You are promised to someone else already, so knock it off.
Out on the balcony, he had turned on the gas fireplace and added a throw blanket.
“You have an incredible view from up here.” I set the pizza on the table and turned toward the railing.
“I like it,” Parker said, joining me at the railing. “When I have time to actually come out here, anyway. Thanks to my lovely roommate, I’m enjoying it tonight.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smiling. A blush rode up my neck. I was really glad that it was dark out.
For a few minutes, Parker seemed to let his thoughts wander. He was contemplating something, and I was content to let him. He turned to me with a questioning smile, revealing a shy side to himself.
“Tell me about your work,” I said, hoping to change the mood and slow the attraction. “I know you’re a brilliant doctor, and last night you told me about your invention. Is that it?”
He gave me another slow smile this time showing of his dimples. “In addition to my doctorate in cardiology, I have a doctorate in internal medicine specializing in infectious disease.”
“Color me impressed,” I said, exaggerating a fan of my face. “As impressive as that is, I feel like that’s not all of it. Am I right?”
“You got me. I have an undergraduate in mathematics and philosophy.” Parker leaned in. “So, what about you? I know nothing about you.”
What can I safely tell him without spoiling anything Victoria is up to? I wouldn’t want him to tell his brothers.
His smile was disarming and his voice even more so. He was easy to talk to and terribly engaging. He made me want to tell him.
“I’m a student, and hopefully in one year I’ll be a veterinarian,” I said, a bit embarrassed for some reason.
Even in the dark, I saw his eyebrows raise just before his face broke into a boyishly genuine smile. “Amazing! How did you keep this from me this long? No wonder you knew what the puppy needed.”
I turned away, feeling self-conscious. I sat on the wicker couch and grabbed another slice of pizza to keep my hands and mouth busy.
Parker sat next to me. “Just knowing you the last two weeks, I’m going to say you’re not only a straight-A student, but you’re the professors’ favorite. I told Mother you were a smart one.”
The last slice of pizza trembled in my hands as a rush of excitement shimmered through me. I tried to slow the surge of desire.
He thinks I’m smart. I’m nowhere near his intelligence, but it’s great to hear him say.
“Is that a fact” I teased.
Our eyes met and held.
“It could be a lie,” he joked with a shrug. “You’ll have to figure that out yourself.”
I nearly choked on a bite of pizza. I managed to swallow it as laughter bubbled out of me.
“What’s so funny?” Parker asked, faking hurt feelings.
“Nothing. Just that you surprise me,” I said.
Parker munched on his pizza in silence for a few minutes. “What else don’t I know?” he finally asked. “Ever been married?”
“Nope, no husband, no fiancé? I haven’t had time for that,” I said. “My parents were killed in a car accident when I was eighteen, and I was thrown into motherhood to my fourteen-year-old sister until she married a few years later and had Sophie.”
“That’s sad and admirable at the same time,” he said. “So, you started school when?”
“I managed to get my Associates Degree over three years instead of two years like most people,” I said, realizing I was telling the boy genius how long school took me. How embarrassing. “Probably hard for you to grasp that with your background.”
“Mia, I wish you would not use my intelligence as a strike against me,” he said. “I swear I’m a regular guy.”
Ha, there is nothing regular about you, Parker.