A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(8)

Milo had just found out a few mornings earlier that his father died in a drunk driving accident. There was no love lost between the two, and it had been almost three years since they had last spoken, but it put Milo in a funk for days.

Talking to Parker that day was the first time Garrett had seen Milo smile in almost a week. When Milo asked her out on a date for that evening, there was no way he could say anything to him about how he couldn’t get the girl out of his mind or how he was the one who saw her first.

After all, Milo was his best friend. And Parker...she was just a girl. Garrett figured she would come and go just as fast as all the others. Milo had baggage. Most women didn't have the time or the energy to deal with it.

Garrett should have known immediately that Parker would be different. She didn't put up with Milo's nonsense, and she wasn't afraid to call him on his bullshit. She also knew how to soothe him when life got to be too much or when memories of the past threatened to consume him. Her gentle way of using the tips of her fingers to smooth the worry lines between his eyes and her soft voice telling him to take a deep breath instantly calmed Milo and returned him back to the present.

Unlike other women who might balk at the idea of their boyfriend being in the military and leaving them alone for weeks, sometimes months at a time, Parker encouraged Milo. She knew he needed structure and discipline of the healthy variety. Aside from her relationship with him and his friendship with Garrett, the military was a big help in keeping his demons at bay. How could Garrett ever deny his friend a woman like that in his life?

So he buried his feelings, his wants, and desires and stepped aside so his friend could finally find some peace and happiness. There were plenty of fish in the sea, as the saying goes, and Garrett spent all his time making sure he explored as many willing and able fish as he could.

As Parker got to know Milo, she was eager to do everything she could to make him happy. She was a nurturer and she wanted to take care of him. Neither one of them had the best home life growing up. It was only natural that they fit so well together and bonded so quickly. It probably wasn’t the best basis for a relationship, but in the beginning it worked for them. Milo understood how the holidays made Parker feel despondent because it was a time for families and hers was non-existent. Milo didn’t complain that she needed to travel so much for her job or that she couldn’t tell him the specifics about an assignment because it was the same way for him. They understood each other, and somehow they made it work. At a time in their lives when neither one of them thought they needed someone, they had found each other. Their friendship was so deep and true that one could immediately tell when the other was having a bad day of memories just by taking one look at their face. Their relationship was based on friendship, first and foremost. Milo would do anything to ensure Parker’s happiness and the feelings were mutual. Parker never wanted to trust anyone again, but it was a hard rule to follow where Milo was concerned. What started out as friendship easily grew stronger and they naturally slipped into a relationship without any fanfare or intense discussions.

Aside from Garrett, she never had anyone in her life that she connected with so quickly or that she trusted so easily. Being Milo’s friend was never the problem because it was always a two-way street between them. Milo was there for her just as much as she was for him. The problem was always her lingering thoughts about someone else, someone she had no business pining for or dreaming about.

Sometimes it made Parker feel guilty that she had to grow to love Milo as something more than a friend, and the fireworks never exploded when they first started sleeping together. But that stuff was only for fairytales and movies anyway. What she had with Milo was based on friendship and was real, even if they did have to work at it.

Parker ignored the nagging feelings of jealousy and longing and buried everything she felt for the other man in her life way down deep and vowed to be the best girlfriend in the world to Milo. She would do anything to avoid hurting him, and that included putting her wants and needs on the back burner. No woman needed to feel butterflies in her stomach every time a man walked into a room or daydream about soft lips or strong hands on her bare skin, but it didn't mean she didn't want those things. A relationship certainly didn’t need excitement or intensity to work, although those were the things she often longed for, and that Garrett always made her feel without even trying. Parker had a nice, easy relationship with Milo that held no complications or expectations. It was exactly what she needed in her life.

Over the years Parker became Garrett's closest friend, next to Milo, and he convinced himself that any feelings he may have had for her at one time were just the product of a silly crush. Given the amount of time he spent with her, it was only natural that every time he was with another woman, he imagined Parker's face when he pushed into them and heard Parker's soft moans and shouts of pleasure when they came.

Garrett watched his two best friends fall in love, grow together, and get engaged. Jealousy had nothing to do with the fact that whenever he had a dry spell and took matters into his own hands, he pictured Parker's mouth sucking him off when he palmed his dick and thought about how tight and hot she would feel wrapped around him when he came in his hand.

He never failed to feel like a pervert for having those thoughts about one of his best friends afterward. It was a vicious cycle that had been going on for eight years with no end in sight.

Unfortunately, nothing explained the anger he felt when he watched Milo kiss her or the sharp stab of pain in his chest when Milo opened the small, velvet box that day in the bar and showed him the diamond ring.