Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
MOLLY
There was something about the way Parker said wife that set me on fire. I came here tonight with one objective. To find out what his intentions were when it came to me.
"Good answer." I pointed my fork at him, then stabbed one of the baby potatoes and brought it to my lips.
Parker claimed he wasn't a gourmet chef, but damn, did he know how to cook? I don't know why, but that surprised me.
"So I passed whatever test you were putting me through?"
My husband didn't sound the least bit upset that I had set out to see how he would handle our evening. "You did. I needed to make sure you wanted me for more than just my body."
That sounded conceited even though it wasn't how I meant it, but there had been plenty of men over the years who expected sex on the first date.
"I think you're extremely sexy. Even more so in that dress, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you how beautiful you look when you first walked in. That's a mistake on my part. One I plan to correct the next date we have, but no, I don't want you just for your body. I want so much more than that."
Damn, that answer was even better than the first one.
Parker was going to have me falling for him in no time.
I wasn't sure I was ready for that yet. I cleared my throat.
"So I know we talked a little that night at the bar, but it was mostly only surface-level shit .
. ." I left the sentence hanging. I wasn't even sure where I wanted to go with it, but I did know I wanted to know more about him.
"We did, and yes, it was. I take it you want to continue that conversation?"
I bit the corner of my lip. "Or have a deeper one."
Parker reached my way and saved my lip from the mutilation it was currently enduring. "Just so you know, when you bite your lip like that, I want to replace it with my own teeth."
Well, alrighty then.
"But I won't because I'm being a gentleman." It was Parker's turn to clear his throat. "Ask away. I'll answer the best I can."
Shit, what was it I wanted to know? My husband was going to be bad for my libido. I took a deep breath to clear my head. Getting to know each other. That's what this night was supposed to be about.
"Tell me about your family. Any siblings? Parents happily married? Where are you from?" I was nervous, and I didn't do nervous, so the result was me rapid-firing questions at him.
"Hitting it hard right out of the gate, I see." Parker leaned back in his chair and rotated his neck.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." I hated talking about my family, so I had no clue why I decided to start there of all places.
"No, it's okay. My childhood was . . ." I could see he was trying to find the right word.
I had a feeling his wasn't much better than mine.
I was tempted to stop him from what was probably a tough subject, but he started answering before I could.
"No to any siblings. I'm not even sure my parents wanted to have me, but I think they felt obligated.
They were the type of people who thought they needed to act a certain way to fit in with their social circle.
Everyone else at their country club was having a child, so they did as well. "
Okay, so not exactly like mine but similar in the sense that he grew up not being wanted.
"I don't know if I would call my parents happily married.
They tolerated each other but did their own things.
We rarely did anything as a family unless it looked good to their friends.
My father spent his weekends with his golf buddies, and my mother used that time to gossip with the wives.
I was left to fend for myself more often than not. "
"I'm sorry you lived like that."
Parker merely shrugged. "I didn't know any different. My parents wanted me to hang out with their rich friends’ kids, but we had nothing in common despite how we grew up.
My family was by no means rich, but my parents pretended to be.
They spent far too much to keep up appearances instead of accepting they could've had a comfortable lifestyle if they just stopped comparing themselves to their friends. "
"Is that why you joined the Army?"
I liked when Parker smiled. He had a nice one, but I could tell this was a bit forced instead of being genuine.
"Yes. I wanted to piss my parents off. They wanted me to attend an Ivy League school like their friends’ kids, but unlike them, I would've had to take out massive loans in order to go.
I refused to start my life out in debt, so I enlisted instead.
The last thing my parents told me was how much of a disappointment I was to them, and I haven't spoken to them since. "
"That's awful."
Who was I kidding? I barely talked to my parents either. A yearly text to make sure I was still alive barely counted, but I guess it was a little better. It showed my parents cared just a smidge.
"It is what it is. I was never close to them, so it was no skin off my back. The Army was my family after that. I would rather have them in my life than blood any day of the week."
Yup, I could relate.
"What about you? What's your family’s story?"
Here went nothing. "No siblings like you.
My parents definitely didn't want me, and they were honest about that.
My mother got knocked up at a young age, and my grandparents forced my parents to get married even though they didn't love each other.
Despite not wanting me, I had an okay upbringing.
They were there for things, but as soon as I graduated high school, they went their separate ways.
Their marriage was nothing but a joke, considering they slept around on each other, or I guess had an open marriage as they liked to call it.
They slept in separate bedrooms. Both of them dated and didn't hide it from me. "
The look of horror on Parker's face was almost comical. "I don't even know what to say to that."
I chuckled. "There's nothing to say. It took me some time to realize it wasn't the norm for families. I would go to my friends’ houses and their parents were affectionate with each other.
For the longest time, I was jealous of what my friends had, but as I got older, it made me wonder if those families were the exceptions. "
"I don't think that's the case, but what do I know? I've never seen a healthy relationship until I watched Rhett, Graham, and my boss, Black, meet their soulmates."
Just thinking about Rhett and my best friend made me smile. Theirs was the kind of love story I wanted to have.
"What's that smile about?"
"Just thinking about our friends. Their love story is what every couple should strive for."
Parker grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. "I know this marriage didn't start in the conventional sense, but that doesn't mean we can't have what our friends found in each other."
Splat!
Yup, that was the wall around my heart falling to pieces.