Page 134 of Mother Parker
He took the pink Bubble-branded sweater off and put on a loose-fitting shirt with a blue floral pattern that matched his hair choice for the day. He changed into a pair of blue suede shoes before he turned and took off my pink Henley to replace it with a fresh black T-shirt. He sprayed us both with that rosy perfume that reminded me of him, and we headed back out of the apartment.
“Where would you like to go?” I asked.
“Hm…I don’t know,” he said, and then a moment later, he jumped excitedly and clapped his hands together. “Oh, let’s go to the Outpost. A customer was raving about the food, and it got me curious. Nothing against Wyatt, I love the guy, but last time I ate there, I had to sneak food out in napkins.”
“Are you sure you want to go there?” I asked.
It was all the way at the top of the town, and there were so many restaurants dotted around the town center.
I also knew who was responsible for the brand-new food that had people “raving,” and I wasn’t in the mood to see Fowler.
I was still not clear what made Wyatt take him in when only a few months ago, he was pissed off that a SEAL like him would bring such shame and dishonor to our name and team.
“Yeah, why not? Our friends work there. Our friends who donated their time yesterday to clean up my shop without asking for anything in return,” he said.
“You sure you don’t want to go to Carson’s?”
“We can’t. He’s closed on Mondays. Come on. Let’s go to the Outpost,” he insisted, and I relented.
We walked to his car, and he got behind the wheel. As he reversed out of the driveway, he jumped again.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask. What the hell was that all about with Carson yesterday?”
I readjusted in my seat and put the seatbelt on, raising my eyebrow at him.
Was he really that clueless?
“Do you really not know?” I asked.
“No. What? Why were you all like, ‘is that okay,’ and what was with that stare-off?” he asked, turning onto the road and setting off for Wyatt’s bar.
“You really don’t know, huh?” I repeated, more for my benefit because I couldn’t believe it.
How was it that a guy like him who was so smart and could look into my soul to find the man I’d been hiding underneath couldn’t see something so obvious?
“So you never realized that Carson has a crush on you? That’s weird.”
“What? Carson doesn’t have a crush on me.”
He glanced at me, and I gave him my most adept are-you-kidding-me face.
“He’s just a friend. He’s been my boss for so long, I’m sure he would have said something if that was true.”
“I don’t know, but he helped you out with the shop for no compensation when your relationship had always been transactional when you worked for him. He hates having his picture taken, yet he agreed to let you take photos of him for your social media. He laughs at your jokes way too hard. You’re notthatfunny, and the way he looks at you when you leave the r—”
“Hey! I’m funny.”
“Notthatfunny,” I repeated with a smirk.
Hwan slapped my thigh and took a left before his eyes popped open, and he gasped.
“Oh my God. You can’t be right. Surely…wow. I just thought he was a friend who got me,” he said.
“I’m sure that’s also true, but come on. It’s clear as day the guy has a thing for you. Hopefully not for long now that he knows we’re together, but he does. He so does.”
“Well, color me clueless. I really am a Rose, aren’t I?” he sighed, and the Outpost loomed ahead of us.
The parking lot looked full, but Hwan managed to grab one last spot just as someone else was reversing out.
