Troublemaker (4 page)

I
t had been over an hour since Victoria hung up the phone, and no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the work in front of her, she was still thinking about her conversation with Parker. “That man really knows how to push my buttons,” she said in a huff.

He was her old lover, and once upon a time he'd been her dream come true. He was the man she'd fantasized about spending her life with. He was a part of her youth that had been both bitter and sweet, exhilarating and frustrating. And ultimately, their relationship had ended on a sour note, leaving her hurt, and both of them damaged in ways that still lingered today.

“Why can't the past stay back there where it belongs?” Victoria whispered to herself. She picked up a sheet of paper off her desk, leaned back in her chair, and started fanning her face. She didn't know if the hot flash had been brought on because of menopause, or if the very thought of being entangled with Parker again was making her feel intense heat. Either way, she didn't have time to go through more changes in her life, especially if they involved complications.

She wiped her glistening forehead with a Kleenex. “I've gotta get myself together.” She reached down, opened her desk drawer, and removed her compact from inside her cosmetics bag. “I know I probably look like a hot mess,” she said to herself as she peered at her face in the small mirror. She powdered her nose and made an appraisal of her looks, and she had to admit she liked what she saw.

For a woman in her early sixties, Victoria knew she looked damn good. She'd always been tall, slender, and shapely, and now as she was cruising into her senior years she'd still managed to hold on to her figure, evidenced by heads that still turned when she entered a room. She looked closely in the mirror, examining the small lines at her eyes that were barely visible, and she ran her fingers across her supple skin, which still glowed thanks to her dedicated skincare regimen and the good fortune of being blessed with extraordinary genes.

Satisfied that she looked presentable enough for her meeting in one hour, she put away her compact, tucked a few loose strands of her silky chin-length bob behind her ear, and took a deep breath. She felt like her old self until her mind fell back on Parker again. “Damn it!” she hissed. “I can't let him do this to me again, especially with the troubles I already have at home.”

She shook her head as she thought about the way her life had been two decades ago. She had loved Parker deeply, but he'd cheated on her, breaking her trust along with her heart. Once they had gone their separate ways, she'd married, but he hadn't. Years later, they had been reunited when their kindergarten-age children had ended up in the same Jack and Jill chapter, as well as the same classroom at a prestigious private elementary school. And that was when the real trouble had begun.

From the moment Victoria and Parker had seen each other, it had been impossible for either of them to deny the intense chemistry and unfinished business that still lingered, like an itch they couldn't scratch. A casual smile had turned into a lunch, which had led to a late-night visit to her office, and before Victoria had known what was happening, she'd almost slept with Parker one weekend while her husband, Ted, had been out of town on business.

She was pulled away from her troubling thoughts by the buzzing of her phone, alerting her that a text message was coming through. She bit down on her bottom lip when she saw that it was from Parker.

Parker Brightwood: I hope your day gets better. See you next week.

Victoria let out a deep, frustrated breath. “The wedding isn't until next month. Why is he coming to town next week?” she wondered aloud. “Maybe he meant to say next month but just got things mixed up.” But she knew he didn't. Parker was a methodical man, steeped in the precision of details down to the tiniest degree. His work as a heart surgeon and his personality as a highly competitive, driven man, had made him that way. As he'd told her during their conversation, everything he said or did was intentional, so she knew he meant exactly what he'd typed in his text message.

“He can come to town all he wants, but he won't be seeing me,” Victoria said as she quickly typed a reply.”

VST: No need to see me unless it's wedding-related.

She waited for her phone to vibrate and sure enough a minute later Parker had sent another text.

Parker Brightwood: It is. Will be in town for business. And want to go over cost of rehearsal dinner.

VST: Text or call your question.

Parker Brightwood: This requires face to face. Heading to a meeting. Will message you later.

Victoria stared at Parker's response and shook her head. “Damn it. He can never leave well enough alone, and I can already see that he's going to cause trouble.”

