Chapter 13
DELANEY
This was nuts.
I’d sworn off dating, and men, about as well as I’d stayed away from Makis even after I knew our relationship was toxic. He was toxic.
Parker is not. He’s one of the good guys.
That was what Pia had said last night after we danced. Apparently she and Jules had decided the two of us were perfect together and had, in Pia’s words, “amazing chemistry.” Not that I denied it. I’d wanted nothing more than to find myself in a dark corner of the bar making out with him.
Yet there was a part of me, a huge part of me, that wasn’t the same after Makis. Healing from that relationship had not been easy. I was just finding some hard-wrought peace from dreams that had haunted me for months.
Did I really want to do it all over again?
No. The answer was no. I didn’t.
And yet here I was, dragging my duffle bag down the stairs, about to get in a car for an hour—not to mention stay overnight—with a guy who I’d spent the better part of last night, and this morning, thinking about.
Stupid. Delaney, you are stupid, stupid, stupid.
Knowing he would be here any minute, I grabbed my coat and purse, locked up and headed out onto the porch. Just about to put on my coat, Parker’s pickup truck pulled up. Even if he hadn’t stopped in front of my house, I’d have known the silver truck was his. It fit him perfectly.
Kind of like his jeans. Or that light green, form-fitting long-sleeved shirt he’d had on last night which didn’t hide the fact that Parker worked out.
Jumping out of his truck, Parker jogged onto my porch, reaching out his hand.
“Hey there,” he said as I gave him my duffle bag.
“Thanks for waiting.” I followed him to the truck.
And of course he opened my door, waited for me to get in, and shut it for me.
That was what all guys did at first. And then a few weeks later, there’d be no more door openings.
A few months later, he would take ten hours to text back. And so on from there.
I knew the drill.
“No problem,” he said, tossing my bag in the small back seat. “I was surprised you could get out so early.”
“I’ve been putting in a lot of extra hours,” I said, glad not to have messed Parker up too much. It was not even noon now. “The boss used to split time with me until his son got his pharmacy license. Now he just fills in here and there. Like today.”
“Glad it worked out,” he said.
It was impossible not to notice how good he smelled, like musk and cedar.
Talking to Parker was so easy. For almost an hour, we chatted about work and things we liked to do and our favorite foods.
We moved from one topic to the next effortlessly.
I couldn’t help a wave of disappointment seeing the rolling hills east of Seneca Lake that served a small ski town which I hadn’t been to in years.
Like last night, I enjoyed time alone with him and wished it could be extended.
All while knowing it was good to be with the group, which kept me from doing something foolish.
Like accidentally kissing Parker. He’d been giving off enough of a vibe for me to tell the difference between friendzone and…
what was happening between us. Kissing would not be off the table.
“According to the directions, the house is up there,” he said as the truck began to climb a hill. There didn’t seem to be many other houses on the road, which was thick with trees on both sides.
“Holy shit,” I said, seeing it for the first time. “A log cabin.”
“A huge log cabin,” he clarified.
“I love them,” I admitted. “But don’t think I ever stayed in one.”
“One of the first houses I built was a log cabin,” Parker said, pulling his truck into the massive driveway. “I’ve done a few over the years and really enjoy them. There’s actually a weekend workshop in Rochester I’ve been thinking of taking, specifically for log cabin builders.”
“That makes sense,” I said, marveling at this one. “That it would be a specialized thing.”
The deck on the second floor went around the entire house. I could see the hot tub in the corner just before the deck wrapped around to the right. Part of me wanted to go explore and see the view, but it was freezing.
“Damn, it’s cold,” I said, attempting the door code a second time. Cole had sent it in a group text earlier.
“Your jacket,” Parker pointed out, “might do more good on your body.”
Finally, the code worked. “I hate being in a car with my jacket on,” I said, pushing open the door. “Oh, my…”
It was incredible. To my left, an open space with couches and a stone fireplace that went two floors up to the ceiling.
In front of me, the biggest kitchen I’d ever seen in my life with an informal dining area off to the left.
The most striking thing wasn’t the size of the place but the fact that it was a log cabin, which gave it an instant woodsy and cozy feel despite the fact that it was basically a mansion.
“Wow.”
Parker was looking toward the dining area, and I could see why.
Heading that way myself, my mouth dropped even further down to the floor.
An entire wall of sliding glass doors and carpet-to-ceiling windows revealed the view.
It was a perfect shot of the ski mountain with nothing but trees in front of it to spoil it.
“What did Cole say his friend did for a living?” I asked as Parker moved up beside me.
“A fellow professor, but he also mentioned something about the wife coming from money.”
“Makes sense. This is not a college professor’s house.”
“Agreed. This view alone is worth millions.”
We stood there for a few more seconds, our proximity hard to ignore. If I shifted just a little bit to my left, we’d be touching.
I swallowed and walked to the kitchen island.
“There’s a note,” I said, picking it up.
