Page 295 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“It must have been tough, when your parents split up,” he said quietly. Then, “Not that we have to talk about that, if you don’t want to.”
I shrugged and grinned at him. “I’m over it,” I assured him, even though there was a part of me that knew I was never really going to ‘get over’ it. “I mean, if Mom and Dad hadn’t split up and Dad hadn’t been trying to prove that he was the best dad ever afterwards, we probably never would have come up here for those holidays,” I added. “And look where that’s gotten me.”
Adam snorted. “Yeah, look where that’s gotten you,” he said, sounding amused. “Don’t you miss Las Vegas at all? I would have thought that by now, you would have been sick of the cold.”
I shrugged. “Like I said, I needed this change,” I said. “And besides, there’s something magical about a white Christmas. We never get that in Vegas.”
“I guess not,” Adam mused. “But the grass is always greener, right?”
“Are you trying to make me want to leave?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Adam looked taken aback. He stared down at his ice cream, digging his spoon into it a couple times without lifting any of it to his mouth. “No,” he said, and I could hear the honesty in his voice. He looked up at me, cocking his head to the side. “I like having you around. You’re good at the whole business thing, and you, I don’t know, seem to fit in well.”
He looked embarrassed at having said it, and I couldn’t help feeling pleased. I had a feeling that was as close as I was going to get to hearing him admit that he would miss me if I left. I felt a warm flush go through me. Maybe, despite the fact that he had phrased this as just a friends thing, this really was a date? Or at least something more than what he had said.
And even though logically I knew that I shouldn’t get involved with him, I was still thinking about that dream that I’d had. Where was the harm, really, in two consenting adults spending some time together? I wasn’t suggesting that we have sex in the hot tubs or change our work relationship in any way. But that didn’t mean that we couldn’t share a little warmth on these cold winter nights, did it?
The more I thought about it, the more sure I was that I wanted to see where this could go. Not in a relationship sense, maybe, but I didn’t want this night to be over just yet.
We finished up our ice cream, or at least as much of it as we could, and true to his word, Adam drove me back to the resort. “Did you want to come in and see my condo?” I asked Adam shyly. “I’ve got a bottle of wine that I keep meaning to break out. Ian gave it to me to celebrate my buying this place.”
Adam stared at me for a moment and then looked away. “I can’t,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry, but there’s somewhere that I have to go.”
“Okay,” I said, trying not to sound too disappointed. It had been a long shot anyway. I could tell that Adam was still closed off, still keeping his secrets. I might feel like I had gotten closer to him in the time that we had spent together, but that didn’t mean he was interested in anything more with me. He probably was just trying to be friendly.
Hell, Ian might even have asked him to look out for me. That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
I pushed away my disappointment as we got out of the car. “Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” I told him. I grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “I promise I’ll try not to avoid you tomorrow.”
Adam laughed, but there was still something hollow in the sound. “Avoid me if you have to. I know you’re busy. I am too, at this time of year.” He gave me a quick hug and then headed over to his truck. I sighed and headed towards the condos, wondering just what the hell I thought that I was doing.
It was like suddenly, logic had caught back up to me. I shouldn’t have even asked for anything more, and I was almost glad that Adam had declined. Who knew where the night might have ended up if he had come inside to share a bottle of wine with me.
Sure, I might have finally cracked through the layers of mystery surrounding him, but it might have ruined everything that I was trying to build here. I felt embarrassed that I had even said anything to him.
As I walked towards the condos, I was surprised to see Kayla walking towards the parking lot. She paused when she saw me, her eyes flicking speculatively towards Adam’s truck which was still pulling out of the lot. She raised an eyebrow at me and gave a low whistle.
I rolled my eyes. “What are you still doing here?” I asked her.
“Forgot my phone charger behind the desk and had to come back for it or else I wouldn’t have an alarm tomorrow morning,” Kayla explained, but I could tell she was still waiting for me to explain what I was doing with Adam.
“Oh, come on,” I sighed. “I have a bottle of wine, don’t leave me to drink it on my own.”
Kayla laughed and followed me inside. I went to the wine cabinet, hesitating as I reached for the bottle of wine that Ian had given me. But for some reason, I felt like saving that one, even though I would have shared it with Adam if he had been the one to come inside with me.
I pushed that thought out of my head and grabbed a different bottle, uncorking it easily and pulling down two glasses while Kayla made herself comfortable on the couch. “So, you and Adam?” she asked, before I could even sit down.
“It’s not like that,” I said, shaking my head. “He just wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate me having a good first couple of weeks, or something. And he wanted to show me the area. I think my brother probably asked him to look out for me.”
“I don’t know, dinner with him sure sounds like a date,” Kayla said doubtfully. “He even hugged you. I can’t remember the last time I saw him so much as shake hands with someone. That’s big, coming from him.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah, a hug through five layers of clothing, that sure is something,” I said sarcastically. Was it sad that I wanted to believe her, that I wanted to think that it really did mean something more, coming from him?
Kayla shrugged. “I’m just saying,” she said.
“He probably has a girlfriend anyway,” I said. “I asked him tonight why he was still single, and he totally refused to answer the question.”
Kayla laughed. “Did you legitimately ask him that? And expect him to answer you?”
