Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,22

dangerous.

So why won’t this feeling go away?

Chapter 9

CARTER

My suitcase lay open on my bed. It felt like I’d basically packed my entire house into it, even if was just some clothing and toiletries. Maybe it was because I didn’t have many personal things in my apartment, but once my everyday stuff was packed up, it was always a little like the place could’ve belonged to anyone.

I still felt a little off about having to leave my home to move into Rylee’s, but there was no turning back. There was no one else I’d rather have watching over her, which meant I just had to suck it up and go.

Max, who Bart would’ve had to take care of if Rylee hadn’t said I could bring him, lay on my bed and looked at me with his head tilted. I reached out to scratch his black and tan fur. “Don’t worry, buddy. You’re coming with me this time.”

It banged me up inside me whenever I had to leave him behind. A guy I knew who worked at the police department had found Max as a puppy living in an alleyway. He’d tried to find out if the dog had an owner, but no one in the area had recognized him and no one seemed to be looking for him.

At first, I’d simply agreed to keep the puppy for him until he could find it a permanent home. By the time he found someone who was willing to adopt him, Max and I had bonded. The dog refused to go with him the day he tried to pick him up, and I couldn’t bring myself to try and convince him to go.

Three years later, I still thought keeping him had been the best decision I’d ever made. He jumped when my phone started ringing underneath his stomach, glaring at it as he moved to curl up somewhere else.

I grinned when I saw my dad’s name on the screen, rubbing Max’s head as a way to make it up to him. “Hey, old man. What’s up? How are you guys?”

“I remember the first time Tucker called me that,” he said gruffly. “When did all of you start following his lead?”

“Tuck’s a real trendsetter,” I joked. “Besides, I thought you liked it.”

“We’ll see how much you like it one day,” he said. “But you can call me whatever you like if it means your mother and I can come see you for Christmas.”

“I’m with a client for the foreseeable future. I already texted Mom about it.”

He let out a heavy breath. “That’s why I’m calling. If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you.”

“I don’t even know what the client’s plans are yet. We might not even be in the city at Christmas.” In fact, we might just be close to my parents after all. “Won’t all the others be there?”

“Nope. Apparently, they’ve all committed to their in-laws this year. Oh, and Parker’s taking the family skiing.”

“Now that, I’d like to see,” I mumbled, chuckling under my breath. “How are they going to keep track of all three kids by themselves? Maybe you and Mom could join them.”

“Linda’s having matching, lime-green jackets made for them I hear,” Dad said, sounding amused. “We would join them, but we’ve already talked about it, and we don’t want you to be alone.”

“I won’t be. I’ll be with a client. Go with Parker. I’m sure you’ll have a lot more fun on the slopes than you’ll have with me when I’m working.”

“Tough shit, son. Mom and I are coming for Christmas. I just thought I’d let you know.”

Whatever. I’d have to talk to my brothers about it, but there was no way I was having them at Rylee’s with me for the holidays. “We’ll see.”

“We’ve already seen.” He laughed. “I’ll let you get back to work. Stay safe.”

Before I could say anything else or try to talk him out of it, he hung up on me. I shoved my phone into my pocket and shook my head at Max. “I’ll deal with them later. Let’s go, boy. It’s moving day.”

Max jumped off the bed and trotted dutifully at my heels to the door. I gathered his things, clipped his leash on, and led him to my truck. I’d have to come grab my bike later. There was no way I was getting all my shit and Max over there on a motorcycle.

Rylee lived in a mansion of a penthouse on the Upper East Side. My jaw had become