Page 294 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
There wasn’t a reason for me to wince, after all. This wasn’t a date, and I wasn’t trying to start a relationship with her. But there was something about the way that she said it that made me feel like even if I wanted to start a relationship with her, she wasn’t going to take the time for me. She was too focused on her career for that.
I wanted to say something about how sad that was. About how she shouldn’t spend her whole life trying to only find meaning in her career. But there was no way for me to explain what I knew about the joys of a relationship without mentioning Beth and Ethan.
So instead, I just smiled across the table at her. “There’s a great ice cream place up the road,” I told her.
Beth groaned. “You should have told me that before I ate my whole dinner,” she complained, but I could tell that she was amused. “Lead the way. But you’d better be the one driving on the way home!”
“Deal,” I said.
This wasn’t a date. And maybe I shouldn’t have suggested ice cream. The place up the road, The Dairy Cow, was a place that I used to go to with Beth and Ethan, back before Beth got sick. And even after she got sick, I used to stop in there and pick up pints to take home. Beth didn’t have much of an appetite with the medications that she was on, but she always used to smile at the gesture.
I pushed those thoughts out of my mind, though. Focus on the now. Focus on Bailey.
It was surprisingly easy to do that, I found.
CHAPTER 18
BAILEY
I was surprised when Adam suggested that we get dinner together on Tuesday. He was right, I had been mostly avoiding him ever since that day when I had shadowed him. I hadn’t been lying when I said that part of the reason was just that the resort had become every bit as busy as he had warned me it would.
But to be honest, there was more to it than that. I had seen him once, the morning after I had had that naughty dream about him, and I could immediately feel my body flush with heat. It took everything I had not to head over to him, grab his shirt, and pull him into a heated kiss.
I knew that I couldn’t do that, though. And especially not right here in the middle of the workplace. That wouldn’t be proper. So I had decided it would be safer just to steer clear of him, at least for now. I’d get over this silly little crush on him. Throwing myself into my work had always done the trick in the past.
I was actually really enjoying working at the resort. I had managed to carve out a niche for myself, to pick up slack in certain areas and just lend another pair of eyes in other areas. I was already starting to feel like they were my family, and I was surprised at how quick most of them had been to accept me. Not only that, but they accepted my ideas for the resort and responded enthusiastically with other things that we could try.
I liked the whole culture of working for a ski resort. It wasn’t like working in the casino business. It was a lot more relaxed and down to earth. Sure, we still had our higher-end clients, the ones who shelled out the big bucks to come here and bring their families here. But we weren’t like some of the other hoity toity ski resorts in the area. Brooks Mountain was a bit smaller and a lot friendlier. Everyone kind of knew everyone, and if you stayed for even a week, you started to feel like a local.
It was what I had instinctively loved about this place when I was younger. But I appreciated it even more now that I was trying to make a home here.
I was sure that that local hospitality was the only reason that Adam was taking the time to take me out to dinner. He had been very clear that this was just a friends thing. A coworker thing, moreover. But there was something about sitting across from him at the table in the little diner that felt like a date.
And what’s more, I could tell that he was nervous. I was nervous too. I wanted to break through that shell of his, but I just didn’t know how. I didn’t want to risk offending him or anything. The question about why he was still single was out of my mouth before I had fully considered what it would sound like, asking that.
I wanted to take it back. But there was a part of me, deep down, that really wanted to know why he was still single. That needed to know why. Not that I was looking to start a relationship with him. I knew all the reasons why I couldn’t do that.
Then again, if this was a date, well. I kind of liked it. I would do this again.
It wasn’t a date, though. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
Gosh, it was so confusing.
What was even more confusing was the way that Adam refused to answer my question about why he was still single. I mean, sure, it was only fair that he turn the question back to me. But I didn’t miss the way that his eyes flicked off to the side, as though he was in pain. What had happened?
Maybe he had been in a serious relationship. Maybe whoever it was hadn’t appreciated him and had broken his heart. That could be why he was so gruff, why he didn’t let anyone get close to him. He wasn’t ready to try to commit to anyone again.
I wanted to ask more questions, but I wasn’t sure how. And the next thing I knew, we were headed down the street to get ice cream.
“Rainbow sprinkles? Really?” Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at me when he heard my order.
“Hey, don’t judge,” I said. “Vanilla ice cream and rainbow sprinkles is what I always used to get as a kid. At least, before…” I trailed off for a moment. But then, I realized it was something that I wanted to share with Adam. “When I was really young, and our parents were still together, sometimes Mom would take us down to the casino floor at the end of the day when Dad was finishing up work. And I didn’t really like it down there. It always smelled funny and there were so many old people. And I wasn’t allowed to just run around or anything.”
I shrugged. “So to distract me, Mom would take me past this little ice cream cart that was tucked away down one of the casino ‘streets’, because this place was modeled to look like it could have been a seaside retreat on the East Coast or something. Anyway, I always used to get vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. And now, I guess it just kind of takes me back to that, every time.”
I was blushing, I realized. Why was I telling him all of this? Adam probably didn’t care at all. I should have just let him laugh and forgotten about it.
But Adam was looking at me with a considering look on his face. He shook his head and turned away. “I get that,” he said, and I could hear a rough note in his voice. He cleared his throat awkwardly but didn’t say anything more as he accepted his own chocolate praline ice cream from the woman behind the counter. He paid for both our ice creams and lead me over to a table in the corner.
