Page 49 of The Proximity Factor

“I can stay here if you want to start bringing in the boxes,” I offered. I was more into the aesthetics than he was. If it had been up to him, he would have had some lame little booth with just one monitor and a banner.

“That would be great.” He turned to leave, when what to our wondering eyes did appear ... It sure wasn’t Santa. It was his ex-wife, dressed in a pink tweed business suit. She was every bit as stunning as her photos made her out to be. She did Reese Witherspoon proud, even if her appearance gave off a look of stuffiness, with black stilettos and her dark-blonde hair in an elegant chignon. I probably would have gone with leather heels with that outfit, but that was neither here nor there. All I knew was her feet were going to hate her in a few hours.

“Hello, Parker,” Maren articulated as smoothly as she could. But I detected a hint of trembling in her slight drawl. It was almost as if she had trained herself not to honor her southern heritage. What a shame.

Parker stilled, like she had knocked the breath out of him. “Maren,” he said, coldly.

Her hazel eyes registered hurt that he’d addressed her without any tenderness. What did she expect?

“It surprised me to see your company on the vendor list this morning,” she stuttered. Then her eyes landed on me, standing a few paces behind Parker and watching with wide-eyed curiosity. Her gaze drifted to my Ruptured Worlds T-shirt. So many questions swirled in her pretty eyes.

I thought I should probably answer those questions before the suspense killed her. I stepped forward, right next to Parker, and held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Lanie Davenport. VP of marketing for Ruptured Worlds.” Yes, I’d just given myself a huge promotion. “And ...”—I nudged Parker with my hip—“main squeeze to this guy. Hashtag mixing business with pleasure,” I sang ever so cheerfully. “You said it’s Maren, right? I’m so sorry, I didn’t catch your last name.” I was all politeness. Okay, and maybe a little evil.

Maren’s face exploded in an array of red while she did her best to hold her composure. She did a terrible job as her eyes darted between Parker and me. She blinked and blinked before she held out her limp noodle of a hand, clearly wishing she didn’t have to touch me. “I’m Maren Rem ... Norton.”

Oh, whoa. She was going to say Remington. Yikes. I had a feeling someone was sailing down the river of regret.

Flustered, she quickly said, “My husband and I own Idle Mind Games.”

“Oh, that’s a clever name,” I said like I’d never heard of it or her, although I knew Parker had come up with the name. “So, you know all about mixing business with pleasure.” I gave her a meaningful look.

She dropped my hand. “I suppose so. Parker, could I speak to you for a moment?” Her voice shook like we were in the middle of an earthquake.

Parker looked at me as if he wanted to kiss me right there. I wished he would, but I couldn’t wait to hear what Maren had to say. It was a good thing she’d come over. I hoped this would help Parker get over his nerves about seeing her again. Because I knew he had them.

“I don’t have much time here,” Parker was curt with his ex.

“Please,” she begged.

“You go ahead, darlin’. I’ll take care of things here.” I playfully smacked his tight butt for good measure.

Maren’s eyes bugged so far out of her head, I thought she might pop an eye out. She and her stilettos marched down the aisle and landed next to a sound system company’s booth.

Parker sauntered that way, taking his time meeting her.

I did my best to act nonchalant while taking peeks at Maren and Parker.

Maren stood with her arms wrapped around herself, gazing up at Parker like she wanted him to save her. I had a feeling she was realizing the grass wasn’t greener on the other side of the fence. Parker shrugged a lot and kept his distance from her.

The conversation shifted when Maren threw her hands up in the air and wagged her finger at Parker. As soon as that happened, Parker walked away, flexing his hands as he went. Whatever she’d said, it had rattled him.

I bit my lip and waited for him, trying not to act too eager to hear what had gone down.

Parker was back to me in no time and wrapping his arms around me.

My head naturally fell on his chest. “Are you okay?”

He took a moment to answer while he breathed me in, until I could no longer feel the pounding of his heart. “Yeah, I think I am. You played her masterfully. The thing Maren hates most is for people not to see her or to be forgotten.”

“Oh, I saw her all right, and I wasn’t playing. She deserved to know you never really have spoken about her to me.”

Parker leaned away, concerned. “Does that bother you?”

“No. I figure eventually, when you’re ready, we’ll have that talk. And I hope many others.”

“I’m getting there. Believe me,” he begged, pleading for me to trust his promise.

“I do. So, what did she say?” I was dying to know.

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