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“Jonah, shush,” Maggie and Christy said in unison, then laughed
“You shush, girls,” he retorted “You’re both love children, too I’m the only child Mom and Dad really wanted” He turned to Parker “Hi Jonah, long-suffering brother of the idiot twins here I’ve seen you out on your dock”
“Go away, Jonah,” Maggie cohtly askew “Go to the boys’ section This is for women only Shoo”
“You two are ugly when you drink” He bent down and kissed Chantal “See you at hoeous”
“Bye, honey” Chantal beamed up at him and patted his ass as he walked away
“Disgusting,” Christy said
“So gross,” Maggie added “So anyway, you were telling us, Parker, before my brother so rudely interrupted?”
“Well,” Parker said, “let’s say I have this thing for emotionally unavailable men”
The table burst into laughter “Please You have no idea who you’re talking to,” Maggie said At Parker’s questioning look, she added, “I was in love with a priest”
“Okay That’s hard to top,” Parker acknowledged
“And I shtupped my best friend’s baby brother Have I er than I ao”
“And I slept with a certain married Massachusetts senator whose last name starts with K,” Lavinia said “Wasn’t really worth the effort, I’d have to say”
“So hoas your guy eie asked
“It sounds worse than it is, but he was in love with soure it out until after Miss Egg and Mr Sperm met, so I have a five-year-old, and we have joint custody, and it’s all very friendly and civilized”
Huh Her second one The last time you had two drinks and Sweet Baby Ja, Spike, now in his early twenties, pointed out Speaking of cougars Just sayin’
“So have you dated at all?” Beth asked “It’s hard to find a decent guy these days”
“Nope, haven’t really dated Maybe a first date every fewreal,” Parker said
“You haven’t had sex since your five-year-old was born?” Chantal asked, heropen in horror
This was, of course, the ht another round of drinks over
“That’s awful,” Lavinia said, shaking her head “Thank you, James, darlin’”
Parker didn’t answer Jalass in front of her “Thanks,” she said, not daring to look at him
“Anything else, girls?” he asked, his voice warm and smiley
“Would you take off your shirt?” Christy asked “We didn’t get Maggie a stripper”
He laughed, and the sound scraped so scraped Jaht? It had seemed to her that a kiss had been possible, there on the dock, before the thunder, when she’d bolted like a scared little baby horse
Okay No more mojitos Who referred to themselves as scared little baby horses? Mojito-enhanced people, that’s who
James looked down at Parker, who decided that noould be an excellent time to drain that mojito The straw stuck her in the eye, but she squinted and ed a s or two
“I’ll walk you home when you’re ready,” he said
“No need, Thing One,” she said sweetly “I’m fine I can canter on home all by myself”
He laughed, and there it was again, that scraping Meow “I’ll do it anyway”
All righty, then If he insisted He could walk her home He was paid by Harry to walk her home, she reminded herself No matter how cute he was, no matter how smiley were those eyes, he was in Harry’s pocket, and Harry was in jail and not a nice person, and Jae Harry’s conscience Sex would not be part of the equation
A while later, the party broke up Maggie had to open the diner early, Christy’s baby didn’t yet sleep through the night, and Jonah was giving Chantal the look of love, according to her Parker stood, too Jahts earlier, she really didn’t want to wait She was thirty-five years old, for heaven’s sake Didn’t need an escort
The air was surprisingly chilly, thick with the salty smell of the ocean The bar had been loud, and as Parker walked toward the harbor, the quiet of the night settled around her companionably Mackerly was pretty quiet, too, and also surrounded by water, but it wasn’t like this This was a place where livelihoods were still y So far, she hadn’t seen any condos or McMansions on the water; the Pines was it as far as it went for posh real estate
Waves slapped briskly against the hulls of the lobster boats in the otherwise quiet night In the far distance, Parker heard an eerie, laughing noise; a loon, perhaps, not that she’d ever heard one before
She fished her phone out of her bag and hit Ethan Then, before it could connect, she hung up She’d talked to Nicky three times today, and while she knew Ethan and Lucy wouldn’t mind one more call, it seemed…needy
And sleeping with Jah)—would be needy, too A lonely older woman as in the midst of financial ruin and a career crisis should not have a fling No matter how chocolate lava cake was her housemate
“Parker Wait up” Speaking of cake
She turned as Ja One,” she said
“Miss Welles I believe I said I’d walk you home”
“Part of your duties for Harry?”
He gave her a measured look “No Just a concerned citizen who doesn’t want you falling into the ocean”
“Please I could drink you under the table”
“That’s probably true But since we’re heading to the sarinned, and she looked away quickly
“Fine Thank you, James”
“So were you girls talking about how handso I am?” he asked