Chapter Nineteen
Audrey
M om and Dad gave me a thorough dressing-down.
I’d avoided Dad’s calls all day yesterday because I knew he was furious after seeing me with Parker that morning. My phone started ringing as soon as I shut my car door in the diner’s parking lot. I ignored it and drove home. After eating my leftover waffle, I went to bed. When I woke up just past noon, I saw that I had missed calls from him and Mom, but only she left a voice mail.
“Audrey, sweetheart, please call me back. Your father is losing his mind, thinking you’re dating that boy again. I’ve told him it’s not true. It’s not true, is it? Oh, dear, please call me back.”
I didn’t. I went to work and tried to avoid Parker as much as possible, given our close proximity.
However, my luck ran out when I came down to find both of them waiting for me in the parking lot this morning. Heather had sent me a warning text. They’d bombarded her with questions as soon as she pulled up. We were supposed to go for a run so she could tell me all about her night with the sexy country singer. Instead, I ended up at breakfast with my parents, who gave me the third degree.
I tried my best to convince them that nothing was happening between Parker and me, but Dad insisted he could tell “that boy” had bad intentions. How he could have perceived anything from our two-minute interaction was beyond me, but he wouldn’t listen to reason. Instead, he reminded me why Parker Alston was trouble and why I should stay far away from him.
While he made valid points, I can’t avoid Parker entirely, but I do need to guard my heart and keep him at arm’s length.
Not that the infuriating man makes it easy.
Since arriving this evening, he has been flirting continuously. He enters my personal space and looks for opportunities to touch me whenever possible. Every time I glance up, I find his eyes on me, and I can feel the intensity of his gaze as I try to focus on my customers. He gets bolder every day despite my best attempts to keep our relationship platonic. And truth be told, I don’t trust myself not to succumb to his advances.
I want to. The attraction crackles in the air between us. If I don’t find a way to distract myself soon, I’m afraid I’ll do something I’ll regret.
“Hey, Audrey.”
I turn to see Warner Price standing at the end of the bar.
Warner grew up on the island but later moved when he accepted a position as a literature professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He’s a nice guy. We went on a few dates, but I didn’t feel any chemistry—at least not on my end.
“Hi, Warner. It’s good to see you,” I say as I set a mug of beer in front of the guy seated to his right. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a martini.”
I make his cocktail and take his card to start a tab.
“The band is good,” he says as I hand him back his card.
“Yeah, they’ve sure packed the house this week.”
“You’re a country music fan, aren’t you?” he asks.
“I am.”
“You should come to Wilmington for a concert sometime. My new place is within walking distance of Live Oak Pavilion. The venue hosts great bands. I saw Jelly Roll perform there last week.”
“Excuse me,” Parker says, reaching around me to grab a stack of cocktail napkins and interrupting Warner.
“That sounds fun,” I say, replying to Warner while ignoring Parker as his finger glides across the skin revealed by my shirt at my lower back.
“Are you free this weekend? I’d love to grab a cup of coffee and catch up or maybe have dinner,” Warner asks.
Parker growls as he reaches past me again to fist a handful of straws.
“Do you mind?” I ask, stepping out of his way.
“I’m working all weekend, but I can leave a little early tomorrow night if you’d like to grab a late dinner,” I tell Warner, ensuring Parker can hear me.
I believe Leena is ready to be on her own. I can transition her upstairs to the beer bar while Leonard and Parker manage the main floor. This way, as long as everything is running smoothly, I can leave around nine.
“A late dinner sounds great,” Warner says.
“Pick me up here at nine?”
“I’ll be here,” he says.
He walks back to a table where two other gentlemen are seated by the dance floor, and I take the order of the guy who steps up to take his spot.
Parker and I spend the rest of the night in relative silence. I can sense the anger radiating off him from across the bar, but he doesn’t act on it. Instead, he puts on a big smile and works his ass off.
Good . This is exactly what I need to get him to back off.
