Chapter 13

Ruby quickly changed into pajama bottoms and an oversized T-shirt, wanting nothing more than to be in bed and asleep by the time Parker got out of the shower. Except it was the very fact that Parker was showering that kept Ruby awake. She lay in bed, the covers pulled up to her chin. When she heard the water turn off, she rolled over, her back to the bathroom door, and squeezed her eyes shut. She would not think of Parker in any way except as an acquaintance who could occasionally be considered a friend.

Except, did acquaintances go on weekend trips together? Maybe. Would they stay in the same hotel room together? Only under duress, and she considered herself in that category.

The bathroom door opened and a couple of minutes later Ruby felt the other side of the bed sink with Parker’s weight. Her heart rate accelerated and Ruby struggled to keep her breathing slow and steady.

“You awake?” Parker whispered.

At first, Ruby ignored him, hoping he’d think she was asleep. But then music ripped through the silence. Her phone. It would seem weird if she didn’t wake up, or at least stir. She groaned and stretched a little, and then rolled over like she was going back to sleep.

“Ruby, your phone is going off,” Parker said, his voice low.

“Hmm?”

“You’re phone. Someone’s calling you.”

Unable to pretend to sleep anymore, Ruby reached over and picked up the phone off the nightstand. Zoe. Ruby had thought she’d be able to stay away the whole weekend without anyone realizing it. Guess not. “Hello?”

“Where are you? Are you okay? Give me a signal if I need to call the police. Maybe say something like, ‘Zoe, I’m out of town. I’ll call you back later.’ Unless you’ve been kidnapped and they really have taken you out of town—”

“Zoe, breathe,” Ruby cut in. “I’m fine. But…” She paused. “I really am out of town. At the balloon festival.”

“I knew it,” Zoe whispered. “I’ll call the police. Are there any windows? Can you give me clues to where they’re holding you?”

Oh, man. Ruby should have told someone. “I’m serious, Zoe. I’m at the balloon festival. With Parker.”

“Wait…you’re not kidding. You really are there. With a man, no less.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ruby said.

“Are you kidding me? Parker is as manly as they get.”

Parker leaned over across the barrier and spoke into the phone. “Thanks, Zoe.” The scent of his soap hit Ruby, and she had to pull back.

“Oh my gosh, he’s there with you? Right now?” Zoe yelled.

“Are you eavesdropping?” Ruby whipped toward Parker, her breath catching when her nose nearly touched his.

“I can’t help it. You’re like a foot away from me, and she talks really loud,” Parker said with a shrug.

“Well, go back to your side and cover your ears with the pillow,” Ruby said.

Parker retreated to his side, but not before yelling, “Goodnight, Zoe!”

“He’s in your bed?” Zoe was beside herself, half-screaming everything.

“Out of necessity,” Ruby said. “They didn’t have any other rooms, but it’s a king-size bed and we’ve created a barrier between us.”

“Why? He’s the hottest thing that’s come through Amor in a long time.”

“You mean since Clark?”

That shut Zoe up. Ruby knew she shouldn’t have said it. It was a low blow.

“Yeah,” Zoe muttered. “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re okay. Sam’s been beside himself with worry. When you said you couldn’t come in to work today, he stopped by to see how you were doing. Imagine his surprise when you weren’t even there, and your bike was still parked in the garage.”

“People take days off, you know. It’s not like the end of the world.”

“Yes, people do. But not you. The only time you’ve ever not come into the daycare was two years ago when you couldn’t leave your bathroom for three days.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“Whatever. What shall I tell Sam, that you’re holed up in a hotel with a handsome stranger?”

Ruby gasped. “Oh, please no. Anything but that.”

“I’m tempted to,” Zoe said, hurt edging her words.

Ruby sighed. “I’m sorry for bringing up Clark like that. Will you forgive me?”

“I’m just happy that you did something so unexpected,” Zoe said. “Can you fault me for that?”

“Not at all,” Ruby said. “Just please don’t tell Sam anything. I’ll be back Sunday. Do you think you can stall him for that long?”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know what I’m going to tell him.”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something plausible.”

“You haven’t been away from home or the daycare for longer than a couple hours. This is a couple days we’re talking about.”

“Well, whatever you tell him, just make sure you tell me about it too,” Ruby said.

Zoe laughed. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She paused. “Hey, Ruby?”

“Yeah?”

“Enjoy yourself.”

Ruby smiled. “Goodnight, Zoe.” She hung up, still smiling as she placed the phone on the nightstand next to her.

Ruby rolled over to find Parker leaning with one elbow on their pillow barrier, his head resting in his palm. “Oy, don’t scare me like that,” she said.

“You didn’t tell them you were leaving for the weekend,” he said.

“Must have slipped my mind,” Ruby said. “Now go back to your side. You’re defeating the purpose of the barrier.”

Parker didn’t move. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

Ruby sighed. Why wouldn’t he leave it alone? “Because of how Zoe reacted.”

“But—she was happy for you.”

“Yes, she made this gigantic deal out of something that is normal for other people. And when people react like that, it keeps me from doing it again.”

Parker stared at Ruby, his dark eyes boring into her, as though they were looking for what she wasn’t telling him. “No matter who you are, going away with someone for the weekend is a big deal. You are placing your trust in another person, whether they are your friend, family member…or high school crush.”

Ruby looked away. “I know it is. But I wanted to pretend it wasn’t. Now I can’t.” She paused. “Andy and Rafael said you’ve never brought a girl here before.”