The gang had already said they would be on the slopes, and we planned to join them.
I read it out loud. “Welcome to the cabin! There are some hoagies and an open bottle of champagne in the fridge. Bedrooms on the third floor are yours. See you soon. xoxo, Pia and the boys.”
I showed Parker.
“Pia and the boys. Sounds like a music band.”
“It does. Can’t argue with lunch though. I’m starved.”
“Should we put our stuff away and eat?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Before I could even reach for my things, Parker had both of our duffle bags in hand.
I hung my jacket on a hook near the door and followed him up the wooden staircase.
The second floor boasted a landing with workout equipment that overlooked the first floor.
The third floor had just two bedrooms, right across from each other.
“Take your pick,” he said, peering into the first one.
“Either works for me. Actually,” I said, “they look the same.”
Both were decorated like the rest of the house, exactly what one would think a ski chalet in upstate New York would look like.
Parker put my bag on the bed and paused just long enough for me to register that we were in a bedroom.
Our eyes met, for the briefest of seconds, before he headed out to his own room.
“Will meet you downstairs in a sec,” I called, heading into my own private bathroom and closing the door.
I didn’t need to pee, surprisingly. But I did need to breathe.
Looking into the mirror, I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself of the many hours it had taken for Makis to text me back, and then most often with just a word or two.
Or when he said, “I need you to access your non-crazy side” when I questioned him about the dry texting.
Or the multitude of times he said I was “overthinking” which, of course, turned out not to be true since he later broke up with me.
Twice.
It had taken my friends to make me realize I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was never about me. Makis simply wasn’t ready for a commitment but too chicken shit to say so. Instead he strung me along and made me feel like I was losing my mind when I called him out for pulling away.
Once I was sufficiently in the right state of mind to deal with Parker—now that I no longer wanted to kiss him, knowing where that could eventually lead—I headed back downstairs.
There were two hoagies, a bag of chips and two glasses of champagne already poured. Parker picked one up and handed it to me.
“Figured nothing went better with Italian hoagies than a good champagne.”
“Didn’t take you for a champagne guy?”
“It was already open. How could I resist?”
“Good point.” We clinked glasses. “Cheers to a surprise ski weekend with new friends.”
“Cheers to that,” he said.
We drank. And ate. And drank some more. By the time we were done with our second glass, I was having a hard time re-claiming the “men suck” feeling I’d managed to drum up in the bathroom.
My phone buzzed. Looking down on the counter at it, as I suspected, Pia’s name popped up.
“She’s wondering when we’re coming,” I said.
Parker had just finished clearing the counter. He looked at me. I looked at him.
Was he thinking the same thing as me? I couldn’t be the one to say it.
Not after making such a big deal about not dating and all that.
But 100 percent of me wanted to stay here, open another bottle of something, and keep talking.
He was honestly one of the easiest guys to talk to, and it felt like we were becoming fast friends.
Well, with the exception of the fact that I wanted to climb into bed with him. That part felt anything but friends to me.
“We could just go tomorrow.”
Yes. Yes, yes, yes !
“Hmm.” I pretended to think about it. “I’m not sure if the others are planning to ski tomorrow. Cole is meeting the contractor, right?”
“Yeah, he is. Up to you. I honestly am fine either way, skiing or not.”
I’d ask why he was here if he didn’t care about skiing, but I already knew the answer. It was the same reason I’d jumped at the chance to come, despite myself.
“Skip it and day drink?” I asked it as if I could care less either way. At least, I hoped my tone sounded neutral.
For a second, I thought he was going to change his mind. Maybe he really just didn’t care either way and was being nice, thinking I didn’t feel like skiing.
Shit. My man-reading radar was so fucked up.
Thanks, Makis.
“Sounds good to me. Although I think I’ll switch to beer. How about you?”
“I packed a bottle of Tito’s, and Pia was supposed to bring club soda.”
While Parker looked through the cabinets for a glass, I texted Pia back. She must have been in the lodge because a wink emoji came right back at me. I turned the phone around so Parker wouldn’t see it.
“Thanks,” I said as he mixed my vodka soda. And just like that, the two of us were in the great room, fire started, also courtesy of Parker, looking out onto the slopes with drinks in hand.
“I could get used to this,” he said, sinking into the couch. I was already sitting cross-legged on the loveseat caddy-corner to him.
“No kidding. This place is incredible.”
“So are you.”
It took a second for his words to penetrate.
My first instinct was to remind him that we were just friends.
Thankfully, something held me back. A little voice inside my head that reminded me I was very unlikely never to kiss another guy in my life.
That as much as I wanted to stay single, to never get hurt again, that was probably not realistic.
A little voice that found itself forming words which could very likely get me into trouble, the two of us alone in this big house day drinking while the others were skiing.
“Thank you,” I said, knowing I should leave it at that. Except, I didn’t want to. God help me, I wanted more from him. “I feel the same about you.”