Chapter 9
Nine
Parker
“Parker!” Piper is calling me, and I have no clue why. I’ve spent the morning making sure everything is ready to go for the baby shower next week and dodging calls from the woman putting it on. But, if I know what’s good for me, I better go see what she wants.
When I walk into the main room, it’s chaos. There are people everywhere. It’s not a holiday weekend, and I can’t figure out why we are so busy.
I rush behind the counter to join my sister. She has to be frustrated if she hollered my name like that in front of customers. “What do you need me to do?”
“Jump on the other register so we can get the lines moving. I don’t know where all these people came from.”
“Will do.” I spring into action. People are buying multiple bottles at a time. We don’t have any sales running and it’s odd. I’m not questioning it, though. It might be busy, but that means business is good.
A customer is looking over the wine options and I take the moment to ask her, “Is there something going on in town?”
“It’s Spring Blooms time. I know the festival isn’t for another few weeks, but we rented a couple of party buses to look at all the wildflowers and get pictures. It’s too busy during the actual festival, and the good areas will be trampled.”
“That’s a smart move.” I can’t believe I forgot about the Spring Blooms Festival. Learning this new position made me lose track of the time. It’s a good reminder, though. I’m supposed to work the booth for part of the weekend.
She places her order, and I grab her bottles as she pays. Within twenty minutes we have everyone out the door and on their way.
“We really need to get some help in here. We were already busy, but with the festival happening soon, we need more people.”
Piper takes a big breath and lets it out before leaning against the counter. “I have someone coming in tomorrow for an interview. Hopefully they can start on Monday so I can train them.”
“We’re going to need more than one person.” This is the problem with major growth in a short amount of time. We don’t have the resources without running ourselves ragged.
“I know. There are a few more applications I need to sift through and run by Pierce. I just have to make sure they are competent because they’ll be dealing with him while we’re working at the festival.
” She eyes me for a second. “You are still working it, right? I know you have the baby shower to run not long after it, but I definitely need you there.”
“Yes. I lost track of the days.” I glance towards the door. “Can you believe people are getting party buses to drive them around to look at flowers? It’s wild to me.”
“They aren’t jaded by all the traffic they create for our town. It’s good for business, but exhausting.”
“Truer words have never been spoken.” I remember when I used to like the festival. Granted, I was a kid and mostly wanted to ride all the attractions they brought into town. As I got older and had to drive in the stop and go traffic, my views definitely changed.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, wondering if it’s Jasmin. I hope I didn’t scare her with my idea.
It’s a text from Paula.
Paula: The couple getting married at the winery is here. So is her sister.
I think for a moment, trying to remember if I told Paula about Jasmin. I think I did, but honestly, everything has been a blur.
Parker: Let me know what they pick out.
Paula: I think they’re going to Out of the Ashes when we’re done here. But I’ll send you pics.
Parker: Thanks.
I take a quick peek at the time on my phone.
Maybe I’ll take my lunch now. We’ve slowed down, and there isn’t much left to do for the baby shower booking.
Besides Peter, Pierce and Phillip are here if my sister needs more help.
And…I could eat. All I had was a piece of toast before I walked out of the house this morning.
“You mind if I go ahead and take my lunch?” I ask Piper.
She’s staring at me like I’ve affronted her. “You better not be leaving for a booty call. Don’t think I didn’t notice you checking your phone.”
Damn, it’s great to know she thinks so highly of me.
She’s always been my closest sibling, but since she and Beau became serious, she’s been a little more than judgmental about my single lifestyle.
It’s getting under my skin more than it used to.
It’s like they see me as the joke of the family, and I don’t like it.
She never gave any of our other brothers this much crap.
“I’m not.” This isn’t a lie. Jasmine isn’t a booty call. I only want to manifest a chance meeting since she’s in town. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to meet the groom since he wasn’t at the initial meeting. “Food is calling me. I’ll bring you something to eat.”
“Fine. But I want you to show me the details for the next event when you get back. I have a feeling that one lady is going to be a problem.”
“You think?” Sarcasm drips from the words. “She tried to hit on me when they were here. I’m at the point of asking Phillip if he’ll be here to deal with them because this woman will not leave me alone.”
“Yikes.” My sister shakes her head. “If it comes down to it, I’ll run interference. I have zero problem telling her where she can shove it.”
I wrap my arms around her in a hug and lift her off the floor. “This is why I love you.”
“Put me down.” She pokes me in the side and I do as I’m told. I really hate when she does that. “Where are you going?”
“Out of the Ashes.”
“Cool. I’ll send you my order.”
I give her a salute and hurry out the door. The last thing I want is for her to find something else for me to do and make me miss seeing Jasmine.
The seats at the counter are full when I walk into the bar. I guess they’re getting slammed the way we were. At least they have the staff to handle it.
Delilah is behind the stand as I make my way up. “You’re by yourself today?”
