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Eight

"I"m so glad you could make it this weekend," Quinn says, embracing me in a big hug.

"I wouldn't miss these little munchkins' first birthday for anything." No sooner are the words out of my mouth does Eli come to greet me with the twins in each of his arms.

"Glad you returned him in one piece," Quinn teases.

"Who you are kidding, we talked about the girls for most of the night."

Eli met me at my hotel in downtown Charlotte last night to catch up before the madness of the party.

The girls are trying to wiggle free from his arms, desperate to go wreak havoc on the rodeo-themed party decorations.

I take a good look around and smile at the over-the-top décor. But in all honesty, I wouldn't expect anything else from Quinn, especially when it comes to Sophie and Addy.

"What time is everyone coming?

Eli peeks at the clock. "I'd say within the next hour or so."

"What can I do to help…"

Addy lunges out of Eli's arms toward Quinn, and I think my heart almost stops for a minute. Little gremlins always seeking out ways to scare the ever-living shit out of the adults.

Eli wrangles her in quickly, then turns to me. "Actually there're a few more outdoor decorations that need to be hung up. Would you mind helping with that?"

"Sure, no problem," I say as I make my way to the back doors.

"Perfect, Ava knows what needs to be done!" Eli yells after my retreating form.

Of course. For some fucked-up reason, the universe loves throwing her in my face as often as it can.

It"s bad enough I had to see Logan's arm around her all night at the Bryant Co. dinner last Friday. Right after the best sex of my life at Masqued just the week before. I wanted to break his fucking arm every time it slid down her exposed back. It"s my damn fault, though. I turned her down, again. And from the devastated look on her face, that was officially the last shot I had with her. There's only so much disappointment someone can take before they give up on you.

As much as I hate to admit it, it's better this way. I"m not here for anything serious. I learned a long time ago I wasn't meant for that. And from what I can tell, Ava is on the hunt for something deeper than just sex. It just kills me to know that she's the only person to hold my attention these past few years, but I can't bring myself to offer her more.

I find the current thorn in my side wrestling a string of balloons near the front gate. She's so distracted by the escaping balloons that she doesn't notice my presence.

Her body freezes at the sound of me clearing my throat.

"Looks like you could use some saving," I tease, not able to stop my smirk.

"You're the last person I'd ask to save me," Ava quips. Her tone causes my dick to twitch.

"Why's that? I always thought I'd make a great knight in shining armor."

Her scoff is followed by a glare. So I continue. "Unfortunately for you, Eli has tasked me with helping you. What are we doing?"

Ava rolls her eyes and thrusts a handful of balloons into my hands. "We need to string these along the fence and tie off some bundles by the gate."

"Okay, simple enough."

"I've begun tying them individually?—"

"That's silly. Why don't we string them in one long line first and then attach them," I suggest.

"The wind could knock some loose, and then if they're all tied together, we will lose the entire set. I figured individually we will have less of a chance of losing the whole lot of them," Ava retorts, grabbing back the bunch.

I reach for the bundle. "Yeah, no. Then we will have to worry?—"

"If you"re not here to help me, then you can go inside. Sometimes you need to let other people take control."

"Sometimes you need to not be such a smart-mouthed brat and take direction. Especially when your way will take us double the time."

"I thought you liked me being your little brat, Sir," she bites out with another eye roll. "You know, I've never met someone so unable to compromise. It's ridiculous."

"Feeling's mutual… Maybe that works on your little boyfriend, but I'm not him."

"Yeah, you're certainly not." My jaw tics with her jab, stomach twisting with unwarranted jealousy. I had wondered what was going on between the two of them, and now I have my answer. I just hope she realizes the type of guy she's getting herself involved with. I warned her once already.

After a minute of stewing in the tension-filled air, Ava finally speaks. "Fine, you can do your half of the fence your way, and I'll do mine how I want. Just remember to keep a bunch for the gate itself."

"Whatever you say, Miss Pierce." I bow slightly, grabbing my allotted bundle and stalking away.

The wind has picked up slightly, and it's making it extremely difficult to hold on to the balloons and tie them off at the same time. I'd hate to admit this, but this would be a hell of a lot easier if Ava and I worked together. Moments later, I hear a frustrated growl and a slew of curses, and a smile spreads across my face.

