Page 203 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
Cayden laughed.
“You will not ask stupid questions,” he said. “She’ll appreciate any question that you ask. You are telling the community about her charity and sharing her story with all of Miami. She’ll be thrilled, trust me.”
I wrinkled my nose. Cayden was right, but he made it sound so easy. Of course, he had been interviewing people for years. He was a pro.
“Do you want me to tag along?” he asked. I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I need to put on my big girl panties and do this myself. But thank you for the offer.”
He smiled.
“You’ll do great,” he assured me. “Will you call me after your interview? I’ll be interested to see how it goes.”
I nodded.
“Good luck,” he said, tipping his coffee cup to me and leaving the room.
Two hours later, I walked into a Mexican restaurant near the office. I was meeting Mandy and Nikki to celebrate my first article, although it wasn’t done yet. Mandy had the day off and wanted to meet for margaritas and girl talk. Nikki and I were becoming close friends, so I invited her as well. I knew the three of us would get along well.
“Hey, ladies,” I greeted the girls, sliding into the booth next to Nikki.
“How did the interview go?” Mandy asked. I told them both how it had gone. Cayden had been right, it went very well. All of my questions were great, and my subject was very outgoing and forthcoming with information. I had more than enough information to write a thorough and interesting article. I was excited to go back to the office to write, but first, I needed tacos. Before I could order, the waitress brought over three margaritas.
“Cheers!” Nikki exclaimed, raising her margarita glass. Nikki and I followed suite, clinking our glasses together. I took a sip and nearly spit it out. It was delicious, but so strong.
“Damn,” I said, trying to get rid of the sour look on my face. “That is strong.”
Mandy and Nikki agreed, but it didn’t stop us from finishing the first round before our meal came. We were all pretty giggly.
“So, I met this guy off Tinder last night,” Mandy said. “I am pretty sure I’m marrying him. He’s gorgeous and has a huge cock.”
“Mandy!” I exclaimed. Out of the two of us, she was the more outspoken one. I may have thought about sharing Cayden’s cock size with the girls, but I never would have admitted to it so freely. Some things needed to be kept a secret.
We all laughed as we talked about the men in our lives. Mandy was planning her wedding to Tinder Guy, while Nikki was contemplating her next move with Maurice.
“He’s a great guy,” she admitted. “But he still lives with his mom, and he is such a mama’s boy. I really like him, but I feel like I need a guy who is more mature.”
Mandy and I nodded. While Cayden was mature, I knew exactly the type of guy she was talking about. No woman over twenty-five wanted a man who still lived with his mama, no matter how attractive he was.
“What about Cayden?” Nikki asked. “How are things going between you two?”
I shrugged but couldn’t hide the smile on my face. I wanted to keep things secret, but it was hard to hide my feelings for him.
“They’re going well,” I said. “We’re trying to take it slow. Plus, we have to hide it in the office. If anyone finds out we are still dating, we’ll be in major trouble.”
Nikki giggled.
“I hate to break this to you, but you two are so obvious,” she said. “He came to your meeting yesterday morning and just stared at you. He is in love, and the whole office knows it.”
I swatted at her playfully.
“He is not in love,” I said. “We are just taking it slow and having fun.”
I was telling her the truth, especially now that I knew about Cayden’s past. He had a shattered past and so did I. While we both liked each other, there were a lot of hurdles to overcome and a lot of hurt to heal.
We spent the lunch talking about men, work, and the holidays. Both of them didn’t like me staying alone on Christmas, but I was firm in my decision. I didn’t want to do the holidays with my family and I didn’t want to go anywhere to anyone else’s family gathering, either. Christmas would be like any other day. I was good with it.
“What about Cayden?” Nikki asked. “Don’t you want to do something with him?”
