Chapter Twenty-Eight

PARKER

 

Sipping a coffee at work on Monday, Nathan interrupted her thoughts.

“Do you have plans tomorrow night?”

“No, why? What you got in mind?”

“Pizza and beers at your place?”

She was pleasantly surprised. She hadn’t spent much time outside of work with him lately, so was looking forward to the idea of sitting and chatting about everything and nothing with him. “How was your weekend?” she asked him, after making the plan for Tuesday night.

“Great. I caught up with Scott. We had dinner together. I also got some organising done around home—my garage was such a mess! What about yours?”

“That’s great. I had a fairly quiet weekend.”

“Are you still seeing Cat?”

“No. We did catch up on Saturday, for lunch. She was super keen, I knew that the last time. I just don’t… I don’t know… I feel stupid walking away—she’s a great girl, and she’s gorgeous, it’s just…”

“She’s not Lily?” He sounded pleased.

“I know. It’s stupid. Lily doesn’t want anything. I’ve made it really clear to her that I’m here if she does, but I’m assuming it won’t happen.” She paused and then, feeling self-conscious about what Nathan would be thinking, added, “I’ll definitely not wait around forever. I promise I’ll keep online dating.” She paused, then added, “But maybe over time, with Lily seeing you and Scott together, she might be more comfortable. Or maybe Scott was just an excuse, and she just didn’t want a relationship…with me, anyway.”

“Who knows? Anyway, ten minutes til class is back, so I might run away to get organised. I’ll catch you later but looking forward to tomorrow night.”

“Catch you.”

*

PARKER HAD NOT long got home on Tuesday evening when Nathan rang the doorbell. “I’m starving, let’s order pizzas early,” he said.

“What do you want? BBQ meat lovers, chicken and bacon, cheese, or Mexican?” she asked, scrolling through the menu on her computer.

“Let’s get a chicken and bacon and a Mexican?”

“We hardly need two pizzas between us!” Parker protested. Sometimes Nathan’s eyes were bigger than his belly.

“Let’s get two anyway. Then we can share leftovers for lunch tomorrow and make Kelly jealous. And get garlic bread, too, please. And salad.”

Parker shook her head but indulged him with the large order. Twenty or thirty minutes later, she was surprised when the doorbell rang again. “Wow, that was fast.” She opened the door and was confused to see Scott standing there. “Scott? Oh, I was expecting a pizza.”

“I’m not a pizza,” he said, smiling. “I heard Nathan might be here, and I thought it could be fun to crash your evening.”

“Oh, right.” Parker couldn’t help but feel annoyed—she’d been keen to spend time chatting to Nathan, but that was now off the cards. Still, trying to be optimistic about it, it would be good for her to get to know Scott a bit more. “Come on in.” Turning to Nathan, she said, “Luckily, we ordered the extra pizza. Scott’s here.”

Nathan didn’t look as surprised as she felt, and she couldn’t help wondering if he’d invited him. If that was the case, she was even more disappointed, as they were overdue for a catch-up. It would make sense, given his insistence they order two pizzas. She secretly rolled her eyes as they greeted each other but then settled in to chat to the two guys. Within about five minutes, the doorbell rang again. She sighed but knew this time it would be the pizzas. Opening the door, she was shocked to see Lily standing there, grinning, and holding a bunch of flowers. “Hi?” Parker said.

“Hi,” Lily said in response.

“Nathan and Scott are here.” She pointed into the house.

“Are they?” Lily’s grin told Parker all she needed to know—this had been a plan they were all in.

“It’s Tuesday night. Our night.” Lily shrugged and tried to hide a smile. “So I thought I’d come and say g’day.”

“G’day.” Parker couldn’t wipe the grin off her face although her mind was racing, wondering what it all meant. It wasn’t the time to wonder though. She just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy Lily’s company. “Come in.” Addressing the room, she said, “And it turns out Lily’s here too.”

“What a surprise!” Nathan exclaimed.

Parker nodded. “A surprise to me. Luckily you insisted on your mammoth pizza order though there goes my lunch for tomorrow now.”

The fourth doorbell for the evening brought no more surprises—it was the pizzas. They spent time putting pizza, salad, and garlic bread on plates, grabbing drinks, and then getting comfortable, with Nathan and Scott sitting on one sofa, and Parker and Lily on the other.

“So, tonight is just a social catch-up?” Parker said before biting into her pizza.

