Read Denying Mr. Parks (The Parks #1) for Free Online Page A

thing.
    I pulled out my seat and flopped into the chair opposite him with an exaggerated breath. Alex was not my type. He was too skinny. Too nice. His buzz-cut hair was light brown, and his blue eyes were average. He was nothing special, but was a guy who would do anything and everything for me if I asked him to. He was a policeman who had a special love affair with football and watched every match that annoyingly graced the TV. That was what I definitely knew about him. And that was pretty much all he was about.
    “Sorry for being late. I got caught up with my idiot boss earlier—no, the founder…Whoever he is,” I told him with utmost sincerity, waving my hand around dismissively.
    “Another arsehole?” His mouth pressed into a sympathetic line.
    “Arsehole?” I scoffed, placing my handbag under the table and unwrapping my scarf from around my neck. “Now that would be an understatement.”
    Alex’s eyes softly drifted over my face after he laughed. “You look beautiful, Evey, if you don’t mind me saying.” He smiled his quirky, crooked smile, and it made me roll my eyes.
    “I do not.” While picking the menu up from the table to have a browse, I could feel Alex’s eyes watching me, and it made me feel uncomfortable because he was so nervous. It was completely unnecessary to feel that way around me. We’d known each other for years.
    “Would you like something to drink?” He smiled.
    “Definitely. A glass of red, please.”
    He gave me that concerned look most people did when I asked for an alcoholic drink and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Steph told me not to let you drink.”
    I sighed deeply, quite pissed that she’d warned him. Okay, she was doing the right thing, but I had it under control. “It’s one glass. I’m allowed one glass,” I prompted.
    Alex, being the sweet, kind guy he was didn’t argue but gave in. “Sure.”
    The waitress came around to take our orders, looking deathly bored and chewing gum like a horse.
    “Could we have a small glass of house red, please, for this lovely lady I have in my company? And an orange juice for me,” Alex said.
    My lips rose to the side, smirking at his cheesiness whilst the waitress—who was equally cringing—grinned along. “Have you both chosen what you’d like to eat?”
    Alex went first, ordering spicy chicken wings and two sides of chips. Where the hell did he put it all? When he was done, I ordered a chicken breast with chips and a side salad.
    Throughout the date I wasn’t aware that my mind was AWOL until Alex asked me what I thought about him being home from Ireland.
    “Huh?” I looked up blankly from my half-eaten plate of food, only catching a quarter of what he was saying.
    He laughed at my absent, mindless behaviour. “I was saying, how do you feel that I’m home?”
    “Yeah, it’s…great. And your parents are happy, you can’t argue with that.” I brought the glass of wine to my lips, watching him gingerly moving the food around on his plate with his fork.
    “Do you think we can pick up where we left off? I know we’ve been out together since I’ve been home, and I love spending time with you. It’s just…we haven’t talked about us really, have we?” He stared at me all hopeful and cute, leaning over to take my free hand in his. “What do you think?”
    Instinctively I flinched and pulled it away. “What do I think about what?”
    Alex was about to explain himself, but a firm, breathy American accent stopped him mid-word. “Evelyn? What a pleasant surprise.”
    You’ve got to me shitting me. My mouth fell open before I had chance to look up. What in the hell was he doing? I silently begged the chair to swallow me up. Whole.
    “Mr. Parks?” I looked up in his direction and saw him perched over us beside the table. I was completely perplexed and had to regain my composure from the shock. He was looking straight at Alex but never bothered to size him up like Alex was doing to Parks. He knew