Carter shook his head before handing Parker’s phone back. “Nope. The first I knew about it was when she called me and asked me to pick her up. I could tell she was shit-faced, but she didn’t give me any clues as to why. I was hoping to get more out of her before she passed out.” Parker sighed. “You know I am going to have to post about this, right?” Carter raked a hand through his hair. “Can you…not?” Parker flattened his mouth and gave Carter an expectant glare. “No, I suppose you’re right,” he said with a sigh. “But can you maybe not write about the vomiting and the staying in your apartment and the fact that she’s my sister?” “Fine, but you owe me some answers.” “Sure,” Carter said. “But not now. We’ll talk in the morning.” “No, we won’t,” Parker said. “You gave me the day off, remember?” “I remember,” Carter said. “But you are going to have to come here so we can do the Talia hand-over,” he said. “And I need to introduce her to you at s
Present DayParker slowly opened the door to his apartment and stuck his head inside. He could smell her. In the three weeks since she had been living in his apartment, Talia Jane had permeated his entire space. He didn’t know if it was her deodorant, her shampoo, body wash, or body lotion, but there was a distinct ‘otherness’ about the smell in his apartment…and that otherness wasn’t limited just to the smell, either. The very fabric of the atmosphere in his home had changed. Parker had grown up in a male household. He and his two brothers were the apples of his parents’ eyes. Fathers’ eyes, as in two fathers. He and his brothers were biological siblings, and one of their fathers was biologically their uncle, but Parker, the youngest, had been too young to remember his biological parents. They died when he was a baby and his dads had adopted all three of them. There had been controversy at the time, his uncle was, after all, a gay man living in an openly gay relationship when th
Parker took a breath. He couldn’t argue with her. She was right. But at the same time, didn’t she have a responsibility to those girls who looked up to her?Talia tightened her arms around herself and pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop herself from saying anything more. She might be making perfectly valid points…but it wasn’t like Parker would listen to a word she said. He was a man, after all. She bet he probably hadn’t had to sit through lectures about carrying his keys in his hand on his way to his car or house so they could be used as a weapon if he was attacked. He also probably hadn’t been made to kneel on the ground so a teacher could check the length of his shorts. And someone had probably never sent him home from school because he was wearing a sleeveless shirt. Okay, she hadn’t had those things happen to her either—she had never attended school—but her characters had. Her characters had been subjected to those humiliations and made to feel like she was the
Parker stood in the kitchen, keeping out of the firing range of Talia and Carter. He was torn. His journalistic persona was lapping up the inside information he was hearing, but the more human side of him was struggling with the same information. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Talia yelled for about the fiftieth time since she’d come out of her room. “Calm down—” “Don’t you fucking tell me to calm down,” she spat at Carter. “That arsehole just violated so many privacy laws that I want to throat punch him and then kick him in his inconsequential ball sac.” “No, he didn’t,” Carter said with a sigh. “What?” Talia’s voice was low and controlled, but that was what made it so alarming. “You’re both celebrities—” “So that means he has the right to talk about our sexual relationship and even release photos of me, and it’s okay? Isn’t there a revenge porn law or something? I’m sure I remember reading about something like that.” Talia’
Parker entered the conference room and slumped into his seat. Another night of very little sleep, but at least this time it wasn’t because he had a hard-on for his roommate. He still had a hard-on for his roommate—that pretty much went without saying—it just wasn’t the cause of his sleepless night this time. No. That honor belonged to Coby Thorn and what Parker would like to do to the little shit if he ever got his hands on him. “Look who decided to turn up,” Finn said, smirking at Parker. Parker lifted his chin in greeting, giving Finn a smirk of his own. “Long time, no see, bro,” Liam said, nudging his shoulder. “Yeah. I’ve been busy.” Jack looked at him across the large conference table but said nothing. The last time he’d seen Jack, he had been a little manic. It actually surprised him Jack hadn’t come knocking on his door to find out what was going on. Finn, Liam, Jack, Carter, and Parker were all best friends who’d met at university. Parker and Liam were the youngest
“Yeah, but it’s so tiny, it might be too small of a target,” Parker replied. Talia snorted out a laugh. Shit. Had she even laughed in the past three weeks? She tossed the dart, missing his Coby’s eye but getting it in his ear. “That was just a practice one,” she said, lining up another dart. She tossed her second one and missed the board completely; the dart hitting the door and dropping to the ground. “Oops.” Parker crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Have you never thrown darts before?” he asked. “Hello?” she snarked. “Child actor who wasn’t allowed to do anything that wasn’t written in a script.” Parker looked at her for a moment, shock registering in his eyes for a brief moment before he hid it. Fuck. It was true but, even so, she didn’t need to tell everyone just how shitty her life had been. Okay, so maybe compared to other people’s lives, her life wasn’t really shitty, but tell that to a preteen girl who had to diet constantl
“Are you insane?” Parker hissed when Talia left to shower. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. This was your idea.” “My idea was to introduce Talia to the other members and their significant others, not ambush her and back her into a corner. And why my place? Why not yours?” “I thought this would be more comfortable for her,” Carter replied, pacing. “Has she even left the apartment since she’s been here?” Parker shook his head. “Not that I know of, but I don’t know what she gets up to when I’m at work.” Carter huffed out a breath. “What?” Parker asked, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. Carter was behaving very un-Carter-like, and it was freaking him out. Carter exhaled roughly and threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what else to do. My dad is breathing down my neck. The press is treating this like a major national security breach, and Talia is not herself. I’m worried.” Dread thickened in Parker’s gut. If Carter was openly ad
Peyton found it difficult to open her front door. She was holding a big messenger bag and a bag of Thai food in her other hand when the overstuffed garment bag with the absurdly huge Cinderella outfit got stuck between her and the door jamb. Her front door key and her phone, which had been vibrating frantically, were in her other hand. With a burst of kinetic force, she rocketed through the little gap like a bullet fired from a spitball pipe and managed to burst inside the room. The keys, phone, and clothes bag all went flying, but she was able to save herself and her Thai meal from falling to the ground. If the messenger bag hadn't been fastened across her body, it would have done the same."Shit! She shouted, not specifically to anyone.Anyhow, no one was around to hear her scream. She was a single woman. In theory. Although he didn't pay rent for the privilege, her fiancé spent most nights at her apartment, but he hadn't been there in a few weeks. Because he was a hot salesperson a