Aiden then hugged his dad, while Ava told Harper to have fun. The couple peeked in the door and told Annie goodbye, waved to Jim, and they were on their way.
"So, do I finally get to try The Heavenly Gourmet?" she asked as they drove away.
"Yes, I thought I'd take you there first, and after dinner we can do whatever you want. We can take in a club, walk along the beach, or go to a movie. Whatever you want to do; the night belongs to you."
Get a hotel room… try a real taste of Heaven… Oh, Harper, you are so in over your head.
"I think I'd like to walk along the beach," she replied, inwardly scolding herself for her prior thoughts.
"That can certainly be arranged. You'll love the beach in the moonlight. It's gorgeous. By the way, you know you've made quite a hit with Annie now, as well as Ellie."
"I have?"
"Oh, yes, she wouldn't have offered to watch the kids so we could go out tonight if she didn't like you."
"But I thought she was crazy about the kids."
"She is, and she would have spent the evening with them; she just wouldn't have pushed us to go out together."
"I see. A conspiracy in the making. You know, I caught Ellie and the kids whispering when I walked downstairs this morning. They got very quiet and secretive when I entered the room."
"They're all in it together. I hope you don't mind, Harper. They mean no harm, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can certainly put a stop to it. I don't want anyone to make you feel awkward in my home."
"It's fine; in fact, I think it's cute."
"Personally, I do too. But like I said, if it gets uncomfortable for you, let me know. Here we are, Harper. Welcome to The Heavenly Gourmet."
He chuckled as he got out of the car and walked around to open her door.
"What's so funny?" she asked as she took his hand.
"Just thinking about the staff and the kids trying to play matchmaker and thinking we're not onto them. We should play tricks of our own on them."
A few stolen kisses for them to see, perhaps, she thought.
They walked into the restaurant and were immediately greeted by the hostess and the manager, who'd seen Parker walk in.
"Mr. Bentley, welcome. I see you arrived safely."
"We got in this afternoon, as a matter of fact. Brant, Jackie, I want you to meet Harper. Can you believe she's never been to one of our restaurants? We're going to show her the royal treatment tonight."
"You're in for a real treat, Miss Harper." Brant smiled as he shook her hand.
Jackie also smiled as she led them to a table and took their drink order.
"This is beautiful, Parker. The décor is just like Heaven."
"Yes, that's the idea."
Jackie brought their drinks and went back to her post in the front of the restaurant. A waiter soon came to take their order.
"You order for me, Parker," Harper told him. "I trust you."
"That's good to know. Trust is important." He placed the order, and after the waiter had left, he added, "Glad to hear you trust me, because I trust you, too, Harper. I trust you with my children, who are the two most precious things in my life."
"Oh, Parker, thank you. I absolutely cherish the two of them already."
"I'm, again, so thankful to have met you."
The waiter brought their salads, and the conversation changed to small talk.
The entire meal was, as promised, heavenly. And by the time they were finished, several of the employees had stopped by to say hello and get a peek at the boss's 'new lady.'
Parker was friendly to all of them and thanked them for the wonderful service.
"Ready to go, Harper?" he asked as he walked around and pulled out her chair for her.
As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Harper asked, "Where to now?"
"You'll see." He drove until they were on the highway that ran along the public beach. He parked in a public access lot and turned to her. "You said you wanted to see the beach, so let's take a moonlight stroll. I know we could have gone home and done this, but I don't want the kids to see us and want to join us. This is your night." He helped her out of the car, then removed his socks and shoes, throwing them in the back seat. "You might want to take off your sandals, Harper. The sand will feel good on your feet."
"Okay," she replied as she removed them and tossed them on the floorboard.
"Come on, Miss Easton. Let me show you what beach life is really like." He took her hand and led her to the sand.
They strolled together for a while, quietly talking, when Harper suddenly noticed a couple walking in front of them. The man took the woman in his arms and kissed her. How wonderful to be walking here with the one you love.
"Young love is great, isn't it, Harper? Do you miss Shawn still?" Parker asked as he stopped and searched her face.
Taken off guard for just a minute, she replied, "What? Oh, I rarely think of him, Parker. He was my first love, my only love, actually, but I realize now that he wasn't the one for me. If he had been, he would have married me and not her. He wouldn't have been attracted to her in the first place. He's happy, and I hope to be happy someday too." She didn't add that since she'd met Parker, she hadn't thought much of Shawn at all, and when she did, her old flame didn't look good to her in any way, shape, or form.
"I was worried you might be pining away for him, when you told me you hadn't dated since the breakup. You're too special, Harper, not to find true love."
"Thank you, Parker. I don't know about the special part, but I do hope to find true love, someday," she answered softly as she silently added, and I'd like for it to be with you.
"I have a feeling you will, Harper. Just give it some time. You're still young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. I guess you've heard that old cliché before, huh?"
She nodded. "Yes, of course, I have. I think people don't know what else to say. I mean, I know it's true, but I've decided that it'll happen when the time is right and not before. It may never happen, for that matter. Who knows?"
