Sophie's Playboy (23 page)

After a few minutes, Timmy stood. "Thanks, Uncle Parker."

"You're okay now?"

He shrugged. "I'll be sad sometimes, but happy sometimes, too. I'm glad she was my friend for a little while.

It's too lonely not to have friends."

Parker sat in the bedroom for a few minutes after Timmy headed back to the kitchen. He felt like a coward. He was falling in love with Sophie and running from it like a child—no, not like a child, as Timmy had demonstrated. He was just running.

He was going to stop that right now.

* * * *

Dinner went well. The boys declared the tacos delicious, and there were no more bouts of melancholy. Parker watched Sophie interact with the boys, pictured her as the mother of his children, and felt no twinges of panic.

Mare came by at eight, just as they finished cleaning up.

"Mom!" The boys rushed to hug her legs and waist, and she grinned, obviously pleased.

"I was afraid you two would want to leave me for your Uncle Parker and Aunt Sophie."

Josh frowned at his mother. "They don't
live
together, Mom."

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Heaven forbid
went through Parker's mind before he could stop it. Habit, he realized, because the thought of living with Sophie wasn't abhorrent. Scary, but not abhorrent.

"I was going to bring them home," Parker told his sister.

"I know. I thought you might appreciate being able to stay here, instead." She winked and Sophie blushed. Parker grinned.

"You can practically read my mind, sis."

"Okay, you ragamuffins. Say goodbye to Hippo and Sophie and let's go. You need baths."

They protested all the way out the door. Hippo had disappeared at the word "bath." Parker sighed and pulled Sophie to him.

"Silence. Privacy. I wonder what we can do with those?"

He bent his head and kissed her slowly.

"Mmmm. I can think of a few things." Sophie pressed her lips to his neck. Parker had started to sink into the realm of sensation when she pulled back. "Like talk."

"No." He thrust one hand into her hair and held her in place while he plundered her mouth. "Not that."

"Okay."

He liked her breathlessness and the fact that he left her quivering with one good kiss. "Okay."

* * * *

Sophie couldn't help herself—she looked at the clock. Ten fifteen. She wondered how much longer she had before Parker panicked again and left her.

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Right now, he seemed content to draw lazy circles on her skin, taking occasional nips at her shoulder or the top of her breast. She was completely sated and couldn't even muster the energy to lift her hand to his shoulder.

"Do we need to talk now?" she asked. She was afraid of the answer, but liked not knowing even less.

Parker's smile was reassuring. "No, we don't need to talk. I think we should just see where this leads us."

"Where do you want it to lead us?"

He shook his head. "Not even that much talking, Soph. I have no idea. This is all new to me."

Sophie liked that, so she left it alone.

Parker bent to kiss her again and she reveled in the heat of his mouth. He smelled so good she was afraid he was like an addictive drug to her system.

After the second time they made love they did talk, about the show and Mare and the boys. Fall wasn't far away, and Parker asked if she wanted to take a weekend foliage trip to Vermont. It sounded like a commitment to her, albeit a small one, so she accepted easily.

"How's business?" she asked at one point. "You're spending so much time at the station, your company must be suffering."

Parker shrugged. "Joe is increasingly angry at me, but in truth he handles things extremely well on his own." He lifted a lock of Sophie's hair and watched it fall. "I wrapped up all my major deals, so it's just maintenance at this point."

"Don't you miss it?"

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"Nah. It was something to do." The smile he gave her made Sophie's heart flip. "Now I have something else to do."

"Else? Not better?"

"Well..."

Sophie growled. "You'll pay for that one, mister."

And she proceeded to make him pay.

* * * *

They made breakfast together the next morning, pancakes and bacon and fruit salad. Sophie liked the domesticity, but was careful not to create symbolism where there was only circumstance.

"I checked my messages while you were in with Timmy last night," she said, licking bacon crumbs off her fingers.

"Jake and Kira, my sister, have tickets to Bon Jovi tonight.

They were supposed to go with my other sister, Brianna, but Brie and her friend backed out, so they have two extra tickets. Wanna go?"

"Why'd Brianna back out? She still in LA?"

Sophie grimaced. "No, she's going white water rafting tomorrow. She's still on this restless adventure kick." She watched Parker serve himself some more pancakes. He spread butter, then poured maple syrup in a thin stream until it pooled on the plate. "You don't want to go," she finally said into the silence.

"It's been a long time since I've been interested in loud music and screaming teenagers."

Sophie laughed. "It's Bon Jovi. He's our generation, not the next's. It'll mostly be people like us."

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He looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

"There's a Simpson concert tonight, too. I'm sure."

"Okay." He lifted her fingers and kissed them. "I trust you."

Sophie fought smugness the rest of the day.

* * * *

Parker knew Sophie was a middle child who defied stereotype and wondered if her older sister did, too. He himself was a typical older child, an overachiever protective of his sibling. It didn't take long to confirm that Kira McKenna was the same way.

"So, you're Sophie's playboy," she said, eyeing him speculatively while maintaining her hold on the hand he'd offered. If he and Sophie hadn't dealt with this already, he'd have felt a sharp spurt of anger. As it was, he had to bite back irritation.

"I'm Parker Cornwall. Whether I'm Sophie's is yet to be determined. The playboy part is pure myth."

She fell into step with him as they walked from Sophie's condo to Kira's 4Runner. Jake, who'd given Parker the typical threatening hand squeeze, kept Sophie back a few paces, obviously to give his wife time to deal with Parker.

"Not so pure, I think." Kira pointedly noted his Italian loafers and the Ralph Lauren polo he wore with khakis.

"Myths and legends have to start somewhere."

