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It’s over.
Chapter 9
Meadow
“Okay, Parker, give. How did Ida Sue talk you into this?” I ask, looking across the table at him.
“What?”
“How did she convince you to ask me out? Spill.”
“Meadow, have you looked in the mirror? No man has to be talked into taking you out—not if he has a brain.”
I blush, feeling heat creeping into my face, but I ignore it. I roll my eyes at him. “We both know there’s only one girl you want to be sitting across from and that is definitely not me.”
“I should have never told you about Faye,” he complains, and I smile.
“You needed to tell someone, Parker. I was here,” I shrug, pushing my fettuccine around my plate.
“I don’t know how many dates you have been on, sweetheart, but if a man talks about another woman the whole time, it’s not a good date.”
I laugh. Parker is easy. He’s sweet and kind. He can be funny and thoughtful, too. He has money, but it doesn’t seem to rule who he is. He’s also extremely delicious to look at. It’s my bad luck he’s hung up on another girl and that when I look at him, I see a brother. I think finding the nerve to say my marriage was a mistake and realizing I should have left long ago has turned me away from being committed to someone. Whatever I have with Blue can’t be described as a relationship. We scratched an itch, soothed an ache that had been brewing. I ended things and that’s the best thing I could have done. It’s time to move forward—and not think about something that is so far in my past I shouldn’t even be able to recall it at this point.
“Sadly, I haven’t been on that many dates. I’ve only had two men in my life, both of which were huge mistakes—one slightly more than the other.”
“Is Blue the bigger or the lesser of those two mistakes?” he asks, studying me.
“Depends on the day you ask,” I answer honestly with a shrug. “Blue and I were so young. Both of us were figuring out way too much and were too naïve and inexperienced to deal with it together. That’s probably why high school romances never work out.”
“I don’t know. I’ve seen plenty work out and last.”
“Just as many crash and burn. Blue and I definitely crashed.”
“Do you mind if I ask what happened? Because I have to tell you, it’s clear he still views you as his territory.”
“Maybe that’s part of the problem. A woman shouldn’t be territory,” I mutter, ignoring the tingles I feel at the thought of Blue thinking I belong to him. Parker’s wrong. If Blue really thought of me like that, he wouldn’t hesitate to claim me as that in front of everyone. He wouldn’t have needed space. Blue is a caveman. I used to love that when I was younger. I loved when he would order me to kiss him and wrap his hand in my hair. He was demanding, but always—always—gentle in showing his love for me. That Blue has disappeared. Now? I’m not sure what he sees when he looks at me. It’s definitely not the fact he sees me as his property. I think he wants to make me pay for choosing Clark over him. Which is okay. I blame him for choosing to— No. I’m not going there. All of that is just better left in the past. Blue is better left in the past.
“If you say so,” he says, suddenly sounding dejected. “Maybe things would be better if I just stormed in Finn and Faye’s apartment and threw Faye over my shoulder and claimed her caveman style.”
“Why don’t you? I mean, you don’t seem like the kind of guy who would drag his feet when it comes to telling a woman how you feel. So, what’s really stopping you?”
“Finn’s my best friend. He’s always said his baby sister was off limits. Hell, I’m twenty-eight. Faye is barely out of high school. I can’t really blame him.”
“See, that’s where you and I disagree, Parker. You’re a great guy. It’s clear you have deep feelings for Faye, and I can’t ever see you purposefully hurting anyone—especially a woman. Now, I don’t know Faye, but Ida Sue tells me that she is—and this is quoting her by the way—carrying a torch for you that would burn bright enough to light up the entire sewer system in New York.”
“That’s romantic, equating Faye’s feelings for me with raw sewage,” he mutters, making me giggle.
“Well, in her defense, she was reading this novel about underground tunnels in New York and how they stem from the sewer canals,” I explain. Then, I shrug. “Plus, she’s a big fan of the old Ghostbusters movies.”
“You’re really close to her,” Parker points out.
“She’s been good to me. Almost like a second mother. She even volunteered to watch Adam tonight so I could be here.”