"I find that hard to believe. Just don't go meeting some guy and leaving us, anytime soon. We all like having you around," he teased as he took her hand and turned to the water. "You game for some late-night wading close to the shore?"
"Is it safe?" she asked.
"Yes, right now, it should be. We're only going to get our feet wet. I won't go out any further in the dark. But it's so peaceful out here with only a few other couples around, I think we should at least get in."
"Okay. I don't know much about the ocean and the beach," she admitted.
"You've never been?" he asked.
"No. When I lived at home and my dad was alive, our vacations were all to the mountains, never the beach."
"Well, then, young lady, you are in for a real treat. You have the whole summer in a house on the beach."
"I'm looking forward to building those sand castles the kids were talking about," she told him.
"Those two will run you ragged if you let them. Make sure to set down some rules for them. I'll let you decide."
"Rules?" she asked in a surprised tone. She had assumed that he allowed Ava and Aiden a lot of leeway.
"Of course; kids need structure in their lives, just as adults do."
This was a side of him she hadn't seen before. Of course, he was a businessman, employer to many people, but she had somehow thought the kids didn't fall into the category of needing rules. She wasn't appalled by the fact, either. It just convinced her even more that he was a good father. He was indulgent, but not to a fault. She guessed that if one of the children were to misbehave, he'd see to it they didn't repeat the same mistake again. She liked that about him.
She didn't think anyone would run over Parker Bentley. If they tried, they'd answer to him, she was sure.
After they had walked into the water and let the waves crash around their ankles for a while, he said, "I guess we should head back. It's just so peaceful and relaxing here."
; "I agree, but you're probably right. It's getting late."
They walked slowly back to the car, and he handed her a towel from the trunk to dry her feet. She let him open the door for her and slipped back into her sandals.
On the way home, they chatted about a lot of things, making her fall even more for the handsome, dominant man seated beside her. Oh, yes, he was dominant, of that she was sure. She'd read enough books to recognize the signs. It didn't turn her off in the least, either.
They arrived at the house, and he pulled the car into the garage then helped her out. When they went inside, all was quiet. Annie must have already put the kids to bed. Parker told her goodnight and said he had some work to take care of. He told her to go on up and he'd give her time to finish in the bathroom before he came up.
Did he feel awkward with her now that they were back at the house? she wondered. She didn't argue or make him wait. Something about his attitude and the things he'd revealed to her tonight told her to do as he said and not to question him, so she said goodnight and ran up the stairs to her room.
Settling into her comfortable bed after getting changed, Harper thought about the evening she'd shared with her employer. It had been fun, and she'd learned a few things about him that she hadn't know before. His restaurant had been fantastic, so it was no wonder he was so successful.
She heard him turn on the water in the bathroom sink and slid farther under the covers, trying to be as quiet as she could. Why, she didn't know. She wanted him to think she was being a good girl, that she had gone to bed as he'd told her to do. Crazy girl, she thought. Like he cares what you do, other than what you're paid to do.
She fell asleep not long after she heard him go into his own bedroom. But her dreams were vivid; she and Parker were making love on the beach this time.
After she'd dressed the next morning, she went in search of the children. They were still asleep, so she woke both of them and helped them pick out their clothes for the day. Ava insisted on dressing herself, so Harper went to help Aiden. When she went back to check on Ava, Parker was in his daughter's room.
"Need some help here?" She laughed as she watched him attempting to put a ponytail in the little girl's hair.
"Please, Harper, help me. Daddy isn't doing a very good job," Ava begged as Parker feigned a hurt look. The little girl tried to spare his feelings by adding, "Daddy, don't be silly. Ponytails are a mommy job, not a daddy job."
"Or maybe a nanny's job, Ava," Harper gently reminded her. She took the hairbrush Parker offered her and swiftly achieved the perfect ponytail.
"I don't know how you did that, but thank you." He grinned at her as he glanced at his son, who'd been watching the entire scene with interest.
"Ready for breakfast, Aiden?" he asked the little boy.
"Yes, what's Annie making for us?"
"We'll have to go downstairs and see, but whatever it is, we'll be polite, won't we?"
"Annie cooks good, Daddy."
"Yes, she does, but just in case she or Ellie would ever make something you don't like, you know you have to be polite, right?"
"Yes, Daddy, we know that," Ava answered him with a sigh.
Harper giggled as she watched the three of them interacting together. Once again, Parker had demonstrated what a good father he was, teaching manners and common courtesy to his little ones.
The four of them entered the dining room together. They weren't disappointed when Annie carried steaming plates of French toast to the table.
"I love French toast, Annie," Ava told her with a smile that would win anyone's heart.
"Me, too," Aiden told the woman who beamed at the praise from her little buddy.
"What about you, Harper? French toast okay?"
"Of course, Annie. I haven't eaten this much since I lived at home."
"Are you the 'grab a cup of coffee on the way out the door' type, Harper?" Parker teased.
"Pretty much, yes, I usually had a piece of toast and orange juice in the car on the way to work, and coffee after I arrived at the office."
