by Claire Adams
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“You had to be there, I guess,” she said in a dour tone.
“What else have you been doing?”
“Mostly going out at night and sleeping all day.”
It sounded exactly like what she did when she was home. Not sure she needed to go away to do all that.
Someone said something in the background and I struggled to hear what they said.
Rachel broke out in a fit of giggles, and it was so loud I had to move the phone away from my ear.
“It sounds like you’re having a good time.”
“The BEST!” she screeched.
Someone “wooed” in the background.
“You know it!” she called out. I could picture Rachel being more preoccupied with them than me. That had been obvious by her lack of contact since she’d left for her mini-vacation.
“How’s the wedding planning going?” she asked.
I didn’t know if she was getting my texts since she refused to take my phone calls, so I had to recap everything for her. “We changed the venue to this really spectacular place overlooking the ocean. I rented out the entire space so we can add other things. Sienna was thinking a photo booth—”
“Sounds good,” Rachel said, interrupting me. “Listen, I want to move the wedding up if you can get the plans done before I get back.”
I stared at the phone, stunned that she would even ask that. I had enough trouble securing vendors for the original date. “I don’t think that will work, Rachel. Unless you want to do something at the courthouse.” I wasn’t opposed to a quick wedding, but I didn’t think a big wedding was possible in the timeline that she wanted.
“I’m not wearing my ten thousand dollar dress at a courthouse. Just make it happen. Throw whatever money you can at this.”
She’d been callous before, but only when we were alone. I didn’t like how she spoke about my money in front of her friends. It was a personal thing to me, and she was treating my life’s work like Monopoly money.
“I don’t think you understand how this works, Rachel.” I couldn’t help feeling annoyed.
“We’re going to the pool, Rachel,” Ophelia said in the background.
“Rachel,” I said, “I think we need to discuss this.”
“Later, Parker. Just make it work.”
“I’ll try,” I said, resigning myself to the fact that I’d probably have to redo the entire wedding, and now in a shorter amount of time.
“’Kay, great, bye.”
“I love—” the phone line went dead, “—you.”
I tossed my phone onto the bed and dug my palms into my eyes. I really wished I hadn’t picked up the phone for her. She was asking way too much of me while being away. I needed her here to help me. Maybe it was a good time to hire a wedding planner. At least they could take care of everything, and then Rachel could blame them if something went wrong. Stress built up in my chest and a rush of energy flooded my body. I sat up and pushed off the bed. I needed to do something.
Sienna’s face flashed in my mind. She’d know what to do.
By the time I reached the diner, my mouth was watering for some nearly burnt bacon. I’d shoved the conversation with Rachel to the back of my mind. I’d talk to her later when she wasn’t so distracted and see if we could work something out. If not, I’d hire someone to help out. I had to. I didn’t have time for this. Maybe Rachel would pick up her phone for a wedding planner even if she didn’t for me.
The lot was full, and I had to park around back where there was space. I went into the kitchen. I grabbed an apron and put it in front of me as a shield.
Tony turned when I came in. “What are you doing, man?”
Sienna turned around and smiled at me. She had a bit of jelly on her cheek, which added to her charm.
“I don’t need to be assaulted by more eggs. I’m protecting myself.”
“We’re too busy for food fights today,” Sienna said.
“That’s good. I think my advertising has paid off.”
“Do you want a medal?” she said, smiling.
“No, but I could use some food.”
“Give us about ten minutes to catch up,” Tony said. “Then she’ll make you whatever you want.”
“Thanks for speaking for me,” Sienna said to Tony and bumped him with her elbow.
He brandished a spatula at her and she erupted with laughter. “No spatula fights today, Tony.”
My mood improved almost immediately. I went out to the front and poured myself a cup of coffee then came back and sat, watching them cook.
Tony and Sienna were talking about his motorcycle that was in the shop.
“Do you need to borrow a car?” I asked him.
“Nah, I don’t want to put you out.”
Sienna snorted. “He has five of them.”
Tony’s eyes widened.
“Actually six,” I said. “But who’s counting?”
“Really?” Tony asked tentatively, almost as if I was going to pull the rug out from under him.
“Yeah, it’s not like I use them all at the same time. I’d be happy to help out until you get your bike back.”
“Awesome, man,” Tony came over and shook my hand.
“I’ll take you to my place tonight and you can pick one out.”
“That sounds so romantic,” Sienna teased. “Too bad you can’t let your best friend borrow one.”
“I did that once, remember?”
Tony looked at Sienna.
She curled her lip. “It was only a small dent.”
I chuckled. “A small dent that cost me three thousand dollars.”
Tony whistled his disbelief.
“God, you’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Sienna said. She grabbed two plates and headed out into the dining area.
Tony looked through the pass-through. “Man, we’re cookin’ today! Literally.”
