But she already seemed to be pulling away. Putting out her son’s stuffed animals on the bed, a few books in his room, making a sign that said, Welcome, Nicky! I missed you! He was getting the message. She was shifting back into mommy mode, and he couldn’t blame her. She had a lot to do back in Rhode Island—get a job, find a place to live, adjust to a new lifestyle, get her kid settled in school.

Didn’t stop the wanting, though.

But he had his own stuff to deal with. His own bills to pay, his own job to find.

“Okay, here we are,” Parker said, walking carefully with the tray. Beauty bounded onto the dock and flopped down expectantly, making Parker laugh. “It’s not for you, girl. It’s for him. Ta-da!”

Lobster. Drawn butter, mashed potatoes, green beans. “There’s peach cobbler for dessert, but it was too hot to bring down just yet,” she added.

“Wow,” he said. “This is really nice, Parker. Thanks.”

“Well. I owe you. For all you’ve done.”

Ah. He was being relegated back to the help. Got it.

The food was fantastic. Hard to really love your kiss-off meal, though. Parker chatted easily about town things…a little gossip from the flower shop, the busload of Canadians that had stopped at the diner today, Stuart from the hardware store dropping by with a “blonde with sand” for her today, which apparently was a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.

All very pleasant conversation, same as she’d have with the mailman.

“Why wouldn’t you go out with me back then?” he asked, setting down his fork. “After your cousin’s wedding?”

His question surprised James nearly as much as it surprised Parker. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she began stacking the plates neatly onto the tray, where Beauty surreptitiously gave them a few licks. Then, finally, she looked at him. “Well, at the time, I didn’t want to date you, James. You were Thing One. My father’s minion.”

“But you were okay with using me for sex.”

She flinched a little. “I guess so. It wasn’t like I’d planned anything.” She looked out over the water. “I figured you slept with me because my last name is Welles.”

“I slept with you because you dragged me into a bedroom and mauled me, Parker, and no straight single guy in his right mind would say no to that.” He smiled a little to soften the words.

Her ears grew pink. “Right. I did drag and maul. It’s true. But then you went off with my father, and it seemed very…convenient. You were already in my father’s back pocket—now you had his daughter, too.”

His smile dropped. “So you really thought I was complete scum, in other words.”

“You were my father’s favorite person. My father is complete scum. You were scum by association.” She studied her hands. “I was wrong, if it helps.”

He said nothing.

“I figured if you really wanted to date me,” she added quietly, “you would’ve tried harder.”

Women. Honestly. James leaned back in his chair. “I brought you flowers. I came to your house, and you squashed me like a bug. You weren’t going to date me, Parker. I was the help.”

“No. It wasn’t that. It was more like…” She sighed. “I don’t know. I didn’t think you were sincere. I figured you came over to see Harry’s daughter. Not me.” Her cheeks were flushed now, so at least there was that, a little shame thrown in. “If you really wanted something with me, I thought you’d try again. But you didn’t.” She was pinching her pinkie finger. “I guess it was a test or something.”

“See, to me, it didn’t seem like a test. I came over with flowers, and you were armed and ready with the Paragon and your kid and told me I was a drunken mistake. Kinda hard to feel the urge to call you again.”

“That was a rotten thing to say. I’m sorry for that.”

“Well, shit, Parker. I’m sorry I assumed you knew that you were an adult who knew what you wanted. I’m sorry I didn’t read your mind.”

She blinked. Then she swallowed. “You’ve made your point, James,” she said, her voice husky. “And for the record, I wasn’t drunk. I knew what I was doing.”

There it was again, her way of saying something abruptly honest. She was so careful all the time, so vigilant about what she’d tell him, and then bam, she’d say something like that, and it was a sucker punch to the heart.

Also, her eyes were wet.

Their last night together, and he was making her cry.

Shit.

“Don’t cry,” he said, his voice soft.

“I’m not,” she lied. “I’m sorry for how I acted back then. I really am.”

“It’s just that I thought about you. A lot.” He reached for her hand, ran his fingers over the back of it. She didn’t look at him. “For years, if I’m being honest.”

That made her glance up. “Really?”

“Yes. Many thoughts.” He grinned a little.

“What kind of thoughts?” she asked, a smile of her own starting.

“Dirty.”

“Really?”

“Filthy.”

“How filthy?” She was smiling in full now.

“Extremely.”

“Any interest in pursuing those now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He stood up. “Race you to the house.”

* * *

LATER, AFTER SEX and peach cobbler and another—and possibly last—round of lovemaking, James was still awake, Parker’s head on his shoulder, his fingers in her hair. She was asleep, her breathing soft and slow.

This was it, he guessed. Tomorrow her son would be here, and she was a great mom. She’d focus on him, make Nicky’s transitions easier and all that. The kid didn’t need his mother’s boyfriend in the mix. He couldn’t argue with her there.

It was time to let her go. He’d finish what he started with the house and head back to the real world. Parker had a lot in front of her, and she deserved this time with her son to be uncomplicated and happy.

