10. Chapter 10
Chapter ten
Parker
“And this is where the tables would go.” Cashlynn motions to the large open space beside her, excitement radiating from her. “I should be able to fit twenty to thirty people in here for each class.”
Willow rubs her pregnant belly and nods. “I love it. And shelves on the wall behind there for supplies?”
“Exactly. We need to order some cabinets for below the counters, but shelves up above.” Cashlynn darts to the other side of the room. “I’m thinking a divider wall right here. That way, it feels like two different spaces. The front will be the gallery with the art that’s for sale, and then when you step through, it becomes the creative space where we hold the paint nights and classes.”
I’ve been standing off to the side, listening and watching Cashlynn practically prance all over the space she and Willow just signed the lease on—the space I showed her last week. A lot of paperwork this week delayed the process, but in a few weeks, Cashlynn will officially have her very own gallery and studio.
The whole room could be a crumbling mess for all I care. The way she lights up almost makes the turmoil I’ve been dealing with worth it.
“So, what do you think?” Cashlynn turns to me, bright-eyed and anticipating my response.
“I think it’s perfect.” My eyes travel around the empty room, and even though it doesn’t look like much right now, I have faith that she’ll make her vision come to life.
“It really is.” She walks up to me and places her hand on my chest. “Thank you again for suggesting it. You saved me a lot of time looking around.” She glances back at Willow. “We only looked at two other places, but the location and lighting here are unmatched.”
I stare down at my fake fiancée, focusing in on her lips as she speaks—those same lips that were on my mouth last Friday night in my kitchen, where I was five seconds away from stripping her naked and fucking her until she screamed.
“It is perfect,” Willow says, thankfully snapping me out of my daydream that was about to become a wet dream. “And now that we know what we’re dealing with, we can start talking about branding and marketing—my favorite part.” She rubs her hands together just as there’s a knock on the front window.
“I’ve got it.” I head over to the window, peeking under the brown paper that’s still covering the glass to find Penn outside, nose buried in his phone. “We aren’t in need of any stripper services,” I say as I open the door to find him in his usual construction attire—blue jeans, a plain black shirt, and his tool belt around his waist.
“Jealous that women find my job sexier than yours?” he asks, pointing at my chest and then flicking my nose as soon as I glance down.
“Fuck off.” I swat him away as he walks past me, grinning.
“ Who invited the dickhead?” I call out to Willow and Cashlynn as Penn strolls toward them.
“Um, I did. And you shouldn’t call your brother a dickhead.” Cashlynn narrows her eyes at me disapprovingly.
Willow places a hand on Cashlynn’s shoulder. “It’s best you just stay out of their brotherly love shit-talking. That’s what I’ve learned, at least.”
“And by the way, your fiancée is in need of my services, little brother, not yours. Unless, of course, she needs a thermometer shoved up her—
“Jesus Christ, Penn.” I cut him off, shoving him as Cashlynn and Willow shake their heads.
“Okay, boys. Enough of that.” Willow waves Penn over. “Penn, come over here and listen to what we’re thinking.”
As they head back to the far end of the room, Cashlynn hangs back. “Do you really think it will come together?” she asks, her voice soft, uncertain.
I step closer, my hands settling on her shoulders before I even realize what I’m doing. I know we don’t need to put on a show for Penn and Willow, but touching her feels so natural. The memory of her lips on mine five days ago flashes through my mind. I’ve done everything to keep my distance since then—everything to remind myself that this is fake.
But right now, it doesn’t feel fake. Not the warmth of her beneath my hands, not the way she looks up at me, her eyes searching for reassurance.
“I do,” I say, my voice low but firm. “You’ve got this, Cashlynn. Don’t let those doubts creep in now.”
She huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that happened as soon as I saw the rent on this place.”
“ That’s what you have Willow for. Be patient. Building a business will take time.”
She bites her bottom lip. “I know, but now that I have a space, it all seems so real. What if I fail, Parker? What if my dad is right and trying to make a living out of art is way too farfetched? That having a stable job like a lawyer is best. That’s why he pushed me into that career. I mean, I have my law degree still, and I can always take the North Carolina bar as a backup in case this fails—”
Before she can spiral further, I press a finger to her lips. Her eyes widen as I crouch slightly so I can speak to her at eye level. “We have not come this far for you to start thinking about a backup plan,” I tell her, my tone allowing no argument. “Remember what you told me about regrets?”
She nods once, her lips brushing against my finger, but I don’t let her say one word in response.
“You don’t want to live with them, right?” Another nod. “Then manifest this, Cashlynn. Think positive, envision what you want, and then work your ass off to make it happen. That’s why you’re here. And I’m not going to let you quit.”
Her gaze locks on mine, her lips parting slightly as I drop my hand.
