Page 9 of Tempted Hearts
By the time we made our way to the host stand, the two of us were in fits of giggles, discussing penis sizes and men. Two things I could do without, thank you very much.
They both got me into too much trouble.
5
COLE
“Ah, shit.”
Parker and I had been out for over an hour, and so far, nothing was biting.
“Maybe a little louder,” I said as he reeled in. A few hours from now, the lake would be crawling with boats. But at this hour, the lake was like a sheet of glass. Early morning fog rose all around us, a reminder of what I’d left behind for a job in the city that never slept.
“We have a problem.”
The second he could, Parker tossed his pole into the boat and picked up the phone beside him. If it were Beck, or even Mason, I wouldn’t have thought twice. Both of them were reactionary, an “ah shit” meaning anything from they had to take a piss to the boat was sinking.
But more likely the former.
Parker, on the other hand? There was more likely an actual problem, so I reeled in as well and waited for him to look up. When he did, Parker’s expression made my heart skip a beat. Something was wrong.
“What?” I demanded. “Park, what’s going on?”
“It’s Delaney and Jules. Fuck.”
I was about to grab the phone from him. He stared at it and then fired off a text.
“Care to elaborate?”
Please let them be okay.
I might have been less than thrilled that Parker, along with Mason and Beck, broke our pact to stay single, but I certainly didn’t want anything to happen to Delaney.
Or Juliette.
“Parker—”
He finally looked up. “Apparently she and Jules went for a hike and put everything in a backpack. Which one of them left behind in a public bathroom two towns over from where they’re staying. They’ve been looking for it this afternoon and made it back to the hotel but…” He looked like he was going to be sick. “Everything was in it.”
They weren’t hurt. It was a start.
“What do you mean by everything?”
“Everything,” he muttered, back to texting. “Both wallets. Passports. Jules’ phone. Why the hell did they have all of it in one backpack?”
More importantly, why did they leave it in a bathroom? I kept that question to myself. For now. Also… “Hiking? I thought they were going over there to eat cannoli and drink piccolo?” At least, that’s what Delaney had mentioned before she left.
“I guess this Cinque Terre place is like five towns connected by hiking trails. I don’t know. But they’re fucked. I don’t even know what to tell her? Obviously I need to get her some money. Shit. Shit. Shit.”
In all the years I’d known him, this was the most flustered I’d ever seen Parker. Obviously falling in love with Delaney had made him lose brain cells.
“What time is it there?”
“After eleven.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck this.”
I started packing up our gear, yanking the anchor line free and wiping my hands on a rag.
Knowing what I would do if it were my mother or sister or one of the guys stranded over there. And knowing Parker.
