“I had no idea you’d be here. I’m not stalking you.” He smiled. A friendly smile rather than a lecherous one.
“Good, my boyfriend wouldn’t like it.” She thought that might be the world’s biggest understatement, but it was true. “I bet you think I only have one outfit.”
“No, course not. It’s a whole new outfit with what I am imagining to be thigh highs.” He refilled her almost empty wine glass as he reverted back to lecherous.
“Please, don’t. I have a boyfriend and no interest in you, oh, and not forgetting your girlfriend.” Her cheeks were flushing, and not because of the wine but her tone was sharper, terse.
“Sorry, but it is a very nice dress. I wasn’t even sure I still had a girlfriend when we met. Things were tense. Rosa is high maintenance,” he explained with an arched brow and Tasha had no reason to dispute what he was saying so simply allowed him to continue. “That was one of the reasons I went to New York, for a break. To think and it’s still new, but it’s unlikely to last. I really don’t think your boyfriend likes me. He’s the guy off the plane, isn’t he?” Parker asked, turning things back on her now.
She nodded. “And he was not happy about you giving me your number.”
He laughed. “I bet.”
Tasha could feel her discomfort rising as she realised Parker was surveying her whole body. His eyes roved from head to toe and back again.
“Did he know I was in the restaurant before tonight?”
She nodded.
“I’m so sorry I won’t be seeing you dancing on tables tomorrow.”
Tasha shook her head. This conversation was pointless and dangerous. She had no interest in the man standing in front of her. She had no interest in any man who wasn’t Jim and every time she made it clear Parker seemed to take it as some signal to up his game.
“There was no chance of you ever seeing that.”
“Why?”
Shaking her head in disbelief because he couldn’t see why, Tasha tried for a blunt and concise response. “If you had been going out, I would not have been.”
“Shame. I’ve thought about you a lot; your legs and your ass and now I have stockings to add to those images.”
“Maybe you should think about your girlfriend, whether it’s likely to last or not. I don’t think she’d be happy about you thinking about me. I know my boyfriend is far from happy about it and honestly, I’m not awfully thrilled about it either.”
He appeared to shrug indifference to hergirlfriendcomment. “He knows?” Parker focused more on Jim knowing than anything else.
“Yes, he asked me what you’d said to me.”
“And you told him?”
“He actually told me what the purpose of your visit was. I just confirmed it after getting over the shock of it.”
“No wonder he doesn’t like me.” Parker laughed, unbothered by Jim’s annoyance, unlike Tasha.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much for now,” she replied thinking Jim was unlikely to truly take Howser to task here in front of everyone. “He’s struggling to like me at the moment,” she added and thought it was probably true.
“Because of the painting?”
“Probably more to do with the artist,” she explained and although she didn’t find it funny, she laughed, a little nervously.
“I’d be jealous too if I had you.” He reached out and brushed her hand with his own.
Tasha withdrew sharply, not wanting to give any signals he might misinterpret as encouragement. Her phone vibrated in her bag as they were joined by Rosa, giving her the ideal opportunity to excuse herself to retrieve her phone. Sitting on a small sofa nearby she saw her message was from Jim. Looking around the room he was nowhere to be seen.
Briefly panicking, Tasha wondered if he’d gone home without her because of her Gerry revelations or because she’d been talking to Parker.
Lizzie joined her. “Thanks for not telling Daddy about me using my phone in history.”
“No problem, Lizzie.” Suddenly, Tasha laughed. “You told himself yourself, didn’t you?”
