Embracing the Unexpected (2 page)

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. He hated when she wasn’t
happy. “I’m going to head to bed because I’m beat, but I wanted to make sure
you were okay.”

“I’ll be home in a bit.”

She’d moved in with him after the incident with her ex. She
was still so fragile and afraid, but he guessed that was natural after enduring
years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of someone who was supposed
to love her.

“Parker,” she said. “How was class?”

“The same, sweetheart. But it’s almost over.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“I told you to stop apologizing. What happened, what I did,
wasn’t your fault.”

“But you had to plead guilty to beating him up because of
me.” Parker heard the remorse in her voice. “I was stupid to think he’d stop.”

“Ava.” He spoke quietly, trying to calm her down. “We’ve
been through this. You were a victim. Do I wish you would’ve come to me sooner?
Absolutely. But the important thing is you’re safe and he can’t hurt you
anymore.”

“Because of you.” Her voice was low and shaky.

She was dealing with so many things. Her boyfriend had put
her through so much shit these past two years, hurting her, threatening her,
and destroying what little self-esteem she had left. Parker had been trying to get
her into some sort of therapy, but she fought him on it. She was in denial, but
he knew she needed help.

Maybe he should set her up with Dr. Cross.

There he was again, creeping into Parker’s thoughts. What
was it about that man that was so consuming?

“Parker,” she said.

“Yes?”

“Will you come and lay with me tonight? You know, after
you’re settled?” She was like a child and it broke his heart.

“My bed’s bigger.” He smiled. “Crawl into it and I’ll be up
shortly.”

“Thanks,” she said. “It’s the nightmares.”

“I know,” he acknowledged. “I’ll make them go away.”

About twenty minutes later, he was home. He hung his jacket
in the foyer closet, put his briefcase away, and went into his study to check
his emails. He’d turned off the BlackBerry during class because he knew he’d be
too tempted to check if he didn’t leave it in his case.

He went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before
heading to bed. He laughed when he saw her dinner dishes in the sink. He rinsed
them, popped them in the dishwasher, and turned it on.

“Slob.” He shook his head.

If she had been anyone else he would have been pissed as
hell at them for leaving his usually spotless kitchen in such disorder. But Ava
had him wrapped around her messy little finger for the past fifteen years. She
often joked that he should have been the girl in their relationship. His only
defense was he took pride in the way he looked and presented himself, and he
couldn’t help it if she was happy to be seen in sweatpants and sneakers.

He quietly made his way upstairs and crept into his bedroom.
Ava was as restless as usual, so he quickly went about his bedtime routine,
trying to get to her as fast as he could. He emptied his pants pockets and
pulled out
his
card.

“Damn it,” he whispered to himself.

He just wanted to put Dr. Cross out of his head tonight. One
more time he’d have to see him, and then he could forget about him.

He crawled into his bed and wrapped his arms around Ava.

“Parker,” she whispered.

“Yes, baby, I’m home.” He held her tight against his side.
He knew this was wrong. They shouldn’t be sharing a bed, but this was just
easier when she was screaming in the middle of the night.

“You had such a long day.” She cuddled closer to him. “I
feel bad.”

“Don’t,” he said softly. “Go to sleep. We both have an early
morning.”

Ava nodded. She had to meet with a local magazine to discuss
a series of articles she’d be writing on up-and-coming restaurants in the area.
She was a freelance writer and didn’t have to leave the house often. Shortly
after the incident, she couldn’t go anywhere without having a panic attack, but
lately she’d been finding the courage to go out for short periods of time.
Parker knew she really wanted this assignment, so he’d encouraged her to attend
a breakfast meeting.

“Were any parts of your evening good?” she asked.

He thought about it for a second, and in that brief moment
those brilliant blue eyes flickered in his mind. He wanted the opportunity to
look into them one last time before he put this whole ordeal behind them.

“Yes.” He shrugged. “One or two things.”

He closed his eyes and tried hard to fight his thoughts, but
nothing he did could make him stop thinking about Dr. Cross. This just wasn’t
natural. Why, all of a sudden, would a relative stranger consume his every
thought?

