Chapter 6

Parker couldn’t believe that out of all the places he could have chosen to eat—and admittedly, his choices were limited—Ruby had to be there. He had been looking forward to a quiet evening out, but it didn’t look like there’d be much chance of that now. Parker loved being back in Amor and visiting his family, but his parents’ thirty-year anniversary celebration was over and it was hard being cooped up with all his brothers and sisters, plus spouses and several nieces and nephews. He loved them and they had a lot of fun together, but he couldn’t handle the chaos and noise anymore. He needed a breather.

And he got Ruby Freedman instead.

Taking off his shirt and throwing it in her face though—that hadn’t been his best moment. Ruby’s friend still stared, shocked. Parker didn’t know if she was more shocked that he had just thrown his shirt, or that he’d taken it off in the first place.

Melinda walked up with his coffee and had a similar reaction when she saw Parker shirtless in the booth, though she seemed more delighted than anything else. She set the mug down on the table in front of him. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” she asked with a wink.

Daniel walked up behind her. “Hey Melinda, can I get my check? I—” He stopped, looked at Parker, then groaned. “Put your shirt back on, man. You’re making the rest of us look bad.” He walked away, following Melinda to the cash register, and Parker heard him mutter, “Why can’t I get away with stuff like that?”

Parker didn’t want to know what Ruby thought of him at the moment—probably that he worked part time as a stripper. “Can I have my shirt back, please? You still haven’t returned the last one,” he said, trying to play it cool.

“If you promise to put it back on,” Ruby said, wrinkling her nose as she threw his shirt back across the table.

Parker slipped it back on, but now had no idea what to say, or do. He took a sip of his coffee, as if nothing unusual had happened, then turned to Ruby’s friend. “I know a lot of people in town, but I don’t remember you.” He paused, taking in her spiky black hair. She was attractive in a hipster kind of way. “I’m Parker Loveland.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, smiling, but not offering her name.

“This is Zoe,” Ruby prodded. “She has a stable job, her own house, and a fascination with shirtless men.”

Zoe narrowed her eyes in Ruby’s direction, but Parker pretended not to notice.

“Really?” Parker asked. “Did you grow up in Amor?”

“No, I didn’t,” Zoe said. For someone who had invited him over to their table, she sure was being standoffish.

After another awkward silence, Parker stood. “You know, I think maybe I’ll take your advice and eat somewhere else. The service is a bit lacking in this place.” Or at least, the conversation was.

“Wait,” Zoe said, shooting to her feet. “I need to run and make a phone call real quick. Do you mind keeping Ruby company while I’m gone?” She must have seen the reluctance Parker felt because she added, “I promise, it won’t be more than a minute.”

“Okay,” Parker said, sitting down slowly. Was it just him, or had the folks in town gotten crazier while he’d been gone? He hadn’t planned to head north for a few more days, but maybe he’d skip out sooner. It wouldn’t hurt to get to the balloon festival a little early, and in fact, it would probably help. Parker wanted to check out the launch site before his crew showed up with the balloon but hadn’t thought he’d have the time.

Ruby grabbed Zoe’s hand. “I’ll come with you.” The look of desperation on Ruby’s face—like she wanted to be anywhere but here, with Parker—stung. He knew he wasn’t the easiest to get along with, and he hadn’t been the nicest to Ruby since running into her at the bakery. But still. It left Parker wanting to show her she had let a good thing go back in high school. And he supposed he wanted some closure. Sure, it had only been one date—a date that they had never actually gone on. But Parker had liked Ruby for three years before he finally mustered up the courage to ask her out. No, ‘like’ didn’t begin to describe it. It had been the ultimate of ultimate crushes.

And then—

Parker didn’t want to think about the night he’d waited at the movie theater, or how nervous he had been before leaving the house—trying on all of his dad’s colognes, seeing which one smelled the best. By the time he got to the one he wanted, he’d stunk so bad he’d had to take a shower. The one he’d chosen? It was the same one he’d worn the night before. Guess it was a good thing Ruby hadn’t shown up for that date, since she apparently felt the same way about his cologne as she would skunk spray.

“Parker?”

Parker snapped out of his thoughts. Ruby stared at him from across the table, concern wrinkling her brow. Zoe wasn’t there anymore, probably out on that phone call that might or might not have been real. “Sorry, I’m a little tired.”

“Okay,” Ruby said, though she didn’t seem convinced. “You don’t have to wait for Zoe to get back, if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind,” Parker said. “Besides, I promised her I would stay.”

“No, you didn’t,” Ruby said. “She basically ordered you to sit down.”

Parker thought back to it and realized Ruby was right. He laughed. “That’s true. Your friend…she’s something else.”

Ruby smiled. “She’s a force of nature is what she is—somewhere between an earthquake and a tsunami.”

“She seems nice,” Parker said.

“She is,” Ruby agreed. “A wonderful and brilliant tsunami who will tip your world upside down with good intentions.”

Parker grinned. “Sounds like the perfect kind of friend.”

Ruby’s smile faltered and she glanced around the diner. “She is.”