"I figured as much. You'll have to get used to real food here. Ellie and Annie are both excellent cooks."
"Thank you, Mr. B." Annie seemed pleased at his words.
"Everything I've had so far has been wonderful. I'll probably gain so much weight with all this wonderful food, my bikini won't fit by the end of the summer."
"Bikini, huh?" Parker asked. "I was planning a family outing to the beach tomorrow. Are you going to wear your bikini, Harper?"
"If you'd rather I didn't, I also packed a one-piece."
"Either is fine." Having voiced his opinion, Parker quickly busied himself with his food.
When breakfast was over, he asked Harper what was on her agenda for the day.
"I want to take the children out to the patio and read to them for a while. Then I thought we might take a dip in the pool before lunch and naps afterward."
"Sounds good; I have business to attend to if I want to clear tomorrow for the beach, so I'll leave you to it, and I'll get busy. See you at lunch."
He walked into the home office and closed the door, leaving Harper and the children to move forward with their day on their own.
When Annie announced to everyone that lunch would be ready soon, Harper told the children to get out of the pool. She dried them off as best she could and took them to their rooms to get dressed.
Parker came into the dining room with the same strained look on his face she'd noticed the night before they left Chicago.
"Everything all right, Parker?" she asked as he sat.
"Business problems, nothing for you to be worried about, but thank you for asking."
As soon as he'd finished his lunch, he went back to his office and stayed there until dinnertime. The strained look was still there, causing Harper to wonder what kind of business problems he was facing.
She noticed, whenever he was with Ava and Aiden, however, he was very good at focusing all of his attention on them, no matter what was going on in his adult world.
"So, tell me all about your day. I know you swam this morning. What did you do this afternoon?" he asked the kids.
"Harper made us take a nap after lunch."
"And that is a good thing." He laughed at his son, who, apparently, didn't agree.
"Then we took a walk, and then we baked cookies," Ava chimed in, obviously pleased with her day.
He looked at Harper. "That sounds like fun. Do you think Harper would help me bake cookies, sometime?"
"Maybe if you ask me nicely." She giggled at the thought of Parker Bentley in the kitchen. But, then again, he did own a chain of restaurants. She'd have to remember to ask him, sometime, how he got started in the food service business.
After dinner, when the children were asleep, he invited Harper to join him for a drink again.
Once they were seated, he said, "I'm having some problems with the restaurant chain, Harper. There's a larger chain trying to take over my company. I'll never let that happen and will take whatever steps necessary to stop it. I've worked hard, and no one is going to take it away from me. I didn't say anything, earlier, because I don't want the children to know."
"Of course, I understand. They don't need to be worried about you. Is there anything I can do to help?" Harper reached over and touched his hand soothingly.
"My attorney and I had a long phone conversation, today, about this. There may be something you can do, Harper, but it's a huge thing for me to ask of you. I'd rather wait until I go back to Chicago next week and discuss it with him further before I bring you in on this. I just wanted to let you know the situation."
"I appreciate your trust in me, Parker. I won't say anything to anyone."
"I'd trust you with my life, Harper. You've more than proven in the short time I've known you what a genuinely good person you are."
"Thank you, Parker. I'm just being me."
"And that's what makes you so special." He stood up then and walked over to where she sat.
Bending down, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and continued. "I'm going to bed now. If you're coming up, I'll walk you."
Stunned by the conversation and the kiss, she allowed him to help her up. Once again, he walked her to her door, only tonight was different. When they reached her room, he hesitantly pulled her into his arms, as if he were afraid she would reject him. He looked into her eyes before he leaned down and kissed her soundly on the lips. When he released her, he said, "I'm sorry, Harper, I don't mean to offend you. It's just been a hard day, and having you to talk to about it helped me more than you know. I couldn't stop myself."
"I'm not offended, Parker, maybe a bit confused, though."
"We'll have a long talk after I return from Chicago next week. You'll know all there is to know then. For the rest of this week, I'm officially on vacation. Everything is under control for now."
"I'll see you in the morning, Parker. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Harper. Sleep well."
She ran to the bed and collapsed on it as soon as she shut her door, puzzled about what he'd said.
Harper and Parker walked with the children between them. They found a lovely stretch of the private beach behind the house, and the afternoon sun was past its hottest time of the day. Even so, Harper had rubbed both the kids down with sunscreen before beginning to apply it to herself. Parker had spread two large blankets on the sand.
After the kids were occupied with sandcastles, he took the tube of lotion from Harper's hand. "Let me help you." He poured some of the lotion into the palm of his hand and began to rub her back as she sat in front of him on the blanket.
"Thank you." Currents of electricity coursed throughout her body as his hands expertly massaged her back with the cool lotion. She turned and took the tube from his hands. "That's good. Do you want me to put some on your back?"
He gave her an odd look before turning around. She began rubbing the lotion into his skin, her hands scorched by the touch. This won't do at all. She hurriedly finished and said, "Okay, all done."
When he turned back around, he smiled at her and looked over at the kids happily playing in the sand.
Her Convenient Dom (Dominant Men Book 2) Page 5