Page 10 of In Your Dreams

“I said no,” I say, sighing as I sit back in the office chair.

“Why?” He asks.

“I don’t know. He caught me off guard. Plus, I don’t think I’m ready. Well, sometimes I think I am and sometimes I think I’m not. It’s all very confusing. I don’t want to drag him into that.What if I say yes and then panic and back out or what if I go on the date and then panic and tell him we can’t go on anymore?” I realize I’ve rambled again, so I just go silent, hoping something I said makes sense to Theo.

“I get it,” he says. “Sort of.”

“You do?” I sit up toward him again.

“Not in the exact same way but with Ellie, I mean,” he says. “Taking the next step with her was big. Our friendship was at stake and I knew if I crossed that line, it would be impossible to go back to the way it was. It was all or nothing. I had to be sure.”

“How did you know you were sure?” I ask.

Theo runs his hand over his coveralls, smearing a little grease over his chest.

“There was just this moment when I looked at her, when I was thinking about it all. She was looking back at me and smiling. And I realized I was looking at her totally differently than before. I was looking at her like ‘wow, this could be my future.’ And in that moment, I didn’t think I could ever go back to just looking at her like a friend,” he says.

“I’m so happy for the two of you,” I say, my heart swelling for my brother.

“Thanks,” he says. “And as for your situation, I’d advise you not to overthink it. I know that’s easier said than done. But it’s just a date. No matter what happens, I know the both of you well enough to know that if it didn’t go well, you’d be okay after.”

With that, he steps back out of the office and turns toward the car he’s working on. The office sits in the back left corner of the shop with windows all the way across so I can see both him and my dad working. It’s kind of nice since offices can feel a little stuffy without windows or something to look at.

I turn back to the computer to look up what he needs and get back to the task I was working on before he walked in with allhis brotherly advice.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe I should just go for it. I will say when he called me “mama”, I felt a little tingly. I can confirm between that and the dancing and the tight white T-shirt, he gives me the tingles. And tingles are very important. There’s no denying he’s an attractive man. His body is all filled out since high school. He’s solid, I can tell. He’s always had a beautiful smile with those dimples of his. And the scruff over his jaw ain’t bad either. Another change since high school.

The doorbell at the front rings, pulling me from my thoughts. I look up to see if maybe Susan is early but I find none other than Parker standing there. He’s wearing simple jeans, a black T-shirt that hugs him just as well as the white one did, and a backwards ball cap adorning his head. He’s so pretty.Where the hell did that come from?

I look back at the computer screen, pretending I didn’t see him. From the corner of my eye, I watch my brother approach him but I can’t hear the conversation they’re having. A few moments later, I feel them moving toward the office doorway.

“Hey, Pop, can you put Parker on the schedule for next week? Parker, she can take care of you, and we’ll get that all fixed up for you,” Theo says, then vanishes, leaving us alone.

“Sure, wanna have a seat?” I ask, gesturing toward the chair on the other side of the desk.

Parker sits, relaxing back into the chair, even though I don’t personally think it’s all that comfortable. I have it on my to-do list to renovate the entire office space but that will come after I sort out their poor excuse for a scheduling system. For the moment, I’m converting everything to a Google calendar.

“So, what do you need?” I ask.

“You look very pretty today,” Parker says.

I choke, my eyes fluttering as they meet his gaze. “Um, thank you.”

“You’re supposed to say I look nice, too,” he says, tapping his finger on the edge of the armrest.

“Oh,” I say, giggling. “You look nice, too.”

“Thank you,” he says.

“So what can we do for you?” I ask.

“How are you today?” He asks, ignoring my question.

Call me crazy, but isn’t there something wrong with his truck? “Oh, I’m okay. Just sorting through all this. No offense, but men aren’t the most organized. At least not Jameson men, from what I can tell.”

There’s a pause. It’s like he’s waiting for something but I have no idea what.

“Are you going to ask me how I am?” He asks.

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