Rugged Guard - Jason Collins Page 0,39
face as I thought about him.
But as I finished with the sugar packet, casually throwing it away in a nearby trashcan, the smile on my face disappeared, my thoughts suddenly clouded with a heavy realization.
No.
No. No. No.
I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Parker like this. I wasn’t supposed to feel warm at the memory of him and hot chocolate, my mind subtly pining for another sight of him pressed against my bedroom wall. Even if I’d told Parker that we could be open about the nature of our relationship, no longer hiding our attraction or attachment to each other from other people’s curiosity, I still wasn’t supposed to be smiling when I remembered his laugh, his eyes, his everything.
Because I was still leaving Park City as soon as this job was over.
And there was no point in me pretending like this thing with Parker was anything other than a welcome distraction, even if somewhere, deep down, I was starting to wonder if I wanted it to be so much more.
“What are you thinking about?” Iris appeared beside me at the kitchen counter, her gaze focused on my own.
I let out a light chuckle as I looked back at her. “You know, I’m starting to think that’s how you’re going to start all of our conversations.”
“Well, it’s a good conversation starter.” Iris grinned. “Besides, I can always tell when people have something on their minds.”
“How?”
“You really want to know the secret?”
“If you’re willing to share.” I smiled at her in response.
Iris beamed back at me. “Well, Mr. Lavine, the secret is that everyone always has something on their mind, at all times. And if you’d like to know what it is, you just have to ask once. But if you really want to know, you sometimes have to ask twice.” Iris cleared her throat, her eyes still locked on my frame. “So, Mr. Lavine. What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, Mr. Lavine!” Iris threw up her hands. “Please don’t tell me that you’ve reverted to lying to me. I’m an old woman, Mr. Lavine. Do you really want that on your conscience? Lying to an old woman in her last days?”
“You’re not in your last days, Iris—”
“Well, we both know that, Mr. Lavine, but you can’t blame me for trying to use the old lady card every now and then.” Iris laughed and playfully patted me on the shoulder. “Now, are you going to tell me what you were thinking about?”
“I feel like you already know,” I admitted. “And… anything I say is just going to get thrown back in my face.”
“And why would I throw anything back in your face, Mr. Lavine?”
“Because I was thinking about Parker.”
“What about him?”
“We’re…” My words trailed off as a grin spread across my face. “Seriously. You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? You just want me to say it?”
“I don’t want you to say anything that isn’t true, Mr. Lavine.”
“Parker and I are… more than friends.”
“More than friends…” Iris nodded as she repeated my phrase. “But less than lovers?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Iris tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure I like that word, especially not when it comes to Parker Williams.”
“It’s not…” I tried and failed to come up with a reply. “It’s just…”
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Lavine,” Iris interrupted. “I trust you’ll make the right decision in the end. Besides, there’s always a bit of a will-they-won’t-they in the middle of any good love story, isn’t there?”
“Love story? I don’t know if—”
“As long as you don’t hurt him,” Iris interrupted me again. “Parker is like a son to me, Mr. Lavine. And I swear, if you break his heart, I’ll make things quite uncomfortable for you during your stay. Perhaps so uncomfortable that you’ll no longer feel welcome, at least not in any identifiable definition of the phrase.”
I stared back at Iris, slightly amused and slightly terrified by her threats. Even though I wasn’t concerned with anything physical, fairly certain that an older woman half my size couldn’t take me in a fight, I was still concerned about the lengths she might go to make me hate Park City, my mind immediately imagining a flooded out basement, my belongings floating up the steps.
“I’m not going to hurt him, Iris,” I replied. “I promise.”
“Good.” Iris smiled before she let out an extended sigh. “Because the last thing Parker needs is another heartbreak. I swear, that boy has had his heart broken enough to last him the rest of his life.”
“What