Waylynn and I were both lost in our thoughts as the plane took off. I wasn’t sure how long we sat there before my sister finally spoke.
“I thought love was going to be so different.”
Turning my head, I stared at her. She had voiced the very same thing I’d been thinking. “Yeah. Me, too.”
With a shake of her head, she glanced at her rings. “When I look at Mom and Dad, my heart soars. The way Daddy looks at Mom is how I want a man to look at me. I’ve never had that, and I can’t believe it took me so damn long to realize it.”
She looked out the window, then back at me. In that moment, the oddest thing happened to Waylynn…and I got to witness every moment. A wide smile grew across her face. “I feel like a bird who’s been let out of her cage. I’m ready to find my wings and heal my heart. Start over. Start living.”
Finding a smile, I asked, “Will you go back?”
“To New York?”
“Yeah.”
Her brows pinched slightly as she thought. “No. I don’t want anything from him. Everything I have is from him. Besides, I can borrow some of your clothes when I run out of what I brought, right?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Of course, anything for you.”
Waylynn reached into her bag and pulled out one of my books.
“You’re reading one of my books?” I asked, my cheeks instantly heated.
“Hell, yeah. I read them all. It’s nice to know there really is love out there.”
“Um, you do know they’re fiction, right, sis?”
She rolled her eyes. “A girl can dream. Besides, it sounds like Liam is going to be the perfect inspiration for giving you some writing material.”
I forced a smile. “For the sex scenes, maybe. The boy has a way of drawing out a darker side of me, that’s for sure.”
Waylynn’s grin faded. “Gross. TMI, Amelia.” Her body shivered as she shook her head. I was positive she was trying to rid herself of the mental image.
We spent the next hour in silence. I pulled out my laptop and started writing while she read. Well, if you could call staring at the computer screen “writing.” I had no idea why I couldn’t get into it. Nothing was motivating me. I needed to spend some time around Steed and Paxton, maybe. The way those two loved on each other was sure to be inspirational.
“Do you think it will last?”
My sister’s voice caused me to peek at her over my screen. “What?”
“Your love affair with Liam.”
Love affair. That sounded so old-fashioned.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. The sex is amazing. He’s already made an effort to come to Texas to see me in two weeks.”
“Yeah, but will you fly back to New York to see him?”
Chewing my lip, I glanced at what I had written almost an hour ago.
My heart hammered as I anticipated his smile. His arms wrapped around my body while he pulled me in for a soft, gentle kiss. I longed for him to make love to me. To show me with the touch of his hands how much he wanted me.
Did I anticipate Liam’s smile? His touch? Or was it the idea of his cock buried deep inside me that thrilled me?
Focusing back on my sister, I grinned. “I guess when I’m in the mood to be fucked seven ways to Sunday I’ll fly back up.”
A sadness swept across her face. “There is more to a relationship than fucking, Meli.”
Yeah. No shit.
“Well, that’s all I’m interested in. Besides, I might write about love, but I know for a damn fact that none of this shit is real.”
Her head tilted as she stared at me. “Steed and Paxton have the real deal. So do Mom and Dad.”
I couldn’t argue with her point.
“Well, then, maybe it’s not in the cards for this Parker.”
Waylynn’s shoulders slumped. “Or this Parker.”
We sat in a welcome silence before an evil smile moved across my sister’s face.
Waylynn stood and grabbed a bottle of wine. After she opened it and poured two glasses, she raised hers. “Looks like we’re gonna have to raise some hell now that both Parker sisters will be back in Oak Springs.”
I shut my laptop, not even caring that I didn’t save my work. It was one damn paragraph anyway.
Toasting back, I added, “Hell, yeah. Trouble’s back in town, gentlemen. Watch out.”
“Wait! I haven’t checked on April!” I shouted as we headed to my rental car. Since we were back earlier than expected, I went ahead and rented a car instead of calling one of the guys to pick us up.
“Flipping hell, Meli. Why are you obsessed with that giraffe?”
“That giraffe? April is not just any giraffe. She is teaching the world about conservation.”
Waylynn rolled her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, sis. Whatever keeps the crazy out of your head.”