And if that meant being Thing One again, so be it. The last thing he wanted was to make her life more difficult any more than he had already.

He just hadn’t imagined it would be this hard.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NOTHING FELT AS good as having her son back in her arms. Nothing.

“I missed you, Mommy,” he said, wrapping both his arms and legs around her.

“Oh, sweetie, I missed you, too. Felt like I was going to pop without you.”

Nicky laughed at that, and Parker breathed in his good Nicky smell, kissed his sweet little neck again. He’d gained two pounds in the three weeks they’d been apart. She could tell. “Let me see your beautiful face,” she said, pulling back. “Oh, my gosh. The handsomest boy in the universe—am I right, Ethan?”

“The image of his father,” he agreed with a grin.

“There’s a dog! You have a dog! Hi, doggy!” He wriggled out of her arms to investigate, and Beauty, who was crouched in the corner, trembled at his approach.

“She’s a surprise for you, honey, but she’s really shy,” Parker said. “Just hold out your hand and let her sniff it.”

Nick obeyed, and, wonder of wonders, Beauty’s tail wagged. “She likes me!” he announced, kneeling down, and sure enough, Beauty licked his hand, then came closer. “Mommy, she’s kissing me! What’s her name? Is she mine? Can I keep her?”

“Her name’s Beauty,” Parker said. “And yes, we’re keeping her.”

“Hi, Beauty! You’re licking me! Do you think I’m lunch?” He petted her on the head as the little dog licked his face. “Ew! She licked my mouth. Mommy, when can I go swimming?”

“We can go later on. Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

Nick thought about that, then bolted, slamming the door of the loo behind him. “Sorry!” he called.

Parker and Ethan shared a smile of child-adoration. “I’ve literally been counting the hours,” she admitted. “You want some iced tea? You’re staying here tonight, right? It’s a long drive.”

“It sure is.”

“Nicky and I can sleep in his room, and you can have mine,” she said. A great excuse to snuggle with her son all night.

“Anywhere’s fine,” Ethan said. “I have to say, the place looks great, Parker. It’s really cute. A lot better than I pictured.”

“Thanks. Um, James…you know, Thing One? My father’s attorney? I told you he was here, right? Harry made him come. Anyway, he’s been doing everything. I just clean and paint.” Her ears started itching.

“Is he around?” Ethan asked.

“Nope. Not today.” James had said he wouldn’t be by today so she could have some time alone with Nicky. He’d even left Apollo, remembering that her son loved the snake, and had offered to take the creature when it was time to leave Maine for good. The thought gave her a pang; not of parting from Apollo, of course, but of the summer ending.

“I always thought he was a good guy,” Ethan said.

She was spared from having to comment with Nicky’s return. “Mommy, Elephant loves it here! He already found a fort!”

“Elephant! You are so good at finding forts!” She kissed Nicky’s favorite stuffed animal on the nose. “So who’s hungry? I have enough food for an army, or, in the case of the Mirabelli men, two people.”

Ethan had pictures of the big trip on his iPad, and Parker admired them, as well as Nicky’s collection of rocks, which he’d brought with him. “This one’s quartz,” he told her. “And this one is I don’t know what. And this one’s shale, right, Daddy?”

It was amazing, how much Nicky seemed to have grown up in the three weeks without her. But after lunch, he climbed into her lap and rested his head against her shoulder, and he fit just as well as he ever had. Parker called Lucy, who was fending off the elder Mirabellis and doing a mountain of laundry. She offered to go check on a house Parker had found online; it was a rental in a nice neighborhood—not that Mackerly had slums, exactly—and it was close to Nicky’s school.

That night, when Nicky was asleep in his room—it didn’t seem like James’s room at all anymore, not with Nicky’s rocks and Legos and stuffed animals scattered about—Ethan and Parker sat on the small back patio.

“Want to go down on the dock?” Ethan asked.

“Nah,” Parker said, feeling her cheeks prickle with heat. “Here’s good. The blackflies get pretty fierce on the water.”

They sat in the comfortable silence of two people who’d been friends for a long time. But it was a little different now. Maybe it was the three weeks apart, but Ethan seemed…older. A little preoccupied.

“So I have to ask,” Parker said. “Is Lucy pregnant, Eth?”

His head snapped up. “Wow.”

“Ethan! You dog!” She jumped up and hugged him. “Congratulations, buddy.”

He smiled, his mouth curling in what Lucy called his elvish smile, and his eyes were bright. “Thanks. It’s really new. She started puking on the trip, and that tipped us off.”

“It’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you guys.” Remembering Lucy’s loss of her first husband, as well as her adoration of Nicky, brought a lump to Parker’s throat. Lucy and Ethan deserved every happiness. They’d both waited a long time. “What do I have to do to be godmother? Diaper coupons? Free babysitting for life?”

“I’m pretty sure you have it locked down,” Ethan said.

Parker sighed happily. “That is the best news. So. New restaurant, new baby. You’ll have your hands full.”