Page 9 of Desired Hearts (Bachelor Pact #2)

DELANEY

BTW, forgot to mention. Can’t make lunch. A friend of mine is taking my place.

It was two minutes to noon. Why did Pia wait until now to tell me she couldn’t meet? And who was her friend? It was beyond strange, but with a half a block to The Coffee Cabin, not much I could do about it now.

A friend of yours?

It couldn’t be Jules. She’d have just said that. Most of our friends were mutual ones, so who the heck was she talking about?

I opened the door, eager to get out of the cold.

Looking around, I didn’t see anyone who might be a friend of…

No flipping way.

He stood.

I inadvertently looked… there. How embarrassing. Had he seen me glancing down at his crotch? And what exactly was I looking for? I never did such a thing. Geez Louise.

He was dressed casually, jeans and an olive-green sweater that made him look like he could be on the cover of some outdoor men’s magazine. Neither Mason nor Beck had a thing on this guy. He was, by far, the hottest of all three.

I made my way to the table.

The Coffee Cabin was one of those places in town that was always busy. From morning to late afternoon, when they closed in the winter, it was packed. Somehow he’d found a seat for two in the corner.

“She didn’t tell you?”

Obviously I wasn’t able to hide my look of surprise very well.

“If a text two minutes ago without any indication of who I would be meeting counts, then actually, she did,” I said, assuming he referred to Pia.

Taking off my gloves and coat, I shoved the former inside my jacket sleeves and slung it on the back of a chair.

“If you’d rather not?—”

“No,” I said, stopping him. “It’s totally fine. I was actually telling Pia,” I said, sitting down as he did the same, “it’s surprising we haven’t run into each other yet.”

What did it mean that he was here for lunch? Was this like… a date? I hoped not because I was a long—very, very long—way away from being ready to date.

A guy this good-looking though? You sure about that, Delaney?

Then, of course, there was his little problem…

“Agreed,” he said. “But Pia’s going to get it. I specifically told her to make sure it was okay with you that I take her place.”

“You know she’ll argue that she did, and that technically she was in the right.”

“Oh, I do. Pia doesn’t intimidate easily.”

“Could you imagine Mason with someone who did?” I asked.

His smile would make a dentist proud. “Not at all. So what can I get you? Need a menu?”

“You don’t have to?—”

“I insist.”

Shit. If he was buying lunch, that made it more like a date. Which this definitely was not. But what was I supposed to say? “If you insist.” I smiled. “Tuna on a croissant, unsweetened iced tea.”

“The woman knows what she wants,” he said, standing.

“If they serve tuna, I’m getting it. End of story.”

Again, that smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was such a fan. Tuna is usually one of those, ‘Sure, I like it’ but not a ‘Best ever’ kind of food.”

“I get that a lot. Even stranger, I don’t like any other seafood.”

Most people had something to say about the fact that I liked tuna, from a can only, but not seafood, but Parker didn’t miss a beat. “Like I said, the woman knows what she likes. I’ll be right back.”

I watched him head to the counter to order and nearly forgot that I’d intended to text Pia, distracted by his very fine-looking ass.

I’m going to kill you.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long for her reply, which came in the form of an angel emoji. Apparently, that was all she planned to text.

Uh huh. I’m. Not. Dating. Yet.

Think of it as lunch with me.

Except, you are not six foot something with sandy brown hair, a chiseled jaw and perfect smile.

I didn’t mention his fine ass.

I don’t have a perfect smile?

Cheeky girl. Ignoring her question, I texted:

He’s coming back. TTYL.

“I didn’t know if you wanted any sweetener,” Parker said, putting down the tray of food and drinks in front of us. “So I grabbed a few of each kind.”

That was thoughtful. “Thanks,” I said. “And thank you for lunch.”

“My pleasure.”

“So how exactly did you get roped into this?” I asked, noticing his eyes for the first time. Hazel, though slightly more green than blue, probably thanks to his sweater. They were kind eyes, but I wasn’t so easily fooled.

Makis had seemed kind too, in the beginning.

“Roped isn’t the right word.” Parker opened his bottle of water.

“No?” I teased. “So what word would you use?” I regretted the words as soon as they flew out of my mouth. Much too flirty.

The corners of Parker’s lips lifted ever so slowly, his eyes mischievous. “More like, cajoled.”

Laughing, I put the lid back on my iced tea after sufficiently sugaring it. “That’s just as bad. Maybe even worse.”

“Hmm.” He took a bite of what looked like a turkey sandwich.

“A very convenient time not to be able to respond.”

Parker smiled even as he chewed. I took the opportunity to dig into my own sandwich.

“Pia probably could sense I was going stir-crazy,” he said when he finished. “It’s rare for me to have a day off, between my regular job and working at the inn.”

