Page 8 of Desired Hearts (Bachelor Pact #2)

PARKER

With the day off, I’d planned to work at the inn but Mason put the kibosh on that idea.

Most of my spare time in the past few months had been taken up with renovating Heritage Hill, and apparently he and Pia had decided it was time for a break.

We’d take the next few weeks off and jump in after Valentine’s Day.

Typically the winter months were slower for tourism, but mid-February was an exception.

Unlike Beck, who had a constant desire to stay busy, I relished a slow day with no responsibilities. Hitting the gym early, I headed back to shower and considered texting a buddy of mine for some ice fishing when I entered the kitchen and heard Pia talking.

“Can’t, sorry. I’m meeting Delaney for lunch.”

“Speaking of Delaney.” Mason smiled at me.

Fucker.

“Not in the mood,” I said. “Morning, Pia.”

“Morning. Coffee’s fresh.”

“Thanks.” I headed to the coffee pot. “Beck still sleeping?”

“Yep.” Mason pulled out a carton of eggs. “Scrambled with cheese. Interested?”

“Esther didn’t cook today?”

Typically she made breakfast in the second kitchen which we’d renovated after the holidays.

Now that Heritage Hill was hosting parties, and weddings soon, it had been industrially retrofitted, which Esther didn’t love.

Like Mason’s dad, she hadn’t wanted anything to change, but that was how Heritage Hill had fallen by the wayside in the first place.

“No guests this weekend,” Mason said, obviously not pleased by the fact.

“It’s the only one,” Pia pointed out. “And by next winter we’ll have a plan in place for the slower months. Baby steps,” she said as I poured my coffee.

Mason grunted.

“I’ll have two,” I said as Mason began cracking eggs. “No cheese though.”

“Duh.”

“I swear the two of you sound like twelve-year-olds sometimes.”

I flashed Pia a grin. “Only sometimes?”

“Back to Delaney.” Mason whisked the eggs the exact same way I’d seen Esther do it a hundred times. “Did you hear our two lovebirds met before yesterday?”

“I did.” Pia peeked up at me above her coffee mug. “Funny she didn’t mention it before last night.”

“I must have made one hell of an impression,” I said wryly, remembering last night when I’d gotten to the bar. Mason and Beck made a huge show of pretending to be Delaney and me, me asking if I could carry her bag. I smiled at the memory of Beck acting like a woman.

“Actually,” she hedged. I looked up. “You did.”

“Go on,” Mason prompted, saving me from having to sound too eager since I’d been about to say the same thing.

“There’s nothing to tell. She thought you were cute, that’s all.”

“Cute?” Mason sounded less than pleased about the description.

“Maybe that’s not the word she used.”

“So what word did she use?”

Mason was one hell of a wingman. I listened to their exchange, not saying a word.

“I can’t go spilling all my secrets,” Pia said, addressing me. “Sorry, Parker. Girl code and all.”

“No worries,” I assured her, playing it cool.

But Pia was no dummy. She watched me closely. “Do you have lunch plans?”

“No,” I said as Pia jumped up from her stool to make toast. “I was thinking of ice fishing.”

Pia wrinkled her nose. “That sounds horrible. Sorry, Park. But sitting on the ice, in the cold, waiting for hours to catch a fish?” She shivered.

“It’s not for everyone,” I agreed, getting up myself to grab three plates.

“If your plans aren’t set in stone, maybe you could meet Delaney instead? She has an hour break.”

“Pia,” Mason warned. “Maybe we shouldn’t get involved.”

She brushed off Mason’s warning. “You’re not. I am.” Then to me. “I’ll admit, if it weren’t for Makis, I always thought you two would be perfect for each other.”

Mason snorted. “Because Delaney loves the outdoors so much? And Parker’s artsy side is so sophisticated? Sorry, Parker,” he added, not sorry at all, at least judging from his tone.

Holding out my plate for eggs before Mason drowned them in cheese, I headed to the toaster to wait.

“Okay, so they’re a little different,” Pia said to me.