This would make Parker's fifth visit to Atlanta over the last six months, and his frequent trips were starting to fill Victoria with worry. He'd moved back to his hometown of Washington, D.C., over twenty years ago, and although PJ had returned to Atlanta to complete his pediatric residency at Emory University Medical School, according to what Alexandria had told Victoria, Parker rarely came back to the Peach State for visits. “PJ usually goes to D.C. to visit his dad, especially since all their family is there,” she'd said, “but Mr. Brightwood sure has made a point to come here more often since PJ and I became engaged.”

Victoria remembered the suspicion in Alexandria's voice when she had mentioned Parker's visits last month. It was no secret that Alexandria, as well as PJ, was well aware of their parents' complicated past. But Victoria wasn't about to offer up any commentary on the subject.

Victoria didn't like the fact that ever since Alexandria and PJ had started seeing each other, Parker had been adding to his frequent-flyer miles traveling back and forth to Atlanta. And now that the happy couple's pending nuptials were drawing near, it seemed as though he was making it his business to show his face as often as he could. Victoria wondered if Parker had plans to move back to the area. “Lord, I hope not,” she said to herself as she thought about the prospect. “God, I know you have a lot more pressing issues to deal with than mine, but please, please hear me and keep Parker in D.C. where he belongs.”

As Victoria thought about her past, her mind drifted to Ted. She reached over to the edge of her desk and picked up the pewter frame that held a photo of him and her when they'd celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary a few years ago. Aside from giving birth to her children, Victoria knew that marrying Theodore Thornton was undoubtedly the single best thing she'd ever done, and with the exception of her late father, John Small, he was the best man she'd ever known.

Just as she was about to call Ted, her cell phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID, shook her head, and chuckled. “Hey, Samantha. How are you?” Victoria greeted with a smile in her voice.

Samantha Baldwin Jacobs was the wife of Victoria's best friend, Tyler Jacobs, and in the seventeen years that she and Tyler had been married, Samantha had also become one of Victoria's closest and most trusted girlfriends.

Samantha had once been a hellcat who'd gone through men as if they were disposable products for her personal use. She had possessed a rebellious streak that landed her in drama-filled, and sometimes dangerous, situations. She had partied nearly every night of the week, regardless of the fact that she'd had a young son whom she'd let her best friend and her parents raise for the first five years of his life. Simply put, she'd been out of control. But all that had stopped when she'd fallen in love with Tyler. He'd shown her what true love was, and helped her grow and mature into the responsible mother, wife, businesswoman, and friend she was today.

“Hey, girl, how's it going?” Samantha asked.

“My day was swimming right along until your cousin called me with some nonsense.”

“Oh, Lord. What's Parker up to now?”

Victoria paused for a moment, knowing she had to carefully measure her words. Although she and Samantha were the best of friends, and talked freely about any and everything, no matter how delicate the subject, Parker was Samantha's first cousin—her favorite cousin to be exact—and Samantha valued and protected her family like a pit bull. Over the years, Samantha and Tyler hadn't seen eye to eye when it came to Parker either. Tyler had never liked the man, and after Parker had cheated on Victoria and broken her heart, Tyler officially had no use for him.

Victoria struggled with the fact that Parker was entwined in her life in more ways than she cared to acknowledge. Over the years, she'd managed to keep her memory of him at bay by never discussing him with Samantha or Tyler. She'd made it clear that her ex-lover and his life's happenings were none of her concern, and ushering him into her life in any way would serve no one. Just because he was a part of Samantha's life, that didn't mean he had to enter her world.

But the minute that PJ and Alexandria had fallen in love, Parker had been back on the scene in Victoria's life, front and center. And not only was he in her life again, he was about to become part of her family.

Victoria leaned back in her chair, carefully choosing the words she was going to say. “He wanted to know if it was okay to invite more guests to the wedding reception.”

“What's wrong with that?” Samantha asked. “At least he's trying to be considerate. Hell, some people just show up and don't give a shit about inconveniencing anybody.”

