Vulnerable Pieces (Cape Isle, #4): A Cape Isle Novel Read online

  I walk through the door and Lexie greets me with a smile.

  “Hey, Parker. How is your day?”

  “Long,” I chuckle. “Can I have a regular coffee, please?”

  She nods her head in response and grabs a cup.

  I try to be inconspicuous as I look around for any signs of the woman who I seem to be obsessed with, but Lexie must notice.

  “She’s not here,” she laughs, as she places my coffee on the counter.

  “Who?”

  “Jenna. That is the reason you came here right?” She is smirking at me and I try to keep my face disinterested.

  “I came here for coffee.”

  “Sure you did. She’s at the beach this afternoon. It’s her day off.”

  I nod my head and smile at her. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” She gives me a wink and rings me up.

  After I pay, I walk outside and back down to my building. I’m not going to get anything else done today. Maybe I should just pack it up and take it home? I haven’t spent an afternoon at the beach in a really long time. When I walk back into my office, I pass by my very confused secretary and start packing up the files that I’ll need to work on later.

  “Tammi, I’m going to head out for the day. You can close up at five o’clock. Whatever messages you have for me, just leave on my desk and I’ll get to them in the morning.”

  If possible her face becomes even more confused. I have never left the office before eight o’clock, but for some reason I cannot get this woman out of my mind and I need to fix this problem immediately.

  * * *

  There are three main beaches in our town. One is used mostly for tourists, the other for surfers and another one which we call ‘the dunes’.

  I stop by my house, change clothes and grab my surf board. The surfing beach is closest to my house and I make a guess that is the one Jenna will be at too, at least I hope she will be.

  I haven’t surfed in a while and I’m actually a little nervous to get back out there. I’ve been surfing since I was a kid, but like everything else, in recent years I haven’t had the time.

  I spot her as soon as I walk on to the beach. I would recognize her body anywhere. She is wearing a little black bikini and she’s laying on her back on her oversized beach towel. She must feel my eyes on her because she sits up and looks around. Her eyes are covered with her sunglasses and I wish I could see her expression. She continues to stare at me as I stop and stick my surf board up in the sand before approaching her towel.

  “Care if I join you?”

  She smirks and nods her head. “Sure. What are you doing off of work so early?”

  I sit down beside her and her smell has me leaning in a bit closer. She smells like Jenna and tanning oil, an intoxicating combination.

  “I was distracted.”

  One eyebrow raises above her sunglasses and she smiles. “Is that so?”

  I look around at the beach for a second. Hardly anyone is here today and those that are, are either surfing or watching the surfers. No one is paying us any attention.

  I reach my hand out and run my finger across her collarbone.

  “Yes, it seems that I can’t get a particular woman out of my mind.”

  She sucks in a sharp breath when my fingers lightly skim across her skin. I smirk as I drop my hand and look out at the water.

  “Have you ever surfed?”

  She clears her throat and turns to look out at the water.

  “No. I’m not sure my body can move like that.”

  “Your body moves pretty damn well. At least it did for me,” I say with a chuckle.

  She shakes her head and laughs. “You know what I meant.”

  I look at her out of the corner of my eye and study her for a second. I can never get enough of looking at her. She is just so damn beautiful and its distracting.

  I stand up and offer her my hand. “Come on.”

  She takes her sunglasses off and looks from my hand to my face in confusion. “Where are we going?”

  “Surfing.”

  She quickly starts shaking her head. “No, I don’t think I can do that.”

  “Sure you can. I won’t let anything happen to you, Freckles.”

  “How do I know that? Those waves are big, Parker.”

  She actually looks a little scared when she looks back out at the water. I squat down in front of her so that I’m at eye level. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t keep you safe, Jenna?”

  “I barely know you.”

  I push a stray hair behind her ear. “Yes, but you should know me well enough to know that I would never let anything bad happen to you. I just want to sit out there with you. I promise you’ll be okay.”

  She sighs and looks back at the water before focusing back on me. “Alright.”

  I smile and stand back up offering her my hand. She grabs it and I pull her to her feet and close to me. Laying a gentle kiss on her cheek, I breath in her smell again before stepping back and pulling off my shirt.

  I would usually be wearing a wet suit because I know that water is going to be cool today. I glance over at her body. Her bikini is tiny, but covers all of the essentials. I just hope that top doesn’t come off. She will be extremely pissed at me if that happens. I smirk as I grab my surf board out of the sand. Actually, I don’t think I’ll mind, pissed off Jenna turns me on too.

  We both wade out into the water and Jenna hisses when the cold water reaches her stomach.

  “Holy shit!” She does a little dance and I laugh.

  “You’ll get use to it.”

  I lay my board down in the water and look over at Jenna. “Okay. You lay down on your stomach and I’ll get between your legs. We will paddle out into deeper waters together.”

  She looks at me like I’m nuts and I laugh again.

  “What?” I hold onto the board with one hand and grab her arm with the other, pulling her to me. I put her in front of me and bend down to whisper in her ear. “Stop thinking all those dirty thoughts. You’re going to make my dick hard.”