"Everything alright over there?" I call out, teasing.

"Everything is fan-fucking-tastic," she yells back.

"Okay, just making sure." I can"t help it; I love getting her riled up.

"Just do me a favor and stop talking. You're distracting me."

"I was just trying to help out."

"I don't need you to help out. I'm fine on my own," she seethes as she wrestles with her balloons as a gust blows by. Eventually, a small batch breaks free and flies in my direction, and I"m able to catch onto them before they're gone forever.

She huffs and marches toward me. Holding out her hand, she reluctantly says, "I'll take those, thank you."

"Look, this is ridiculous. Why don't we just work together? These balloons seem to have it out for us…"

Ava contemplates my suggestion, and I take the time to ogle her. She's sexy even when she's pissed off. Her cowgirl boots and fringe-covered shorts showcase her amazing legs and ass. By the time my eyes make it up to her face, she looks smug as fuck.

"Are you done?" she taunts, eyebrows raised.

"For now." I lick my lips in memory.

"I think you're right. We need to work together," she says begrudgingly.

"I"m sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"Just hold the damn balloons and I'll tie them." She shoves another bunch into my hands.

"I have a few tied in a string already. Want to start with those?" I suggest, knowing she didn't like my idea the first time, but it's already done.

She stares at the offending string like it pains her to use it, but she eventually takes it. As a team, we make progress down the longest part of the fence line.

I"m doing my best not to gloat about how well my method is working, when another big gust whips past us and takes out the entire row we just completed. Ava and I try to grab onto the runaway string of balloons, but it's a lost cause. They're already up and over Eli and Quinn's roofline.

Ava turns to me with a scowl. "I told you that wouldn't work, but noooo, you didn't want to hear it. Now we barely have any left."

"Maybe you aren't great at tying things. As you can see, my string didn't unknot, but yours did."

"I can't with you… You are impossible to deal with!" she bellows, and although she's mad, my eyes watch her cheeks pinken and chest rise in fall with frustrated breaths.

"Let's just tie the remaining to the gate and call it a day."

"By all means, go ahead, master knot tyer," she says, waving her hand in that direction.

"Watch a pro. You might want to take notes." I wink, and she flips me off in response.

Always a brat.I've never been one to find that type of attitude attractive, but partner it with a long pair of legs and pouty lips and… Nope, stop that train of thought right fucking there.

Besides, she seems to be enjoying Logan's company.

"Sooo tell us more about this boyfriend of yours?" Quinn says, turning her head and narrowing her eyes on me. "And don't even think I've forgotten about the other bomb you dropped on us earlier, but first, I want to hear about Logan." She leans back in her Adirondack chair beside Sloan, waiting for my response.

The three of us sit around their firepit, looking out over the lake. Eli and Quinn's moms insisted on putting the girls down and cleaning up so that they were able to enjoy some adult time with friends since all of us are in town. Their moms are two of the funniest people I know, and I'm so thankful they accepted me into their big family circle all those years ago. I almost begged them to let me help inside, just to avoid my best friends' third degree, but I knew they would have no part in it.

"Okay, so first off, he's not really my boyfriend. We've only gone on a few dates and the first one didn't count because I told him it was just as friends."

"You're the one that called him that," Quinn retorts, and she's right. I'm not sure why I did. Maybe it was the reminder I needed, knowing I was going to see Parker here today.

"I know, that was a slip-up."

I do like Logan. He's hot, fun, and sweet, but there just isn't that explosive chemistry I've been looking for over the last eighteen months. Recently, I"ve been wondering if that chemistry is overrated and not worth it anyways.

"Well, you must like him a lot if you're accidentally calling him that already." Quinn's assumption makes sense, but even if I hate to admit it, that's not the reason.

"Orrrr she's trying to sell it so hard to someone else, she's even convincing herself."

Damn you, Sloan.

I slouch back into my seat and let out a huff. "Maybe," I whisper. Being around him today has been as confusing as it has been frustrating. The lingering glances and the energy that always thrums between us causes me to forget about the way he has treated me.

"Okay, so now explain to us what's going on there," Sloan says, referring to Parker. After our balloon incident, I was annoyed, and my friends thought the best way to work out that annoyance with Parker was to fuck him, so I nonchalantly let it slip I may have already been there and done that.

