Page 13 of Masked

“I… people are staring, Parker, get up.”

He should know her well enough to realize a public proposal is not what she would ever want. Especially not a surprise one. She tugged on his arm and prayed for a hole to open up and swallow her whole.

“Come on Reva, this is embarrassing. Just say yes, so we can have dessert and go back to the hotel.”

They were in New York where Parker was doing some business. He’d asked her to come.

“I can’t say yes, Parker. We haven’t discussed this. I’m not ready.”

Parker’s face crumpled, and then his eyes flashed with anger as he jumped to his feet. “Not everything has to be a three-month discussion with flow charts and pro-con lists, Reva. We’ve been together for five years. This is the next logical step. Now you either take the ring or we break up.”

Reva’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? Fuck you, Parker. You can shove your ring up your ass.”

She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the restaurant. Of all the ways this trip was supposed to go, this wasn’t anywhere on the list. “Not everything has to be a three-month discussion with flow charts and pro-con lists.” Parker’s words stung. But she did have a list or a spreadsheet for basically every aspect of her life.

But there was no plan or list for this, so started walking and thinking about how she’d gotten where she was. Somehow, she’d ended up as Parker’s roommate. Sure, they had sex and slept in the same bed, but they weren’t in crazy romantic love. They were familiar with each other. But she’d lost herself somewhere along the way. Even going as far as taking a break from her PhD work because Parker thought the subject matter was embarrassing and he had political aspirations. Maybe marriage to him had crossed her mind, and she just didn’t realize it. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a terrible idea. Marriage to Parker would stifle her even further.

She walked the streets of New York for two hours before she got too cold and grabbed a cab back to the hotel. Hopefully, Parker would be more level headed and able to discuss this. Breaking up was probably the right thing to do, but telling someone to shove their ring up their ass wasn’t how you ended a relationship. Not if you were a rational adult.

At the door to their suite, she took a deep breath and scanned her card. The light turned red, so she scanned it again and frowned when it didn’t work. The strip must have been demagnetized.

As she was walking away to get a new one from the front desk, she heard the distinct sound of a woman’s laughter through the door.

Was she at the wrong room? No. The number was right. Her stomach in knots, she tried the key again. When it still wouldn’t work, she knocked loudly.

The door opened, and a woman answered in her bra and panties.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Reva blurted.

It was Monica Parrish. She’d been friends with Parker the entire time she knew him, and they worked together.

The woman ignored her question but left the door open and turned to yell at Parker. “Your ex is here.”

Ex? He apparently moved fast.

“Reva hello. I wasn’t sure when you would be back. Monica and I were enjoying a drink. You can get your stuff, but then you need to leave.”

“And go where?”

Parker shrugged. “Wherever. A plane back to D.C. might be a good idea. I’ll be here until Sunday. You can have until then to get your shit out of my place.”

Reva’s stomach lurched as she stared at him in disbelief. So much for discussing this like rational adults.

“You’re seriously breaking up with me because I’m not ready to get married?”

Parker shrugged. “I got the transfer to New York. Monica lives here now. We’ve been seeing each other on most of my trips here. I don’t know why I wanted to marry you when she was right here.”

Her vision blurred as tears threatened to fall. Do not cry over this bastard, she told herself.

“You know I can’t afford to change my ticket and get back to D.C.”

“Not my problem anymore.”

Even though they lived together, Reva’s finances still weren’t great, and she hadn’t wanted to accept his help, determined to make it on her own. Probably for the best, but that didn’t make this situation any better.

She grabbed her stuff—thankfully, she’d packed light—and headed downstairs to the lobby, unsure of what to do next.

Rooms at this hotel were way outside her price range. Most things in New York were unless she wanted to stay somewhere dangerous.

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