“Yeah. I needed a break from everyone else.” I peer over her shoulder to see if I can spot Jasmin and her sister.
“Do you want a booth or a table? I think we have one or two of each open.”
Finally, I see her. As luck would have it, there’s a high-top table not too far from where she’s sitting. “Can I get that one over there?”
Delilah looks in the direction I’m pointing. “Sure.” She grabs a menu and leads me to the table. “Do you want time to look over this? Or, do you want your usual?”
I barely hear the words, and I take a second to respond. “Um, I’ll take a look. I’m feeling adventurous today.”
“Sounds good. I’ll send someone over to take your order in a few, but I’ll let Eric know to bring you a beer.”
“Thanks, Delilah. It’s like you read my mind.” She walks away and my focus is on Jasmin and her sister.
I’m seated at an angle so I can see Jasmin, but she doesn’t have a clear view of me. It may be a little creepy, but I want to see how she is when she’s not around me. Besides, with the size of this town, it’s totally plausible for us to run into each other.
They are talking about the flowers they chose, and a mug of beer slides in front of me. “Dude, I’ve never seen you so attuned to someone else’s conversation.”
“Shh, Eric. I’m trying to listen.”
“Are you interested in her?”
“We’re kind of dating.” I know he’s going to want elaboration, but I’m not giving it to him. At least, not right now. “I’ll fill you in later.”
“Just don’t be weird.” He sighs and walks off, and I can listen in again.
Daniela is staring her sister down. “I know you said you’re bringing a plus one, but I want to meet him. And he’ll need to come with us to some events leading up to the wedding.”
“Why?” There’s a hint of panic in her voice. That doesn’t sit well with me. It’s almost like she’s ashamed of taking me. Which doesn’t make sense. She’s the one who asked me to do go on this wild ride with her.
“Because we want to get to know him. Especially if he’s going to be in wedding pictures.” Daniela sounds exhausted. I wonder how many times she’s had a similar conversation with Jasmin.
“I don’t see why that matters,” Jasmin huffs. “We can always put him on the edge of the photo in case we need to cut him out.”
Ouch. That’s harsh. I know we don’t do relationships, either of us, but to know she can speak about erasing me so easily is brutal.
“True. I still want to meet this mystery person, though.”
Kudos to Daniela for pushing her sister out of her comfort zone. That’s usually my job in my family. Well, mine and Piper’s. We aren’t as reserved as the rest of the Summers’ bunch.
“Hey, Parker.” Lisa, a longtime server, comes over to take my order. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“We’ve been swamped so I haven’t been able to sneak away for lunch. How have you been?” She’s always been one of my favorites. She’s full of energy and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in a bad mood.
“Good. Devin is about to go on tour again. He keeps telling me to come with him and asks why I’m still working.” She shakes her head. “But I love my job and want to be here. I couldn’t sit cooped up all day in a car. Besides, it makes when he comes home that much better.”
“I bet. Can I get the wings and fries.”
“So, your normal order?”
“What can I say? I’m a creature of habit.”
“Sure thing, I’ll get that right out to you.”
Lisa’s gone for two seconds before I hear, “The winery guy is your plus one.”
I sit up straight. She must have heard Lisa say my name. What other reason would that be the topic? Crap. I wanted to casually bump into her. Staring at my beer, I will someone to come to rescue. This is not how I planned on things going.
“Are you stalking me?” Jasmin pulls out the other seat at my table.
“Wh—what? No. I came here for lunch.” Ugh, I hate when I stutter. It only happens when I’m caught doing something I shouldn’t be doing.
“Are you sure your sister didn’t have anything to do with it?”
“Piper? Nope. She’s on a rampage today and part of the reason I needed to get off the property.” Well, she would have something to do with it if I put it that way.
“Not her. Paula, the one who works at the flower shop.”
I want to lie to her, but I can’t. Not when she’s looking at me with that cute little smirk.
“She may have texted me and told me you’d be here for lunch. But I really did want to get away from Piper.” I glance over my shoulder at her sister and soon to be brother-in-law. “Did Daniela just call me the winery guy?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. She wouldn’t stop hounding me about my plus one. Then I heard your name and figured I might as well tell her.”
So, she was trying to keep me a secret. It’s a hit to the ego, but I don’t blame her since it’s not serious. Both of us are getting something out of this.
“Good call.” Lisa picks that moment to deliver my food and a fresh beer. She gives both of us a wide smile and winks at me as she turns away.
“You can join us if you’d like. There’s another chair, and it might be smart to start the whole fake dating thing. It’ll be a good test run to see how convincing we are anyway.”
She’s not wrong. We need to see if we’re convincing. We had chemistry that first night, but who knows what will happen when we’re doing it on purpose.
“Sure. I’ll let Lisa know to bring my bill over there.”
“You know the staff by name?” The shock is comical.
“Yeah, we’re a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Besides, I’m a regular.”
She shakes her head and goes back to her table. This is either going to be amazing or a disaster.