Page 14 of Parker

“Yeah,” she says, “I heard.” Another travel agent sidles up to her table, and she’s back in action again.

I make sure my table looks perfect, then slide my eyes down the aisle to Parker. Unlike Skylar, who’s dressed like Lumberjack Barbie, Parker’s dressed more conservatively in an aqua blue Stewart Tours polo shirt tucked into a short khaki skirt. Her hair’s back in a neat ponytail, and her face has light traces of makeup. She looks all-American, classy and polished. Watching her talk to a trio of young male travel agents makes my heart clench.

Please just leave me alone while we’re in Las Vegas?

I blink my eyes, looking away from her.

“Hey, Quinn.”

I look up to find Skylar grinning at me.

“Hey, Skylar.”

“What’re you doing for lunch?”

“What’d you have in mind?”

She chuckles. “This conference room closes at twelve-thirty for half an hour. Wanna grab a bite with me?”

Parker’s words repeat in my head.Can’t we just act like we don’t know each other? Like we’ve never even met?

“That sounds great.”

***

My first morning at the convention flies by, and before I know it, the doors to the ballroom are closed, and everyone’s filing out to grab some lunch during the break. I fall into step beside Skylar, forcing myself not to look for Parker. It’s none of my business who she’s having lunch with.

“What’re you in the mood for?” asks my date, taking my arm.

“What are my options?”

“Only place close enough and fast enough,” she says, loading her voice with innuendo, “is the Proper Eats Food Hall, but they have a lot of choices.”

“Sounds good.”

We exit the ballroom, and Skylar pulls me down the hallway, past one of the three hotel pools and a couple of restaurants.

“The food hall’s great,” she says. “They’ve got everything: salads, deli sandwiches, burgers, Chinese, Italian, sushi—”

“Whoa!” I say, pausing in the archway of the food hall. My eyes dart around, counting one…two…three—oh my god, five restaurants that I can see, and there are probably more around the bend. Now, I don’t mean to sound like a hick, but honest to God, I’ve never seen so many food options in one place.

“First time at a food hall?” asks Skylar.

Delicious smells waft toward us, and my mouth waters.

“Yeah,” I say. “First time out of Alaska.”

“Then I take it you’ve never been to the Fifth Avenue Mall in Anchorage?”

“No. Why?”

“Because they have a food court there. Probably the only one in Alaska, but it’s way smaller than this,” she says with a little shrug. “I think there are six restaurants there. Here? There are twelve!”

“Twice as many,” I say with awe. “Where do we start? What’s your favorite spot?”

“Hmm. Hard to say. Probably a toss-up between Laughing Burgers and Tamaki Sushi.”

“Well, I can always get a decent burger in Skagway,” I tell her. “Good sushi’s harder to come by.”

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