“I’ve seen the updates you made. The place looks great. It’s really nice of you to do that.”

“I am staying there rent-free,” Parker said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Right, but Pia told me Mason said you’re doing it more out of convenience, to help with renovations whenever you have a break.”

“The inn needed renovating,” he said. “Plus, when it’s done I’ll be able to use the job on my resume. I’m hoping to start my own construction company. Maybe,” he added.

“Why maybe?”

“It’s… complicated.” He cocked his head to the side. “But speaking of the inn, it’s still hard to believe you’ve been there, and we never ran into each other.”

“Well, we did the other day. And I’ve only been down there one other time since meeting Pia. Aside from years ago, of course. But that doesn’t count.”

“You weren’t at the New Year’s Eve party?”

“No,” I said. “My ex…” I stopped, not wanting to talk about Makis.

“Pia told me a little about him. Moving on.” He smiled good-naturedly. But I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by.

“Then she probably told you I’m not dating yet either. Maybe ever.” I laughed, trying to make light of it, but it sounded forced. Even to me.

“She did.” He gestured toward us and the table of half-eaten food. “This isn’t a date. No pressure at all. Just me getting to know a friend of a friend.”

Now why did that feel almost disappointing?

Knock it off, Delaney. You don’t want this to be a date.

“It is crazy that we haven’t crossed paths before.

Until last week,” I clarified. And because I was sometimes awkward as all hell, I decided to blurt out the other remaining elephant in the room.

“By the way, your secret is safe with me. I would never tell anyone about a customer’s medication.

Just in case you were worried about that. ”

Parker looked genuinely confused.

“The one you came to pick up,” I clarified. “Last week. When we met.”

“Oh, I remember,” he said, his tone slightly suggestive. He sat back then, as if something had occurred to him. “What medication was it, exactly, that my dad had me picking up?”

My dad.

Had he just said… my dad?

Oh, shit.

“It was for Parker Scott,” I said, remembering the name on the order.

“Right. Also my dad’s name. I’m a junior.”

The medication wasn’t for him. I broke out into a laugh, unable to contain it. He probably thought I was looney tunes. “Oh my God, I can’t even.”

“Delaney?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t say. Confidentiality and all. But I did… think it was for you.”

The poor guy was genuinely confused now. He made a face that said, “Come on, tell me.” I motioned that my lips were sealed, trying desperately not to burst out laughing again.

Parker pulled out his phone. Fired off a text.

“Texting your dad?”

“Yeah,” he said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

I’d have done the same but wasn’t confident that tuna wouldn’t end up splattered all over the table when I started laughing again. I simply could not stop smiling.

“I’m guessing it wasn’t his cholesterol medication?”

I shook my head.

Parker looked back down to his phone, which was on the table. Apparently his dad was a quick texter. Hopefully the son took after him. I hated slow texters.

Not that it mattered.

It was impossible to read his face, Parker half smiling and half looking like he might toss his phone across the room.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

Parker and I locked gazes.

I pressed my lips together.

“All this time you thought… that I…”

Nodding, I did take a drink then, mostly just to cover my face. There was a 100 percent chance my cheeks were flaming red.

“No wonder you don’t want to date me.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, with zero bitterness and laughter in his voice, that I could not resist a reply.

“That actually has nothing to do with it,” I said after swallowing a big gulp of iced tea. “Seriously. If I were to go on a date with anyone, honestly, it would be you.”

Maybe a little too much honesty? But it was true.

Sure, the “nice guy” thing could be a facade, but Pia knew him well. And he’d been friends with Mason a long time. I’d heard Parker referred to as “the nice one” before, and it seemed to be with good reason.

He was also hot, easy-going, had a nice ass, was funny, and did I mention seriously freaking hot?

“Oh, man.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe this one.” Parker smiled. “You might have pharmacist/patient confidentiality, but thankfully, I don’t and can’t wait to tell the guys this one.”

“You would out your father like that?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely. Sorry for the swearing,” he said immediately.

“No apologies necessary. I have a potty mouth too.”

“Don’t think poorly of me, but my father has been a pain in the ass for as long as I can remember. This is very much on brand for him, and the guys won’t even be a little surprised. The fact that he couldn’t go one weekend without it,” he sighed. “Dad met a woman the night before at O’Malley’s.”

“Pia mentioned your parents were divorced.”

“Yeah. Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “It’s too bad this isn’t a date. Would have been one hell of a first one.”

Seemed like he didn’t want to talk about the parents, which was okay by me. “It really would have been,” I admitted, oddly relieved the medication was actually his father’s.

Which made no sense since this wasn’t a date.

Because I was no longer dating.

Such a shame…