Page 452 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“This business has kept me busy, but…” He trailed off and looked away again, this time staring aimlessly out into the world.
“Dad?”
His eyes, the same hazel as mine, slid back to me. “I’m lonely, son.”
His words hit me like a kick to the gut.
He sighed. “I miss your dear mother with all my heart, and her absence has been felt deeply by both of us. I know that. Ever since we lost her, I’ve been sure that I could never love another or find comfort with another woman, but now? Well, I have begun to want that for myself, and your mother would want that too. She knows I’m not made for a life alone. Knew,” he corrected. “Sometimes I still speak of her like she’s still here.”
“Sometimes I do too,” I admitted.
My parents had been together since they were teenagers. They grew up together, explored together, became something together. All their greatest challenges were faced as a team. Every major milestone in their lives they shared. I still had a pit the size of my fist in my soul that had been there since the day she died, but my dad?
I wondered if his pit was deeper and darker than even mine.
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
He blinked at me. “Sorry? Good God, son. What for?”
I shrugged and picked at a loose thread on the armrest of my chair. I felt suddenly like a kid again fessing up to a wrong I’d done. “I feel like I’ve let you down. I didn’t realize… I didn’t know you were feeling this way. I should have.”
“Nonsense. This is not your responsibility. It’s mine. Chadwick, you are my saving grace. There is nothing in this world that could ever matter more to me than you. Your mother loved you just as fiercely, with every fiber of her being.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Even the fibers that sometimes drove me mad.”
I smiled. “She was as loveable as she was infuriating.”
“Indeed. But when we love someone, really truly love someone, we must hold on tight. We never know how much time we have or the quality of that time. When your mother got sick and we knew we wouldn’t have the years we thought we would, she made me promise not to stop living. This company,” he looked around his office, his other love, and smiled wistfully, “has saved me so much pain after losing her. But I’m finally ready to step away from it and build happiness for myself again. It is my hope that you will find that happiness for yourself someday. When the time is right, and the woman is right, and you are ready.”
What if I already have? I wondered in silence.
CHAPTER 19
TINSELY
I stepped off the elevator into the main office and breathed in the scent of fresh baked cookies. Someone, bless their heart, had brought in Christmas baking. I spied a plate of goodies on the reception desk, helped myself to shortbread, and carried on into the office until I bumped into Hugh, who like a damn hound dog sniffed me out and whisked me away to get changed into my elf costume.
Today, Chadwick and I would be at the Christmas Market, which was one of my favorite things to do at some point during December. I’d never worked an event at the market, but I’d always known that if I did, I’d enjoy it.
And how couldn’t I enjoy it with Chadwick at my side?
As I struggled with the leggings of my elf costume, which left a pool of glitter on the carpet at my feet, I thought about how just days ago I’d thought this gig was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. I’d loathed the thought of having to spend so much time with Chadwick, and now here I was, blissed out from a night of bountiful orgasms.
“Crazier things have happened,” I muttered as I fluffed up my tutu and did a little dance on the spot, making sure my jingle bells jingled.
They did.
When I let myself out of the office we were using as a change room, Aleena was there with Hugh, grinning at me with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked disheveled. Her hair, usually nicely curled and shiny, was pulled back in a messy bun with pieces sticking out all over the place. Her upper lip looked sweaty and her eyeliner looked smudged.
“This will never get old,” she said.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
Hugh cleared his throat. “I’m afraid there’s no time for chit chat. Chadwick is waiting down at the car for you, Ms. Miller.”
Aleena walked with Hugh and me to the elevator. “Well,” she started, “since the storm brought everything to a grinding halt yesterday, we missed our window to decorate for the VIP shop. The team and I are cramming it all in today. I had to come back for the keys to the storage room at the store. Apparently, nobody on shift had any but I knew you had a spare from last year.” She held up a set of keys on a coiled rubber band. “The masterful mind of Tinsely Miller to the rescue again.”
I tapped my temple with one finger. “Wisdom beyond my years.”
Aleena nudged my ribs with her elbow while we waited for the elevator. “You have a lot to tell me about where you rode out this storm, missy. Let me know when you have some time to catch up. I want all the details.”
