Page 6

CHAPTER 5

GHOST

I don’t want her sympathy.

Because Parker. It’s your mom.

I stare at my phone in disbelief. After that statement, Ember and I agreed on a time and place to meet in the morning and ended our call. When I dialed the number Crow gave me, I had no idea that my past was going to rear its ugly head and haunt me.

It took years for me to get over Ember, or so I thought. Hearing her voice sent a zing through my system I haven’t experienced since… well, since her. Hiring her to care for my mom is a horrible idea, and after a restless night, I talk myself out of doing just that.

The ride to the coffee shop seems to last a lifetime, and by the time I arrive, I feel confident in my decision. After parking next to the curb in front of the building, I stride toward the door, and my heart stops when my eyes land on Ember through the glass.

Holy fuck!

I’ve spent years telling myself that time will have been bad for my ex-fiancée, but shit, was I wrong. Her curly red hair is still as glossy as it was the last time I saw her, and her ass is as perfect now as it was back then. It’s an ass I’d recognize anywhere.

As if magnetically tethered to me, she glances over her shoulder, and her blue eyes bore into me. Those eyes narrow for a split-second before she forces a smile. I take a deep breath and pull open the door, breaking the last barrier between us.

“Parker,” she greets when I reach her at the counter.

“Hi, Em.”

“What can I get ya?” the barista asks.

After we both have our orders, Ember and I move through the small café to a table in the corner. Before she can take the seat giving her a view of the door, I slide into the booth. She stares at me for a moment and then shakes her head.

“Some things never change,” she mutters.

Inwardly, I wince because I have changed… a lot. But, yeah, some things will always be the same, and my need to have full awareness of my surroundings is one of those things.

“So,” I say.

“So,” she repeats.

“How have you been?”

Ember huffs out a breath. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“We haven’t spoken in fifteen years, and that’s your opener?”

“Seems like a good place to start.” I shrug. “What would you prefer?”

She lifts her paper cup to her lips and blows on the steaming hot liquid before taking a careful sip. Her eyes practically roll back into her head as she swallows.

What I wouldn’t give to have her look like that while she swallows me down.

My cock stiffens behind my fly, and I squirm in an effort to adjust myself. If she notices, she says nothing, thank fuck.

“Look, this meeting isn’t about us or how we’ve been,” she begins, straightening in her seat. “I think we’re both adult enough to keep things professional.”

“Is that what you want?” I ask without thinking.

“Parker, this isn’t about what I want, it’s about what you need.” Her throat bobs. “What your mom needs, I mean.”

I smirk. I’m affecting her, and I find that I’m thrilled with that fact. “Right. Well, like I said last night, she needs full-time care.”

“And you can’t provide that?”

I shake my head. “I’m at the house as much as I can be.”

“Which is how often?”

There’s the tiniest hint of judgment in her tone, but I choose to ignore it. “A few times a week,” I admit.

A wrinkle appears across her forehead as she digests that information. “What could possibly be more—” Ember presses her lips together. “Ya know what? Never mind. What exactly is it that you want from me?”

“I think that’s pretty clear.”

“Parker, with you, nothing is clear.” She leans back and crosses her arms over her chest. The off-the-shoulder sweater she’s wearing drops a little lower, and my mouth waters at the sight of a tattoo that wasn’t there years ago. “I need you to spell it out for me.”

Taking a deep breath, I rest my elbows on the table. “Mom has good days and bad, which I’m learning is normal at this stage of the disease. But her Alzheimer’s is progressing, and the bad days are becoming more frequent. I need a nurse who can live with her full-time, manage her medications, help her with any and all tasks that require assistance, and I need someone who knows how to handle situations as they arise.”

“Situations?”

“Em, all of her nurses have quit because my mom has been… difficult. ”

“In other words, she’s a fairly typical Alzheimer’s patient.”

“If you say so.”

Ember sighs, and her shoulders slump. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.”

The unexpected sympathy sets my teeth on edge. I don’t want her sympathy. In fact, I’ve let this little meeting go on way too long as it is. I came here resolved not to follow through with hiring Ember, yet I still sit here talking to her like I will.

“I should go,” I say, sliding out of the booth and getting to my feet. “I’ll find someone to take care of my mom, but it can’t be you.”

With those parting words, I stride out of the café, tossing my coffee into the trash as I pass it. Every part of me wants to look back at the woman I thought I’d share my life with, but I don’t. It would only end badly.