“Kids aren’t puppies. You don’t swing by the pound and pick one up,” she grumbled.
“I want a little boy with your father’s eyes and your spirit. Or better yet, a little girl who’s the spitting image of her grandmother.”
“Would you settle for a little girl with big brown eyes and caramel-colored skin?”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Is there one on the way?”
“No.” And for some reason the idea of that bothered him. “But anything is possible.”
“So you’re seeing someone.”
“Maybe.” He hedged. It was hard to put a handle on what Cyn and he were. They were more than lovers, at least he felt as if they were.
“And she’s Latino?”
“No. She’s black.”
“So you are seeing someone.” Ever the hound dog, she pounced. “Wonderful.”
His father’s rich vivacious laughter burst free. “You just don’t learn do you, boy?”
If Parker were limber enough he would kick his own ass. “Apparently not.”
“Send me her address and I’ll fire off an invitation to the ball ASAP.” Turning to her husband, she grinned. “Did you hear, Abraham? He’s seeing someone.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Mixed couples make the most beautiful children,” she continued to gush.
“Hold on.” If he didn’t put a stop to this now, she’d be out buying cradles before the day was over. “Things haven’t progressed that far yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re in the beginning stages of dating.”
“What’s her name? Do we know her?” A quick frown marred her perfect brow.
“She’s not an actress is she?”
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clear if Parker brought home an actress, she would disown him. His mother was so weird.
“No. She runs a shop.”
“On Rodeo?”
“No. Somewhere in San Francisco.”
“San Fransi—” She sighed. “Never mind. Just get me her address.”
“I’ll ask her if she—”
“Of course she wants to go. Now go through your little computer and get me her address and number.”
“She’ll never let us play if you don’t,” his father solemnly told him.
“Fine,” he grumbled, much to his mother’s delight.
First she bitched he had the phone, now she was ordering him to use it. He should have just left the damn thing in the car.
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Chapter Eight
Baahhrrinnnnggg.
“Damn it.” Cyn juggled the grocery bags in one arm as she tried to dig her keys out of her pocket. She was in a race to answer the phone. Since losing her cell phone the other day she’d been tied to the one in her house, hoping against hope Parker would call.
She hadn’t heard from him in almost a week. Thanks to her lack of Gingko she was unable to call him. Not only had she lost her phone, she lost his business card as well. If she didn’t hear from him by the following Saturday she was going to go down to the club and pester DelRay for his number. It was embarrassing, but for Parker she’d be willing to swallow her pride.
After unlocking the door, she dropped the bags on the floor and dashed into the kitchen. She could hear the television blasting in the living room, which had her seeing red. Drew and Staci were home, and yet they didn’t bother to answer the phone. God she hated them.
Out of breath, she grabbed the phone off the charge. “’Lo.”
“So, you are alive.”
“Parker.” She pumped her fist in excitement. “Hey you.”
“Hey you. Is that all I get after all this time?” Even grumpy she was glad to hear from him. “I’ve been calling you all week.”
“You have?”
“Yes, damn it. Would it have been too much effort for you to return my call?”
Under normal circumstances Cyn wouldn’t bother to dignify so much attitude with a response, but she was willing to make an exception this time. Besides he sounded really cute when he pouted. “I lost my freaking cell and your business card. Arrgg. The fates are plotting against me.”
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“And my messages?”
“I wasn’t able to check my phone mess—”
“Not those. The ones I left with your roommates.”
“You left…messages?” Cyn closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She was going to kill those bitches if it was the last thing she did. Because of them, she’d been working non-stop at the shop. They were supposedly sick. Supposedly being the key word and between her father and herself, they been covering the store since the moment she landed in town. Normally, it wouldn’t have bothered her to be at work, but now there was someone special in her life she wanted to spend time with, it wasn’t so easy to roll over and play dead. “They never gave them to me.”
“None of them?”
“No.” She exhaled and opened her eyes. “None of them.”
“Fucking bitches.”
She couldn’t agree more. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize for their forgetfulness.”
“Yeah…forgetfulness.” She didn’t buy that for a second. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you okay?” His concern came over the line loud and clear. It was enough to make her want to smile again.
“Just tired.”
“Do you want me to send the plane for you? I can’t take off just now or else I’d come there and get you myself.”
Send the plane. This time the smile did appear. “As much as I’d love to run away with you, I can’t. I have to work this weekend.”
“How about the weekend of the seventeenth?”
“Is that when you’ll be free again?” The very idea of not seeing him until next month was painful.
“Lord, no. We’ll see each other before then. There’s a ball that Saturday that I would like you to accompany me to.”
“A ball?” Was he serious?
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“Yes, costume. It’s cheesy I know, but it’s for a good cause.”
“Will I see you?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s all the cause I need.”
Parker’s voice lowered to a seductive pitch. “Would it be forward of me to tell you I’ve missed the hell out