“But in the ways that count, you two are so alike. Two of the nicest people I know who see the bright side to things. Delaney is big on positive vibes, and I know you’re all about that sort of thing. ”

She wasn’t wrong.

No sense getting your panties in a bunch for things you couldn’t control. I learned that early on in life. Might as well find the silver lining.

“And also, she’s really pretty, don’t you think?”

More than really pretty, but hell if I’d admit that to Pia. Girl code and all. She’d probably text her before I finished my eggs. “Toast’s up,” I said, snagging one and slapping some butter on it.

“Way to change the subject,” Pia accused.

“Thanks,” I said, as if she’d complimented me. Mason snickered.

Sitting back down, considering Pia’s offer, I probed a bit. “How is it possible we never met before now?”

“Well,” Pia said, “she only moved back to Cedar Falls just before I came to town. And got back with Makis when we really started hanging out more. So she was either working or heading to Clearwater on days off.”

“Didn’t he ever come to Cedar Falls? Seems like an awful lot of driving to me?”

“Are you kidding me? That would have made her life easier, and Makis was all about one person. Makis. I swear the guy is a full-blown narcissist.”

“Sounds charming,” I said as Pia and Mason sat down to eat. “What did she see in him?”

“Good question. I think he laid it on thick at the beginning and by the time Delaney started seeing bits of the real him, it was too late. She knew some of his bullshit was unacceptable, and they did break up once and nearly a half dozen other times, but it was like he had some kind of spell on her.”

“I know guys like him,” Mason said. His time deployed in the military, and as an NYPD cop, meant he had all sorts of experience with people.

Some of the stories he’d told over the years made the hair on my neck stand up straight.

“They turn on the charm, mirror their victims to present an idealized version of themselves that doesn’t really exist. Real assholes. ”

“That sounds about right,” Pia said after finishing a mouthful of eggs. “Although victim may be a little harsh.”

“It’s not,” Mason said. Apparently it was all he would add to the topic.

Digging into his breakfast, the man of many words had spoken and now he would concentrate on his food.

They often teased Mason he was so good at compartmentalizing everything, including conversations, his decision to become an Army Ranger made total sense.

I, on the other hand, was convinced I had undiagnosed ADHD. It was one of the reasons I liked working with my hands and keeping busy. The only exception was fishing, but even my father agreed I wasn’t the most patient fisherman on the planet, which was why I did it so often. Practice made perfect.

“Soooo,” Pia said, likely circling back. “Delaney. Lunch?”

“You really think that’s a good idea?” I asked. I’d admit the thought of seeing her today, having a conversation with her, was more than a little appealing. “All things considered?”

Mason watched us carefully, but said nothing.

“Things? Such as?” Pia asked.

“The fact that neither of us are looking for a relationship. At least, I imagine after going through the wringer, it’s not high on her list.”

Bingo. It didn’t matter what Pia said, her expression gave away the fact that I was right.

“I’ll admit she’s more into work, gym, and girls’ nights at the moment. She really has gone through the wringer so I think it would be good for her.”

“Care to define ‘it’?” Mason asked.

Pia frowned. “You know. Getting back in the saddle.”

I raised my brows, more to tease Pia than anything else.

“Which saddle would that be?” Mason, as always, was relentless.

“Oh my God, the two of you are going to get it.”

To let her off the hook, and because I was genuinely attracted to her friend, I agreed. “Give me a time and place.”

Pia’s eyes widened. “You’re going to meet her?”

“Yeah. But I think you should give her the heads up.”

“Sure,” Pia agreed. “We’d planned to meet at The Coffee Cabin at noon.”

Mason and I exchanged a glance. He didn’t need to say a word.

And to be honest, I agreed with him. This might not be the best idea, getting involved with Pia’s friend.

But she didn’t seem to mind, knowing my aversion to long-term commitments.

What was there to lose? I also didn’t plan to stay a monk for the rest of my life either.

“Tell Delaney I’ll see her at noon.”