Embracing the Unexpected Read Online Free PDF Page B

yet.”
    “I understand.” Jace wouldn’t do anything Parker didn’t want
him to.
    “You do?” Parker said as he turned around to face him.
    “Of course. I know you’ve already taken a huge step
tonight.” He placed a soft kiss on Parker’s lips. “I meant it when I said I’d
be patient with you.” He had a pretty good feeling Parker Phillips was worth
the wait.
    Parker twirled Jace’s overgrown hair around his finger. “I
was so unsure when we started kissing, but instinct took over and it was as if
it was always meant to be this way.”
    “I want you to be sure.”
    “I’m sure about you, and I want to see where this goes.”
    “Me too,” Jace said.
    Parker reached over to the end table and handed Jace the
remote as he sank back down into his chest and rested his head on his shoulder.
    Jace ran his fingers through Parker’s hair as they cuddled
together, watching TV.
    “I like being close to you. I’ve waited so long for this,”
Parker said.
    “I’ve been waiting a long time for you too.”
    Jace couldn’t believe how quickly Parker had responded to
him. When he came to dinner he never imagined he’d end the evening with Parker
in his arms. Jace wasn’t sure where they were headed, but he intended to
embrace the moment.

Chapter 4
     
    Parker opened his eyes to the sound of rain pelting the window.
He stretched and felt the warm familiar body pressed against his side. He
rolled over and looked at the clock. How could it have been just twelve short
hours ago that he’d been cuddled on the couch with Jace? It seemed like an
eternity. Everything was so new, but so confusing.
    When he walked into that anger management class, he never
would’ve dreamed that within weeks he’d embark on a relationship with the man
standing in front of the class. That thought still blew him away. Part of him
was struggling with the fact that he was falling for a man. When he was alone
with his thoughts, he battled with himself over how unnatural it was. How could
he be attracted to a guy? But when he was close to Jace, he wanted nothing more
than to touch him, feel him, kiss him…
    He felt a spark when Jace touched him. The emotions Jace
stirred within him were like none he’d never felt before. No woman, not even
the beautiful girl snuggled against his side, generated feelings like he was
experiencing with Jace. Parker couldn’t believe just how right being with Jace
felt. It was what had been missing for a really long time, but the revelation
scared him.
    Ava cuddled against him and then threw her arm across his
chest. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room.
    “Morning,” she mumbled. “Sorry you had to come and get me.”
    “Don’t apologize.” Parker kissed the top of her head. “I
didn’t mind.”
    “I interrupted your night.”
    “No, I told you last night, Jace left about an hour before
you called.”
    They had watched a movie and then Jace decided it would be
best if he went home. If they were going to take things slowly, he didn’t want
them starting something they couldn’t stop last night. Parker appreciated
Jace’s patience. He was certain a man like Jace didn’t have to wait for anyone.
    “So, how’d it go?” Ava asked.
    “Fine.”
    “Fine?” Ava sat up and pushed her long, brown locks out of
her face.
    Her hair was tangled and sticking up all over the place, but
she was still the most beautiful woman Parker had ever seen. He’d often
wondered how he could spend so much time with her, share a bed and his deepest
secrets, but have no desire to touch her. He realized now, what the problem may
have been all along. He’d always dismissed it as his brotherly love for her,
but he was a man, who’d had sex with her before, and there were so many years
they were single and could’ve indulge in one another’s company. It wasn’t just
with Ava either. He’d been less than interested in sex for as long as he could
remember. Until recently, especially last night. He was