14. Now
FOURTEEN
now
There’s a harvest moon tonight.
It’s just bad luck. I know that.
Still, I sit in front of my window and look up at the blank sky, wishing.
Wishing I’d known what I had when it was still mine. Wishing I’d savored each small piece of it. Wishing it didn’t hurt so bad to remember.
Wishing the very best for Gray, no matter where he is.
At noon the next day, Parker takes me to Bryant Park Grill.
I wonder how he knows it’s my favorite lunchtime splurge in the city. Nestled in the center of the park, two blocks from our office, the building always enchants me. Verdant vines cover the exterior, giving patrons the feeling of dining inside an ultra-modern greenhouse.
Silence stretches between us, just long enough for me to feel self-conscious. I did my best to dress up a bit without seeming too eager, but now my charcoal sweater dress somehow feels too stuffy and too informal at the same time. It doesn’t help that Parker is his usual charming self, all-too handsome in a navy suit without a tie.
When the server arrives, he orders each of us a kale salad and insists, “You have to try the mushroom ravioli. And the sesame tuna.” He requests both before I can interrupt to tell him I only have forty minutes to eat.
“Don’t worry,” he adds, winking while he hands off my untouched menu. “I bribed Marjorie to give you an extra-long lunch.”
That’s thoughtful of him. Maybe a bit presumptuous to assume I’m okay with Marjorie knowing about our date… but it seems my mind has been made-up for me.
And it’s probably polite to just eat what he ordered, and not mention that Bryant Park Grill’s fish and chips are my favorite lunch in New York. I can always come back by myself after next payday.
By the time the check arrives, I estimate that my half will be well over fifty dollars, which means I’ll have to cancel my night out with Maggie over the weekend. Thankfully, Parker snaps the booklet off the table before I even reach into my purse .
He frowns while he fishes out a credit card. “Wow,” he says, “I’m horrible.”
I blink at him, confused. “What?”
He sighs, leveling his hazel eyes at me. “I brought you to lunch to get to know you and spent an hour talking about myself.” He takes off his glasses and drags a hand over his face. “Sorry about that. I think you make me nervous.”
I have to bite my lip to keep from smirking. The notion that I could make a man like Parker nervous is the funniest thing he’s said all day.
“Why?” I blurt. “I’m no one.”
Oh, Lord. Dr. Laura would be so mad if she’d heard that .
“I mean,” I go on, “You shouldn’t be nervous, Parker. You’re great.”
“Ella.” He shakes his head at me. “I noticed you the day you started working at Idealogue, and I still notice you every single day. Multiple times a day. Let me take you out again. Maybe to dinner, next time. And I promise I’ll shut up.”
I turn my face to hide my blush. “You’re interesting to listen to,” I tell him. “You don’t need to shut up.”
Parker grabs my hand, holding it up between us. He waits until my gaze meets his. “So, you’ll go to dinner with me, then?”
I can’t think of a reason not to… aside from the obvious. But Dr. Laura will surely have something to say about that , too.
“Friday night?” he asks, still gripping my fingers.
I bite my lip again. “I have plans with my roommate on Friday, but I could do Saturday.”
For a second, he looks nervous. I quickly add, “If you don’t have… something else to do.”
I’m not sure how I sense it, but I just know. He clearly has another date on Saturday night. That’s how most of the men in this city operate. And some silly office crush followed by one maybe-date-lunch certainly doesn’t guarantee me any sort of exclusivity .
“No,” he decides out loud. “I mean, I did. But I’ll cancel it. I’d rather go out with you.”
I should be flattered, but I only feel guilty. Now some other girl is going to get canceled on. Ugh, this is why I don’t date .
Parker checks his Apple watch and whistles. “Damn. Marjorie’s going to have my balls. My hour-and-a-half was up ten minutes ago.”
He drops my hand to put his card back into his wallet and stands. “Come on,” he says. “We can decide where to go Saturday night on our way back to the office.”