Just Don't Fall (Sweater Weather, #1; Appies, #1)

by Emma St. Clair

“Question one: does the favor need to be me, specifically?” If I’m not mistaken, the color in her cheeks deepens a little. “Yes.” Huh. Interesting. My brain scans for possibilities but I can’t think of a single thing Parker would need only me for. “Does it have to do with hockey?” “No.” “Dancing?” Hesitation. “No?” “Yes or no, Pete.” She wrinkles her nose. “Dancing is … optional but not required.” This game was a lot easier back in the day when the answers were simpler. When I knew Parker better. But even now, my ability to read her comes in handy. Something non-hockey with optional dancing. Something that has got her nervous and has to do with me. The last part is the one I’m struggling with. “Does it involve dressing up?” Bingo. She looks away from me, shifting in her chair, which groans. “Yes,” she says. “And does it involve your family?” She startles, the tiniest widening of her eyes and flex of her hand, still held in mine. “Yes.” Parker and Brandon grew up in the kind of house that could be featured in a show about extreme mansions. Set on a slope in the foothills, it has stellar views of Harvest Hollow. It boasts something like ten bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms. There was an indoor pool and sauna. A full tennis court on the leveled field below the house. I spent more time there than the two-bedroom apartment my mom and I shared that somehow always smelled like feet. But their awesome house came with their parents. Parker and Brandon’s mom was actually ok...