The clock strikes two, and the lights click on. A few customers linger, hoping to speak with the band. Some even hold copies of their latest CD for them to sign. I inform the bouncers to give them a few minutes before escorting them out the door as we begin cleanup.
Warner stops by the bar on his way out. “See you tomorrow, Audrey. Get home safe.”
“You too,” I say, and he and his friends walk out.
“Tell me you’re not actually dating that douchebag.”
I turn to see Parker standing with a tray of glasses. His eyes are trained on the door that just closed behind Warner, and a scowl is spread across his face.
“Warner? He’s a nice guy,” I say in Warner’s defense.
Parker scoffs. “Nice guy? He was an asshole in high school.”
I place my hands on my hips and glare at him. “Maybe he just didn’t like you. He’s always been charming to me.”
The corner of his mouth tips up as his eyes flicker from the door to me. “That’s because he wants in your pants. You’d be surprised how easily charm can be turned on when a prize as sweet as that is within grasp.”
His chin lifts in my direction as his gaze drifts down my body.
“Really? That must be why the girls fall all over you nightly. Poor girls can’t see the wolf in sheep’s clothing right in front of them,” I snap.
He chuckles as he sets the glasses on the bar. Then, his amused eyes come back to mine. “I might be a wolf, but I’ve got my sights set on one meal and one meal only.”
“I’m not your prey, Parker.”
He grins. “Good. Because I don’t plan to trap you, I want you willingly spread before me while I feast and you enjoy being devoured.”
My knees give a little at his words, and I sway on my feet. The bastard notices and his mouth lifts in a triumphant smirk.
“Don’t look so pleased with yourself. Because Warner is picking me up tomorrow, and he’s the only one who will be enjoying a meal.”
His brows lift. “You’re right about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You won’t be enjoying it either.”
With that, he turns and starts to unload the tray, placing the glasses into the chiller beneath the shelves of bottles.
Insufferable asshole.
I ignore him as best I can as we finish the night. Leonard and Leena can tell there is tension, and they give the two of us a wide berth. Once the floors are finished, I have him walk her out and turn to Parker.
“You can go too,” I say. “I’m just going to drop the trash and lock up the back.”
I take the tied bags from the hallway and toss them into the dumpster just outside the back door. After locking the deadbolt, I go down the hallway to Brew’s office. I grab my bag off his desk and flip the light off. When I return to the front, he’s standing by the bar.
“I told you to go,” I say as I turn off the lights on the main floor, leaving only the shelves holding the liquor bottles illuminated and the rope lights that frame the footrest of the bar.
“I know, but I’m walking you out.”
“I’ve been closing this bar for years without you, Parker. I don’t need your protection.”
He steps into me and brings his face to mine. “I know you have, but I’m here now, and I’m not letting your stubborn ass walk out of here by yourself at three thirty in the morning, no matter how pissed you are.”
“I’m pissed? I think you’re the one who’s pissed.”
His hand threads into my hair and cups the back of my neck, yanking me to him.
“You’re damn right I am,” he says, and then he slams his mouth on mine.
I struggle for about a second, but as soon as he licks at my bottom lip, asking for entrance, all thoughts of protest dissipate. I moan as his tongue dips inside, and he lifts my chin, granting him better access. The kiss goes from soft and seeking to demanding in an instant. His hands fall to my ass, and he hoists me from the floor. My legs wrap around his waist instinctively as he walks us back and sets me on the closest barstool.
I drop my bag and thrust my fingers into his hair. A groan vibrates between us as he leans into me, and I feel his thick erection pressing between my open legs. My hips begin to move against him, wanting friction. And tendrils of pleasure rocket through me. I want nothing more than to reach down and free him, but before I can, he wrenches his mouth from mine, leaving me stunned and breathless. He nips at my bottom lip once more before releasing his hold.
Coming to my senses, I push his chest and stand.
“What was that?”
He bends down to pick up my bag and hands it to me. “Something to think about during dinner tomorrow,” he says.
Then, he grabs my hand and walks me out of the bar, leaving me at my car while he stomps to his truck.
Asshole.