Heknew her now.Heloved her now.Hewasn’t the same person who had shown up at the airport lastSaturdaymorning.Eventhe thought of their relationship not working out felt like a stab in his chest.Hewasn’t sure he could fully comprehend how painful it would be to see her daily if they broke up.
Maybegetting this other job offer right now, where he not only got to spend the equivalent of a month and a half datingKelliduring a single week, but he got space to decide if the job change was right, was some divine timing.Hetook a deep breath and then responded to the text.
PARKER:Thereare a lot of things keeping me atZentCube.
Alot of people, too.Onein particular.
I’mnot ready to say no to your company’s offer yet, though.Ijust need to see how a few things here work out first.
JOSH:Ahh.Iunderstand.Noworries.You’vegot time to figure it out.
Andremember thatI’mhappy to answer any questions, anytime.
Ordo anything elseIcan to sway you to join our team, especially since you have so many things swaying you inZentCube’sdirection.
PARKER:Thanks,Josh.
Parkerput his phone back in his pocket and hoped—even made aChristmaswish—that he would be able to turn downJosh’sjob offer.Becausenothing would make him happier than spending every day atZentCubewithKelli.
Fifteen
Kelli
Kelliadmiredthe impossibly soft blanket thatParkerhad given her as she took it up to her room, folded it neatly, placed it at the bottom of her bed, and put his note on the nightstand.Shewas still on a high from their kiss last night and from their conversation on the bench.Ithad felt like a magical place where the two of them were the only people in the world, and they had all the time they wanted to just talk about everything.
Themore she learned aboutParkerand the more time she spent with him, the more in love she fell.
AroundtheChristmastree, she had caught him looking at her several times, and the look on his face was so sweet that it had made her heart do little leaps of joy.Itwas still doing little leaps of joy.
Someoneyelled, “Thepower’s back on!” and even though she could hear the hum of electricity, she still ran to the light switch in her room and turned it on just to check.
Yes!Itreally was.Herphone was still plugged in and sitting on her nightstand from last night.Ithad died before the power went out, but she hadn’t made it upstairs to plug it in before they’d gone outside to enjoy the storm.Shehad hoped that the power would come on during the night and she’d wake up with a charged phone, but of course, it hadn’t.
Shesat on the bed, trying not to bounce in anticipation as she waited for it to charge enough to power back on.Ittookforever.Aftera minute or two, she checked to make sure that the cord was plugged in tight to her phone.Itwas.Andthen another minute or two later, she checked behind the nightstand to see if it was plugged tightly into the wall.Itwas.
Finally, the screen lit up as it booted back to life.Therewere probably going to be about a million messages from her dad, telling herMerryChristmas, asking her how things were going, and wondering why she wasn’t responding to his texts.Shecouldn’t wait to tell him all about the retreat and all aboutParker.
Butwhen the lock screen finally appeared, she only found one text—a video from her dad.Hewas in his suite in whateverCaboSanLucashotel he was staying in, an explosion of wrapping paper all around him.
“Hi,Sweetheart!MerryChristmas!Ihope you’ve been having a blast on your trip.Sorry,Idon’t have time to chat—JoAnnand the girls have our day packed so full—butI’llcall in a day or two.Inthe meantime, you keep living it up inMyrtleBeachand soaking in that sun.Talksoon.Ilove you.”
Hedidn’t have time to chat for even a couple of minutes.Shedidn’t respond to the text.Shetook a slow, deep breath then placed her phone back on her nightstand and walked out of her room.
Asshe was walking pastParker’sroom on her way back downstairs, he called out through his partially open door, “Hey,Kelli, wait!”
Shepaused, and he was at his door in a flash. “I’mvideo chatting with my family, and they want to meet you.Whatdo you say?”
Sheshould say no.Familywas her weakness, and she knew it.Butshe was so curious about his, and she wanted to learn everything there was to know about him.Familywas a big part of who a person was; how was she supposed to get to know him without getting to know his family?Sheshould meet them.
No, you shouldn’t, a voice said.Butshe reminded the voice that everything was okay, as long as she recognized her weakness and was cautious about it.
Besides, she was falling hard forParker, and she really wanted to.Andall she had gotten from her dad was a seventeen-second video text, so she felt a little cheated and was very much craving a family chat.
Shesmiled, said yes, and went into his room to where a laptop was open on his desk, showing three faces smiling at her.Parkeroffered her the desk chair and dragged over an armchair for him to sit next to her.
“Kelli,Iwould like you to meet my mom,Jessica, my dad,Bennett, and my brother,Ethan.Everyone, this isKelliEllis.”
Hismom had the same dark eyes and hair, only with grays throughout that looked elegant on her.Andshe had crow’s feet at the sides of her eyes like she was a woman used to smiling.Kelliliked her instantly.Hisdad had lighter brown hair, but the same strong jawline and strong shoulders asParker’s.Andhis little brother was adorable.Likehe was just as used to getting into good-natured mischief as he was to helping old ladies carry their groceries.
