Chapter 27
Nola doubted she’d sleep a wink, not after the way Alice had gushed over the wonderful evening she and Parker had enjoyed.
“I think something amazing is starting between us,” she’d said.
If it had been any other man Nola would have been dancing for joy. But this man. Why him? Why had she opened the door by accepting
that ridiculous debate challenge? More important, how could she get him out of their life before he hurt Alice?
But maybe he was done with his shock-jock behavior. Maybe he really was coming to care for Alice. Maybe this bad feeling Nola
had was nothing more than imagination-induced worry.
She’d cautioned Alice to take things slow, but hearts tended to want to race.
“It’ll be fine,” Alice had said.
Her daughter was learning a whole new vocabulary of confidence. That was good to see. And she had been holding her own hosting
his show. Nola was proud of how well she’d done. Her girl had spread her wings.
But Nola didn’t want some fickle man shooting Alice down just when she was starting to take flight. Still, she wasn’t sure how she could stop him. He’d better have meant what he said to her in the bookstore.
She made herself some hot milk and took a melatonin and a hot shower. She was on her way to bed when Bettina’s ring tone summoned
her.
“You never read PW this week, did you?” Bettina said.
“As you know, I’ve been busy,” said Nola.
“Well, I just did. And there’s an announcement about a book deal for Parker Black.”
Nola dropped onto the edge of the bed. “Read it to me.”
Bettina read the announcement about the sweet deal Parker Black had gotten for his non-fiction book Bye-Bye Babe. “A snarky collection of commentary and advice for men on how to survive the latest culture wars between the sexes,” she
read.
“That man,” Nola said in disgust. “Of course, to be fair, he wrote the book long before we met him.”
“Looks like he made the deal since we met him. And he and Alice have been spending time together these last couple nights,
haven’t they? And wasn’t he just buttering you up earlier today?”
Nola frowned. “Yes, he was.”
“Did he tell you about this?”
“No.”
“Did he tell Alice?”
“I’m sure he didn’t.” But Nola was going to. She ended the call with Bettina and called her daughter.
Alice didn’t pick up. She’d probably already gone to bed.
Nola left a message. “Alice, don’t rush into anything with this man.
He hasn’t changed at all. He’s still woman bashing and has sold a book that will keep him happily continuing to do so.
This is not someone you’re going to want to become involved with, trust me.
And trust your instincts.” Alice hadn’t liked the man from the get-go.
She’d been right. Hopefully, she’d remember that.
“And call me before you go to the station,” Nola urged.
Alice hadn’t needed to take a book to bed. Her head was filled with the conversation and kisses she’d enjoyed earlier. She
and Parker had both grown—character arc!—and were on their way to a happy ending.
She slept beautifully and right before waking up dreamed that Parker proposed. In front of the Eiffel Tower. Present had been
her mother and sister and Bettina. And her cat Mr. Darcy, who had been seated on a unicycle and could talk. It was a dream,
after all.
She smiled her way into the shower, then to her closet to try and find something sexy to wear for her last day on air. There
was nothing. She would have to do something about that. If she was going to be with a sophisticated, handsome man like Parker
she needed to up her game. She’d get her sister to take her shopping. Once Scarlet got over thinking that Parker was the devil’s
long-lost son.
She picked out a pink sweater to go with her slacks and this time opted to wear the gold locket that had been her maternal
grandmother’s. It was old-fashioned but sweet. And wearing something of one of her grandmother’s felt like the right thing
to do. She decided she needed to honor both grandmas and dug out the pink pearl bracelet that had been her other grandma’s.
Neither one was around anymore, but if they had been they’d have been happy to see Alice finding true love. Especially Grandma
Willoughby, who’d read her so many fairy tales when she was little.
“I got the prince, Grammy,” she murmured.
She picked up her phone to see if perhaps Parker had texted her. There was no text from Parker. Only a voice message from her mother. The call she’d decided to ignore after their earlier conversation.
Her mother’s words reached out and grabbed at her happiness. “He hasn’t changed at all . . . This is not someone you’re going
to want to get involved with.”
And here she was, getting involved. What was with the book her mother had mentioned? Why hadn’t he told her? They’d had their
share of confession time. Was this some sick form of revenge? Was he a male Miss Havisham, wreaking revenge on all women because
one had wronged him? From the way he’d talked on his radio show and the way he’d behaved, it was certainly possible.