  She shoots me a look over her shoulder and rolls her eyes.

  “Just lay down on your stomach and scoot up, Freckles.”

  I watch her ass as she climbs onto the board and pulls her body up. She has great balance to be able to get on without flipping it over the first time she tries. Something tell me that Jenna could do anything she wants as long as she puts her mind to it and that has to be one of the sexiest things about her.

  “Alright, spread your legs wide.”

  She does as I say and I crawl between her legs. I pull myself up until my chest is resting on her ass and my arms are in the water.

  “Okay. I’ll do most of the work, but if you want to get a feel for it, you can paddle too.”

  She glances over her shoulder at me and smiles. She immediately drops her arms into the water and I synchronize my movements with hers. Luckily the current isn’t that bad today.

  She makes a little squealing sound when we go over the first big wave. Usually I would go under them, but I don’t think she’s ready for that. We finally get out into calmer waters where the waves aren’t breaking as badly and Jenna turns to look at me again.

  “Now what?” she laughs.

  “Now we relax.” I lay my head down on her ass for second and her hand slaps my arm.

  “Stop that. My butt isn’t a pillow.”

  I chuckle and lift my head. “I like your ass. How good is your balance?”

  “I don’t know. Good, I guess?”

  “Do you think you can sit on the board?”

  “I can try.”

  I sit up first. Careful not to tip the board over with my weight. “Okay. Pull yourself up on your knees and scoot forward.”

  I watch as she uses her upper body to pull herself up and I move forward with her. “Good. Now straddle the board.”

  She drops her legs into the water and I scoot up close behind her. We are both quiet for a second and I kiss her shoul
der as she looks out at the endless water.

  “Wow. The view is amazing out here.” I can hear the wonder in her voice and it makes me smile.

  “I know. This is one of my favorite parts. Is this the farthest you’ve ever been out?”

  “Without a boat? Yeah,” she chuckles.

  I can see a bigger wave coming, so I loop my arm around her waist. “Hold on,” I whisper in her ear and she shivers in response.

  We make it over the wave, but I continue to hold onto her. Any moment I get to touch her skin, I’m going to take it.

  “I feel like shark bait out here,” she jokes after a second.

  “I’ve only ever seen one out here and that was years ago.”

  Her wide eyes turn to look at me again. “That’s not reassuring.”

  I chuckle and move one of my hands to her face, holding her, as I bring my lips to hers. “Just don’t think about it,” I mumble.

  Her tongue comes out to swipe at my bottom lip and I immediately open my mouth to taste her. This kiss is soft and sweet and so very different from anything I’ve ever felt. I’ve never had a woman on my surf board, let alone kissed someone while sitting out here in my favorite spot. I feel like we are sharing something deeper than just a kiss and isn’t that a fucked up thought? This is suppose to be a friends with benefits situation, but after sleeping with her only one time I’m suddenly feeling things I’ve never allowed myself to feel. I know she isn’t feeling the same way. Shit, I shouldn’t even be feeling this way.

  I tangle her hair in my hands and take control of the kiss, taking it deeper and rougher. That’s what I need, control. Maybe if I have control of whatever this is that we are doing, I can control my feelings too.

  I am so totally fucked when it comes to Jenna because I’m pretty sure I can pretend I’m not developing deep feelings for her, but she’s the type of woman a man should never let go of. She’s the type of woman a man would regret losing and she’s not even mine in the first place.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jenna

  I PULL UP INTO MY grandmother’s circular driveway and park my car. I rarely get by here anymore. I feel bad for that since she lives in Cape Isle, but she has her own busy life. My mom called while I was at the beach and told me that they would be in town today. I miss them so much, so I couldn’t agree fast enough when she asked me to stop by for dinner.

  I actually hated cutting my time short with Parker, though. Sitting out on that surf board with him is the calmest I think I’ve felt in years. I don’t know what to think about that situation, so I quickly shake off those thoughts as I walk up the steps and knock on the front door.

  I can hear everyone talking inside, so I just let myself in.

  “Hello?” I call out as I walk across the living room and towards the kitchen.

  I can smell my grandmother’s home cooking and my stomach immediately growls. I really need to start taking the time to cook for myself more often.

  My mom smiles when she sees me. “Hey, beautiful girl.”

  She get’s up off of her stool and walks towards me. She folds me into her arms and I cling to her. God, it’s been so long since I’ve seen them.

  “Let me look at you.” She takes my face in her hands and studies me like she’s always done. “Just as beautiful as always. You look happy and you have a glow,” she smiles.

  “I went to the beach today.” I don’t mention that the glow may have something to do with the man who kissed the hell out of me less than two hours ago.

  “I need a hug too,” my dad says.

  I smile over at him and my mom steps back as he folds me into his arms. “Hey, Doodlebug. I missed you.”

  “I missed you too, Dad.”