“How is everything going here?” I asked him. I knew Sienna would always be positive about the place, but Tony was a straight-shooter.
“It’s not the busiest I’ve ever seen, but we’re steady. Much more now since you put out that advertising.”
It wasn’t where I’d like to see the business, though. Tony couldn’t even afford to get his motorcycle fixed. I wished Sienna would let me help her out. I had plenty of money to go around. But she was adorably stubborn in that way.
Sienna came back into the kitchen. “Harriet and Kenneth are here. Do you mind making their order? I have to finish up table five.”
“No problem.”
I watched them work for a few minutes before I headed out into the dining room for more coffee. I caught Harriet’s eye and she waved me over.
“Good morning,” I said to them.
“Oh, Parker. It’s lovely to see you again. You should sit with us.”
I looked at the kitchen where Sienna and Tony were working hard. I didn’t want to disturb them any more than I had. “All right.”
I shook Kenneth’s hand. “How are you, sir?”
“I’m still kickin’,” he said.
“Sienna said that you two celebrated a fortieth anniversary,” I said. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“Well, thank you for thinking of us. You’re well on your way to that. Tell me about your upcoming wedding.”
I told them about the venue and how excited I was to get married there.
“Sienna told us about the place. It sounds lovely.”
I scratched the back of my neck. “It is, but to be honest, I don’t know if it's going to work out.”
“How come?”
There was something about Harriet that made me want to open up to her. “Rachel wants to move the wedding up sooner.”
“Oh, dear,” Harriet said. “Have you called the venue?”
“I called this morning, but I’m waiting to hear back.”
“Well, I’m sure it will all work out. Weddings are lovely, but they really are for only
one day. It’s the rest of your life together that matters.”
I flipped the conversation to them, not wanting to talk about my own wedding anymore, uncomfortable with the feeling of resentment I had toward Rachel at the moment.
“Tell me your secret to a lasting marriage,” I said. At this point, I needed all the advice I could get.
“Well, there’s no secret to it, really. When you’re married for a while, things start to shift in your relationship. Sometimes the passion fizzles out for a little while when you have children, but as long as you are a team and work together to be the glue holding the relationship together, then you will wake up each morning with the person you’re meant to be with.”
“That’s really nice,” I said.
“Are you planning on having children?” she asked.
“I’d like to,” I said.
“Children are a blessing, but be sure to enjoy yourselves for a little while first.”
“And pick your battles,” Kenneth chimed in. “The silly things can break you. Respect your wife, too.”
I took a breath. If only Rachel respected me, maybe I wouldn’t be feeling this way. Though she was distracted with her friends. Maybe when she came home, she’d feel differently about all of this. One thing about her was that she tended to camouflage herself with whatever company she was with. I needed to get her away from her single friends so that she could invest more in this relationship.
“You know,” Harriet said. “Ken and I knew each other from childhood. He was the boy next door. But it took us a while to figure out that we were the best thing for each other. We could appreciate each other’s quirks, and we genuinely felt better when we were around each other.”
I couldn’t help but think of the parallel between them and Sienna and me. Those feelings I’d had at the paintball field still lingered. Harriet and Kenneth had taken that leap of faith with each other, and now they were best friends and had been married for forty years. It seemed the best of both worlds. I knew I wanted Sienna in my life forever, but was I willing to take that leap of faith with her or Rachel? Harriet and Kenneth’s love for each other was written all over their faces. I wanted that so desperately.
I glanced over at the kitchen and saw Sienna with her head down working. She glanced up and pulled a silly face with her tongue sticking out. I smiled.
I had a lot to think about.
Chapter Fourteen
Sienna
I was in the middle of a very good dream with a mystery dream man taking me into his lavish home when I jolted awake. Why had I woken up so quickly? I squeezed my eyelids together and willed myself to get back into that dreamland.
A loud knock on my door made me growl in frustration. That must have been what woke me.
I shoved the covers aside and threw on a pair of shorts before heading out to the door. I had a feeling it was Parker; this was his M.O. lately, waking me up every chance he could. I didn’t mind it as much as I pretended to. Especially not lately. I wanted to be with him as much as I could before his wedding, when everything would change. As much as he tried to tell me it wouldn’t, I knew it would. It was the natural progression of life and marriage. And a husband with a girl for a best friend would be the first to go.
I opened the door. “Come on in.”
He rushed into my house and handed me a cup of coffee. “I know you told me to call or text you before doing this again, but I had to come see you.” His hands were shaking as if he just drank five cups of coffee.
I was intrigued. “What’s up?”
“So, I got a call this morning from some suit in New York.”
I thought it was hilarious when Parker called other businessmen “suits” because he didn’t believe he was in the same category as them.
“And they offered me an insane amount of money to buy my company.”
“Were you in the market to sell your company?” I asked.
