Page 15 of Parker

“Sushi it is!” she crows, dragging me over to a black marble bar with stools.

We sit down side by side, and a waitress brings us menus.

“I don’t need one,” says Skylar. “I’d like the spicy shrimp, spicy tuna, and spicy salmon. Give him a second, though, huh?”

The waitress promises to return in a minute.

“Choose quick,” says Skylar, glancing at her phone. “We only have twenty minutes left.”

I scan the options, grateful for the pictures. But in the end, because I know so little about sushi, I decide to order the same thing as Skylar.

“Bring us two sakis, huh?” Skylar grins at the waitress, then back at me. “Don’t look now, Quinn Morgan, but you’ve got some serious attention coming from the other end of the bar. Looks like—oh my god—is that one of the Stewarts? Ugh. It is. Um…Parker, I think. One of the younger girls.”

Forgetting my promise for a second, I look over my shoulder to find Parker sitting across the bar from us on her own. She looks at me, then at Skylar, then looks quickly away. I wonder why she’s sitting all alone…which is followed by a quickstab of guilt. I feel unexpectedly protective of her. Here I am, laughing it up with my new friend, Skylar, while Parker’s sitting all alone.

But then again, that’s how she wants it.Strangers.

“Yeah,” I say, turning back to Skylar. “That’s Parker Stewart.”

“You know her?”

“I’m friends with her brother.”

“The Stewarts of Skagway,” she says, a hint of snark in her tone. “My little brother, Rick, did a gig with Hunter Stewart last summer and said he was a total douche. I know Harper, too. She and I were the same year in high school, and we both played soccer, so we went head-to-head a few times when Ketchikan played Skagway.”

“So you know them, too.”

“Not really,” says Skylar. “Like, not personally. But the panhandle’s only so big, you know? And they’re a major player in Skagway. My dad’s always saying,The Stewarts have Skagway, but we’ve got the rest.”

“The rest?”

“Yeah,” she says, cocking her head to the side. “My dad’s Landry Jones. Didn’t I mention that?”

She didn’t. But I’ve definitely heard of Landry Jones. He owns the biggest travel outfit in the state of Alaska, with shore tours offered in every city along the cruise route, and all sorts of other tours offered in the interior from Anchorage all the way up to Fairbanks.

“You’re Skylar…Jones.”

“Guilty,” she says, picking up her handleless tea cup and drinking whatever’s in it like a shot.

I do the same, then bust out coughing as hot liquor bathes my mouth.

“Oh god! What…is that?” I demand, swiping the tears from my eyes. “It’s nasty!”

She giggles. “Saki. Rice wine. It’s served hot.”

“No shit.”

I can’t help sneaking a quick glance at Parker, to see if she noticed me choking on Japanese wine, but she’s engrossed in her phone, thank God.

“So,” asks Skylar, “can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“If you’re friends with the Stewarts, how come you’re over here with me, instead of over there with her?”

I shrug. “It’s complicated.”

“Oooo. Intriguing! Did you two date?”