"I worked hard for every penny I earned. Some of it I made on the golf course. Some via the country club. All was earned honestly and with intent. None came from my father,"

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he went on, liking the surprise on her face. "Except for the first thousand he loaned me and earned twelve percent interest on." He stopped next to the vehicle. "My intentions toward Sophie are mine alone, Kira, though I can appreciate your interest. I'll try not to hurt her. You'll have to be satisfied with that."

He expected anger or at least a "hmph" and toss of the head. Instead, she grinned at him.

"You'll do." She swung up into the driver's seat. "Come on, slowpokes."

The drive to the concert took no time at all. The parking took an hour. Not used to being a passenger, Parker chafed at every minute in the truck. Luckily, the conversation was interesting, as Jake and Kira argued about how they'd gotten together after twenty-eight years of friendship.

"Where's Joey tonight?" Sophie asked.

"He's with my parents," Jake answered. "They don't get enough exercise so they volunteered to babysit." Kira laughed and Sophie shook her head.

"That baby's all sweetheart. You guys don't know what you're talking about."

Kira and Jake just laughed harder.

"How old is he?" Parker asked.

"Just over ten months," Kira said. "He's learning to walk, so we had a whole new level of babyproofing to do. Things we didn't even think he could
see
he managed to get his hands—

and mouth—on."

"I know what you mean," Parker said. "My nephews were hellions, too. Still are, sometimes. I used to walk around my 219

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townhouse with a fistful of bandages because however close I was to them, it was never close enough."

"I haven't seen your townhouse," Sophie murmured. She winked at Parker. "You'll have to ...
show
me sometime."

Parker usually felt trapped at this point. When a woman he was dating wanted to be let into his sanctuary, it was time to slow things down. Way down. The one time he hadn't heeded his instinct had been a disaster. He'd only been dating the woman for a couple of weeks so when she offered to make him supper at his place after a long, hard negotiation at work, he thought it was safe to say yes. Within a week she was demanding a key and calling daily to check on his whereabouts.

She was now married to an old college buddy of his, but Parker had learned his lesson. Bringing women home meant too much to them, and set them up for heartbreak when the relationship had to end. Hints like this usually gave him indigestion.

But now, with Sophie angling for an invitation and providing one at the same time, all he felt was lust.

He cleared his throat and looked out the window, relieved to see the parking attendant motioning Kira into a space.

They climbed out of the truck and he managed to change the subject before Sophie could press him.

They followed the crowd into the Tweeter Center and found their seats. Parker wasn't thrilled about the crowd, but Sophie was so exhilarated he couldn't sustain his irritation. She and Kira spent the half hour before the show reminiscing about their teenage years. Jake looked on indulgently, though 220

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Parker figured he was keeping out of the conversation so Parker wouldn't feel left out.

At one point Sophie teased Jake about some childhood event and he noogied her head. Laughing, Sophie smoothed her hair. "Jake has always been my big brother," she told Parker. "I have to tease him, and he has to punish me."

Parker had never had that kind of relationship with his sister. He'd always worried too much about their parents hurting her to torment her himself.

Finally, the concert started. Parker had to admit he enjoyed the music, especially when Sophie insisted he dance to a ballad. He could survive anything with Sophie in his arms. The crowd wasn't what he'd expected. All ages, from six to seventy, and much more well-behaved than he'd anticipated. He and Jake braved the lines to buy Sophie and Kira each a T-shirt and poster, then teased them about being teenyboppers.

When the concert was over, the others chattered about Jon Bon Jovi's energy and what particular songs reminded them of. Parker listened, but had nothing to add to the conversation, because he barely remembered the old music.

He didn't remember his childhood the way they remembered theirs. And he wondered whether their upbringings were too different. If
they
were too different.

He was brooding when they arrived at Sophie's condo.

Jake and Kira yawned, but insisted on heading back to Brook Hollow.

"Kira can't be away from Joey that long," Jake said. His wife rolled her eyes.

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"I would stay here in a heartbeat if I didn't think I'd be in the way." She winked at Parker. "Truth is, Jake hates to be more than ten feet from his son. He takes him to all his political events."

"Did I tell you Jake is Brook Hollow's mayor?" Sophie laced her fingers through Parker's. "He's a real goody two shoes."

As opposed to Parker the Playboy, who did everything for personal gain. He knew Sophie wasn't making comparisons, and Jake had never been more to her than a big brother. But for some reason Parker felt compelled to try to fit himself to some ideal. If Jake represented the kind of man the Macgregors wanted in their family, Parker didn't have a chance.

"So, how about it?"

He realized all three of them were staring at him. "Sorry, how about what?"

"Sunday dinner at Mom and Dad's?"

Sophie looked so hopeful he couldn't say no, though he doubted it would be anything like his family dinners.

* * * *

"So, what did you think of the concert?" Sophie asked after they'd waved off Jake and Kira and let the dog out.

"It was decent."

"Oh." Sophie watched Hippo through the sliding door.

She'd been afraid he wasn't enjoying himself. "I thought it was great."

Hippo trotted back in and she slid the door shut, then pulled the blinds across. She felt guilty for dragging him to 222

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the concert when he hadn't been all that interested. Her feelings must have shown, because Parker looped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead.

"I liked it because you liked it. I liked seeing your face while you ran through all those memories."

She sighed. "But you felt left out, didn't you?"

He hesitated. "A little. But it's not your fault," he hastened to add. "I just had a different childhood."

"What kind of childhood did you have that you didn't listen to Bon Jovi?"

He blew out a breath. "Well, while you were hanging out at the town pool listening to music, I was likely learning about the stock market and making sure Mare attended her dance lessons. I had a Latin tutor and a French tutor, then Spanish and German, so I would be able to communicate with all of my potential business associates.

"And when we were with Mother, it was opera and Broadway—she believed in diversity in our cultural exposure—