“It was silly. Now we have no tents.” He pulled out his phone and tapped away at it furiously until the sound of a ringing phone echoed between them. “I’m just calling an old pal of mine.”
“Parker?” A soft and melodious woman’s voice asked over the phone.
“Mel, hey. It’s me, yeah. Listen, I need you to find me some tents.”
“Tents? Like the kind you sleep in?”
“No. The kind you rent for weddings and events.” He rattled off the size and color they needed. “I don’t care how much they cost to buy. Get me three.”
“You got it. Anything else I can do for you?”
“No, that’s all. Thanks, Mel.”
There was a heavy silence on the other line. “I miss you, Parker. This place isn’t the same without you …”
“Yup.” He cleared his throat, uncomfortable. “Look, text me when you’ve found what we need. I’ll check in later.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay. Bye, Parker.”
“Bye.” He quickly ended the call and turned in his seat to smile at Jade. “Mel is my old assistant. When I sold the company, I struck a deal for her. She had to be able to keep her job for as long as she wanted it. She’s a smart lady, and I’m sure she is an asset to the company, even though I am no longer there.”
“She sounds like she misses you. You two were very close?” Jade didn’t know why she was suddenly itchy with jealousy for the mysterious Mel on the other line, but she was. It was the silliest thing! She had no claim to Parker. It’s not because he had pretended to be her boyfriend for two seconds to piss off Hughie that they were together. She took a deep breath to try to clear her head of all thoughts of Parker and his lips on her cheek.
“We were close, yeah. She’s like a sister to me.” He laughed dryly. “Actually, Mel was probably more of a sister to me than Hannah ever was.”
Jade wanted to tell him that the woman on the phone sure didn’t sound like she thought of Parker as a brother, but pointing it out wouldn’t serve her. Nor would it be good for this Mel person. It was none of Jade's business if she hadn’t told Parker how she felt.
“So you’re really going to buy some tents for the town, huh? How much will you charge us to rent them off you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I am not charging Half Moon Key a damn penny for using the tents. We’ll find a storage place for them, but now, the town has its own tents for any event they might need them for.” He smiled at her. “Think of all the money you just saved. You know what we should do with that extra cash?”
Jade shook her head, completely mesmerized by the look in Parker’s eyes. “We should get a bouncy castle for the kids.”
“A bouncy castle?” she repeated.
“Yeah. Have you ever rented one for Beach Day?”
She shook her head. “Well, no. We always just assumed that the kids would prefer to be in the water on Beach Day.”
“For sure, but imagine a bouncy house! You take a few jumps to dry off, and then you go in the water all over again. That sounds like fun.”
“It does, yeah …”
“You’re not sold on the idea. I can tell.”
“Well, I just haven’t done any research for that. I have no vendors list or any idea how much the prices could be.”
“I’ve got you. How about you find us a place to eat lunch in the city while I do some research.”
“Do some research?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Well, yeah. We’re in the city now. The internet and my phone won’t crap out for no reason at all.” He winked, and because she couldn’t help herself, she giggled.
“I guess that’s fair.” She flipped her hair back before starting the car. She drove them to a small strip mall that had two restaurants. One was a typical chain, while the other seemed to be a more mom-and-pop operation.
“Let’s go in there,” Parker said, pointing to the Mexican restaurant. “It looks like it’s family operated, and I’m all about supporting local.” He leapt out of the car the second she was parked, ran around the car to her side, and opened the door for her.
Jade’s jaw was on the ground. “Did you just open the door for me?”