Page 56 of Parker

I turn around to find Parker Stewart standing by the sofa, and my jaw drops.

She’s wearing a short black dress with a black shawl draped over her elbows. Her long legs end in black heeled shoes, and her hair is down.She only wears it down for special occasions, so my heart swells when I note this detail. Around her neck is a silver chain with a tiny silver snowflake, and in her ears are small diamond studs.

I’ve never—not at any of her siblings’ weddings or at the many parties we’ve attended together over the years—seen herlooking more beautiful, and the fact that she dressed this way for me almost brings me to my knees before her.

“You’re gorgeous,” I hear myself whisper.

She smiles at me. “Thanks. You look nice, too.”

“Thanks. My dad said to bring this jacket in case I was invited to a business meeting. I thought he was nuts, but I’m glad he insisted.”

“I half expected you to wear jeans and boots, and I hoped I wasn’t overdressing.” She shrugs. “But you did say a ‘real’ date, so I assumed fancy.”

“You assumed right.”

We’re still standing across the room from each other. She gestures to the roses. “Are those for me?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re beautiful,” she says. “I love pink.”

“Same color as bubblegum ice cream.”

“My favorite! You remember that?”

I remember everything, I think, but I don’t want to overwhelm her, so I just nod.

She crosses to the wet bar and opens an overhead cabinet, extracting a vase and filling it with water. “I couldn’t imagine I’d need this when I saw it, but now I’m glad it’s here. Like your blazer.”

She places the vase on the coffee table, then takes the flowers from me, unwraps them from cellophane and gently drops them in the water. When she looks up at me, her blue eyes sparkle.

“Thanks again, Quinn. They’re perfect.”

You’re perfect.I stare at her for a second, desperate to pull her into my arms and kiss the soft skin on the side of her throat. My heart races.Slow down. Slow down.I clear my throat. “I arranged for a limo to pick us up. You ready?”

“Wow! Yes! I’m ready.”

***

The view from the Legacy Bar was not overhyped.

I’ve reserved a firepit area for us, which includes four quarter-circle, cream-colored, leather sofas pushed together to make a ring around the fire. I assume three people would fit on each sofa, but we have them all, giving rise to a small conundrum as we arrive.

Parker precedes me to the circle and takes a seat on the sofa closest to the glass that looks out over the strip.

Do I sit beside her?That feels a little pushy.

Across from her?The view would be great, but it feels a little far away.

I’m so nervous trying to figure this out, my hands get cold, so for now, I stay standing, warming them over the open flame.

“You ordered champagne, sir?”

Fuck. I don’t even know if Parker likes champagne. We’ve never raised a glass together, and when I run into her around Skagway, she’s usually drinking beer.

Parker, who’s been looking at the view, catches my eyes over her shoulder.

“Champagne? Yum!”