“Really?” I said. Inwardly I was sad. Taking this job would be the death of the dream in which I had Parker. I would officially be a Manhattan girl.
This is what you’ve always wanted.
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“I know,” Nancy said. “I’ve prepared a packet with our thoughts and figures. Read it over. Let’s schedule another meeting, and we can discuss it further.”
* * *
I wasa little dizzy as I left the Holbrook Foundation building. Nancy had given me a tour and introduced me to potential team members. It was an impressive organization; however, it was very corporate and bureaucratic. I had been looking forward to building the Rural Trust from the ground up and putting my own stamp on it. The women at the Holbrook Foundation were all svelte, with perfectly manicured nails, smooth hair, and designer handbags. Meanwhile, my shoes were scuffed, my blouse was gaping around my bust area because I had no self-control around chess pie, and my nail polish was chipped. To be honest, I fit in more with the scrappy start-up nonprofit—I liked farm animals and baking and getting messy.
“Stop it,” I ordered myself as I tried to figure out the best way to make it across town to meet with Mark Holbrook for happy hour. “Harrogate is not happening. The Rural Trust is not happening. Parker is not happening. Seize new opportunities.”
Except I didn’t want new stuff. I was a creature of habit and comfort. I wanted to put down roots. I wanted the house and the yard and the dog and the kids and carving pumpkins and decorating a Christmas tree and quirky neighbors and town events.
I waved my phone around. I couldn’t get a good signal among all the tall buildings.
“I think the restaurant is that way?” I said.
It wasn’t. It was a good thing I had several hours before I had to meet Mark, because I used every minute of them trying to find the subway, failing to find the subway, yelling at my phone to get a signal so I could call a Lyft, then finally making it to the bar.
Mark was waiting outside the bar for me. He smiled and put away his phone when I stepped out of the car. Mark was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome, but he wasn’t Parker.
“Thanks for meeting me. I know it was short notice, but I had fun texting with you. I hope it wasn’t a shock when you realized who I was. I’ve had terrible luck in the dating department,” Mark said as we found a seat at a high table in the back of the bar. “There are lots of women out there who are after the name and the money. I thought I was done with dating, but for some reason, I’m giving it another try.”
“And I thought I was done with dating too, but here we are!”
The waitress came by to take our order.
“We have a Peach State cocktail on special today,” she said.
“I’ll try that.”
“Scotch for me,” Mark said. “You said you liked Southern food? Supposedly this place has it. Since you’re from the South, you’ll have to see how it is.”
I tried to concentrate on being in the moment, but I felt like I was cheating on Parker.
He’s over and done with.
“My mother said you are going to head up the new economic development arm at the Holbrook Foundation,” he said after we ordered food.
“I’m not sure if I’m quite qualified.”
“I think you can handle it,” he said. “I saw what you did with that scraped-together nonprofit in Harrogate. And the fact that you can manage to work with the Svenssons and not go crazy says a lot about you as well.”
I made a face. I didn’t want to think about Parker.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved,” I muttered, taking a sip of my drink.
Mark reached out and took my hand. “Listen, I heard about what happened. I’ve had terrible experiences with relationships too. My ex-girlfriend was a monster. She set my uncle’s house on fire and tried to kill my whole family.”
“Good gracious.”
“See, it could always be worse!” he quipped.
“You sure you don’t want to just lock yourself up in your tower after that?”
He laughed bitterly. “That’s what I tried to do. This is the first real date I’ve been on since then. I mean, I’ve had a few morning coffees, nothing serious. Honestly”—he ran a hand through his dark hair—“I recognized you from the news. I figured we would at least have something in common, and you wouldn’t think I was a freak show.”
