Chapter Twenty-Six
Parker sat at her lawyer’s office and waited quietly for him to arrive. She had made a decision, and nothing was going to stop her.
“Parker,” Kirk Richards said with a smile as he walked into his office. “It’s so good to see you.” He stared at her face as if looking for something. “You look amazing. What’s the secret?”
Amazing sex. Okay, not just amazing sex. Like the type that made your knees buckle and had you crawling on the floor to make your man a sandwich because he was that good. Oh, and being in love. She cleared her throat. “I’ve been in the sun a lot lately.”
“Well, it suits you. That tan looks great. What can I do for you?”
They sat at his conference table and she tossed her idea at him. “I want to start my own foundation.” She raised a hand. “Before you say anything, hear me out. I know I have a massive trust fund. It would never get spent even if I burned through money like it was going out of style.”
He frowned. “That’s a good thing, no?”
A laugh escaped her throat. “Yes! That’s a great thing. It means I can use some of that money Grandpa wanted for me and my children for helping others.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I want to start a foundation to help older people who have suffered some type of accident or major financial loss and help them find ways to keep living their lives without suddenly being unable to care for themselves and becoming a burden on someone else.”
“That’s very philanthropic of you.” He made notes. “You definitely have the funds.” He stared at her pensively. “I thought you were already handling the Parker Nolan Foundation?”
She shook her head. “My dad and I had a difference of opinion, so I’ve parted ways with them. This foundation I want it to be called the William G. Nolan Foundation. After my grandpa.”
Kirk gave her a sad smile. “That’s sweet of you. In remembrance, huh? Don’t worry. I can handle this. I’ll run some figures on the set up and then we can contact some people for donations. It’ll help with the upkeep and making sure you can keep the foundation going even after you’re gone.”
That’s what she wanted. A way to remember her grandfather long-term. That others could know what an amazing man he’d been. Not because he’d made lots of money and a success out of himself, but because he cared about people. At the end of the day, Grandpa only wanted to help others in need.
After her meeting with Kirk, she met up with Balgair and Liam for lunch. They were already having drinks when she arrived.
“What did I miss?” she said, kissing each of them on the cheek.
They glanced at each other, then at her. “It seems we’re the ones who missed something.”
She frowned. “What?”
Balgair held up a gossip column magazine. It had a photo of Parker and Ryan as they were walking out of the show in Vegas. She was cuddled into him and he was visibly protecting her from the camera. “Did you really go and get yourself hitched in Vegas?”
She ogled the article. “What? No!”
“Thank goodness,” Liam said. “I was going to be massively hurt if you did that.”
She shook her head and read the bogus article. “I would never get married without telling you guys.” She raised her left hand at them. “See, no ring.”
“He’s slow on the uptake, huh?” Balgair joked. “I’m gonna have to have a talk with my boy Ryan.”
“Don’t you get started,” she grumbled. “When he’s ready, he’ll do it.”
“I don’t know,” Liam said hesitantly. “He’s a shifter. Their commitment is done with sex.”
“How’s that been by the way?” Balgair asked, waggling his brows. “Never mind. That blush says it all. Good man. Keep him.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help laughing. “I plan to.”
“Did you just say—” Liam gasped. “No!”
“Yes!” Balgair squealed. “Our girl is in love.” He drew a heart in the air with his fingers. “I can’t believe it.”
“Me neither. This guy must be special to break through those metal walls,” Liam said and raised his wine glass. “To Ryan. A better man than most.”
Balgair raised his glass. “Here, here!”
Parker hung her head. “Maybe I won’t tell you two if I get married. It’ll save me from the embarrassment.”
“So, how was Vegas? Other than your fake marriage, did you do anything fun?” Balgair asked.
“Did you gamble?” Liam glanced at Balgair. “When we went to Vegas for her twenty-first birthday, she refused to gamble.”
“I did gamble,” she said and stuck her tongue out at them. “And I won.”
“Good,” Balgair motioned for more wine. “That means you’ve got lunch.”
“I wonder how Ryan’s pride is doing.”
“They’re okay,” Liam said. “I was hanging out with Barrick, Kell and Xander while you were gone. We played pool at my house. Seems the kids were working together to rebuild the house that burned down.”
“What house?” She frowned.
“The one we painted,” Balgair said. “Didn’t Ryan tell you?”
“No.” Why hadn’t Ryan told her the house they’d painted had been burned down?
“It was sad. All that work,” Liam told her. “But it seems to have inspired the kids to work together to rebuild the place. Barrick was so impressed, he brought us over there to check it out.”
Parker shook her head. “How were the kids building that house? They know nothing of construction.”
“Barrick had professionals helping them. Which I guess made sense instead of having them try to build something from YouTube videos,” Liam chuckled. “Can you imagine how that would end up?”
She didn’t even dare think about how one of them could’ve gotten hurt trying to do it on their own. That was more stress than they had wine for.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
That afternoon, she got a call from her mother, inviting her to dinner at the house. She still wanted to see her parents, even if they didn’t see eye to eye about her future. After dinner, she’d make sure to call Ryan and ask him to come over. She hadn’t seen him since the previous night when they got home from their trip. And she missed him, damn it!
When she arrived at her parents’ home, she went inside and was surprised to hear talking.
“There you are,” her mother said, animatedly. “Come and join us.”
Liam and his mother were there. She raised her brows, but he shook his head, as clueless about what was going on as she was. The front door opened, and another guest arrived.
“Hello,” she heard Ryan say at her back.
She flipped around so fast she almost fell on her ass. She met his gaze with confusion.
“Welcome, Mr. Wade. Please, join us,” her mom said. “My husband will be with us shortly.”
Parker walked over to Ryan and grabbed his hand. He pulled her into him and kissed her hard. “What’s going on?”