But when I see her, standing there as if she’s been waiting for me, a vision in a loose red dress sundress hanging off her shoulders by two thick straps and a pair of crisp white sneakers, everything else is long forgotten.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I draw out as I wait while she stands there with her arms dangling at her sides.

But fuck waiting. The toes of her shoes dig into my calves when I lift Parker up.

“Hi,” I say it differently this time, taking in gulps of her scent, the warmth of her body, the softness of the ends of her hair that brush against my arms around her back.

I’m so focused on drinking her in that it takes me a second to realize it’s not just her voice that isn’t the same. Her hug, her touch, is all off.

Slowly, I lower Parker. She rests her hands against my chest for a moment before tapping them and stepping back. “We need to hurry. There probably will be traffic.”

“You sure we haven’t been married longer than we really are?”

Parker raises an eyebrow in question.

I sigh. “I haven’t seen you in two weeks, and that’s what I get? Traffic?”

Parker smiles, but I can tell it’s forced. “I’m sorry.”

I point to my lips. “You can kiss me and make it better.”

She also points to her mouth. “Lipstick.”

I wait because that must be a joke. That should be a joke and the only punchline? A kiss.

But nothing.

Parker eyes the dry cleaning bag before heading into the kitchen. “I would’ve picked that up for you like a good wife.”

It takes everything I have in me not to snap back and suggest that good wives kiss their husbands after they’ve been away. But I proceed carefully.

“What’s wrong?”

At the fridge, Parker shakes her head, pulling out the bottle of lemonade. “Nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. I haven’t been home⁠—”

“Fitz,” Parker interrupts me. “I’m about to go to an alumni event at a school that basically kicked me out. Give me a little break. I’m allowed to be a little uncomfortable tonight.”

Immediately I soften because I feel like an asshole. She’s right. “We don’t have to go, you know. We could just hang out here.”

I offer her an out even though I’m all in when it comes to tonight. Because tonight, I get the do-over that’s been more than a decade in the making. It’s what I’ve been dreaming about for years.

“We RSVP’d.” Parker takes a long sip of her drink. “We have to go.”

I tongue my cheek in thought. “Maybe this will make you more comfortable.”

I leave Parker in the kitchen and return to the entry, picking up the dry cleaning bag and discarding it along with the hanger.