"It was him at the opening night of Masqued, wasn't it?" Quinn asks, narrowing her eyes.

Both these bitches know me too well.

I bury my face in my hands, trying to hold back a smirk. I may hate his guts, but both experiences I've had with him are the types you run and squeal to your girlfriends about. The fact I have been holding this in and not telling them has me ready to burst.

"Oh shit…it was," Sloan says, and I see the light bulb go off in her head. "It was him you hooked up with on the speed dating night too, wasn't it?"

When she asked how that night went, I brushed it off and said I had hooked up with one of my dates, but left it at that, bringing attention back to the fact I had an awkward experience with one of my dad's associates to distract her.

So I proceed to tell them everything. All the nitty-gritty details. Well, most of them.

"I knew he would be amazing in bed… All that attitude has to be good for something," Quinn responds. "But fuck him for treating you like that afterward."

"I am not sure if his actions have to do with him losing his parents or if something else happened to him. Either way, it seems like he has been through more than most at his age." Sloan always was the most rational out of us. Though I've wondered the same thing at times, especially after the girls filled me in on what little they knew about his parents. He may be the biggest asshole I know, but I still have a heart, and it aches for his loss.

Guilt suddenly consumes me at my avoidance of my own parents, who are still perfectly alive and well.

"Wait…that reminds me," Quinn says, holding her stomach as she grimaces.

"You okay?" I ask, concerned.

"I'm fine, just some gas pains. Probably from all that birthday cake the girls kept insisting on feeding me."

"Do you need some meds?" Sloan asks.

Quinn waves us off. "Back to the other thing. Now that you say that, I kinda remember Eli mentioning something back in college about Parker's girl doing him really dirty. At the time, I didn't know him well, so I don't recall details."

It's hard for me to imagine a younger, more vulnerable Parker going through all these painful events that caused him to be the closed-off man he is today.

"There they are." Sloan nods toward the wakesetter pulling back in, Eli at the steering wheel with his twin Maddie at his side. Wes, Parker, and Quinn's brother, Brayden, are all sitting around the back, beers in hand as they guide the boat in from their sunset cruise.

"One last question before they walk up here," Sloan says, observing me. "What made you keep it from us? You're normally the first to run to the girl chat and tell it."

I contemplate that for a second and give them the raw answer I don't even like admitting to myself.

"The way he makes me feel…it scares me."

"Like, you have feelings for him?"

I shake my head. "No, or at least I don't think so. But I have never had such a primal need for another person in my life, and it"s unsettling."

The knowing look Quinn and Sloan give each other does nothing to settle those feelings seeping in as I watch him walk up the hill from the boat dock.

Thirty minutes later,Parker and I are the last two sitting around the bonfire, and I have no doubt in my mind that my friends made sure it happened this way. I almost get up, unable to handle the tension flowing across the flames between us, but I can't bring myself to walk away from him.

Thankfully, a comfortable silence settles around us. One we've never been in before. It's peaceful almost. When I gaze in Parker's direction, I notice him staring off at the massive rose bushes lining the edge of the yard. The setting sun enhances the varying colors and shades of the flowers. It's actually quite beautiful.

"Gorgeous, aren't they?" I ask.

"Huh…oh yeah. They are," he responds absentmindedly. His thoughts are clearly elsewhere. "I didn't realize Eli and Quinn were rose connoisseurs."

"I wouldn't go that far. I sort of insisted Eli put the garden in when he hired me to decorate the house," I admit.

His gaze stays focused on the roses for a few minutes more before he shifts in his seat. Then with his chin resting in his hand, he sets his stormy greys on me.

"Why the roses?" he asks.

"There's something so fascinating about a rose. How it flourishes amongst its thorns, colors shining proudly. Their scent draws you in, but those thorns keep you away from their beauty."

A small smile spreads across his lips. "My mom loved them too."

I try my best to hide my surprise at his candidness. This Parker sitting before me is in complete contrast to the one I wrestled balloons with earlier today.

"Did she have a garden too?" I ask, hoping like hell he continues sharing and doesn't shut me out.

