Page 436 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“You deserve it for putting up with me all month and wearing that costume.”
“Thank you.” She looked around, soaking up the sight of the restaurant and all the twinkling lights winking upon the glass solarium enclosure. “This place feels like the sort of restaurant that only exists in the movies. I’ve never been anywhere like it. The nicest restaurant I’ve been to in the city is that Greek place where the ceiling is full of plants and multicolored lights. They have belly-dancing shows on Friday and Saturday nights and Sambuca shots for half price.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It’s a bit messy to be honest.”
“Messy is fun.”
She eyed me across the table and shrugged one shoulder. “I suppose that’s true. I guess I’ve just never been very good with messes. Then again, I’m not very good with perfection, either. And this place? It oozes perfection. People who eat here are somebodies.”
“Somebodies?”
“Yeah, like you and your dad. Or Vincent Wong. You know, people who have a reputation associated with their name.”
I grinned. “After this year you’re going to have a reputation associated with yours.”
“Oh, lucky me. Tinsely Miller, the girl with the jingle shoes who is the goofy sidekick to the suave Naughty Santa, Chadwick Bamford.”
“It has a nice ring to it.”
She rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her glossy pink lips. “You just think that because I used the word suave.”
“It’s a good word.”
“I regret using it.”
We were both laughing when the server returned and took our dinner orders. We both opted for the saffron pasta with shrimp and scallops. While we waited on our meals, we sipped our wine, and I found myself wondering why she’d agreed to join me for dinner tonight but turned Armie down.
I wasn’t going to ask questions and ruin a good thing. For once, things between Tinsely and I felt easy.
We chatted about the goings-on of the office because it was an easy subject matter for us both. She told me all about how her team was handling working without her quite well, and Aleena had stepped up to fill her shoes without hesitation.
“You and Aleena are pretty close, huh?” I asked before sipping my wine.
She straightened her cutlery. “Yeah, we just sort of clicked when we both started working in the office. She makes me laugh a lot and encourages me to step out of my comfort zone. I need her around. Otherwise, I’d always be wanting to play things safe. And I help her when her head is too high in the clouds. We’re well balanced.”
Our meals arrived, and we twirled pasta around our forks and indulged in the flavorful dish.
Once more, Tinsely closed her eyes while she chewed with her food in one cheek, which puffed out like a squirrel. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her.
“This is unreal.” She opened her eyes and went in for another bite. “And totally not something I ever would have ordered off the menu.”
“Because you’d have played it safe?”
She giggled. “Yep, exactly. I’d have gone for the Alfredo or something familiar. This? This is so much better.”
I was glad she enjoyed it, and I enjoyed watching her go back and forth from wine to pasta, savoring every sip and mouthful.
Suddenly, she gasped.
I hesitated with my fork halfway to my mouth. “What’s wrong?”
She pointed up over our heads. “It’s snowing.”
I tilted my head back. The cloudy night sky let loose fluffy, giant snowflakes overhead. They melted promptly after landing on the solarium enclosure from the heat inside. Tinsely leaned sideways in her chair to watch the snow fall down to street level.
“Beautiful,” she whispered before straightening in her seat. “Do you like the snow?”