But he’d changed. Or at least was changing.
She felt like she was carrying a boulder in her chest as she finished getting ready to leave. She knew her mother was worried,
but she couldn’t bring herself to call back and hear more about how untrustworthy Parker was.
The boulder stayed in place all the way to the station, and she found it hard to give him a genuine smile when she joined
him in the office he shared with Jay before heading into the actual soundproof studio. She walked in just in time to hear
him saying to Jay, “I can’t turn it down.”
Turn down what? That book deal her mother had mentioned?
She said a tentative, “Hi,” and Parker gave a guilty start.
“Alice, ready for your last day?” Jay greeted her.
“I think so,” she said.
She wanted to ask for a minute to talk to Parker alone, but bold, new Alice had run away and the old Alice couldn’t seem to
get the words out.
There wasn’t time, anyway. Jay had notes to go over with them and questions to ask. And advice to give out. “I like the whole
game metaphor. Milk that for all it’s worth.”
Like Parker had been milking working in her bookstore.
Parker nodded. He smiled at Alice. “You ready to go on?”
She nodded and followed him into the sound booth. “Did you get your stuff sorted out?” she asked as they settled in.
“Not yet,” he said and put on his over-ear headphones, signaling the end of all conversation.
She put on hers as well. The on-air light lit up and they were on, and Parker was sounding chipper, greeting his listeners,
telling them he was glad to be back with them. “And Alice Willoughby is here one last time with us, guys, so it’s your last
chance to impart some sports wisdom to her.” He turned and smiled at Alice. A phony on-air radio personality smile. “Alice,
do you feel like you’re becoming an expert on some sports now, enough to maybe write a sports romance and get it right?”
“I don’t know. Do you think you’ve learned enough to write about women and get it right?” she countered, thinking of his book
secret.
“I don’t know if anybody ever knows enough about women to get it right,” he said. “What do you think, Barker?”
“I’m flunking,” Jay cracked.
“Let’s hope the Mariners don’t flunk this season. Right after the show I’m catching my plane to sunny Peoria to get the scoop
for you guys. I know some of you have signed up for the big bash tomorrow night.”
Leaving right after the show. There would be no time to talk. Maybe that was just as well. She wasn’t sure what to say to
him.
As Parker discussed stats and analyzed players, she tried to analyze him. He wasn’t the duplicitous type. He said what he
thought, wielding his words like a blunt instrument. It didn’t make sense that he’d hide something that was such a big deal.
A nudge from him brought her thoughts back into the moment. “What?”
“What have you got to say to Eddie? Are you going to go to the games and root for the Mariners this year?”
“I’m hoping to,” she said. “Of course, I haven’t found anyone to take me yet. Know anybody really nice, Eddie?” she asked,
and Parker frowned.
“Don’t worry, guys, I’ll educate her,” he said.
“Maybe I’m already educated,” she said, which made his eyebrows pull together.
A new call came in. “We’ve got Brittany from here in Seattle on the line,” said Parker. “Brittany, what have you got to say?”
“I love how you sit there and pretend everything is just fine after all the harm you’ve done, Parker Black,” she ranted.
“How have I harmed you, Brittany?” Parker asked.
“Your stupid Valentine strike. Do you know how much business I lost that day? And not just me. For some of us Valentine’s
Day is our Christmas. You had a good old time making fun of men buying things for their women, telling them to go on strike.”
“Did you see me on the picket line?” he countered.
“No, because you’re a coward. And, Alice, what are you doing being on a show with the man who tried to ruin your business?
He’s just using you for ratings.”
“Hey, people change,” Parker said as he got rid of Brittany. But he didn’t deny the accusation. “Some of the women I met when
I was hanging out at Alice’s bookstore were fine, and they proved that there’s lots of good ones out there. They don’t all
hate men.”
“So, you’ve changed?” Alice asked.
“I’m rethinking some things,” he said. “But don’t worry, guys, I haven’t turned in my man card yet.”
Jay inserted himself into the conversation. “What do you think of that, Alice?”
“I think Parker’s right. He’s still the same man you all know and love,” Alice said with a frown.
“There you have it,” said Parker.
More calls came in, wanting to know what sports movies Alice had watched so far, and she shared about the two Parker had shown
her. “I have a whole list to go through,” she added. “I think I’ll host a girls’ night and we can have a double feature. “I’ll
start with The Blind Side,” she added.