“Twoyears and nine months.”
“Whichhas been plenty of time for her to witness your marketing skills.Besides, didn’t she have to sign off on the ad?She’snot going to fire you over bad numbers on one campaign when she’s seen everything you can do.”
“Doyou really think so?”
“I’mpositive.Everythingis going to be just fine.”
Shebreathed out a huge breath and then looked up at the sky, probably trying to convince her tears to go away.Aftera moment, she looked back at him and smiled before she gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Idon’t know if it’s going to be fine or not, but thank you,Parker.”
Hekissed her forehead and then crouched down with her to finish filling the buckets.Heknew this had been a difficult thing for her to share, and he liked that she was willing to share it with him.
Butat the same time, it also felt like a test.Likemaybe she shared with him to see how he would react to finding out she wasn’t perfect, and he wasn’t sure if he passed.Whetheror not she was perfect had nothing at all to do with how much he loved her.Hewasn’t sure he got that across at all.Orif he had comforted her in the way he should have.Hismind had been so much on his own issues that he was no longer sure.
Seventeen
Kelli
Kelliwentto bed feeling like she had a lump of coal in the pit of her stomach, and she woke up feeling exactly the same.Shekept checking her email on her phone, expecting one to come in fromLizat any moment that told her that she’d really messed up and that they needed to talk about her future atZentCubeas soon as she was back in town.
Andto top that off, their group activity had been to bake cookies during the afternoon, and then goChristmascaroling down the halls of the mainRoyalPalmResortguest quarters, singing and delivering cookies to anyone who opened their door to listen to them sing.
Allof that would’ve been fine, except that she had tripped on a rug and fell intoParker, spilling her plate of cookies on the floor.
Then, she sang the wrong verse of a song, and when she tried to correct it, the words of both songs mixed and came out completely wrong and very inappropriately, much to the delight of most of theZentCubeemployees around her and the older gentleman they were singing to, and to the horror of the man’s wife.
Andif that wasn’t enough, things only got worse when she andParkerwent on an actual date toTheGreenOlive, the fancy restaurant at the resort.Shehad left for the restroom when they had first arrived, just after the nice man,Declan, had shown them to their seats.
Whileshe was walking back, she stepped wrong on her heel, twisting her ankle.Ithurt pretty badly, but she wasn’t about to letParkerknow of one more thing she messed up on.Atable with four women about her age had front-row tickets to her missed step, so she just smiled at them, and then walked the rest of the way to her table, pretending her ankle was fine.
Withinmoments of sitting down, their waiter brought a cocktail drink toParkerand said, “Thisis from the ladies at that table right over there.”
Parkerturned to look at the women who had just witnessed her twisted ankle and were now looking somewhat embarrassed that they just sent a drink to a man who was on a date.Well, at least three of them were.Thefourth made her hand into a phone and mouthed, “Callme.”
Andthen, the cherry on top of the cake was actually a stuffed cherry tomato they’d gotten as an appetizer.Shelaughed at one ofParker’sjokes at the worst time, causing her to choke on the tomato just as she had put it in her mouth.Andchoked badly enough thatParkerhad to do the actualHeimlichmaneuver just so she could breathe.
Shehad never had so many embarrassing, less-than-perfect moments with one person before.Especiallynot within a time frame of less than three hours.
No, she had once before.Butthe last time that many things had gone wrong on a single date,Parkerhadn’t asked her out again for two-and-a-half years.
Whenit came time to leave, she realized that although her ankle wasn’t badly damaged and would probably be fine in a day or two, it still hurt too badly to walk back to the mansion in four-inch heels.Soshe had to tellParkerabout it after all.Hewas so sweet about it—he asked the host if he could arrange to have a golf cart drive them back to the mansion, and he even picked her up and carried her to the golf cart and set her down ever-so-gently on it like she was a princess and he was her prince.
Butstill, she had worried all the way back to the mansion that he must’ve been thinking that he should’ve never asked her on the date.
Theygot back just in time to take a slow breath and grab some ice for her ankle before they met with everyone else at nine p.m. in the family room. “Welcometo our final gathering for this retreat!”Grahamsaid.
Theyall cheered, andKellilooked around at the group, feeling a sentimental longing for the group even though they were still together.Afterspending so many hours a day together for so many days in a row, they were feeling like family, and she was sad to see it come to an end.
“Pleasecorrect me ifI’mwrong, andIdo mean please correct me, because ifIam, then your plane tickets are wrong.Mostof us are leaving tomorrow on the ten a.m. flight back toDenver.Thepeople who took us up on our offer to stay untilNewYear’sDayareParker,Kelli,Addison,Davis, andMerit.AndIthink we all need to cheer for that last one because he’s such a workaholic; you wouldn’t believe whatIhad to do to bribe him to come on vacation here during the summer.”
Everyonelaughed and cheered, thenGrahamsaid, “Actually,Elise, stand up.Thisis who we really should be cheering for, or we probably wouldn’t have seenMerithere for more than two or three days.She’sin charge of theNewYear’sEvecelebration here, and since she’s here,Merit’shere.”
Elisestood up as they all clapped and whooped, her cheeks blushing, but then she looked atMeritandMeritlooked atEliseandKellisighed.Thelooks they gave each other were just so sweet and so like the looks she had been getting fromParker.Atleast they were before her disastrous last couple of days.Shechanced a glance atParker, and he responded by entwining his fingers in hers and giving her hand a little squeeze, which warmed her heart.
Andalso surprised her a bit.Shefigured he would be trying to back away by now.Shehadn’t been good enough for her mom to stay, for her dad to want her in his new family, and probably to keep her job atZentCube.Andshe hadn’t been good enough for a brand new relationship to take hold.MaybeParkerwas backing away, and the hand squeeze was just his way of letting her down very gently.Thatwould be a veryParkerthing to do.
DavisandAddisonseemed happy to be having their own little love story going on, though.Afterthe awkwardness at the dance, things had gone back to being easy betweenDavisandKelli.Andsince he hadn’t spent the night claimingKelli, he had danced withAddisonquite a bit.Whoknew the two of them would’ve hit it off so well?Shewas glad they were staying.
Shewas a little nervous about staying herself.
