Not a budding starlet, not his gorgeous co-star, not anyone in the industry at all.

It was enough to make his new legion of female fans swoon.

What followed were numerous interviews about how close he is with not just his mother but his sister as well. He even calls her his best friend.

One has to wonder how Parker managed to maintain his undeniable masculinity while surrounded by so much femininity.

Especially since he refuses to discuss—or even mention—his father.

Speculation has run rampant and Parker’s silence does nothing to quell the rumors. In fact, it only serves to amplify them.

If there isn’t a story, then why won’t Gabe talk about his father? Who is the patriarchal Parker?

But nothing stays hidden in Hollywood—and that includes details about Parker’s family life.

The Rumor Mill has discovered the truth behind Gabe’s silence, and it’s tragic.

Thomas Parker was a contractor in Cooper, Montana, where he was born and raised. He married Elizabeth Williams when they were both twenty-seven. They had their first child—Gabe’s sister, Lauren—at twenty-nine, followed by Gabe the following year. Ten years later Thomas was gone. Dead from a brain tumor.

Chapter 20

Chapter
20

I WAS EXHAUSTED. THE NIGHT BEFORE was catching up to me, it was way past my bedtime, and I was bored. Pretty much everyone around me was drunk and even though Oliver had insisted there was no cocaine available at this party, I was pretty sure that there were a few people over in the corner that had brought their own.

I kept a fair distance from them—I still wasn’t sure of the cool way to refuse.

I felt ridiculous and Gabe was being weird. Or maybe that was just me.

He’d gotten me that drink—a pretty hefty pour of whisky into a red cup of Diet Coke. I’d taken one or two sips, been reminded of how I’d felt that morning, and left the cup on a table somewhere.

The minute I’d had that drink in my hand, though, Gabe was gone. He and the puppy disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone by the bar in a house full of people I didn’t know.

It was his party, so I tried not to be too disappointed. He had friends to talk to, people to entertain. I’d probably assumed too much about the invitation—he likely had included everyone he knew in L.A.