If Cashlynn and I don’t get what we want out of this arrangement, it will have all been for nothing. And I hate seeing her doubt herself. She did it on the plane, and I’ve seen her do it too many times since she arrived in Carrington Cove. This woman is a lot stronger than she gives herself credit for, and I refuse to see her give up on herself when her vision is just getting started.
She blinks up at me, as if she’s searching for the right words, but Penn’s voice breaks the moment.
“ Okay, so I don’t think what you need done will take longer than a week or two,” my older brother says, strolling back toward us like he owns the place.
Cashlynn twists to face him, brushing her hair over her shoulders and walking in his direction, leaving me rooted in place. “Okay. That’s not bad at all.”
“It should be easy. And then once I’m out of the way, if you need help with decorating, wiring, or whatever, just let me know and I can send Gary, my top guy, over to help you.”
“I appreciate this so much, Penn.”
He clasps his hand on her shoulder, and even though the gesture is innocent, seeing him touch her makes me want to rip his tool belt off and beat him with it. “Nonsense. You’re practically family now, right?” He glances up at me and winks.
Fucker.
“That was some speech,” Willow says as she walks up to me. Cashlynn and Penn are deep in conversation now as she talks through the rest of her ideas.
“Well, she needed to hear it.”
My sister-in-law squints at me. I glance over at her before rolling my eyes. “What?”
“Nothing,” she says, folding her hands across my nephew growing in her stomach.
“Sure doesn’t seem like nothing,” I grumble. “It seems like you have something you want to say.”
She shrugs. “I just want you to know that I’m genuinely amazed at what you’re doing for her.”
I shove my hands in my pockets. “It’s not like she gave me much of a choice.”
Wil low nudges me with her shoulder. “You could have said no. And you could have had nothing to do with her business venture. You could have not suggested that we talk, you could have not suggested that she check out this building, and you could have not given her a pep talk just now when her self-doubt came up.”
Looking at her, I arch a brow. “Your point?”
She rests a hand on my shoulder. “I think she’s affecting you.”
“Is not,” I say, sounding childish even to my own ears.
Willow laughs. “Okay. Deny it all you want, Parker, but this woman brings out your softer side,” she says as she takes a few steps forward, then adds over her shoulder, “and I don’t hate it.”
I watch my sister-in-law join my brother and fake fiancée as they talk about the light fixtures. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.
And that’s when it hits me—Cashlynn may have crashed into my life here, but she slipped into it almost seamlessly.
Sasha never did.
Everything with Sasha felt forced, like I was always checking in, trying to make sure she was happy. But deep down, I knew the truth.
You knew she didn’t want to move here, but you pushed her to do it anyway. That’s why she turned to alcohol, that’s why…
“Parker?”
“Huh?” I look up to find my brother staring at me.
“You all right?”
“Yeah, just lost in thought.” I clear the ball of emotion in my throat.
“Don’t think too hard,” he teases, giving me a light shove. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Fuck off.”
“No, seriously.” He steps closer, standing shoulder to shoulder with me as we watch the girls. “Don’t think too hard about it. If something feels right, just go for it.” I don’t respond, so he continues. “Trust me. I wasted a lot of fucking time denying what I felt for Astrid, wondering if she could ever feel the same way. And lo and behold, we both wanted the same thing. If I had just had the balls to say something sooner, she and I could have been together a long time ago.
“Cashlynn and I are not you and Astrid. This is a business arrangement, pun intended.”
He nods. “You’re holding on to your pain like it’s a shield, little brother. But it’s not—it’s a wound. And wounds heal if you let them.”
As he walks out, leaving me with the woman who’s making me question my life choices thus far, I can’t help but wonder if he’s right. Because that’s exactly what my failed relationship with Sasha feels like—a heavy weight I’ve been carrying for four fucking years.
And the woman standing in front me might just be the reason I finally let it go.
***
“If you’re looking for a clean food source, this is the one I recommend.” Seth takes a bag of food off the shelf in the reception area, handing it to one of our clients.
“This the best thing I can feed him?” The young woman looks down at her bulldog puppy, who’s currently slobbering all over the floor.
“Absolutely.”
Her face falls when she sees the price tag. “It’s really expensive, though.”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he leads her over to the counter to pay. I cannot believe this asshole. “You can’t put a price on your puppy’s health, right?”
She nods nervously before handing the bag to Victoria so she can ring her up. “Right…”
“Great!” Seth beams. “Then we’ll see you back next month for Sparky’s next set of vaccines,” he says brightly before disappearing down the hall.
Shaking my head, I follow behind. When I catch up to him, I lower my voice so only he can hear. “You know that shit you just gave her isn’t the best food we carry.”
