Page 7 of Love Like Ours

“There,” she said as he opened the front door of the restaurant. “We made it.” She laughed and removed her coat when she stepped inside. She wore a button-up black shirt with the restaurant’s logo on it. “And now I’m officially working.” She straightened her shirt and glanced around. “Your brother is just there.” She motioned.

He glanced over to see Parker smiling at them.

“Right.” He turned back towards Sophia. “Thanks.”

Before she could respond, someone called out, “Sophia,” and she turned and helped a coworker.

“Hey,” he said to his brother when he sat down.

“Did you ask her out this time?” Parker asked.

He groaned and glanced over to make sure Sophia was too busy to hear his idiot older brother.

“Piss off,” he said under his breath, causing Parker to laugh.

“If you weren’t such a dork you could have had at least one date in the past year,” Parker pointed out.

“I’ve gone out on dates,” he countered.

“Right.” Parker laughed. “When? With whom?”

“Last month. Lisa,” he said as he felt someone step up beside him.

“You went on a date with Lisa? Lisa Roberts?” Sophia asked, and he silently cursed his luck. “Isn’t she, like, seventeen?”

“No.” He glanced up at her. “It wasn’t with Lisa Roberts.” Sophia cocked her head and waited. “This Lisa is from Edgeview.”

She nodded slowly. “Water?” she asked and he nodded, feeling totally frustrated. “Ready to order?” she asked Parker.

He managed to make it through the entire meal without embarrassing himself in front of Sophia again. His brother was so excited about him passing his exam that he stood up and shouted the news to the entire restaurant. Cheers broke out and, shortly after, a shot of tequila appeared in front of him.

“On the house,” Sophia said with a wink, then disappeared.

He wanted to tell her that he was on the clock, but his brother motioned for him to drink it. “You deserve it. I can finish the Leslie’s fireplace rebuild today for you.”

“It’s only one shot,” he pointed out.

His brother slapped him on the shoulder. “One of what I assume will be many.” He motioned towards the other guests in the restaurant. Sure enough, before their food had been served, several more shots had been delivered for his celebration.

By the time he was finished eating, his brother had to steady him as they walked out the door. “I’ll drop you off at your place first, then head over to finish that fireplace.”

“I can walk.” He motioned down the street to the building. He’d rented a small cottage on the beach not far from there a few years back and had stuck with it since the rent was cheap and he liked the solitude.

The snow was falling even harder than before, with over an inch sticking on the ground already.

“Nope,” Parker said, moving them towards his truck. “I’ll drop you off.”

When his brother shoved him in the passenger seat and got behind the wheel, Palmer glanced over at him. “You know, before you came into my life, things were hell.”

“I know.” Parker smiled at him as he turned on the truck.

“Our folks are shitheads.”

Parker chuckled. “Locked-up shitheads.”

“Right.” He laughed. “When I found out about you…” He glanced over at his older brother. The one he hadn’t known about most of his life. Until their father and mother had plotted to kill Parker and steal their grandmother’s inheritance. “I never thought I’d get so lucky.”

“Me either,” Parker said with a nod. “The day you came into our lives was the happiest day of my life.”