood. "I was just waiting for you."
  • She led him to the end of the hall, to a private room outfit
  • She looked so young. She sat up in bed, her hair looking str
  • Then he saw his father's face, and he knew what the somethin
  • "What did you say to her?" he demanded before he could stop
  • Fawn's expression didn't change. "Don't, Parker, it's okay,"
  • "Like hell it is." He stood in front of his father and dared
  • Oh, yes, it was panic. Parker had felt it enough in the past
  • It didn't matter. The end result was the same. He'd broken h
  • Parker wasn't going to let it happen again.
  • "What ... did ... you ... say ... to ... her?" He could bare
  • Biff stood and tried to look defiant. "That's between me and
  • "He wants a divorce."
  • Parker could only stare at her. Even at his worst, Biff had
  • "You'd do that to her, now?"
  • "I don't have to answer to you." Hiding his emotion under gr
  • "No, it's too late for that," he said. "But I can't believe
  • Biff glanced at his wife. His normally ruddy face paled, and
  • "Fawn and I have discussed it. There's nothing more to be sa
  • He almost went after him, but turned back. Fawn needed him m
  • "I'm so sorry." He sat on the edge of the bed and took her h
  • "I should have expected it," she said. A single tear trickle

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