Victoria shook her head. Samantha had changed in many ways, but the one trait she couldn't break was her predilection for cursing. She could put a Hells Angel to shame and not think a thing of it. “True. But here's the thing.... He already knew he could invite more people because I told him so when Alexandria, PJ, and I talked with him about the guest list on a conference call last month.”

“Oh. Well, maybe he just forgot. You know how busy he is, juggling his practice and all the activities he's involved in with the D.C. social scene.”

Did they rehearse that line?
Victoria wondered. “Samantha, I know you love your cousin, but sometimes . . .”

“Girl, I know how Parker is, and I know he probably called just to talk to you because he still has a thing for you after all these years.”

“I just think he likes to irritate me.”

“Uh, Victoria, who do you think you're talking to?”

“What do you mean?”

“You don't have to play coy and pretend with me. I know the deal, and I know that Parker still has a 'lil somethin'-somethin' on his mind when it comes to you.”

Victoria didn't want to lie and say he didn't, but she also didn't want to cosign what Samantha had just said. She sat quiet on her end and continued to listen.

“Girl, I'm just gonna tell you the truth. I confronted Parker about his feelings for you right after PJ and Alexandria got engaged, because I knew it was gonna be trouble. When I told him outright that I suspected he still had feelings for you and that he needed to let it go, he didn't deny it,” Samantha said, making a
tsk
ing sound as she spoke. “It's just straight-up sad because he's way too old for this shit, carrying a torch and what not. But it is what it is.”

Samantha had just created silence on the line.

“Hello? Victoria, are you still there?”

“Yes, I'm here. I'm just taking a moment to process what you said.”

“I know you're not going to admit it, but you can't deny that what I just said isn't true. Now the question is, how do you really feel about him, and how are you going to handle him being an extended member of your family?”

Victoria had often thought about Parker over the years. But her trips down memory lane nearly always ended with an uncomfortable feeling and no real closure. Now, her daughter and his son were going to be husband and wife, making him her in-law. It was a thought that often left her feeling as though a rock were lodged in the pit of her stomach, especially given the fact that her husband couldn't stand Parker. Ted had made it clear that he'd be civil toward the man for Alexandria's and PJ's sake, but because of their past he would never trust Parker, and he certainly wasn't welcome in their home.

Victoria crossed her legs and fiddled with her notepad. “Parker and I have a history that can't be denied. But that's all it is as far as I'm concerned. Period. I'll treat him the way I do any other person I know, with as much courtesy as I can, as long as it's extended to me in return. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“That sounds like a prepared statement.”

“Like you said, it is what it is.”

“All right. I guess that's your story and you're sticking to it.”

Victoria was starting to grow weary. “I'm sorry I mentioned his name. Can we move on to something more interesting and less annoying than the topic of your cousin?”

Samantha laughed. “Fine with me. I was getting tired of hearing your denial anyway,” she said with a sigh. “Besides, I have a question to ask you.”

“I'm going to ignore that smart remark. Sure, ask away.”

“Can you make me a chocolate cocoa cake? I've had a rough week and I sure as hell could use a pick-me-up. There's nothing in the world like your chocolate cocoa cake with a cold glass of milk.”

“Sure, but I have plans tonight. I can bake it tomorrow and bring it over if you like.”

“Not only are you a great friend and a beautiful, accomplished, and fantastic woman, you're a saint!”

“Now you're putting it on way too thick,” Victoria said with a laugh. “What's going on, Samantha? You're obviously stressed. Is it work?”

“Puh-leez! You know I don't even let Lancôme stress me like that.”

She had to agree that what Samantha had just said was true, and it was one of the many qualities Victoria admired about her. Samantha had been employed with Lancôme for over twenty years, and was now a regional vice president of sales. She worked hard and she'd built solid relationships with customers that had ensured her longevity and steady climb within the company. But for as long as Victoria had known Samantha, work had never been one of her top priorities because that slot was reserved for her family and friends.