Jace Cross dreaded the final Monday night of this particular
anger management course. As expected, Parker Phillips walked out of that dingy
classroom and didn’t look back. Jace didn’t know why he cared. He should have
been relieved to get this stranger out of his mind. He hardly knew the man.

He’d admit he was intrigued when Parker enrolled in this
course. Jace had seen him around town, in some of the finer restaurants and at
the theatre. Parker never seemed to have a serious companion, and Jace had no
idea if he was straight. He had a feeling he wasn’t, but he also had a feeling
Parker didn’t know he wasn’t straight either.

Jace was taking a big chance and making a huge assumption
about Mr. Phillips, but he couldn’t let this opportunity walk out of his classroom
without trying. So, he gave him his card the week before class ended and hoped
he’d used it.

Two weeks later, he was sitting at his desk, going over
patient files when his secretary buzzed him.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Cross,” she said. “I know you asked not to
be disturbed, but a Mr. Phillips is in the waiting room and he said you’ll see
him.”

Really? This was totally unexpected and it piqued his
interest.

He should send the smug bastard out on his ass and have him
schedule an appointment like everyone else, but there was no way he was missing
out on this opening.

“Dr. Cross?”

“It’s fine, Lori. Show him in and then you can leave for the
evening.”

He didn’t see patients on Thursdays because he liked to go
over his files and leave himself available for referrals and public speaking
events. Today was a slow day and he was about to call it quits for the evening
and head to his house, located on the property just up the path from his
office.

He heard a soft knock at the door and then Parker let
himself in.

“Your receptionist said I could show myself in.” He looked
awkwardly around the room before stepping closer to Jace’s desk. He was a
magnificent man. His windblown, brown hair fell perfectly into place and his
eyes were the most unique shade of gray Jace had ever seen.

“Mr. Phillips, I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Yes, well, Dr. Cross, I’ve got a problem, and I think you
might be able to help me.”

“Please sit down and call me Jace. Most of my patients do.”

“I’m not a patient.” He took a seat on the couch. “But if I’m
going to call you Jace then you must call me Parker.”

“Okay, Parker,” he responded. “If you’re not a patient then
why are you here?”

“I’m sorry I just showed up. I did call, but your office
told me you were booked up for the next six months.”

“I am, but I told you I’d make time for you.”

“I was counting on that, so that’s why I showed up.” Parker
nervously tapped his fingers on his thigh.

“What can I help you with?” He was very interested in what
this man was doing sitting in his office. He was strong and confident and Jace
knew it wasn’t easy for him to ask for assistance, so there had to be a very
good reason he’d be seeking help.

“I have a friend,” he started, and Jace couldn’t help but
smile. “All right,” he said with a sigh. “I’m sure you get the ‘friend’ excuse
a lot, but in this case, I really am here for someone else.”

“I see, so this has nothing to do with why you were in that
anger management class?”

“Indirectly she was the reason I was there in the first
place.”

She? Jace couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Perhaps he’d
been wrong about Parker after all. “Continue,” he encouraged him, because he
was curious as to who she was.

“My Ava.”

Jace internally cringed at
her
name.

“She’s hurting and she’s afraid, and I think she needs
help.”

Jace could see the desperation in Parker’s eyes. It was
written all over his face.

“And you think I can help her?”

Parker nodded.

“Is she your girlfriend?” He hated to ask, but had to know.

“God, no.”

Parker laughed, and Jace thought it was the most beautiful sound
he’d ever heard. Parker always looked so serious in all of his interviews and
he’d barely said anything at all in class. Jace had no idea he could laugh.

“She was my girlfriend,” Parker said. “A long time ago, in
high school, but it didn’t work out.”

“Why not?”

“She said I was too high maintenance or something.” He
smiled. “But as much as I love her, it never felt right, I guess.”

Jace smiled at him as they stared at one another for the
briefest of seconds. Jace was lost in the other man’s eyes, but he didn’t think
Parker had any idea.

