Chapter Seventeen

Parker

Was that a blush? Was she blushing? Yes, her cheeks were definitely pink, and she wouldn’t look at him when he opened her car door. Good sign, right? He took a little breath before climbing into the Range Rover. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. For all he knew, Zoey was simply relieved they were okay again.

But that blush…

They drove downtown in silence. Every topic he thought of starting sounded stupid in his head, which was weird, because they never had a problem finding things to talk about before, including epic bouts of would you rather: Would you rather French kiss your math teacher, or eat a live slug?

Slug won, every single time.

He couldn’t help wondering if their friendship would survive this experiment—whether it evolved into something more between them, or she got together with Luke. Although, the fact that she left Two Creeks—and Luke, the bastard—to find him was encouraging for sure.

“Wait! Stop here.” Zoey pointed at a little store with lots of floral print fabric in the window. “This is it.”

“Are you sure?” Just looking at the script sign over the door made him feel like he had hives. “And do I really have to go in there, or can I just give you my card?”

“Wuss.” She undid her seatbelt. “You’re going in there.”

He groaned and put the Land Rover in park. “If you ask me to hold your purse, I’m out.”

“No purse holding, promise.”

A little bell tinkled when they pushed the door open. And the smell… God, it was like someone had smashed a bottle of rose perfume in a grandma’s closet. Even the floor was girly—a squishy lilac carpet that made him feel like he was tiptoeing. Just to retrieve his man card, he stomped on it with his boots until Zoey gave him the stink eye.

A tiny gray haired lady came out from the back of the shop. “Oh, my. Hello, dears. What can I help you with?” She winked at Parker and he twitched. “Something for the girlfriend, I suppose?”

“Ah, uh…no.” God, how he wished he could say yes to that question. “Um, something for my mom?”

Damn it, that sounded like a question. Why did it sound like a question? This place was dissolving his brain.

“Oh, well.” The shop lady’s tone was somewhat disapproving, like she believed a) Zoey was his girlfriend and b) he’d forgotten to buy her a gift. Neither of which was true. Yet. “Yes, we have many lovely—”

“This,” Zoey said firmly, holding up a soft wool scarf. It was pale beige with gold thread shot through it. “He wants this.”

“Yeah,” he said, kind of awed. How did she do that? Was shopping her super power? “It’s perfect. Mom will love it.”

She nodded. “Of course she will. She has impeccable taste.” With a somewhat superior glance at the shop lady, she added, “As do I.”

Parker bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as the shop lady rang up the gift, looking a little sour. Probably because Zoey picked out something on the first try, and it wasn’t a gazillion dollar sale.

Once they escaped, he sucked in a big lungful of snow-chilled air and let his head drop back so he could stretch his neck.

“That bad, huh?” Zoey said.

Her eyes were sparkling—someone was having a good time torturing him with shopping. “Tell me we’re going into an electronics or ski shop next?”

“That depends.” She grinned. “Where do they sell coal?”

He laughed. “No idea. But Dad said something about wanting new earbuds to wear while he was skiing.”

“Then let’s go.”

An hour later, they had the earbuds, along with a knit cap Zoey said would bring out Dad’s eyes—he had no intention of explaining that to his father—and a snow-bunny calendar as a gag gift for Luke. As if he needed more snow bunnies in his life, but whatever.

The snow had started again when they went outside. The sidewalks were busy, but everyone was smiling and happy, and no one more than Zoey. The holidays brought out the best in people, especially her. He couldn’t wait to give her the silver charm bracelet he’d bought for her back in August, after seeing her gush over Mom’s last summer. He’d bought three charms for it, too: a snowboard, a graduation cap, and a little heart with their initials on it. Sappy? Hell, yes, but desperate times made for desperate guys. If she let him, he planned to keep buying her charms until the bracelet was full.

Which meant he’d need a reason to buy her a birthday and Christmas present for the next six or seven years. Optimism was his middle name.

“So we’re opening gifts Christmas Eve, right?” she asked. “Because my parents are still all about family only on Christmas Day.”

“Yeah. We’re going on our morning run up to Snowmass, then we’re doing gifts and playing games after dinner at our place.” He made a face. “I told Mom no more charades after last year.”

Zoey threw back her head, laughing. It didn’t subside until she wiped tears from her cheeks. “Hey, it’s not my fault I thought you were miming a porno instead of that rodeo movie.”

Parker flushed and looked away. “It was supposed to be a bull ride.”

She touched his arm. “It was some kind of ride.”

Some kind of ride. That sounded like a porn title. And now all he could think about was skin, mainly hers. But there were a few things still standing in the way—namely his brother. “So what’s going on with you and Luke? He was holding your hand earlier.”

That wasn’t against the rules of the agreement, right? Flat out asking? Because he really wanted to know.

“I’m not sure,” she said.

Wondering if he was about to rip out his own heart and stomp on it, he asked, “Tell me about it.”