The Parking Space by Angela Archer

Author:Angela Archer [Archer, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Long Valley Press
Published: 2016-09-14T03:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

I ROCKED FROM side to side in Rick’s arms, a comfort that relaxed my body and melted the stress of the day. I laid my head on his shoulder. Faint remnants of his cologne tickled my nose with rustic scent.

“Helen!” Lisa screamed my name in the distance, the shrillness in her volume caused me to flinch. “What the heck happened? Dr. Stark? What . . . what is going on? What are you doing here? Why are you carrying Helen?”

She darted toward us, leaving Ben behind as she sprinted.

“Hey, Lisa.”

“What happened?”

“I got stung by a jellyfish.”

“A jellyfish? How did you get stung by a jellyfish?”

“It happened when we were snorkeling.”

“You went snorkeling?” Her gaze shifted from me to Rick, then back to me. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she exhaled a deep breath. “Okay, okay, back it up. What is going on? I’m so confused.”

As Ben finally reached us, the two men nodded toward one another, but Lisa intervened before they could utter a word to one another.

“Dr. Stark, why are you here? And how did you two run into each other?”

“I hate to cut your questions short, Miss Carter, but if you don’t mind, can we continue this conversation in Helen’s villa?” Rick adjusted my weight against his chest.

“You can put me down, Rick, I can walk.”

“Rick?” Lisa’s head jerked as she glanced from me to him then back to me.

“I’ll put you down when I’ve reached your couch, okay?” Through the amusement in his voice, a hard, stern determination focused the hazel hue.

“Fine. Fine.”

He strode past Lisa and Ben, who moved out of his way then followed close behind him. I glanced over his shoulder, catching the confused, and yet, intrigued bounce in her step.

“Where is your room key?” Rick asked as he approached the front door.

“It’s in my back pocket.”

He set me down, allowing my arms the freedom to dig into my shorts for the tiny silver trinket. Before I could even think to try to stick it in the lock, he grasped the key from my hand and unlocked the door.

“Ah, don’t even think about it.” He pointed his finger in my face.

“I can at least make it inside.”

“I think you should just let him handle it, Helen.” Delight flecked Lisa’s voice.

I shot her a glare. “Who asked you?”

She cocked her head to the side, and winked while a smirk spread across her face—an all too familiar smirk that I’d seen countless times when she was pushing me toward a man.

Before I could open my mouth in protest once more, he scooped me back into his arms and carried me to the couch. The fluffy cushions were nothing compared to his warmth.

Lisa wasted no time in flopping down in the chair next to me s Rick strolled off toward the bathroom.

“Uh, care to enlighten me on a few things you didn’t mention to me last night when we spoke on the phone. You know things like why he’s here and why you two are together, or, oh I don’t know, that you even bumped into him at all.

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