Brothers of Paradise Series

“Very funny. No, she’ll just ask me excruciatingly nosy questions.”

“Hmm. Would I be interested in hearing the answers to those?”

“Maybe,” I say. He walks me backward into the kitchen, hands still around my waist, and I feel like I’m soaring. “But that’s privileged information.”

He groans. “Don’t use lawyer-speak on me.”

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“It makes you even hotter,” he says, and with a grunt he lifts me up onto the kitchen counter, right next to the remnants of Emma’s Play-Doh.

“You’ve lost your mind,” I tell him, “but I hope you never find it.”

Parker kisses me again. I don’t know how long we make out for, the slow kisses, the steady ones, his hands working in my hair. I slip my fingers inside the collar of his linen shirt and feel the warm smoothness of his skin.

His hands dip to my waist. One of them finds the hem of my T-shirt and strokes the skin on my lower back.

It scrambles my thinking.

“I had lunch with your sister today,” I say.

Parker shifts to my neck. “I know,” he says.

“She asked me about this weekend.”

“Mhm.”

“About the barbecue on Sunday.”

“She told me she would invite you,” Parker says. His hand slides clean under my shirt and curls around my bare waist. “You should come.”

“You sure?” I say. “It’ll be your entire family.”

“You’ve met them all before.” His lips trail down to my collarbone, and a quick tug of my shirt exposes it to his lips. “Bring Emma.”

“Emma,” I whisper. “She’d like that.”

“So would little Jamie. Henry’s daughter isn’t old enough yet for him to play with, and he can’t understand why,” Parker murmurs.

We kiss for another eternity. It’s impossible not to agree when heat spreads through my limbs, my stomach. “I’ll tell her yes, then.”

“Good.” Parker’s hands settle on my thighs. “Jesus, I really love touching you.”

I laugh. “You really do?”

“Yes, and I’ll tell you all the time if you need to hear it.” His hands tighten over my shorts. “I could kiss you for the rest of the night, but…?”

He doesn’t want to push.

“I think I might be amenable to that,” I say, smiling.

He grins back. “Might be? And amenable?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re terrible,” he says, but he doesn’t sound like he means it. “What did you have planned for us tonight?”

“Well… do you like building things out of clay?” I ask, looking down at the Play-Doh next to me on the counter. I feel light, about to float away, the smile etched on my face. “Or drawing? We do a lot of both in this household.”

Parker chuckles. “Tempting, but no.”

“Then we could watch another movie.”

“True. But I’d spend most of the time trying to learn more about you.” He tips my head back and kisses the spot beneath my jaw. “You told me a lot of things last time that I’ve been thinking about.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, my hands closing around the collar of his shirt. “I can imagine. But I still have questions for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. Why are you single? I half expected you to have a litter of kids by now.”

He leans back, laughter in his deep blue eyes. “What? Have you been talking to my mother? My grandmother? Where did this come from?”

“I don’t know. It’s just, you’re… you. Golden and handsome and a catch. How come you aren’t off the market?”

It’s easy to imagine the beautiful, statuesque wife that would match him. She’d be athletic too. Maybe a former swimmer or track runner. They’d play tennis on Sundays and go running in the mornings, and they’d have three cute kids who never threw tantrums.

I hate her.

He chuckles. “I’m a catch, James?”

“Come on, it’s a serious question,” I protest, unable to stop smiling. “Tell me, Marchand.”

“Are you asking to figure out what’s wrong with me? Because I’ll never tell you. I have no flaws.” His hands tighten around my ribs, fingers fluttering.

I shriek. “Parker!”

“Is that it?”

“No,” I say, laughing. “Stop it. You’re a grown man!”

“Yes, and I have to spend many hours a day being one. Here with you I just want to relax.” His hands relent, smoothing down my sides. “James, there’s no big secret behind it.”

“Behind your single life?”

“I’ve dated,” he says evenly, “and I had a serious relationship back in Boston. But there hasn’t been anyone serious in Paradise.”

“Because you know everyone?”