Parker: The Stewarts of Skagway #5 by KATY REGNERY

Author:KATY REGNERY [REGNERY, KATY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Katharine Gilliam Regnery
Published: 2024-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Parker

Stop crying, I tell myself. Stop it right now.

But for the entire cab ride, tears stream down my cheeks. When we get to the Aria, I pay the driver and slide out of the car, heading straight to the elevators and grateful that the doors open as soon as I press the button. I’m in the safe haven of my room five minutes later, throwing handfuls of cold water at my face. My tears finally subside, but my eyes still burn, and my cheeks are red and patchy.

Changing into pajamas, I crawl under the covers with my phone and call the only person who can possibly help me feel better—my big sister.

“You’re calling me during bath time again,” she says when she answers the phone. “That’s twice in one week, Park. This better be good.”

“You were right,” I mumble.

Splash, splish, splash.

“What? I can’t hear you!”

“You were right! About Quinn!”

“Of course I was,” she says. “Hold on a sec.” I hear her ask Joe to take over bath time, and a few seconds later, she’s somewhere quiet. Since it’s wintertime, she’s not out on the porch. I imagine her curled up on her sofa or bed, covered with a warm blanket. I wish I was there, cuddled up beside her. “Talk to me.”

“H-Harp,” I sob, stupid tears filling my eyes again. “Why d-didn’t anyone ever t-tell me?”

“Tell you what?” she asks gently. “That your nemesis was wildly in love with you?”

“I f-feel like such an—an idiot.” I try to take a deep breath, but it’s jagged and uneven.

“Don’t cry, Park,” says my sister. “You never cry. I can’t stand it.”

“S-Sorry,” I say. “But it sucks.”

“What happened? I thought you were avoiding him while you were in Vegas.”

“I tried,” I say, blowing my nose. “But we kind of went out on a date tonight.”

“Wait. You did what, now?”

It all comes out in a rush. “He mentioned that he wanted to see the aquarium and so did I, so we went together, and…and, shoot. It was nice, Harper. It was really nice. I didn’t know how much I needed a hug until he gave me one. And then we went out to dinner, and I had my head on his shoulder, and he had his arm around me, and I saw it in the selfie. I saw his eyes. I saw that he…that he loves me. And so I asked him, and he said he did.”

More tears. God, I didn’t know I had this much saltwater in my body. And what’s more, I’m not even a hundred percent certain of why I’m crying. I just am. And it won’t stop.

“Park, honey, I’m so lost. Why was he hugging you? Why did you have your head on his shoulder?”

“For the selfie!” I say, feeling frustrated. It’s not Harper’s fault. I’m not telling her all of this in a way that’ll make sense to her. It barely makes sense to me. “To mess with Sawyer.”

“The hug came earlier, though?”

“Yeah. Because Rick Jones tried to

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