“I’ve thought about it before,” he said. “But only when the right offer came along. I expected this since that’s what seems to be happening lately. You start a social media business and become mildly successful—”
“Mildly?” I said incredulously.
He waved me off. “You know what I mean.”
“Are they a reputable company?”
“Oh, yeah. And they offered me enough money that my grandchildren won’t have to work a day in their lives and everyone will be able to live comfortably.”
With his billions in the bank, I didn’t think that would be an issue, but they must have really wanted his company to offer him that much. “Wow, that’s amazing, Parker. Do you know what you’re going to do?”
He took a long swig of his coffee. I didn’t think he needed any more caffeine, but I wasn’t going to interrupt him processing this news. It was a big decision and not to be taken lightly. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Do you think a better offer will come along?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’s not about the money. This company has been my baby for so long. I can’t imagine just selling it off.”
“What would make you happy? In the end, that’s all that matters.”
“It would be foolish of me to make a decision so quickly,” he said, smiling, “but I just wanted to share the news with someone.”
“Have you told Rachel?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
His eyes darkened momentarily, and I wondered what that was about. Over the past few days, I had to pull information about Rachel out of him. I wondered if something had happened between them. He still carried on with the wedding plans, so I couldn’t imagine they’d had that big of a fight. I hated that I still wished they would end this thing before it started, but with each passing day, I started to lose hope.
Though it felt really good to have him come to me first instead of her.
“Well, it looks like you need a distraction while you go through all of your options. And I think we need to get some of that nervous energy out.”
“What did you have in mind?”
When we got to Sunny’s, I tossed Parker an apron. “You’re serious?”
“I think it's time you worked a day in your life like normal people and not on your phone.”
“Hey, I made a lot of money by working on my phone,” he said.
“Yes, but you’ve lost touch with the people you offer your services to. And we have a busy afternoon, and I need the help.” The day before, I got a call from a school about their field trip coming through the area, asking if I could accommodate thirty kids. The woman mentioned my website. Something I didn’t know I even had. I planned on asking Parker for that information, but it appeared he’d be out of a job soon. Maybe he could continue to work on getting the word out about the diner in his free time. At least it would give him something to do while he sat on a very fat bank account. Plus, I never turned down the opportunity for money, so I agreed to have them in the diner. But that also left me short-handed. Parker had been my guardian angel when it came to helping with my business. And to show him how grateful I was, he was about to work his butt off.
He tied the apron around his waist. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”
“To make it easier on everyone, the group already sent in their order. Since they are all middle-school kids, it's a bunch of hamburgers and chicken tenders and the like. Easy stuff.”
He shook his head. “You want me to prepare these kids food? I don’t want to poison them.”
“No, you’re going to serve them. But I will need help plating.”
“What’s Tony doing while I’m playing busboy?”
“He’s taking care of the rest of the clientele.”
Parker’s hands carved through his hair and he held it back for a moment before releasing it. “Okay, I think I can handle this.”
“First, go wash your hands.” I didn’t need hair gel in my prepared food.
When the group arrived, Parker’s face paled. I had to reassure him numerous times that he
would be fine. We both went out there together and I introduced myself to the group.
“All right, I’m going to work around the table and you let me know what you want to drink,” I said to the kids.
“I could use a whiskey,” Parker said more to himself.
I bumped him in the arm. “Take a breath. You’ll be fine.”
Parker had a rough start. After spilling two sodas on the way to the table, the kids booed him. I couldn’t help but laugh at his misfortune. I knew he wanted to give up, so I offered to clean the spill while he tried again. It wasn’t until two of the little girls started giving him goo-goo eyes and said he looked like Chris Hemsworth that he began to feel comfortable. Parker had a way with females of all ages, it seemed, and nothing could bring up his ego like a compliment on his looks.
His confidence grew, and by the time we were serving ice cream sundaes to the kids, Parker was a pro. He even handled four sundae cups at the same time without spilling so much as a drop.
When the kids left, Parker actually looked a little bummed.
While Tony took his break, I showed Parker how to form hamburger patties. Since he wasn’t mixing ingredients, I didn’t worry too much about his lack of skills in the kitchen. It was pretty hard to mess up a patty.
Watching Parker have a good time while helping me out made me really want to delve deeper into this whole Rachel thing. What was their deal lately, anyhow? I felt awful that we couldn’t talk about everything like we used to. Since there was a defined future for them, I didn’t want to say anything that would cause a rift, but I really wanted him to open up to me.
When Parker was serving a customer, I pulled Tony aside. “Ask Parker about him and Rachel.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you ask him?”
“Because I can’t,” I said. “Please do this for me. I’ll talk to you about it later.”
“If you let me off early tonight, I’ll ask.”
“Seriously? You’re bartering with me?”
He shrugged. “I have a date tonight.”
Parker was already on his way back from the table. He’d be in the kitchen any second.