Thick as Thieves (Aster Valley 4)

He was not wrong about that. But also…

“Nolan was never my boyfriend,” I repeated for the billionth time.

“Right. Because you loved me even then.” He pressed a quick, satisfied kiss to my lips, then shoved a piece of toast between my teeth. “Hey, you want eggs, too? I’m not that hungry after everything I ate last night, but I can make you some—”

“No, I don’t want eggs,” I said around my mouthful of toast. “I wanna know what’s happening now. With Erin.”

“Well.” Parker shrugged, but his eyes didn’t meet mine. He took the plate with a stack of toast over to the small table and gestured for me to sit and eat, then returned to grab his coffee. “I told her to ask the resort people the best way to get her some cash so she can at least get to an embassy and start the process of getting her passport reissued. She’s gonna text me back when she finds out. But other than that, I told her she’s gonna have to swallow her pride and ask her parents to help her pay the bill.” He huffed out a laugh as he took his seat. “I have no idea how she racked up twelve thousand dollars of charges when the trip was already paid for in advance.”

“Probably the Jet Ski,” I said without thinking.

“The what?”

So much for not telling Parker right away. I blurted out the whole story that I’d heard from Hazel and watched his green eyes darken with anger and disappointment.

“What the fuck was she thinking?” he demanded when I finished. “Running off to Mexico for a week of sun and adventure was one thing, but you’d think after watching everything you went through recovering from the accident, after all the times I told her how dangerous it was to operate any kind of vehicle while drinking…” He cut himself off with a shake of his head and forced a smile. “Whatever. Anyway. What’s on the agenda today? Planning session with Mikey and Tiller about the big financing meeting tomorrow? I promised Tiller I’d follow up with Rocco and see if he had all the footage he needed—”

I laid my hand over his. “Parker. Don’t pretend you’re not worried.”

Parker took another sip of coffee and shrugged. “Of course I’m worried. But Rod will help her. They have more than enough money to cover the damages. They’ll probably fly down once someone gets in touch with them. They’ll probably read her the riot act, too, because somebody needs to.”

I wasn’t sure which of us he was trying harder to convince.

“Haven’t they read her the riot act in the past?” I asked gently. “Did it work?”

Parker made a helpless noise. We both knew the only person who ever got through to our headstrong friend even temporarily was Parker.

“You want to go down and help her, don’t you?” I prompted.

“Pfft. No.”

I lifted an eyebrow, and he deflated.

“Okay, yeah, maybe I have that impulse, but it’s partly force of habit.” Parker admitted. “And also, she’s my friend, and I care about her. I can’t help feeling like there’s something going on with her that I should have seen… that I would have seen if I hadn’t been so busy trying not to freak out about the wedding. Especially now that you and I are together and I realize why marrying Erin never felt right in the first place.”

Oh. Wow.

Parker turned his hand underneath mine, threaded our fingers together, and yanked me over to straddle him on his chair. “But I’m not going. It’s not my place. You’re my priority, Jules. You always were, and you always will be. I told you that last night, and I’m going to keep telling you every night. I’m staying here with you.” His hand coasted up my back, tangled in my hair, and pulled my head back so he could drop a butterfly kiss on my nose. “Because I love you. Okay?”

Fuck, I loved this man and his generous heart so much. And the selfish part of me wanted nothing more than to keep Parker with me every minute of every day.

But I didn’t want him to stay in order to prove something to me either. He thrived on being a rock for the people he loved, and Erin and the Rokas were at the top of that list, along with me. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to hold back because he was worried about my insecurities. I didn’t want to be selfish.

Besides, I trusted Parker. So I could be mature about this.

“You should go, baby.” I patted his chest lightly.

“What?” He scowled. “Heck no.”

“No, listen. You’re not going to sleep tonight if you think Erin is down in Mexico, alone and friendless, with no way to come home.”

“Well, but—”

“And we don’t know if Rod and Lorraine are even checking their voicemail. It could be tomorrow or the next day before they get down there. Meanwhile, Erin is… I mean, she could sell ice to a polar bear, Parks, and there’s no one I’d rather bungee jump with, but dealing with paperwork?” I shook my head. “She gets overwhelmed. She’s not like Hazel.”