Page 173 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
He pursed his lips, thinking about what I had just said. He was weighing the options in his head, thinking about what to say next.
“Will you just meet me for drinks on Wednesday after work?” he asked. His question took me by surprise. After all of that, he still wanted to go out with me again?
“Wednesday?”
“I have meetings the next two afternoons that will undoubtedly run late,” he explained. “Please, just meet me for drinks on Wednesday night. That’s all I ask for. One more date.”
He was relentless. When I didn’t respond, he began to speak again.
“I know how hard it’s to move on,” he said. “Believe me. I get it. Can you please just meet me on Wednesday?”
I nodded.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s a yes.”
“Great,” he responded. “I will be in touch.” He turned and left the office.
I sat back down in my chair and thought about what had just happened. Before he walked in, I was firm in my decision to not pursue things any further. Now I was going out with him again?
I had to admit, I was intrigued by his past. I never thought that he would understand how hard it was to move on. What had happened in his past with his wife? Maybe I would find out more on Wednesday night.
Should I tell him about Brad if it came up? I was nervous to talk about my past relationship with him. Wasn’t that against one of the new relationship rules, anyway? You should never talk about your past. I was scared that if I talked about Brad, it would open the floodgates of emotion. After that, there was no turning back.
“So, I saw Cayden heading in here after I left,” Nikki returned to our office. She sipped on her smoothie as she waited for me to respond.
“He did,” I said. I knew what she was getting at, but now I really did not want to talk about it.
“He is the mystery man, isn’t he?” she whispered, shutting the door. “I knew it!”
“Hush!” I said. Even though the door was closed, our walls were thin, and I didn’t want the people in the next office to hear any of our conversation. Nikki giggled.
“You’re so lucky, Tiffany,” she said, walking over to the flowers. “If Cayden Lewis sent me these, I would die. I can’t believe you snagged him. Way to go, girl!”
I blushed.
“It’s nothing serious,” I told her. Although I wasn’t sure which one of us I was really trying to convince. It was something serious. Despite trying to fight it, I knew that this was a battle that I was about to lose.
CHAPTER 11
CAYDEN
I watched the skies turn color as the sun set for the day. Florida had the most beautiful sunsets. They were much better than what New York had to offer. The skies would light up with pinks and yellows, casting a magical glow on the city below.
Tiffany and I were drinking on the rooftop at a bar on the beach. After our conversation at work on Monday, I decided to pick somewhere low-key for drinks. I actually wore jeans, which was rare for me. This bar was a typical beach bar. Good drinks, but nothing special. The beach scenery made up for the lack of pizazz that the bar had to offer.
Tiffany was already on her second glass of wine. I didn’t want her to get plastered, but I had seen firsthand how the wine had loosened her up on Saturday night. I wanted her to talk to me about what was going on in her head. I wanted her to finally open up about her past and tell me about this man who broke her heart.
As expected, she was quiet at the beginning of the date. We chit-chatted about work, but I steered clear of talking about anything serious. I didn’t want to give her a reason to end this date early.
“I am sorry about earlier,” she suddenly spoke. I turned to her, surprised by her admission. Where had this come from?
“You’re sorry about what?” I asked. “You’re here with me now, it’s water under the bridge.”
She took a long sip of her wine before replying.
“I’m a mess, Cayden,” she confessed. “I feel like I need to tell you everything, so you understand where I’m coming from.”
