her—almost as much as it would to hold her in his arms. But for now, it would have to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I’M GOING TO HAVE a great time teasing Rae’jean about fainting when your sister was born,” Parker said, still chuckling.
Sebrina and Parker were walking out to his car after leaving Radeon’s Sweet Spot. Surprisingly, she had enjoyed herself tonight. Even with the sexual energy surrounding them, he had been great company. “She won’t fess up to it. She claims one of her contacts popped out of her eye and she was down on the floor looking for it. But my godmother, Sharon, who was there for the birth too, claims Rae’jean was flat on her back. My cousin Alexia was there, as well, and backs up Sharon’s story.”
Parker shook his head when he opened the door for Sebrina. “With eyewitnesses, Rae’jean is going to have a hard time talking her way out of it.”
“But she will try.”
“I bet she will,” he said, laughing again.
Sebrina liked the sound. Laughter was good for the soul. In their line of work, with so much sickness and death, it paid to be able to laugh sometimes. Parker closed the car door and as she snapped her seatbelt in place, she watched him walk around the front of the car to get in.
When he started the car, he glanced over at her. “I can clearly recall the first day I met Rae’jean. I was a junior in high school when Uncle Grady brought her to Maine to meet my parents. I’m sure you’ve heard how that went.”
“Yes, I overheard Rae’jean tell Mom about it at the family reunion,” Sebrina said.
“Whatever she told them is probably the truth. Mom was upset that Grady would even think of marrying someone outside of his race. Her attitude caused a rift between them. I think Uncle Grady was close to disowning his sister over it. It was only when she got cancer and went through all those treatments that she learned to bond with other women—women of all colors who, like her, were fighting for their lives. After that, she began seeing a lot of things differently, including people. I can truly say it changed her way of thinking.”
“I’m glad.”
“So am I.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. “I really outing tonight, Sebrina.”
“I had a good time, too, Parker.” She grinned over at him. “Especially since you didn’t make fun of me when I covered my eyes during the bloody scenes.”
“There weren’t any bloody scenes. I told you that our guy would save the day.”
“Yes, you did.” She nodded. “Do you go to work in the morning?”
“Yes. The only reason I was off today was because I covered for Dr. Jenkins last night. I don’t have another day off until the weekend.”
“I’m off next weekend as well.”
He paused a moment. “I have a date Friday night.”
His words, which she should have been glad to hear, felt like a punch to her chest. “That’s great. And I have one on Saturday night,” she said, trying to sound cheerful about it. “Are you going out with someone who works at the hospital?” She really had no business asking but she couldn’t help herself. She just really hoped he wasn’t going out with Rosemary Nestor.
“No, it’s someone I met today while out doing errands. She’s nice.” And then he asked her, “What about you? Are you going out with a new guy or someone you know already?”
“He’s someone I know. Bob and I dated a few times last year after meeting at a party. But our occupations got in the way. His job became too demanding and so did mine.”
“And now the two of you are dating again?” he asked.
“He called and asked me out, so I guess you can say we are.” Sebrina wondered why she was saying anything to Parker about it at all. They didn’t owe each other anything.
Still, she was glad when she realized they had pulled into their driveway. “We’re back.”
“Yes, we are. Stay put for a second while I get the door for you.”
“Thank you.”
Sebrina liked the fact Parker had manners. They were always on-point. Because the house had a four-car garage, he had parked inside the garage with no trouble. Monica had left her car parked here and had taken an Uber to the airport.
“Your sister has a nice car,” Parker said when he opened the car door for her.
Sebrina glanced over at Monica’s sporty red Lexus. “That was her gift to herself when