“So? We make the best commission off that brand, Dr. Sheppard.” He flashes his creepy smile as we pass a few of the technicians on the way to his office. Once we step inside, I close the door behind us. He sighs and says, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m busy.”
Did he really just dismiss me?
“You’re worried about commission? What about that dog’s health and longevity? What about that young girl’s bank account?”
Seth rolls his eyes as he drops into the chair behind his desk. “This is a business, Parker. Or have you forgotten that?”
“Of course not. But at the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for the owners and their pets.”
“No. At the end of the day, we have to keep the doors open.” He shakes his head. “Seems to me someone isn’t ready to take on the practice after all.”
I glare at the man sitting across from me, knowing in my bones that he’s the piece of scum I always thought he was. “You’re a piece of shit.”
Okay, Parker. That was a bit direct .
Seth leans back in his chair, smirking. “Takes one to know one.”
Oooh. Good come back, Seth.
I shake my head, buttoning up my lab coat and resisting the urge to throw his stapler at him. “No, because I would never do what you just did to that poor girl out there.”
He waves me off. “Again, it doesn’t seem like you’re ready to run things around here if you wouldn’t do what’s best for the practice.”
Someone knocks on the door, interrupting the tongue-lashing I was about to give him.
“If you could get that, that’d be great.” Seth smiles up at me like I’m his fucking butler.
Clenching my teeth, I open the door to find Robert O’Neil standing there, looking between us with his usual no-bullshit expression.
“Gentlemen,” he greets us, looking back and forth between me and Seth, who’s now standing behind his desk.
“Robert. How can I help you?”
“We’re having a staff meeting in ten minutes. I need you both present.” Without further explanation, he storms off, no cane in sight.
He’s been back at work for a week, and things have returned to normal for the most part. However, there’ve been moments where I’ve noticed him watching me from the corner of my eye, or he’ll come up and ask me a question about a case, almost like he’s testing me. And maybe he is.
I know I broke the trust he had in me by lying to him about Cashlynn, and I don’t blame him for watching me more closely now. But I’ll be keeping an eye on him, too—because the more I’ve learned about their relationship as father and daughter, the more protective I’ve become of her. My father never would have discouraged me from doing what makes me happy and chasing my dreams. He had his faults, but I guess when it was time for me to start figuring out what to do with my life, he’d learned from his mistakes with Dallas and Penn.
I got the father who believed in me and praised me every time I accomplished something I put my mind to and succeeded—which I always did. I had this obsession with being perfect. But over the years, I wonder if that praise for being driven, for never wanting to make mistak es, is what’s made my failed relationship with Sasha haunt me for so long.
“That was your cue to leave my office,” Seth snaps, pulling me back to the present.
I shoot him a glare before turning and heading down the hallway, where the rest of the staff has already gathered. A quick glance at the clock confirms that it’s lunchtime—the brief window each day when the doors are locked and there are no appointments on the schedule.
Robert clears his throat loudly, commanding everyone’s attention. “Thank you all for making time for this. I didn’t want this to wait until our Monday meeting because I need to be truthful with all of you about something very important.”
Murmurs ripple through the room.
Truthful? My chest tightens. Is he going to explain what he and Beth were discussing that day I overheard them? Fuck. Is he sick? Is he about to tell the entire staff before he tells his daughter?
“My fall three weeks ago was eye-opening, to say the least. Lucky for me, I didn’t break anything, but it was a wakeup call—a reminder that I’m not getting any younger.” A few of the staff chuckle nervously. “With that being said, today I am formally announcing that in three months, I will be retiring from Carrington Cove Animal Hospital.”
Holy shit. He’s really doing it.
This is really happening .
Everyone starts to speak amongst themselves, but Robert clears his throat again and they fall silent. I glance over at Seth, who has his arms crossed over his chest, beaming like he just won the fucking lottery.
“As you know, we have two very capable doctors here, Dr. Sheppard and Dr. Brown, both of whom I believe would do great things leading this practice. But only one name can be the sole owner, so in three months’ time, I will announce my choice of who will replace me as the head doctor.”
Seth and I lock eyes, and he’s already smirking like it’s a done deal.
Robert steps up to me, offering his hand. “You know what’s at stake here, right, Parker?”
“Of course, sir,” I say, gripping his hand firmly.
“Good.” He leans in and lowers his voice. “And let me make one thing clear—being engaged to my daughter doesn’t mean a damn thing. If anything, it means you’ve got even more to prove.”
I swallow hard, willing my voice to stay steady. “Yes sir.”
Robert nods once, releasing my hand. “Then I expect to see the doctor I’ve been mentoring for the past six years over the next three months, and hopefully, someone even better than that.”
He turns away and walks over to Seth, probably to give him a similar speech.
But my insides are twisting.
