Chapter Ten
Sienna
It was just after eight when I woke up on my own. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I had plenty of time to get ready for Parker’s arrival. But that wasn’t happening until I got some caffeine in me.
While sitting at the breakfast bar, waiting for my coffee to cool down, I flipped through my phone to get to the weather. It was going to be close to seventy-five today.
After my shower, I picked out a pair of khaki shorts and a cream-colored tank-top. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be outside a lot, but I wanted to be cool. I had a tendency to run hot in the spring and summer months.
I had just finished putting makeup on when my doorbell rang. I glanced over my shoulder and my hair glided over my skin. I wasn’t used to wearing it down during the day. I wasn’t sure how long it would last either. I slipped a hair elastic around my wrist just in case.
I jogged over to the front door, my bare feet slapping against the cool tile floor. I opened the door for Parker.
“Morning,” I said.
His eyebrows rose. “You seem chipper this morning.” He made a point of smelling the air between us. “And you showered. What’s the occasion?”
“You know I could slam this door in your face,” I said with a bright smile.
He chuckled and came inside.
“Can I get you some coffee? I just brewed a pot.”
“Sure,” he said.
I poured him a mug and refilled my own. “Let’s sit out on the porch; there’s a nice breeze this morning.”
Outside, I sat on one of the lounge chairs and Parker plopped down on another.
I sat back and dropped my sunglasses over my eyes. The mid-morning sun was already making me sweat. Thankfully, the breeze from the ocean was strong enough to keep me cool. I could have easily made iced coffee, but I never liked the taste of it.
It was one of the main selling points of the house for me. I was close enough to the beach to have an unobstructed view, but it was about a five-minute walk down the path to get to it. During the warmer months, the beaches swarmed with people. I loved the ocean view, but needed my privacy.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the salty scent in the air. “Remember when we were kids and wouldn’t come out of the water for hours?”
Parker laughed. “Yeah.”
“Now I barely want to get my toes wet.”
“Why did you get a place by the ocean, then?”
“I love the view. Just not the sand in every crevice of my body.”
Even though Parker had sunglasses on, his gaze lingered on me a little too long. I would have done anything to know what he was thinking. Those penetrating blue eyes had a way of pulling you right in. And sometimes, even I wasn’t unaffected by them.
He turned his gaze back to the water, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “That was a good way of culling our circle of friends.”
“Hey, if they can’t cut it on a normal day with me and you on the beach, then they weren’t worthy of our friendship.”
“Speaking of school,” he said. “You know we have our fifteenth reunion coming up in a couple of years.”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me.” Even though high school brought me closer to Parker, sealing our friendship, I hated it. Parker grew into his looks senior year while it took me until college to finally feel good about my body. I wasn’t sure of the etiquette on high school reunions, but I hoped that we wouldn’t have one ever, never mind a few years from now. “Well, you’ve made a name for yourself and will probably have children by then,” I said, even though it made me sick to imagine Parker and Rachel’s children. She didn’t seem to have a motherly bone in her body.
“Maybe,” he said. “I bet you’ll have a great guy to take you.”
I snorted. “Yeah right.”
“Speaking of, any new men in your life?” Parker asked.
I took another sip of coffee; the liquid tasted like chalk. I hated talking about my love life or lack thereof. “Not at all.”
“Why is that?”
“Maybe I’ve been too busy helping you plan a wedding.”
“You’ve only been helping me for a little while. You can tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“How come?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about this with him. Everything I said would be a lie. It should have been obvious in a strange way, but the only person I wanted to spend time with was him. It was so wrong since he was engaged to another woman, but I couldn’t deny the feelings he had stirred inside of me lately. I had to be under some wedding spell. I’d been down this road before with Parker. There were times in my life I imagined being with him, but I couldn’t risk our friendship. I would be lost without him, and I wasn’t about to spill my heart out to someone who was in no way available to me like that.
“I haven’t found the right person,” I lied.
“It’s hard to do that when you’re either working or sleeping.”
Or spending time with you…
“I have to work to keep my business. It’s just Tony and me.”
“You could hire someone else.”
“I will, when it’s the busy season.” I usually hired part-time employees during the tourist times, but I had to find someone that gelled with the dynamic that Tony and I created at the diner.
“If you let me help you by investing…” he trailed off.
I gave him a look. “You already know the answer to that one.”
He smirked. “I’m never going to stop until you say yes.”
“Then I suppose you’re going to have to ask forever.”
“I want to see you happy, Sienna.”
“I am happy. But to be honest, I don’t think love is in the cards for me.”
“Don’t be like that,” he said.
“I’m not being pessimistic; I just don’t see myself with anyone.” Anyone but you. God, I needed to nip this in the bud before I got my heart broken.
“I can’t wait to prove you wrong.”
“Why? Do you have a guy you want to set me up with?”
“I think that would be wrong on so many levels.”
I laughed. “Probably.”
We were silent for a few minutes. My mind lingered on the subject of love. Until recently, I rarely thought about dating. I had Parker and Tony in my life, who else did I need? But with Parker’s pending nuptials, it dawned on me: I was almost thirty and hadn’t had a serious boyfriend for almost five years. Was there something wrong with that? Sure, as a little girl I’d imagined my own wedding day, but there had only been one guy I wanted standing next to me. I couldn’t even admit the name to myself. It wasn’t going to happen, and Parker was set in his mind about marrying Rachel.
“I’m starving,” I said. “How about I make a couple grilled cheeses?”
“That sounds great,” Parker said. “Do you have that cheddar?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I love that shit,” Parker said.
I giggled. Being in the restaurant business had its perks. Along with stocking Sunny Daes with the best ingredients, I sometimes ordered for my own personal kitchen. Those who I was close with expected the same quality of cooking as I did professionally, and I never disappointed.
Parker wanted to help prepare the meal, so I gave him the opportunity to wash some vegetables with a salad. He was hopeless in the kitchen and was happy that I allowed him to even do that.
After I made four grilled cheese sandwiches and a chopped salad, we made our way back to the porch to eat. By then, the sun was higher in the sky and much warmer. I opened the attached umbrella on the table to shade us while we ate. Our conversation didn’t delve into my love life, but we were able to reminisce, something we hadn’t done in a while. Maybe this was what weddings were about: taking your past and bringing them together with a hopeful future. Even though I wasn’t going to be the one to walk down the aisle toward him, I still held a prominent position in his heart.
It was almost three o’clock before I noticed how late it was.
“We should get going on those decorations. I can’t believe I lost track of hours of time.”
I stood from the lounge chair and Parker waved me down. I sat.
“It’s fine,” he said. “We can do it another day.” He sighed. “I needed a day like this with you. It’s been too long.”
“Well, you should enjoy this relaxing time, because tomorrow, you’re going to hate me.” I grinned at him.
“In that case, I think you should get me a beer so I can relax even more.”
I hopped up from my chair. “Coming right up.”
I smiled all the way to the kitchen, excited to see his face tomorrow when he realized what I had planned for him.