More importantly…
I turned to Delaney. “Hey there, cupcake. Can I get you another drink?”
She leaned toward me, whispering into my ear. “You can get me, or do to me, anything you’d like.”
Just like that, the student became the teacher.
38
PARKER
“I still can’t believe we have the entire inn to ourselves.”
Delaney and I sat in front of the fireplace looking out onto the lake in the Eliza room, Heritage Hill’s best. It would be dark soon, but the table for two with our finished takeout meal afforded a perfect view.
“Not that we’re using any of it,” I said, refilling our wines.
When I told Mason I wanted to do something special for Delaney to celebrate her big decision, this had been his idea. Being a Tuesday mid-winter, there were no other guests until tomorrow when this room, and the other lakeview one, would be occupied.
“It’s still cool, to know we’re the only ones here.”
“The others are just a hallway away,” I reminded her, referring to the first-floor passageway that connected the original structure from the add-on where we lived.
“True.” Delaney took a sip of wine. “I just can’t wait to sleep in with you tomorrow. No work. Nothing to do for the entire day. What did Jack say?”
“That I’ve taken more days in the past month than since I started working for him. I figured it was as good a time as any to break it to him that I’d be taking off many more soon.”
“No, you didn’t?”
“I did. You inspired me.”
Delaney had finally told her parents two days ago, and though they gave her a hard time, as she expected, both said that, in the end, they supported her decision. Her mother seemed more disappointed Delaney hadn’t trusted her to help make the decision, thinking she would care more about the “lost” education. She admitted the risk scared her but “only because I love you and want you to be happy.”
“What did he say?”
“It actually went a lot better than I expected. You know how Jack can be.” In other words, the conversation might have gone in one of two ways. But instead of him telling me to fuck off, a distinct possibility, he went in the other direction.
“He said he never expected me to stay long term and was glad I decided on a niche business in construction.”
“In other words, he’s glad you aren’t in direct competition with him.”
“Exactly.”
“Anything else?”
“Not really. Just that he’d help in any way he could but just asked I not leave him high and dry when I make the transition. And, of course, not to take any of the guys.”
“As if you’d do either.”
“Exactly.”
“Wow. So we’re really doing this, huh?”
I raised my glass to her and Delaney lifted her own. “We really are. Cheers, cupcake.”
“Cheers,” she said, reaching forward to clink my glass.
Looking down, I groaned. “Bad idea, leaning forward like that with a v-neck.”
