“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Oh, and Emily?”
“Yes?” She brushed a stray strand of hair off her face.
“Thank you. I’ll keep the memory of you with me all day.” He lifted his hand and slid his fingers into his mouth, licking first one, then the other, taking in the flavor that was all Emily’s. “And block off tomorrow night for me. I’ll be making reservations at Gabriel’s.”
Her eyes wide at his actions, she nodded. “And I’ll be looking forward to it.” Her voice was husky.
She was shaken. Just how he wanted her. Off-kilter. For him.
* * *
Emily’s body tingled all day and well into the night. Her dreams included Parker and his talented hands skimming over her body in myriad ways. He hadn’t shaved since he’d arrived at the inn and his scruff was even sexier than his clean-shaven look and kissing him was delicious. She woke up in the middle of the night in a heated sweat, knowing he was in the room across the hall, then found it impossible to fall back to sleep.
So when noise woke her up in the morning, the one morning she didn’t have to bake, she was exhausted and in a pissy mood.
She pulled on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and walked out of her room, heading downstairs, where she found her father talking to a man wearing a hard hat. The noise above her continued.
“What’s going on?” she asked, confused.
Her father glanced at her, looking sheepish. He turned to the man, who she now recognized as William Cartwright, a contractor. “Can we talk more later?”
“Sure thing.” He nodded and headed out the door, closing it behind him.
“Dad? What’s going on? It sounds like they’re working on the roof.” She pointed to the ceiling above them.
Her father nodded. “We need a new one. You know that. We leak in every rain or snowstorm.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “But we don’t have the money.”
“About that…” He gestured for her to come over to the sofa in the center of the family room and take a seat.
She settled in warily and he eased down beside her. “I got the money to fund a full renovation.”
She blinked. “What? How?”
“Parker offered the money. I didn’t want to take it but he insisted. He said I could pay him back with interest and I gave him free room and board. It’s the least I could do.”
Parker. The man she’d decided she could trust. The man who’d given her an intense orgasm with his fingers alone. That Parker.
She felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “What the hell?” She’d told him she was worried about her father. That he belonged in Florida with her sister, where he’d be more relaxed and healthier.
Yet here he was, thinking he knew what was best, throwing money at a situation he knew nothing about.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
“Em.” Her father called out her name, bringing her out of her thoughts. “It was your mother’s dream and mine. I want this.”
Her dad had been a good accountant, solid with numbers. Not so much with reality. He held on to dreams sometimes like a little boy, without thinking through the details and full ramifications.
“Who’s going to run it?” she asked. “I can’t prep and bake at the same time. There’s cleaning, laundry, meals, snack food, being there for the guests…”
He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up so it stood in spikes. “One thing at a time, okay? I want to see it through.”
“So you can get more money for the property when you sell?” she asked hopefully.
“I’m not ready to discuss that right now.” He rose to his feet. “I have a lot of plans to fix this place up and that’s where my focus is at the moment.”
She suddenly felt like her life was spiraling out of control. She jumped up to her feet.
“Em?”
“I’m going to put on my sneakers and go for a walk,” she said, needing fresh air.
“Honey, it’s going to be great. I promise you. You just need to relax.”
She shook her head. Relax. Right. From owing Parker money to her father’s sudden desire to run the inn … she didn’t know what to think or feel.
But she did know she was angry at Parker for butting into her family, where he had no business getting involved. She strode to the side entrance, where she kept her shoes, and pulled on a pair of sneakers along with her jacket and headed out the door just as Parker pulled in, driving her dad’s car.
She met him as he exited the vehicle.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She clenched her jaw, determined that his charm wasn’t going to work on her right now. “What’s going on with your rental, by the way?” she asked him instead of saying hello.