Brooke’s smile blossomed when Parker insisted that she didn’t need to thank him for his generosity and for joining her to celebrate the birth of a new chapter in her life. And what a new chapter it was, so far. Initially, she thought these uncharted waters would amount to no more than suddenly becoming an empty nester. But, it turned out, the chapter was writing itself already and introducing even more changes to her life, than she could have predicted.<br/><br/>Parker unpacked the bag that held the contents of their dinner and as he set the tupperware down, Brooke shoved serving spoons and forks into everything. Parker got rid of the eyesore of a bag, ensuring that there would be nothing obstructing their views from each other. She laughed aloud when he unveiled the golden, buttery garlic bread and dubbed it her favorite. He offered it to her and Brooke wasted no time in reaching out for it, to set it near her.<br/><br/>He mentioned that she had nothing to worry about regarding it being bad for her and giggled again. “Tell that to my hips,” she said, matter of factly, not really thinking about the implications. Brooke gestured to the bread, then looked to Parker. “You can feel free to have some too. I can share, I promise. There’s plenty for both of us.” They both spooned their servings onto their plates then, Brooke deciding to take a little bit of everything.<br/><br/>Parker said he liked the idea of sharing and Brooke nodded in agreement, her grin growing. “See?” She mused. He mentioned getting a bit of whatever they wanted and Brooke took a sip of her wine, unable to stop thinking about how there was just one other thing that she wanted from Parker that evening. Just as she thought maybe she would have the courage to bring that up, he veered into a different lane of conversation and asked what she had been up to.<br/><br/>In between bites of her food, she answered. “Oh, you know. Same old thing, really.” She chuckled, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. “I mean, it’s been as hectic as usual,” she set the napkin down. “I’m still constantly jumping from gig to gig and collecting odd jobs along the way.” She shrugged a shoulder, suggesting this is just the way things were. “I guess by now I’m pretty used to the juggling act of it all.”<br/><br/>If it weren’t for Parker’s job, she might have felt the need to lecture him about the importance of going to college, like she did for her daughter Payton. But in his case, Parker’s circumstances were quite different. For someone like Payton, college mattered to be able to land her a more stable job. However, Parker was a shoe in, being that his name was already on the font of the dealership.<br/><br/>Even though he hadn’t specifically asked about her romantic life, she decided to share. “Being that I’m constantly balancing almost every minuscule aspect of my life, it’s hard to find the time to date, so things have been pretty quiet and lonely lately,” she stated, candidly. Brooke took another sip of wine and realized that it was at this point, undoubtedly, having an effect. “What about you? Are you finding time to get out there and date?” She asked, clearly intrigued.