“Go back inside, Parker,” I said with a sigh. “Eat your fabulous chef-prepared brunch and think about how to fuck up a little less in case we cross paths again.”
Summoning all my fortitude, I slid on my shoes, suppressing a whimper, and hustled my ass out of there and back toward Meadow’s house, not even daring to look back.
Chapter 17
Parker
Getting slapped and then punched would normally have made me furious, but instead, I had an insane hard-on because of a tall, blonde omega who had a mouth on her that could make a man weep.
I didn’t love being on the receiving end of her vitriol, so I’d left the pack house feeling like a petulant child who’d been told off—which wasn’t far from the truth—and headed to where I knew I’d be understood.
I was a reasonable man; I knew I’d been harsh, but I needed to protect my pack. In a matter of seconds, Clover had managed to undercut my entire argument. If she could back up her words with actions, I was truly fucked. I could cautiously give things a chance for the sake of my pack mates, but that meant making amends with Clover first, or at least enough she wouldn’t immediately disregard me.
I was the only one in my pack who had been born into significant money and the only one who understood that leeches were everywhere. They wore sweet smiles and gave endless compliments but never truly cared about you. My pack wouldn’t fall victim to someone like that if I could prevent it.
I’d been burned one too many times in my childhood by “friends” who’d only wanted me for my family’s connections. As a kid, I had no real concept of how wealthy my family was. I’d attended a private school and assumed my classmates were like me—affluent, privileged. It turned out that having your family own a major airline meant I was far better off than most of them.Ihadn’t known it then, buttheyhad.
I wasn’t over my suspicions about Clover, but there was no denying her verbal takedown had me harder than a rock, and all I’d wanted to do was kiss her stupid.
If she gave me a chance to make up for being a dick, even if only for the sake of the others, I would jump on it. If she wasn’t genuine, I’d figure it out.
I always did, in the end.
Closing my car door, I looked up at the imposing mansion that had been my childhood home and took a deep breath before heading in to see the one person I could always go to for advice.
I needed to see my fathers to take care of some business, but that was a cover story. The real reason I was there was simpler: if I wanted to do something for a woman, I needed advicefroma woman—and the woman I was closest to just happened to be my sister, Maggie.
She was easy to buy for, so she was easy to bribe. If it was pink, fluffy, or made of sugar, she wanted it.
“Knock, knock,” I said, tapping on her doorframe.
My sister was sitting on her bed, flicking through some paperwork. At the sound of my voice, her head jerked up, and she beamed at me.
“Hey, dingus,” she said brightly.
“Really? We’re still not over the name-calling yet? In that case, I guess you don’t want this bag of sour candy I got you.” I held the treat aloft as she scrambled off the bed, darting over to snatch it from my hand.
“I wouldn’t say that. There’s always time for candy. Though, if you’re sucking up to me because you want something, you should know that the best chocolate is downtown. Ruby chocolate would get me to divulge everything.” She smirked.
“You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions thinking I want something.”
She was completely right, of course. I just didn’t want to admit it.
Maggie stared at me for a moment, and as only she could make me do, I cracked.
“Fine,” I sighed. “I need to find a gift for a woman.”
Maggie’s prompt had me thinking about taking a trip to the chocolatier to get Clover some ruby chocolate. I got the impression she was as fond of pink as Maggie was, so it would stand to reason she’d like pink chocolate, too, right?
Maggie’s face lit up and she bounced on her toes, excitedly clapping her hands. “Oh my goood. Parker! Have you actually found someone you want to date and they’re willing to put up with you? Tell meeverything!”
“It’s nothing serious,” I said. “It’s just someone the pack is seeing, and I may have put my foot in my mouth. I need to find something she’ll like—but I can’t throw money at the situation.”
Maggie looked at me for a second before bursting into laughter. “What are you thinking of getting her?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here bribing you with candy.”
She nodded thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her chin. Part of me wanted to crawl into a dark hole and disappear—my sister was far too amused by my potential humiliation. We were close, but I was definitely the more serious one between us.
