Free Need You Tonight by Marquita Valentine

won’t.”
    For some reason, his compliment strikes me wrong. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Nothing. It means nothing.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
    Parker tilts up his chin a little. “Fine. You want honesty?”
    No. “Yes.”
    “I think you’re afraid to meet someone new, but here’s the thing, finding someone else to love won’t diminish him.” He touches my collarbone with the tip of his fingers. “There is room for more love in your life, Brooklyn.”
    I was expecting honest from him, not poetry. “Maybe I have all the love I need.”
    A sad smile touches his lips. “A picture can’t love you, sweetheart. No matter how much you wish it were true.”
    “I’m not your sweetheart,” is all I can say in my defense.
    His fingers linger for a moment, then travel up my neck to cup my cheek. I shiver in response, my nipples hardening, and my panties growing damp. “No, and that’s a damn shame.”
    He walks away, leaving me staring after him and wondering what just happened. And what could have happened.
    *
    T HIRTY MINUTES LATER, Parker joins me in the kitchen. “Fixed the lock.”
    Relief rushes through me, not only at what he accomplished, but also at the tension that’s no longer there.
    “Great. Supper’s ready.” I gesture to the already set table. Steams wafts up from the roasted veggies and mashed potatoes.
    He holds out my chair. “My lady.”
    I smile and sit down, allowing him to scoot my chair up. “Thanks.”
    Sitting across from me, he begins to fill up his plate. “You’re welcome, and thank you for feeding me. You really didn’t have to, because I do get paid for my time here.”
    “Right.” I look at my empty plate. “I knew that.”
    “Hey, I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I just didn’t want you to think you had to waste this meal on me.”
    “I know.” My vision gets all watery as I realize I had prepared Braden’s favorite meal. The meal I had planned to have ready for him the night he came home. The meal he never got to eat. My heart twists in my chest, and a tear slides down my nose and drips on the plate.
    “Fuck.” I hear the clatter of utensils. Suddenly, Parker is at my side, tipping up my chin to look at him. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry, baby.”
    I sniff. “I’m not. I won’t.”
    He takes me in his arms, pulling me into his hard, muscular chest. Strength and his male scent surround me. “What did I say that made you cry? I swear I’ll remove the words from my vocabulary.”
    “It’s not what you said. It’s the meal.”
    Pulling back a little, he looks at me. “I like what you fixed.”
    “So did Braden. It was his favorite.”
    “That’s fine with me.” His eyes are open and honest. He truly means it. “Fix all his favorites if you want. I’ll eat every last one.”
    I smile a little. “It’s not that… this meal was the one I had planned for the day he came home. But he never came home alive.” More tears fall. I try to brush them away, but Parker beats me to it. His fingers are gentle as they wipe each one.
    “Tell me how to fix this,” he says.
    “I’m sorry. It’s stupid. You’d think after two years, I’d be better, but I’m not. People keep telling me I should be—my friends, my family. Even Rowan and you, two people I barely know can see all the reasons why I shouldn’t be stuck in this. In my life.” My voice cracks. “But I’m not ready to date again. I’m just not, Parker.”
    “You don’t have to, sweetheart. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
    “I don’t know what to do anymore,” I say helplessly. “I don’t know anything .”
    With a tender look on his face, he sweeps me up in his arms and carries me out of the room. I slide my arms around his neck, torn between screaming at him to put me down and snuggling in closer.
    He bumps open the guest bedroom door and lays me down on the bed. “If you give me fifteen minutes, I’ll make us something else.”
    I