“Anyway,” he continued. “She started seeing this jerk, Mike,
about two years ago and I noticed she was pulling away from me. We’re extremely
close and our friendship has caused the breakup of quite a few relationships through
the years, but this time she was backing away from me.”

“Did that bother you?” Jace asked, trying to get a feel for
the relationship.

“Not at first.” Parker shifted in his chair, a clear sign he
was lying. “I mean, look, she’s my best friend and I missed her, but I noticed
she wasn’t herself anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was jumpy, and she always needed to call him to check
in and was afraid whenever she thought she'd be late getting home. Then I
noticed the bruises on her wrists and arms, but she told me it was nothing.
She’d always been clumsy, so I dismissed it. I shouldn’t have done that.” He
closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He was tense, and Jace could see the fury
building inside him. Before he realized it, he stood up and took a seat next to
Parker on the couch.

The other man slowly opened his eyes and looked at him. If
Parker was uncomfortable by his close proximity, he didn’t show it.

“Mike was abusing Ava?”

“Yes,” he said, and Jace saw the pain in his eyes. “She
finally got up the nerve to leave him. She was packing her things when he came
home earlier than she expected.”

He shook his head, and Jace could tell he was struggling
with the memory of that evening. He looked pained, and Jace had to fight the
urge to stroke his cheek.

“Would you like a glass of water?” Jace asked.

“No,” Parker answered abruptly. “If she would have called
me, I could’ve been there with her. I would’ve come to get her.”

“What happened?” Jace asked, now knowing why Parker had
assaulted the man who caused them to cross paths in the first place.

“He beat the shit out of her.” Parker swallowed hard.
“Cracked three of her ribs, broke her wrist, and split her lip wide open.”

Jace didn’t know what came over him, but he reached for
Parker’s hand. Parker looked up at him, the surprise evident on his face, and
Jace immediately realized he’d crossed a line. But technically Parker wasn’t
his patient and was here on behalf of someone else. As he went to pull away,
Parker shocked him by squeezing his hand, indicating he wanted the connection.
Jace interlocked their fingers and continued to listen. Parker paused for a
moment, staring down at their joined hands. Jace wondered what he was thinking.
If Parker didn’t like Jace’s affection he could’ve pulled away, but he didn’t.
Jace was encouraged by this small progress.

“I don’t know how she made it to my house. She never told me
why he stopped and let her walk out,” Parker said. “But when I opened my door
and saw her bloodied and bruised, I lost it. I shouldn't have allowed that to
happen to her.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Ava was a victim, and she was trying
to leave.”

“I should’ve seen the signs. Hell, I did see them, but I was
caught up in starting my own practice, and I was so damn busy I neglected her
and she paid the price.”

“What happened?” Jace asked. “How did you end up at Mike’s
house?”

“I took her to the ER,” Parker said, pain crossing his face
over the memory. “My father is a surgeon there, so I knew she’d be safe. I left
her and went straight for him. I couldn’t control my anger.”

“And he pressed charges against you.” Jace shook his head
and quietly laughed at the absurdity.

“Imagine that,” Parker said. “He’d been beating and abusing
her for two years. She refused to press charges against him, but he had no problem
having me arrested. His father is a big shot political consultant in
Connecticut and Ava didn’t want publicity.”

“I saw the police report,” Jace admitted. “You did a pretty
good job on him. They had to wire his jaw shut.”

“He deserved a lot more than I gave him. He hurt her, and
she’s still not over it. That’s why I need your help. She won’t listen to me.”
Parker let go of his hand, jumped up, and paced the office. “It’s left her
broken, and I want
my
Ava back.”

Jace immediately missed his touch, but he could see how
overcome with guilt Parker was about this whole situation. It was evident how
much he cared for this girl.

“What is it you think I can do?” Jace asked. He still wasn’t
sure why Parker had come here.

“You’re the best shrink in the state. I need you to treat
her.”

“I can’t force her to come to me. She has to want help.”