Page 503 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“One more minute.”
I wondered why but said nothing.
She ended up answering my silent question anyway. “Sometimes I like to soak up the moment before I step into it. This is our first event as a couple.”
“Take your time.”
I watched her as she watched the party. When she was ready, we got out of the limo and walked up to the front door, where the usual doorman greeted us with a white smile. He opened the door. “Miss Miller, Mr. Bamford. Good evening. Enjoy the party.”
Tinsely pulled something out of her small shoulder purse and pressed it into Andrew’s hands. He looked down, finding a Christmas card in his hand. Inside, Tinsely had left a handwritten note that made him smile, as well as a gift card to a nearby glamorous restaurant.
“Miss Miller,” he said, looking up at her, “this is too much.”
She shook her head. “Hardly. This is for you to take Charlene out for a nice meal over the holidays. You both deserve it. Merry Christmas, Andrew.”
She hugged him.
“Merry Christmas, Tinsel.”
She blinked. “What did you call me?”
He backpedaled. “Sorry, Miss Miller, it slipped.”
“No, not that. You called me Tinsel. My name is Tinsely.”
He glanced at me. “It, uh, it’s kind of a catchy nickname. And it suits you.”
I stifled a laugh behind my hand.
Tinsely scowled at me over her shoulder. “What’s so funny, Chadwick?”
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Andrew looked back and forth between us. “I didn’t know it was a sensitive subject.”
“It’s not,” Tinsely said. “It’s just not a nickname I wanted to stick, is all.”
Andrew held the card out. “Would you like to take the gift card back?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Oh my goodness, no! That’s for you and Charlene. And you’re not in trouble. He is.” She pointed her thumb at me.
Andrew’s face regained some lost color and he tugged at his collar. “Close call.”
Tinsely slid her arm through mine and began walking into the party. She wished Andrew a merry Christmas one more time over her shoulder before glaring hotly up at me. “Trouble with a capital T.”
I feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you’re so bothered about.”
“You know,” she said. “You know very well.”
The party swallowed us up. Colleagues and businesspeople from the building came and shook my hand. Most were familiar faces, but I wasn’t very good at remembering names. As it turned out, Tinsely was, and she name-dropped casually in conversation to keep me in the loop and spare me from looking like an ass.
Well into the evening, when we both had our third glass of wine in our hands, I spotted Aleena walking into the lobby with Danielle and Benji.
“Hey.” I nudged Tinsely in the ribs with my elbow. “Aleena is here. You should go talk to her.”
“I don’t think I’m ready to talk to her.”
I pulled her aside and out of earshot of partygoers. “I know you feel betrayed, but trust me, the guilt she feels is probably punishment enough. Besides, you and me? We’re good. She might have even done us a favor by ripping the band-aid off. Who knows what might have happened if we decided to keep our fling under wraps?”