Parker cleared his throat and finally dropped his gaze. “We have to wake up early. Better get some sleep,” he said, rolling off the barrier and back onto his side.

“Oh no, you don’t. You’ve been grilling me for answers. Now it’s your turn.” Ruby removed the pillows from between them and tossed them on the floor.

Parker’s eyes widened in surprise. “But you love our pillow barrier. It’s the only thing that’s going to help you sleep tonight.” The pleading tone he had taken on was endearing and Ruby smiled.

“I’ll reassemble it after you tell me why I’m the first girl you’ve brought to this festival.”

“Not just this festival,” Parker murmured.

“What?”

“You’re the first girl I’ve brought to any festival.”

Ruby’s breath hitched and her head spun. Why was she the only girl he’d ever invited to the balloon festival? Parker had avoided her like the plague after she had stood him up in high school. What had changed? “So…no girlfriend?” she asked, her words tentative. Ruby didn’t want to sound like she cared either way. Because she didn’t. Obviously.

Parker sighed and lay down, his hand behind his head. He stared at the ceiling a moment before answering. “No.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Ruby said. With that man’s looks combined with his money? He must have dozens of girls fawning over him.

Parker glanced over and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and why is that?”

Ruby shrugged. “You just seem like the girlfriend type.”

“Yes, well, my mother wishes I would take it a step further and become the marrying type.” Parker’s tone had turned bitter, like this was a topic he didn’t like talking about. That didn’t keep Ruby from pushing it further though.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Parker blew out a long breath. “Do you realize what it’s like to have parents whose marriage is so perfect that whenever you date someone, you compare your relationship to theirs?”

Ruby stayed silent, not wanting to bring up the fact that her parents were dead, so no, she didn’t compare her relationships to theirs. Especially because she’d been incapable of even having a relationship since their deaths.

Parker seemed to realize on his own what he’d said, and his eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. That was a dumb thing to say.”

“It’s okay,” Ruby said. “I’d like to know more. I’ve always liked your parents, but I didn’t know what a wonderful relationship they have.” She knew people felt they had to tread lightly around her, and that was mostly her fault. But she didn’t want people to be scared about speaking around her anymore, afraid they’d say something that might make her feel bad.

Parker nodded slowly. “Well, anyway, they are the type of couple that kisses each other every time they enter a room and their goal is to make the other laugh as much as possible.” A faint smile flickered over Parker’s lips. “One time my dad sneaked into the bathroom while my mom was taking a shower and dumped a bottle of glitter over the shower curtain. It was stuck on her skin and in her hair for days. Well, my mom wasn’t going to let that go without retaliation, so she returned the favor about a week later.” Parker’s smile widened. “My dad was ticked, though he knew he deserved it. He had to go to several important business meetings with pink glitter in his hair.”

Ruby laughed and thought of Sam and how he had petitioned to ban glitter from the daycare for that exact reason. He wanted to help Ruby out and volunteer with the kids, but he didn’t think it was right for the mayor to sparkle wherever he went. It turned out that it actually improved his ratings and how the public viewed him, so he left it alone and seemed to encourage the kids to use more glitter nowadays.

“They sound wonderful,” Ruby said.

Parker nodded. “They had seven kids and raised them all to be well-adjusted adults, except for my youngest brother, who’s still in high school, but still, he’s a good kid. They still managed to retain their sanity and their marriage is as strong as ever. It doesn’t seem possible, and yet they did it. But I haven’t been able to find a girl that is that…perfect. Someone who’s such an amazing fit that I can’t imagine being without her.”

Ruby studied Parker. His eyes flickered shut, then opened again. She really should let him get some sleep. Ruby got out of bed to pick up the pillows. As she stacked them again, she said, “Have you ever thought that you’ll never find a girl who is perfect? You just need to find one who is perfect for you.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Parker asked.

“Nope. My parents weren’t perfect. They didn’t even have the perfect marriage. But they were perfect for each other, and they were happy. Isn’t that what it comes down to? Who makes you happy?” She smiled. “And angry, and sad, and then happy again. That’s the girl for you.”

“It’s a good thing no one has ever asked you to give relationship advice on a radio show. You’d be terrible at it.”

Ruby was a little offended at this. Her advice was awesome. She lay back on her pillow. “Are you perfect?”

“No.”

“Then why should your future wife have all the pressure to be flawless? It’s okay to be annoyed at the person you love sometimes. It’s natural if something they do makes you sad, or if you do something that is less than optimal. We all make mistakes. If that’s why you’re still single—because you’re looking for Miss Perfect—you are going to be single for a very, very long time.”

“I don’t think I’m expecting her to be perfect,” Parker said with a frown. “Just the relationship.”

“There’s no difference between the two,” Ruby said.

“Well, excuse me if I don’t take your advice right away,” Parker said with an exasperated sigh. “But you’re not exactly the guru on the subject. You haven’t been on a date in years.”

Ruby’s anger simmered. She willed it to stay down. “I see, you’re Mr. Popular, so you know more than me. It’s not like I’m the only one of us who has actually been married. Oh wait, I am.”

A long silence followed.

“I’m sorry. I was being a jerk, wasn’t I?” Parker said.

“Yes, you were,” Ruby said. “But so was I.”

“Goodnight, Ruby,” Parker said, officially ending the conversation.

Ruby stared at the pillow barricade. “Goodnight,” she said, her voice quiet. Despite how the night had ended, she couldn’t help but wonder if Parker only reserving one hotel room wasn’t so bad after all.