Melinda walked up at that moment and glanced at Parker’s chest. She couldn’t hide her disappointment, and Parker was glad he had covered up again. “You going to have something other than coffee tonight?” she asked.

Parker looked to Ruby, as if asking her permission. She held his gaze but didn’t give any indication of whether she wanted him to stay. “Well, since I’m here, I might as well order some food,” he said, watching for a reaction.

Ruby still didn’t give any indication if this was good news or not, so Parker turned his attention back to Melinda.

“I’ll have the country fried steak,” he said, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt someone kick his leg. Parker saw Ruby give a slight shake of her head. “I mean, not the country fried steak. I want the green chile enchiladas?”

“Is that a question, or is that what you’re ordering?” Melinda asked, her lips pulling into a frown.

Parker looked to Ruby and she nodded. “That is what I’m ordering,” he said. “With a glass of water.”

“What about you?” Melinda asked, turning to Ruby. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been here. Do you need to see a menu?”

Ruby’s eyes darted to a booth in the far corner. She hesitated. “No, I know what I’ll have.” She looked down at the table. “I’ll have…a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.”

Melinda didn’t write down Ruby’s order, just gave her a long look. “Of course.” She took a step toward the kitchen, then glanced back over her shoulder. “This one’s on the house.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that—”

Melinda didn’t wait around to hear Ruby’s protests and disappeared into the kitchen.

Parker watched Ruby. She successfully avoided his gaze and folded her napkin several times until she had made it as small as she could. She then unfolded it and started over.

“You okay?” he asked.

Ruby nodded but didn’t look up from her napkin.

“Is there something special about their grilled cheese sandwiches and soup that I should have been made aware of?”

Ruby shook her head.

“Well, anyway, thank you for the heads-up about the country fried steak. I’m assuming you saved me from an early death, which I guess means I owe you.”

Ruby finally looked up and rewarded Parker with a small smile. “It really is that awful,” she said. “I’ve begged Melinda to take it off the menu for years, but I think she keeps it out of spite.”

“Wait, Melinda owns the place?” Parker asked, bewildered. “She doesn’t seem like the…cooking type.” All Parker remembered of Melinda were her long legs and propensity for making out in the hallways at school.

At this, Ruby laughed outright. “She isn’t. At. All. I don’t know if you remember, but her uncle owned the diner, and when he passed away, he left it to Melinda’s family. Her parents thought it would be a good growing experience for her and they put her in charge of running the place.”

Before Ruby could say more, Melinda returned with their food. When she handed the sandwich and soup to Ruby, Parker couldn’t help seeing Ruby touch Melinda’s arm before mouthing, “Thank you.”

Melinda gave Ruby a sad smile and she nodded, but when she caught Parker watching, she scowled and walked away.

“I remember her being a bit more…friendly…back in high school,” Parker said.

“That’s because you’re a guy,” Ruby said with a laugh. “There isn’t a single girl in town who would remember Melinda as anything more than the girl that would try to steal her boyfriend.”

Parker knew that Ruby had had a couple of those, because he would watch from a distance, jealous that he wasn’t the one allowed to put his arm around her. Many people had seen Ruby as stuck up, but Parker had seen the sweet and funny side of Ruby. He had known that she didn’t mean to be aloof, she was just too smart and driven for her own good.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” he blurted out.

Ruby stopped eating, her spoon halfway to her mouth. “I-I’m not sure. I think I have plans with Zoe.”

Another second later, a small piece of paper flew over the high-backed seat from the booth behind Parker. He glanced up to where it had come from, then unfolded the paper. It read, No, she doesn’t. Ruby has no plans at all.

Parker laughed. Ruby had been right, Zoe was akin to a natural disaster, but he was glad she was on his side. Parker wondered how long Zoe had been sitting there, eavesdropping.

“No, you don’t.”

Ruby took a bite of her sandwich and studied Parker as she chewed. “How would you know?”

“I have sources,” Parker said. “And those sources told me you don’t have any plans tomorrow.”

“I’m assuming your sources had something to do with that piece of paper that just flew onto the table.” Ruby leaned out of the booth, trying to see into the booth next to them. “Thanks a lot, Zoe,” she called over.

“No problem,” a voice answered.

“So…is that a yes?” Parker asked Ruby with a smile.

“What would I say yes to?” Ruby asked. “All you asked was what I was doing tomorrow night.”

Parker sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. It was all coming back to him now. Ruby had been the most charming, and annoying, girl he had ever known. And yet, he couldn’t help being drawn to her. And, for a reason he couldn’t explain, he still wanted to know what it would be like to go on a date with her.

“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?” Parker said. “Fine. Ruby, will you please go out with me tomorrow night? You agreed to go out with me over a decade ago, and I think it’s about time we went on that date.”

Ruby’s eyes widened a little. Maybe she was surprised by Parker’s forward approach, but the sooner he went out with Ruby, the sooner he could forget her. Again.

She nodded. “Sure. Tomorrow night.”

Parker released a long breath. She said yes.

Now what?