This is my chance. This is what I’ve been wanting since I moved back home to work at this hospital.
I just hope I can hold it all together long enough to make my dream a reality.
Because chasing dreams is fucking exhausting.
***
Hours later, with the weight of the day pressing on me, I finally walk through the front door. I plop down onto the couch, kicking my feet up on the coffee table and stretching my toes out, trying to relieve the ache in my feet.
“ I didn’t hear you come home,” Cashlynn says from behind me. She’s fresh from the shower, dragging a towel over her wet hair.
Fuck, I want to dirty her up just looking at her.
I haven’t allowed myself to think about that kiss for days because I’ve been buried in my work. Thank God it’s Friday.
“I just got in,” I say gruffly, leaning back and closing my eyes.
She steps closer and pushes my hair back from my face. “You look exhausted.”
“Well, I’m trying to show your father that he can trust me—with you and his practice—so yeah…I’m beat.”
She nods and heads toward the kitchen, pressing a few buttons on the microwave to heat up my dinner. The smell of enchiladas wafts through the air, and my stomach growls. She did the same thing last night, had a home-cooked meal waiting for me when I got home after a long shift. Gotta admit—that’s a detail of this arrangement I don’t hate.
“When he told me he was going to announce his retirement, I was afraid this might happen.”
“What might happen?”
“You running yourself ragged,” she says as the microwave beeps. A moment later, she sets the plate of food in front of me and hands me a fork.
“Thank you.” I take a bite of the chicken enchiladas as she sits down next to me. “I have to show him how bad I want this, Cashlynn. If I don’t give it my all, I’ll regret it.”
She props her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her head on her hand. “I get it, but I also know my father. He’s the kind of man that will find a fault in anything.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“ But he also isn’t impressed by flashy showmanship. You’re an amazing doctor, Parker,” she says, reaching out and placing her free hand on my forearm.
“How do you know that?”
Her lips curve into a small smile. “My father has talked about you a lot, remember?”
I nod, taking another bite of my dinner. “But this is different.”
“No, it’s not. He doesn’t need you to show off. He just needs to see that you care.”
I think back to the many conversations I’ve had with Dr. O’Neil over the years. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am. But if it helps, I can keep talking you up to him any chance I get.”
“That might do more harm than good. Remember, he thinks I’m the man fucking his daughter.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I regret them. But when I turn to look at Cashlynn, she’s licking her lips and glancing down at mine.
“True,” she says softly.
Needing to steer clear of the tension I just created, I take another bite of my dinner. “This is really good, by the way. Thanks.”
She pushes herself up off the couch, bending over right in front of me to run the towel over her hair again before twisting it up and on top of her head.
Jesus Christ. Why was that so sexy?
“My pleasure,” she says with a wink, sauntering back down the hallway, giving my dick a chance to deflate.
I reach for the remote, intent on watching some mindless TV, but when I hit the power button, nothing happens. “What the hell?”
I bang the remote against my hand a few times and then try to turn it on again, but still no luck. Setting my plate on the coffee table, I grab n ew batteries from the drawer and try again—nothing. Then I see it—the TV cord dangling next to the outlet, unplugged.
“Mother fucker,” I grumble, apparently louder than I intended. Cashlynn reappears from the hallway.
“What’s wrong?”
I gesture at the black screen. “The TV? Really, Cashlynn?”
Her lips curl up like she’s fighting a smile, but she shrugs. “I told you…”
“What kind of human does that?”
“Well, you barely watch it anyway, and again—”
I hold up my hand. “Okay, this has to stop.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s driving me nuts!”
“I’m sorry, but this is what I do!”
“Not while you’re living with me, it isn’t.”
We stand there, staring at each other, but Cashlynn shocks me further when she says, “Fine, then I’ll play you for it.”
“What?”
She steps further into the living room until there’s only a few inches separating us. “Are you scared?”
“You want to play rock, paper, scissors to decide if you get to keep unplugging my appliances?”
She nods. “Yup.”
I huff out a laugh despite myself and hold up my fist. “You’re on.”
“One,” she says.
“Two.”
“Three,” we say in unison as I throw up fire—again—and she dishes out a closed fist, showing rock.
“ When are you going to learn?” I ask her a little too smugly, but then she opens her fist above my spirit fingers and makes a whooshing sound. “Did you just…”
“That’s a water balloon,” she says, smirking. And then she hits me with a confession. “You’re not the only one who’s watched Friends .”
With a triumphant arch of her brow, she turns and walks back toward her room. “Looks like the appliances stay unplugged, Parker!” she calls out over her shoulder.
And I’m left standing there, flabbergasted and rock-hard.
Fuck. This woman might be the reason I have myself committed.
Or she might be the one who was undoubtedly made for me.