"She did." His smile softens, as if picturing her. "She would always be tending to them. The peach ones were her favorite. She had a bench in the middle of the garden, like her own little sanctuary. I'd find her reading out there all the time."

That explains the rose tattoo on his neck.

I study his face for a few moments plastered with an expression of complete serenity. It's definitely a drastic change from the grumpy asshole I'm so used to. However short this fleeting moment is…I relish the fact he's opening up about something that he clearly holds dear to his heart.

"What was her name?"

He searches my eyes for a second. "Miranda."

I offer him a warm smile. My ‘thank you for sharing this with me.' And to my surprise, he offers me one back. Fuck, he's gorgeous…even more so when he's not being a dick.

Knowing I need to keep my eyes off the Adonis, I shoot off a text to Logan. We haven't talked much since I left for North Carolina.

Me

Hi! Just letting you know you were on my mind. Hope your weekend is going good.

Logan

Hey beautiful… boring without you. I miss you more than I should say.

His words are sweet, but don't stir that longing deep in my belly. I've had fun with Logan this past week and my attraction to him only grew each time we were together, but then I get around Parker and lose all normal thoughts.

My phone chimes again.

Logan

It was good to see you earlier. You looked gorgeous as always. I'm free tonight… You down to keep me company?

I read and reread, thinking I'm missing something, until I let out a sardonic laugh.

Fuck boy, bye.

I see the bubbles pop back up. He must be thinking of a way out of this. I hope for our working relationship, he just owns it.

"What's so funny? You sound scary." Parker's deep voice draws my attention.

"Nothing," I say, my lips twisting to hold in the truth because part of me wants to tell him, but I hate giving him a reason to say he told me so.

"I don't believe you. Tell me, Av."

When I make up my mind to share with Parker, I convince myself it's because this is too comical not to. And absolutely nothing to do with the fact that somewhere deep, deep down, in some fucked-up way, I want him to know for other reasons.

"Logan just sent me a text he meant for someone else."

"What kind of text?" he asks slowly, likely trying to gauge my reaction a little closer.

I read him the message, and as I do, Logan tries calling me.

"Now he's trying to call, but I really don't want to hear a weak excuse or lie."

Parker stands, walking over to me. "Give me the phone."

I contemplate it. "No. It's annoying, but I wasn't invested like I should have been either."

He listens for once and takes the seat beside mine.

"Yeah, but he was also the one pursuing you from the very first day," he says, looking into the firepit, jaw tight and eyes narrowed.

His concern is almost laughable when the way he treated me was the ultimate push I needed to say yes to Logan. But Parker has a point Logan made his intentions clear from our first meeting, so why go to all that trouble, and then blow it before you even give me time to feel something for you?

"That's true. I knew exactly what he wanted from day one. He was very convincing, and I did think someone wanted more than just sex from me for once." Thankfully, I wasn't ready for that step last week after how things went down with Parker. Something just didn't feel right, and I knew it wouldn't be the same. I thought if I waited, maybe I would forget how good it was with Parker and me.

Parker's hard gaze turns on me. "So, he got what he wanted and immediately jumped ship?"

I level him back with a stare to match. "If you want to go fishing, you should head down to the dock. If you want to ask me something, just ask. It's never been an issue for you before."

"Did you fuck him?"

I shake my head. For someone who doesn't normally do repeats, he certainly seems invested in my sex life. I take a second to get my thoughts together, hoping my words hit him where I want them to. "No…I thought maybe if I made him wait a little bit, it would work out better since primal instinct fucking doesn't seem to end well for me."

He flinches, but then I see him visibly relax at the truth about Logan and me. His initial reaction makes me question if he is remorseful over his complete disregard for me after our last encounter at Masqued. I'm getting really sick of the head games he's playing… What is going on inside that mind of yours, Parker Cole?

I notice Quinn and Eli's dads heading our way from the back patio, so I stand from my seat, ready for some alone time. Stopping right beside his chair, I trail my fingers lightly down his tattooed arm and speak in a low tone.

"I don't get you, Parker. It's like you don't want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me. You act like I ask you for so much, when in reality, I just asked for sex. That's all I want from you anyways, because I know that's all you are capable of."

Before I can walk away, he grabs my wrist and whispers back, "Maybe that's the problem, Ava. Maybe I'm not only capable of that."

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