Free Parker's Passion by Sabrina York

look.” She pointed to the sky again. “Now there are two of them.” And indeed, two eagles wheeled through the sky, catching the wind and soaring higher, flirting with each other. “I wonder if one of them is the one we saved?”
    Her eyes were bright. She seemed so hopeful. He didn’t have the heart to mention there were thousands of eagles in these islands. “Probably.”
    Yeah. The lie was worth her smile.
    “You saved an eagle?” This, apparently, pissed Drew off. “When?”
    “On Saturday. I went for a walk in the morning and we saw it there, trapped in a tree. Parker cut it loose.” She gazed at him as though he’d hung the moon.
    Drew didn’t. If looks could kill, Parker would be six feet under. In fact, he wouldn’t put it past Drew to tip him over the rail into the propellers.
    “We?” he clipped. “Kaitlin, you really shouldn’t go walking in the morning.”
    She gaped at Drew. “What? Are you serious?”
    “The tide. A tsunami. A tree could fall.”
    Her laughter was a melody. “Drew, you are so silly.” She tipped her head back up to the eagles and sighed. While her attention was so engaged, Drew took the opportunity to glower at Parker. His meaning was plain. Get lost.  
    Parker grinned and rocked back on his heels. Yeah, he wasn’t going anywhere.
    Drew narrowed his eyes. And then he said, “You know, when eagles mate they often die?”
    Kaitlin gasped.
    Yeah, Drew had won her attention again, but at what cost? She was horrified. “No.”
    “ Yeah,” he continued gleefully. “They fly way high and mate up there.” He waved at the sky. “Since they’re joined, they can’t fly and they plummet to the earth in a death spiral. If they don’t disengage before they hit the ground, they die.”
    God. He looked so pleased with himself. Parker wanted to punch him. And not just so he would stop looking so smug. But because he’d brought tears to Kaitlin’s beautiful eyes.
    “Drew, that’s terrible. Why would you say that?”
    His brow rumpled. “Because it’s true.” He glanced from Kaitlin to Parker. “It is. Google it.”
    “I’m not going to Google it.” She spun away, storming to a spot a few feet away. Parker followed. Drew did not.
    L ike a reprimanded child, he tromped back inside. But the glower he sent Parker wasn’t childlike at all.
    Kaitlin blew out a breath and Parker settled at her side. She seemed to scoot closer. “Are you cold?” he asked.
    “A little. But this is too lovely to go inside.”
    It was. Lovely.
    He curled his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She smiled at him. His heart fluttered.
    That had never happened before.
    His heart had never fluttered.
    It was disconcerting. Maybe he should ask Doctor Marks about that on Monday.
    As though she could read his mind, she asked, “How is your cut?”
    “It’s fine.” It was. It would be. He wasn’t thinking about it now. He was thinking about her. This woman. In his arms. “Kaitlin…”
    “Yes ?”
    Words failed him. The look on her face, so open, so welcoming, nearly brought him to his knees. “I’d like to…see you again.”
    She blossomed. Her smile swelled. Her eyes shone. Her lips parted. “I’d like that very much.”
    “Dinner some night this week?” And then he remembered. He had a big case to work on. One that could make or break his career with Barstow and Rank. At this stage in the game, there were always late nights, hurried meetings and panicked texts.
    But hell. He wanted to see her again.
    Maybe just one evening. The case could wait. Couldn’t it?
    “I’m free on Thursday.” Her smile was a little shy. Very sweet.
    He leaned closer. “ Thursday would be perfect. What do you like to eat?”
    She sighed. “Anything.”
    “How about Tom’s Surf and Turf. It’s near Montlake on Lake Washington.”
    Her eyes lit up. “I love that place. Okay. What time should we meet?”
    Meet? His belly dipped. She didn’t want him to pick her up. But yeah…it was