Chapter 17
Parker
Getting slapped and then punched would normally have made me furious, but instead, I had an insane hard-on because of a tall, blonde omega who had a mouth on her that could make a man weep.
I didn’t love being on the receiving end of her vitriol, so I’d left the pack house feeling like a petulant child who’d been told off—which wasn’t far from the truth—and headed to where I knew I’d be understood.
I was a reasonable man; I knew I’d been harsh, but I needed to protect my pack.
In a matter of seconds, Clover had managed to undercut my entire argument.
If she could back up her words with actions, I was truly fucked.
I could cautiously give things a chance for the sake of my pack mates, but that meant making amends with Clover first, or at least enough she wouldn’t immediately disregard me.
I was the only one in my pack who had been born into significant money and the only one who understood that leeches were everywhere. They wore sweet smiles and gave endless compliments but never truly cared about you. My pack wouldn’t fall victim to someone like that if I could prevent it.
I’d been burned one too many times in my childhood by “friends” who’d only wanted me for my family’s connections.
As a kid, I had no real concept of how wealthy my family was.
I’d attended a private school and assumed my classmates were like me—affluent, privileged.
It turned out that having your family own a major airline meant I was far better off than most of them. I hadn’t known it then, but they had.
I wasn’t over my suspicions about Clover, but there was no denying her verbal takedown had me harder than a rock, and all I’d wanted to do was kiss her stupid.
If she gave me a chance to make up for being a dick, even if only for the sake of the others, I would jump on it. If she wasn’t genuine, I’d figure it out.
I always did, in the end.
Closing my car door, I looked up at the imposing mansion that had been my childhood home and took a deep breath before heading in to see the one person I could always go to for advice.
I needed to see my fathers to take care of some business, but that was a cover story. The real reason I was there was simpler: if I wanted to do something for a woman, I needed advice from a woman—and the woman I was closest to just happened to be my sister, Maggie.
She was easy to buy for, so she was easy to bribe. If it was pink, fluffy, or made of sugar, she wanted it.
“Knock, knock,” I said, tapping on her doorframe.
My sister was sitting on her bed, flicking through some paperwork. At the sound of my voice, her head jerked up, and she beamed at me.
“Hey, dingus,” she said brightly.
“Really? We’re still not over the name-calling yet? In that case, I guess you don’t want this bag of sour candy I got you.” I held the treat aloft as she scrambled off the bed, darting over to snatch it from my hand.
“I wouldn’t say that. There’s always time for candy. Though, if you’re sucking up to me because you want something, you should know that the best chocolate is downtown. Ruby chocolate would get me to divulge everything.” She smirked.
“You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions thinking I want something.”
She was completely right, of course. I just didn’t want to admit it.
Maggie stared at me for a moment, and as only she could make me do, I cracked.
“Fine,” I sighed. “I need to find a gift for a woman.”
Maggie’s prompt had me thinking about taking a trip to the chocolatier to get Clover some ruby chocolate. I got the impression she was as fond of pink as Maggie was, so it would stand to reason she’d like pink chocolate, too, right?
Maggie’s face lit up and she bounced on her toes, excitedly clapping her hands. “Oh my goood. Parker! Have you actually found someone you want to date and they’re willing to put up with you? Tell me everything!”
“It’s nothing serious,” I said. “It’s just someone the pack is seeing, and I may have put my foot in my mouth. I need to find something she’ll like—but I can’t throw money at the situation.”
Maggie looked at me for a second before bursting into laughter. “What are you thinking of getting her?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here bribing you with candy.”
She nodded thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her chin. Part of me wanted to crawl into a dark hole and disappear—my sister was far too amused by my potential humiliation. We were close, but I was definitely the more serious one between us.
Our family was staunchly traditional. Not in a cruel way, but they’d always made it clear they wanted us to follow in their footsteps—me in the family business and Maggie raising a family of her own.
I had a lot more responsibilities than my sister, and the differences in our upbringing showed in our personalities.
I’d already disappointed my family by branching out and starting my own business, but I’d felt the need to do it.
As soon as I left home and started living with my pack, I realized how much I craved independence from them.
Making my own money meant that, if I ever needed to, I could stand up to them and say no.
Not that I ever expected to do that, but knowing I had the choice meant everything.
“Did none of your usual endeavors work? Diamonds?”
I grimaced. “I haven’t tried diamonds. I need to find something that’s more meaningful.”
“Okay. What do you know about her?”
The truth was, I didn’t know much at all. All I knew was that I was cautiously interested in her.
When I didn’t answer, Maggie’s face dropped. “Oh…that’s not good. I thought you were joking about knowing nothing. Parker, what the hell? How do you not know a single fact about her?”
A groan escaped me. “I know. I should be able to do better!”
My sister cocked her head to the side. “Usually shiny things, sweet treats, and quality time are everything your type of girl could want and more.”
My hackles rose. I was handsome, well educated, and came from considerable wealth. Any woman would be lucky to receive my attention.
“The gift is to prompt the quality time. We haven’t spent time one-on-one yet. She might like poppies, assuming she’s the reason Logan insisted we plant some, but that’s the best I can do, and at this point, I’m nervous to ask her directly.”
“If you put your foot in your mouth again, she won’t want quality time with you whatsoever.”
“Magnolia—”
“Oof, full name? Keep being mean and I won’t help you out…”
I crossed my arms. “Will you help me out otherwise?”
Maggie pursed her lips, seemingly deep in thought. “I will…if you’ll help me.”
Maggie was probably up to no good, and I didn’t need to indebt myself to her. I was a competent alpha. I could figure it out. Surely brokering multi-million dollar business deals was harder than figuring out what to get Clover that wouldn’t make her tear me down verbally.
“What do you want?”
“A bank card that Mom and the dads can’t see so they don’t know what I’m buying.”
That made me raise my brows.
“Maggie, your monthly stipend is bigger than most people’s yearly income. Why do you need that? Have they ever stopped you from buying anything?”
My sister grinned. “Sometimes a girl wants a bit of privacy. Now, tell me more about this omega that’s got you twisted up.”
“Beautiful, smart, and witty.”
“Education?”
“I don’t know.”
Maggie gave me a pitying look. “You need to actually talk to her to figure out what she would like. You can’t just give her that broody look and expect her to fall at your feet.”
“But…” I trailed off.
“Do I need to get the dads and tell them you don’t know how to date? Please let me be there for that conversation!”
I threw a pillow in her direction, growling when she grabbed it with ease, giggling.
“This is fun! I like it when you’re stumped. Listen, it’s not that hard. Find one thing that’s important to her and focus the gift around that so she knows you’re paying attention.”
Fuck my life.