[15]

Luau Cafe was a modern-themed coffee shop with smiling attendants and lots of leis. The shop's setting was beautiful; bar chairs were set up right before a counter at one end and another at the other, with an array of tables in the midst of it all. They had large bright lamps hanging from the ceiling and a fairly cool atmosphere.

Yet, the only thing I could focus on was the fact that Parker was holding my hand, and he had a side of him pressed to me. For the briefest of seconds, I shut my eyes and muttered a prayer.

Parker inhaled deeply and sighed, "I like it here."

Feeling as though this was my cue to speak, I replied, "me too."

I did. I really did, but his presence made all my hairs stand on end.

He guided me to a table and gestured for me to sit when I kept looking around, searching for something else to look at apart from him. With a nervous chuckle, I did.

"So, what would you like?"

"Anything, as long as it's coffee," I told him. "And I'm paying for my drink."

Instead of replying, Parker laughed and went to fetch our drinks. Once he was gone, I let out a breath and rubbed my palms together.

You got this. You totally got this because you are a strong woman. You've survived five years without him, so you can go on. It's just a crush. It's going to leave soon.

"One Kona mocha for you and black coffee for me," Parker announced, cutting through my thoughts and setting the cups of coffee on the table. He settled into the opposite seat and dropped a napkin on the table next to his cup.

I looked at him. "Thanks."

My hands wrapped around my coffee mug, my gaze flickering down to the napkin. Someone had scribbled a phone number there. Even though it seemed a bit blurry, I could swear it was a phone number.

He goes to get coffee, and someone has already tried to flirt with him.

Promising myself that this wasn't my business, I removed my gaze from the napkin and lifted my drink to my lips. Immediately the chocolaty liquid reached my tongue, and the caffeine in it went to work, alerting every cell in me. I brought the cup back down and exhaled before running a hand through my hair, ruining Mida's efforts.

"You seem stressed."

My gaze caught Parker's, who had already been watching me, curiosity in his eyes. He held his cup in front of his face in a way that informed me that he'd just taken a big sip of his coffee. The way he was looking at me, those brilliant green eyes peering up from his coffee mug, for some reason, made me uneasy.

I nodded.

"It's just..." I paused to think about what to say. I couldn't exactly tell him that I was affected by him. "Everything's tense. I think it's the wedding."

Parker laughed, setting his mug down. "Weddings are hectic. You should consider yourself successful because you were able to get to this point."

I looked down. "That's because I have Simone."

"No," deferred Parker with a smile. "It's because you're America's best wedding planner."

I couldn't hold back my smile. He was good at this. He leaned forward, hands clasped on the table, a smile etched onto his lips.

"How good is it?"

I arched my brow in confusion. "What?"

For the first time since this morning, Parker smirked. "The coffee."

My eyes widened, my mind catching on. "You still remember?"

"Every single moment."

My heart fluttered, and he wasn't even flirting with me. He remembered that night, so it must have meant something to him. Then again, I could have been wrong. I was just grasping at straws here. Heck, I didn't even know what I wanted.

Parker's gaze suddenly darkened. "Did you... Did you want me to stay?"

That question knocked out all of the air from my lungs. I knew the answer, and I had a feeling he did too. His eyes told me that much.

I nodded, then let out a breathless chuckle. "I'm crazy, right?"

"No," Parker was quick to reply. "You're not. I'm the crazy one for running away."

"You had things to do."

"I didn't," confessed Parker with sunken eyes. Mine were wide. "I was scared. I'd just gotten heartbroken, and there I was, already stepping it up with another woman..."

My already shriveled-up hopes died. My eyes returned to their normal size. He didn't feel an attraction toward me. He had regrets. I'd been heartbroken too-for the thirteenth time-yet, I didn't regret what happened between us that night. How could I?

"I don't regret it, though." I snapped my head up to him.

"You don't?"

"I don't. It's stupid and bizarre. I'm not even sure what it is!" He raked a hand through his hair, causing all the stray stands to lay flat with the rest. Our gazes locked. "I don't think I can." He shook his head. "I'm just not ready yet."

My brows furrowed. "Ready for what?"

He tore his gaze away from mine and stood up. "My coffee's cold. I think we should go."

"What?" I questioned, totally confused, but stood up with him. What went wrong? What happened to the Parker who was smiling a few moments ago? I didn't know him to be so cold and shut off. I didn't like this.

So, when he began towards the door, I hurried after him. I couldn't reach him before he crossed the front doors, but I caught his arm when we reached his car. He spun around to face me. Eyes hard, the brilliance of the green orbs replaced by dullness. It took my breath away.

"What's wrong?"

"I-" he cut himself off with a groan, shutting his eyes and covering his face with his hands as he looked up. "Dammit, I don't know. This is crazy. I'm crazy."

I frowned. "No, you're not. Something's wrong, and I'm not leaving until you tell me what it is."

His green eyes searched mine, shoulders tensed, hands clenching and unclenching. Then his gaze flickered down to my lips, and the struggle returned to his eyes. I don't know how I could have missed it earlier, but I was sure of this; Parker wanted to kiss me. Almost as much as I did. The realization felt like a sucker punch.

I took a step back, letting go of his wrist, but he was quick to grab hold of mine, our gazes unbroken.

"I want to do something," he began in a husky voice that did crazy things to me. I swallowed, feeling beads of sweat form on my forehead. "It might be even crazier than how I've been acting."

Oh my God, here it goes!

No, this is wrong, a small part of my head kept telling me. I'm not ready to try anything, and neither is he.

Oh, but the larger part of me craved this. In fact, it was pulling my body to him. His hand went to my waist, and with one firm pull, he pressed my body to his. The air around us thickened. From our proximity, I could feel his heartbeat. It felt rapid, eager, almost matching mine.

Parker leaned down so his lips were close to my ear. The action made me shiver. "I want to kiss you right now."

I couldn't help it, and damn, was I loving every second of this. I shifted my face to the side, so our gazes locked. His was more dark and filled with emotion. An emotion that I wanted to explore. I wanted that night to happen again, I wanted him, and I wasn't going to hold back. Not anymore.

"I'll do it if you don't." It was supposed to sound like a threat, but it came out more as a plea. Parker's eyes widened like he hadn't been expecting me to agree to it. I mentally scoffed.

If he wasn't going to close the distance between the both of us within the next five seconds, I was going to do it myself.

But then he did, close the distance. Slowly.

And when our lips were just a hair's width from touching, my phone buzzed. Neither of us moved. We were too mesmerized by the moment...

Or what it would have been if an angry old man hadn't yelled at us from across the street.

"Get yourselves a room, you hormonal nincompoops!" He waved his walking stick as he yelled.

Startled, Parker and I sprang away from each other and stood in awkward positions. Him leaning against the side of the car with a hand behind his head, and me crossing my legs and striking a cowgirl pose. The both of us flushed red.

Eventually, we decided that we were being stupid and went back to acting sane. Parker apologized to the man across the street while I pulled out my phone to read the message I'd received.

Simone:

Stop sucking face with Parker and get back here. Bring Parker with you as well. Both of you need to see this.

PS: Bring Parker. It's urgent.

PPS: Did you really suck faces?

"Camsy," Parker called. When I looked at him, he had already crossed over to the driver's side. He scratched the back of his neck. "We should go."

So yeah, he was going to act like that didn't just happen.

Before I could reply, he opened the driver's door and got in. I sighed, clutching the phone in my hand as I reached for the passenger's door with the other. Simultaneously, I pondered on what was so urgent that Simone had to send me such a message, and I reveled in the bliss of what would have been if she hadn't.