Lily nodded. “We had a catch-up on the weekend, and we had so much fun, we didn’t want you to miss out. We figured we’d bring the fun to you.”

“I didn’t know you’d all caught up. Nathan had mentioned he and Scott had dinner on the weekend,” Parker said.

“Dinner and a sleepover!” Lily emphasised. “Bodhi went to a friend’s house.”

“Where is Bodhi tonight?”

“Aunt Jacqui’s.” Apparently, this was all well-planned. “We haven’t yet told Bodhi about the change in Dad’s relationship status, but we will. We just want the time to be right.”

Parker hoped there might be potential to share with Bodhi a change in both Mum and Dad’s relationship statuses. Did she dare hope that this was what the surprise visit was about? It was a Tuesday, after all.

“Wow, that’s great,” she said when she finally spoke.

Nathan nodded and looked at Scott with a twinkle in his eye. Scott grinned back at him.

“Aww, you guys are so cute,” Parker said. She hadn’t seen Nathan so comfortable with a guy in a long time. Lily smiled at the two guys and then smiled at Parker. She naturally smiled back and couldn’t help feeling a pang of envy at Nathan and Scott for seemingly having it all worked out.

As they continued to eat the pizzas, they discussed what they’d all been up to, how work was going, and Lily shared how her new staff were settling in. “They need a bit of training, but they’re great so far. Very enthusiastic.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“It’s a real help because we have a few schools hiring us for our parenting programs. I can’t believe it; it all seems to be going well.”

“Do you have one focusing on one aspect or the other?” Parker asked, genuinely interested.

“Yes, Erin is mostly working on the magazine and Alex mostly on the events, as it’s a new initiative and that’s his thing. But they both pitch in wherever. We all do. It’s a joint effort.” Lily shrugged and smiled, looking a little bashful.

Parker felt nothing but pride and admiration toward Lily. She was impressed with her energy and drive. She shook her head in marvel, grinning, and Lily got even more embarrassed.

Thankfully Scott interrupted, as it had started to feel like they were alone in their own world until then. “You should ask your school to invite Lily and Jacqui to present.”

Nathan nodded. “We can do that, can’t we, Parker?”

Parker shrugged. “You’ve been there long than me. But I don’t see why not.”

“All right, I’ll talk to Anthea on Monday.” Anthea, the school principal, was quite inspiring, and Parker had taken a liking to her already.

“All right, let’s liven this evening up a bit,” Parker said. “I wasn’t really expecting more than Nathan tonight, but I reckon I’ve got enough ice cream in that freezer of mine to serve you up a bowl each?” Everyone nodded enthusiastically.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Please. Parker is the queen of dessert. I’m sure she has about four different tubs of ice cream in there. A small army could turn up unexpectedly, and she may not have enough food for them, but dessert she’d have.”

“You never know when you’ll get the craving.” She rummaged through the freezer. “Not four! Three.” She had vanilla, chocolate chip cookie dough, and English toffee ice creams, so everyone piled their bowls high with their choices.

“Bodhi will love visiting here if you’re really the ice cream woman. And why did you never offer me ice cream whenever I’ve visited before? It’s like a secret stash I never knew about.”

Parker went to reply, but Nathan started speaking first. “I don’t really think you were here for ice cream,” he quipped. “I think Parker had other things on her mind, if you get my drift…” He had a comical look on his face.

Scott said, “I think we all get your drift.”

Parker blushed, more worried about how Lily would feel about the attention on them, especially in Scott’s presence, but when she finally looked at her, Lily was grinning too. Blushing a little, but looking more happy and flushed than being completely mortified.

“True, we had some fun times—didn’t we, Parker?” She gave Parker a cheeky grin, and then Scott shook his head.

“And all behind my back,” he chastised lightly. “And here I was, thinking we were best friends.”

“We are best friends.” She put her arm around him, grinning. “And how lucky are we? Two best friends to have found an amazing best friend set here?” She glanced at Parker and Nathan. “You’ve just nabbed yours, and I still have a bit of work to do to get mine.”

Parker pulled her head backwards in surprise. She hadn’t expected Lily to be so brazen in front of the two guys. Come to think of it, maybe that was why she was being brazen—the cheeky atmosphere was giving her confidence. But she caught Lily’s eye and gave her a knowing smile. Lily gave her a dazzling smile back that nearly melted Parker’s heart.

