Page 363 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“We’ll talk about it,” I said, lightly squeezing Bailey’s thigh beneath the table.
It was kind of strange, having Bailey back in the lodge with me, there at Brooks Mountain. It made me more aware of all the hesitations that I had had in the first place. She was still my boss, and it looked like that wasn’t going to change any time soon. But right now, I didn’t care who saw the two of us together.
I was happy. Happier than I had been in a long time, even including the trip to Vegas last weekend. And I wasn’t going to let anything take that away from me.
CHAPTER 64
BAILEY
I couldn’t believe how much fun skiing with Adam and Ethan was. Of course, Adam was a much better skier than me, and even Ethan was more daring than I was. But they were both so patient with me. And it was a load of laughs, really. Ethan told me all about his classes at school, catching me up on everything new in his life since the last time I had seen him. And through it all, there was Adam. Even when he was just listening, his eyes seemed to constantly be on me.
I couldn’t remember ever seeing him look so happy and carefree before, not even when I had seen him away from work. Not even in Vegas the previous weekend.
I never wanted to lose this, I realized. No, I truly loved this man and his son.
“I’d invite you guys over for dinner, but I don’t really have anything in the house at the moment,” I apologized as we were finishing up our hot chocolate. “I need to do some grocery shopping now that I’m back.”
Adam winced. “I’m sorry if this afternoon took up too much of your time,” he said, sounding strangely formal.
I nudged him with my shoulder. “I had fun,” I said quietly, hoping he could see just how serious I was. I wouldn’t have traded that afternoon for anything in the world. I could always go grocery shopping some other day. These were the kind of moments that you had to hold on to while you had them.
He, of all people, should know about that.
It made me think of the early, early years with my family. Back when my parents were still together. I only had vague memories of those first few winter trips, but what I remembered was so wonderful. Mom bringing us a picnic lunch to share at the base of the ski resort. Ian picking me up at the end of the day when my ski school classes were over and convincing me to ski with him on runs that, in retrospect, I probably hadn’t been ready for yet.
Those trips had been over far too soon. I just hoped I got to spend more time with Adam and Ethan. Especially since I could tell that Adam was enjoying this as much as Ethan and I were.
Adam glanced over at Ethan and then back at me. I could see the uncertainty in his gaze, and I decided to push things a little. “Maybe we could go out to dinner together. The three of us,” I said.
“Don’t feel like you have to,” Adam said hurriedly. “I’m sure that Ethan has some homework from his morning classes that he needs to get done tonight.”
I frowned at him and then pulled him off to the side, out of earshot of his son. “Adam, did I do something wrong?” I asked him.
“What? No!” Adam said, looking shocked that I would even ask that. “I just want to make sure you know that you don’t have to spend time with us. That you can have a life. I’m sure Kayla probably wants to get drinks with you.”
“We’ll get drinks some other time,” I said, shrugging. “I live here now, remember?”
“Yeah, but…” Adam trailed off, looking sheepish. “Just, I know that it’s a lot to take in. To adjust to. Having a kid around all the time. I’m used to spending all my free time with Ethan, but there’s no reason why you should have to.”
I knew that I was looking at him like he had two heads. I shook my own head. “Adam, I like spending time with you. And I like spending time with Ethan. And I know that you can’t just abandon Ethan. I wouldn’t want you if you weren’t such a great dad, I don’t think.” I paused, trying to figure out how to say this. “I count myself lucky because I get to spend time with you and Ethan. You let me into your lives, and I know that that’s a big deal.”
Adam stared suspiciously at me. “You’re not just saying that?” he asked.
“If I didn’t want to spend time with you, I wouldn’t have agreed to go skiing with the two of you again sometime. I know Ethan takes things like that seriously,” I pointed out. “I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t like the two of you. So now, do you want to go get dinner together?”
Adam slowly grinned at me. “I’d like that,” he said, his nervousness evaporating. He twisted his fingers into mine and squeezed lightly.
We went to a kid-friendly pizza place at the end of town. In an echo of my earlier thoughts, I vaguely remembered coming here before with Dad and Ian. Now, the three of us sat at a booth in the middle of the restaurant, and while Ethan munched happily on a breadstick and drew pictures on his menu, I leaned closer to Adam, feeling his warm and solid weight.
“It’s good to be back,” I said.
“It’s good to have you back,” he said, looping an arm around my shoulders. He paused. “I bet it was nice being back home for a while though, wasn’t it?”
“I’m not going to lie, I did kind of get used to being warm again,” I joked. “And it was good to get to see Ian more. I know he kind of screwed things up at the mountain while he was here, but he was just doing what he thought was best. The same as he did with the casino business really.”
I paused, reflecting on that for a moment. Then, I shrugged. “At the end of the day, he’s still family. And I love him.”
But now, sitting here with Adam and Ethan, I started to wonder whether maybe it was time to start the next chapter of ‘family’ in my life. Because this certainly felt comfortable. And when I thought back over the whole afternoon, well, it felt like we belonged together. From helping Ethan into his ski boots to riding up the chairlift together to getting pizza now, it just felt right.
