“I had a feeling,” I said.
I opened her door for her and a sense of déjà vu washed over me. As we walked into the restaurant, I couldn’t take my eyes off Sienna. She radiated pure bliss, and I’d been the one to do that for her. Granted, I’d also made her feel like shit at times, but I intended to never do that to her again.
Once we were seated, I ordered champagne for the table and two appetizer platters. That would keep the waitress away for some time. I wasn’t in a rush to order our entrees since I wanted to draw out the dinner. We had so much to catch up on.
But when it came down to it, Sienna didn’t say much. I started the conversation off. “Do you want to know anything about the wedding?”
Sienna picked apart a piece of bread. “Not really. I think for now we can skip that whole thing. At least for a little while.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
She inhaled sharply. “I do want to know more about you coming to Kenneth’s funeral. That was really good of you. Harriet really appreciated it.”
“I was glad to be there for her. She’s really a sweet woman.”
“She is.” Sienna looked at me, anticipating my response.
“I tried to get a hold of you this weekend, but you were gone. So when I came to the diner this morning and saw your sign, I went online to see if anyone we knew was hurt, or heaven forbid, had died. There was a small obituary that just came online this morning for Kenneth. I’ll have you know I did call Harriet to offer my condolences. And she invited me to the services.”
“She invited you?”
“She did. And she also mentioned you would be there so I should dress ‘sharply.’ Her word, not mine.”
Sienna laughed, almost as if she were releasing some pent up emotions. We both had a lot of those. “That woman is ever the matchmaker.”
“Considering that wasn’t the reason I’d called her, I’d say it was an added bonus.”
Sienna sighed and nodded her head slowly, her eyes piercing mine. “I’d say.”
The waitress brought our antipasto plates out. I knew Sienna wanted her own, and I had barely eaten in two days since the wedding. Now that I was getting my personal life back on track, I was starving.
“It’s a good thing your schedule was free to come to the funeral,” Sienna said, piercing an artichoke with her fork.
“It wasn’t free,” I said.
Sienna glanced up at me. “It wasn’t?”
“I actually had a meeting about selling the company today. I had to postpone it.”
“And they were okay with that?”
“They’re motivated to buy soon. I said I had a death in the family.”
“You really didn’t have to do that,” she said, putting her fork down.
“Of course I did. I consider Harriet a part of my extended family, through you. You’ve always been my family, Sienna.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she picked up her fork again. “So, tell me about the deal. You said your grandkids wouldn’t have to work?”
I smiled. “Well, my kids and grandkids will learn the value of a dollar, but they will have enough to be comfortable. In fact, they even upped the price if I agree to the terms this week.”
“Are you going to agree to them?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. Finally saying it aloud created a sense of relief to move through me. This project had been my baby for years, and now I was letting it go. It wasn’t all about the money; it was the chance to free myself up for something new. And I knew that Gary’s company was going to do right by the site.
“Parker, that’s fantastic,” she said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” I never compared Rachel to Sienna before, but the differences were stark. I couldn’t believe I almost married Rachel. Sienna was supportive and a keen sounding board for all the big decisions in my life. I’d been such a coward all these years. How did I ever think that Sienna and I weren’t a good match? I should have taken that risk years ago. Maybe we’d even be married by now. The thought made me feel utterly complete.