  I’ve always had a close relationship with my parents. Even though I grew up in a very wealthy home, my mom and dad were always very hands on with me. My mother refused to let me be raised by a nanny like all of her other friends did with their children. When they would travel, they just took me with them. I had a great childhood and I thank God every day for allowing me to be raised by such wonderful people. I often wonder why I didn’t tell them about David sooner, but I know the answer to that question. I was young, dumb and in love.

  My grandmother is the next to come up and hug me. I know when people think of grandmothers they think a little old lady, but Mary Hudson is as far from that as you can get. She is in great shape. She’s stylish and she is one of the most elegant people I have ever met. I kind of want to be her when I grow up.

  “We need to get together more,” I smile as I pull back from her embrace.

  “I know, but I don’t want to interrupt your social life,” she winks.

  “I’m pretty sure you have more of a social life than me.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” she mumbles under her breath.

  I choose to ignore her because there is no way she knows anything about me and Parker. We are just friends and we just started hanging out.

  “Do you want red or white wine?” my dad asks, pulling out another glass from the cabinet.

  “I’ll have red.”

  I sit beside my mom on the stool at the bar and watch as my dad pours my drink.

  “So, tell me what’s new,” she says turning to look at me with knowing eyes.

  I shrug my shoulders. “Just work.”

  “You need to get out more,” my grandmother says, as she takes something out of the oven. “I was talking to Sue-Ellen the other night at book club and she was telling me about this handsome man who just moved back to town.”

  I suppress an eye roll. My grandmother has been trying to set me up with every eligible bachelor within a sixty-mile radius for the past two years.

  “Really?” I ask with false enthusiasm and my mom laughs.

  “Yes. He’s the new lawyer in town. Parker Hamilton? You may know him.”

  I choke on my sip of wine and the evil woman turns to me and winks. Damnit. Maybe I should have skipped dinner after all.

  “Oh, he sounds nice,” my mom says turning to look at me. “Do you know him?”

  I nod my head and take another drink. “Yeah, this town is pretty small. He’s been in the bakery a few times. He’s also Summer’s brother in law.”

  “Hmm…” my grandmother hums from her spot at the stove.

  “Anyways, what have you guys been up to? How was your trip?” I ask, trying to divert their attention. The last thing I want to do is sit here and talk about Parker. Our friends with benefits relationship is not something I ever want to share with my parents. My father’s head would literally explode.

  My mom launches into story after story about their vacation to France. I breathe out a sigh of relief and sit back in my chair. Crisis averted.

  * * *

  I make it home a little after nine. My parents will be staying at my grandmother’s tonight and we made plans for them to come by the bakery before they leave tomorrow morning. That makes me a little nervous. I’ve been working for Summer for almost two years and this will be the first time they will be stopping by for a visit. It’s not that I’m ashamed of where I work or that I’m embarrassed of my parents, I just like to keep my life separated.

  I sigh as I walk through my front door and into my kitchen. It was bound to happen someday and I guess it’s time to get it over with. I let out a frightened squeal when I see two eyes glowing at me in the dark. I quickly flip on the light and place my hand over my heart.

  “Jesus fucking Christ. What are you doing?”

  Coconut is sitting on the kitchen island staring at me with hatred in her eyes.

  “You know you aren’t allowed up there you crazy cat.”

  I roll my eyes when I realize that I’m talking to a cat who can’t respond and even if she could, I don’t think she would.

  I know she’s probably pissed because she’s just now getting her dinner. I make my way over to the cabinet where I keep her food, but suddenly there is a knock at the door. I look over at my stove and see tha
t it’s almost nine thirty. Who in the hell would be knocking at my door at this time of night and why wouldn’t they just call me?

  I shut the cabinet and walk back towards the front door. Coconut’s loud meows follow me through the house.

  “Oh, hush it. You can wait another minute,” I call back to her.

  I check the peephole and see Parker’s smiling face.

  “What do you want?” I ask, while swinging open the door.

  He looks good. Really good. I try not to be obvious as I check him out, but this is the first time I think I’ve seen him look casual. He’s wearing a pair of shorts and flip flops. His t-shirt is molded to him perfectly and those tattoos are peeking out of the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Who are you talking to?” He tries to look around me, but I adjust the door so that he can’t see inside.

  “No one.”

  “I heard you say something. Are you talking to yourself now, Freckles?”

  I roll my eyes. “What do you want, Parker?”

  He shrugs his shoulders and places his hands in his pockets. “Just thought I would stop by and see what you were up to.”

  “At nine thirty at night?” I arch an eyebrow in question.

  “Yep. At nine thirty at night.”

  “A booty call, really? I thought you were smoother than that.”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “I actually just wanted to spend some more time with you. You left so suddenly earlier at the beach.”

  “My parents were in town and I went to go have dinner with them,” I explain. Why am I telling him this? It’s none of his business what I was doing.

  He tilts his head in curiosity. “Really? You don’t talk about your family much.”

  “Nope and it’s staying that way.”

  Coconut lets out a loud cry from the kitchen and I hear what sounds like her knocking stuff off of the counter.

  “What in the world was that?”

  “My crazy ass cat.” I shake my head and open the door wider, allowing him to step inside. “Come on in. I have to feed the beast.”