She walked up to me, grabbed my face, and held it tight between her hands.
“You have to stop worrying about things thatmighthappen, kiddo. You don’t know how things will play out. I’ll be there every step of the way, and if things go south, we’ll handle it together. OK?”
When she gave me her pep talks, she gave me hope everything would be fine tonight. That nothing would even happen and I was worrying for no reason at all.
But she didn’t know Robert Parker the way I did.
“OK, when you said this was at a restaurant, I thought, ya know, some Italian place. Like, the back room of a restaurant, or one of the rooms.” Evie stood in awe as we walked in. “I had no idea they rented the entire place.” She stopped me. “They booked every room?”
Nodding, I pulled her along. “Yes,” I said. “They didn’t need all the space but wanted the privacy. The two back rooms are simply unused today.”
It’s what people like the Parkers did.
Harper seemed to be getting used to the lifestyle. I wasn’t sure if I ever could. I saw the ins and outs of it since I did the planning for Gage.
I saw the numbers.
“Let’s not stay near the door,” I said to Evie. “I want to get inside and find Chase.” Although, being near him wasn’t the best plan for the evening either. What I really wanted to do was hide out in a corner, by myself, and talk to no one.
The reality of it was I needed to face my past head-on.
Harper looked stunning in a floor-length floral dress. She greeted guests and was busy talking to some I didn’t know.
“Mitch and Chase are over there!” Evie grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the bar.
That was perfect. I was going to need a drink, probably many of them.
As we approached the boys, Mitch saw us coming and nudged Chase in the arm. When he turned, his eyes lit up as I walked closer. He got up from his stool and met me halfway, his arms encircling my waist.
“Jesus Christ, Mare,” he whispered against my cheek. “You look amazing.” A kiss lingered on my neck as he held me in place. “This was the perfect choice, and I wouldn’t have thought of it.”
His fingers grazed the strap of my shirt, along the top of my breast. He stood back, admiring my choice with a smile.
I peered down at him in his jacket, dark pants, and white shirt casually unbuttoned at the neck. He made a simple outfit look hot. My hands gripped his arms, unsure how he moved in the jacket since it seemed poured onto him.
“You don’t look half bad yourself,” I said.
“OK, you two, knock it off. Enough with the eye-fucking,” Evie said. “I’m stealing her and we’re heading to the bar.”
Evie promised she wouldn’t leave me alone, and she was keeping that promise. As we approached the bar, I scanned the room, assessing who was already in attendance. It seemed we’d made it here before most of the other guests.
“How ya doin’?” she asked.
“OK so far.” The bartender handed us each a glass of champagne. “But I don’t think he’s here yet.” My eyes went back to nervously surveying the premises from the front door all the way to the kitchen area. “Being back here is only helpful if I can face the front and see the door. I need to know when he arrives.”
Evie turned to face me. “Babe, what are ya gonna do when he does? Run out the back? Do you have a plan? Because I really think you should just stay by that man’s side. He’s obviously smitten with you, and I don’t think anything his father says could change that.”
Both our eyes drifted to Chase, who was still sitting with Mitch at a small table.
“I know, I’ve been thinking about it a lot and do think I need to face it and tell him. I’m scared how he’ll take it.”
Her face softened. “If he cares about you half as much as he appears to, he won’t bat an eye.” She hooked her arm in mine. “Let’s head back to them. You can see the front from there.”
My steps were heavy as we walked across the room.
The guys gave us their seats once we returned. Chase’s hand went to my back, bumps rising on the exposed skin from his touch. Our conversation was casual among the four of us. We even set up a night for us to go out together next weekend.
“Oh, Maryellen,” Mitch said. “I forgot you used to work for Chase’s dad. He was sitting with us before you guys got here and was asking about you.” Mitch glanced around the restaurant. “He wanted us to find him when you got here.”