Catching it, Scott said to Nathan, “You right to drive me home? Let’s eat these ice creams and go. I think the girls have some chatting to do.”

Nathan winked at him. “Chatting? I’m not so sure about that.”

Scott shook his head, grinning. “You’re crazy,” he said, laughing. “Anyway, will you take me home? I took a cab.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows at Scott. “Absolutely. I’ll take you home.” The inuendo was clear.

Parker savoured her ice cream, while the guys rushed eating their bowls. “Would you like us to take the pizza boxes out to the bin?” Scott asked, as he tidied up a few of the glasses.

She was grateful, but told him there was no need; she’d clean it up later. She didn’t want to delay their departure. Both Nathan and Scott gave the two women pecks on the cheek and walked out the door holding hands.

“They’re cute,” Parker said, gazing after them before she shut the door. She turned to Lily. “How do you feel about Scott dating now?”

Lily shrugged, and Parker joined her on the couch. “I’m surprised. I was surprised he was dating and definitely surprised it was Nathan.”

“Nathan told me he had a crush on him after the beach.”

“Did he? I didn’t even realise.”

“Yeah, he was asking me if he was gay, and I didn’t tell him for a while. Nathan usually isn’t a relationship guy, so I wanted him to run a mile away from Scott, and not go there! But he seems really invested.” She smiled.

“Scott does too. It’s nice.”

“And how does it make you feel?”

Lily pondered for a minute. “I’m happy. I can overthink the future: What if they live together? What if Nathan doesn’t want to live with me?” Parker nodded and Lily continued, “But ultimately I think let’s just let them enjoy getting to know each other. Who knows what the future could hold for any of us?”

“Exactly. And what about your future?”

“Scott told me you had a girlfriend.”

Damn Nathan!

“Not a girlfriend.” Parker shook her head. “I met a girl online. We’ve been on a few dates now.”

“And?”

“And, before tonight, I was already going to tell her I didn’t think it was right. She isn’t the girl for me.”

“And why is that?” Lily raised an eyebrow.

“Because I’d already met the girl for me. And because…just because.”

“Okay. Well, then you sort that out, and let me know when it’s done.” Lily paused for a moment and then added, “A few dates? How serious?”

“Just dates—in public. We kissed.” Parker wanted to be honest. Lily looked relieved. “Are you happy for a relationship, Lily? Now that Scott’s dating? Will you be my girlfriend, or my friend with amazing benefits?”

Lily gave her a smile. “I want to be your girlfriend. But if not, I’ll be just your friend. No benefits. It’s too hard for us both. The feelings are too strong.”

“Well, in that case, you better be my girlfriend.” Parker couldn’t have been happier.

“Great. After you’ve ended things with your girlfriend.”

“Cat. And she’s not my girlfriend, but thank you. I understand and fully respect that.”

A worried look crossed Lily’s face. “What if Scott and Nathan break up? Or you and me? It could be messy, a set of best friends dating another set of best friends? What do you think?”

“I think you worry too much,” Parker said kindly. She understood Lily had a lot more at risk than she did, but she knew you couldn’t guarantee a future. Lily did too. She would know that better than anyone.

Lily smiled sadly. “I know I do. I’m a planner. And an overthinker. But I also know you can’t plan.” There—Lily had said out loud what Parker had been thinking. “Perhaps better than most. I know that. I also know I need to stop thinking and start living.”

“That sounds great. And I want to be part of your life, but like I’ve said before, I don’t want to replace Megan. I’d love to hear all about her. And as a family, with Bodhi, we can honour her.”

Lily looked gratefully at Parker. “Thank you. Now, I better get home before I kiss you!”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Parker asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know. I just think… Scott said you had a girlfriend…”

Parker cringed. She really was cranky with Nathan for that! “Like I said…she’s not my girlfriend, and she’s under no illusions of that. We went out a few times. She asked me home the other night. Maybe not directly, but she implied it. I didn’t go. We went for lunch on Saturday, but I made an excuse to leave. I haven’t heard from her since, but I haven’t contacted her either.” Parker knew she sounded like she was pleading with Lily, and she wasn’t trying to. “But, I agree. Tonight, you should go home, and let’s start fresh. I’ll take you on a date. Saturday?”

Lily smiled. “Saturday works, I think. I’ll double-check with Scott. Where will you take me?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere fancy. I want to see you all dressed up. And tell Scott you won’t be home that night.”