"Yeah, well. A girl has to keep some secrets."
"We need to talk."
"We need to talk about why you were in my parking lot."
He stilled. Obviously, that thought had just occurred to him. "Coincidence?"
"Parker..."
He sighed and released me. He leaned back on the little kitchen island and folded his arms across his chest. "I got in last night and my dad warned me that our moms are on the warpath. I left to come here, and my mom followed me."
"She followed you?" I raised my eyebrows. "How did you know?"
"Because she has the stealth of a rhino, and her giant Range Rover isn't really inconspicuous. Your mom taking photos of my car from the passenger seat made it pretty obvious, too."
"She was just taking photos of you driving? Does nobody have limits around here?"
He gave me a look that said, "Stupid question."
I shook my head. "That's ridiculous."
"Right. So, when I got here, I pulled into the bar, hoping she'd think I was coming into work. I came in and waited. Vicky kept an eye out for me, and right as I got your text, she left."
"You weren't outside at all."
"Technically, I was standing outside the front door, so I was in the parking lot."
"Semantics." I pushed everything away from behind me and pulled myself up to sit on the counter. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard. Do our moms not have limits or boundaries? She's been texting me all day as it is about my plans for tonight, so I'm not sure I'm entirely surprised at what they were doing."
Parker shook his head. "I'm not surprised at all. They're crazy. It's like their kids are adults and now they've reverted back. I'm finally understanding why you were such a crazy bitch as a teenager."
"You assume I'm not anymore? Aw, that's so nice of you."
"Thanks for the warning. Note to self: never break Raven's heart if you like your windshield."
"One time." I slapped my hand against the top of the counter. "You break a guy's windshield one time!"
"I sure as hell hope it was only one time. And I still maintain that you're lucky you didn't get arrested."
"I still maintain you're lucky you've made it twenty-eight years without me doing something to you."
Parker grinned. It lit up his entire face, from his lips to his eyes. Hell, even his cheeks got a little pinker. "It took twenty-eight years for you to do something to me, and I happen to like the things you do to me."
Straight face. Straight face. Straight face.
I had to keep a straight face.
"I thought we were going to have a sensible conversation here." Of course, 'sensible' got thrown out the window the moment he brought up the fact our moms were stalking him.
"I don't think we can." He walked to me and bent forward, resting his arms on my legs. Dark lashes obscured a little of his eyes as he looked up and met my gaze. "Why did you bail on me?"
I found the thread on the hem of my dress and rolled it between my finger and thumb. "Because it doesn't feel right. The more I think about what we're doing and about how I'm starting to feel, the more I realize I can't do this unless Ryan knows. It feels too dishonest, and now our moms are on the case...It's even worse."
Parker ran his thumb over his lower lip. "I agree with you."
"You do? You said yesterday-"
"That I wanted to know if this was real before telling him? Yeah, I did, and I do, but not at the expense of your feelings, Raven. If telling him makes you feel like we have the freedom to explore this thing we have between us, then I'll tell him."
"You'll tell him? Shouldn't I?"
The shake of his head was almost solemn. "I'm the one overstepping the line. You're his sister. He doesn't need reassurances from you that this is more than just a boredom thing."
I pursed my lips.
"Think of it this way." He stood, but he kept his hands on my thighs. "If, in six months, you call it quits, he's not gonna come to you and give you a hard time. He'll come to me and ask me what the hell I did for you to make that choice. You're his sister, and our friendship isn't gonna change that. You come first to him and you don't even realize it." He reached up and pushed hair from my face, his touch so gentle. "I'm sorry I ever thought that you'd be okay with not telling him."
"It wasn't just you." I took his hand with mine and looked down. My hand was more tanned than his, but so much tinier. His fingers swallowed mine as they curled. "We both decided not to say anything. Maybe if we had, this would have been sorted out and we'd know what we want."