Table for Two (8 page)

She heard a soft knock on her door, and wiped her eyes before calling him in. She knew Dylan was only trying to help, but there was nothing he could do. There was nothing that anyone could do.

"Did you want me to make you anything to eat?" He asked as he slowly approached the bed. Seeing Isabella shake her head, he tried something else. "Draw you a bath?" Again, a negative response. "Leave you alone?" It nearly broke his heart to see the look of pure defeat in her eyes as she nodded softly, almost as if she was ashamed.

"Ok, I'll leave you alone, but I'm going to hang around for a little while in case you change your mind and need something." He caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead. "Besides, my cable's out and I need to catch up on a few shows." He tried some light-hearted humor. She didn't even crack a smile, the blank look remained on her face. Dylan backed out of the room, and quietly shut the door behind him. She was so broken and he didn't know what to do to put her back together again.

By 5:00, Isabella still hadn't emerged from her room, and Dylan needed to get to the restaurant. As much as he hated to leave her alone, he knew that she would have been pissed if there was no one there to run the restaurant.

Just as he was getting up to tell her he was leaving, he heard a knock on the door. When he answered it, he was surprised to see Parker on the other side. "Sorry, she's not up to company right now." Dylan told him with an edge to his voice, before he let Parker say anything.

"Can you please just tell her I'm here?" Parker asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

Dylan sighed and moved aside to let Parker in. "Wait right here and I'll see if she wants to see you." He walked down the hall and knocked lightly on her door. He could hear her sobbing softly, and it made him want to go out and kill Parker for getting her pregnant in the first place. Sure, it took two, but Dylan placed the sole fault on Parker.

He slowly peaked his head in when he heard her trying to calm herself. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading to the restaurant. Do you want me to stop by after we close?" He offered.

"No, I'm alright. I don't need a babysitter." She was starting to get irritated with him, even though she knew he was only trying to help. Then she realized what she had said…babysitter. It was like driving the knife in all over.

"In that case, I'll tell Parker to leave too." He said and started to leave her bedroom.

"Wait!" She called and sat up on her knees. Dylan stopped and cringed before he turned around. "Parker's here?"

"Yeah, he just got here. I'll get him out of here so you can be alone." He tried.

"No, tell him to come in." Bella sat upright in bed and straightened her mess of a hair, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She knew she still looked horrible, but it would have to do. "Call me later and let me know how everything is at the restaurant."

Dylan nodded and left her room. "Don't do anything to upset her, Music Man." Dylan threatened before he grabbed his coat and walked out the apartment door, slamming it behind him.

Parker shook his head and picked up the bags that he had brought with him. He cautiously walked down the hall and entered Isabella's bedroom.

"Hey," Isabella said when he entered her room. Seeing the hesitant look on his face, she put her hand up, effectively stopping him. "Don't ask how I'm doing, that's pretty obvious. And don't look so scared…it's not like it's the first time you've been in here."

Parker smiled, thankful for her breaking the ice. "I brought some dinner and a few movies. I know it's not the cuisine that The TigerLily makes, but greasy cheeseburgers, fries, and action movies always make me feel better."

"I thought guys were supposed to bring chick flicks to make the damsel in distress feel better." Isabella smiled.

"Well, that's what I've heard, but I don't think a girly movie compares to action movies where they blow everything up and kick everyone's ass." He offered the bag of movies to her.

"I never thought of it that way." She said, looking inside to see Rush Hour 2, Lethal Weapon 2, and Romeo Must Die. She was impressed with the selection, and had to admit they were some of her favorites.

"I thought maybe we could have a theme… Rush Hour 2 and Lethal Weapon 2 for second chances, and Romeo Must Die for friendship, rather than romance." He said, purposely busying himself by taking out the containers of food so that he didn't have to look at her when saying it.

Isabella laid a hand on his arm, stopping him from what he was doing and causing him to look at her. "I think it's a great idea." She smiled.

From that point on, the tension between them melted, and they had a great time watching movies, eating, and getting to know each other. The pain of what they both lost was still there, but the fact that they were sharing it and helping each other get over it made them both feel just a little bit better about their loss.

"You know, for a wild rock star, you're a pretty ok guy." She told him after the movies, as they laid side by side on her bed, just talking.

"Yeah, my mom and my nanny raised me right." He said with a laugh. "Actually, I'll let you in on a little secret." He told her with a wink of his eye. "I'm not all that wild." He said with a whisper.

"Yeah, right. I Googled you, I know your deal." She laughed.

"No, really. I may be a pain in the ass sometimes and want to get my way, but for the most part, I'm a pretty normal guy. Sure, I get a little crazy out on tour, but more because it's what is expected of me, rather than how I really am. Yes, I like to drink and have a good time, but most of the tabloids make it out to be far worse than it really is." He laughed. "You know, I so rarely get to be myself that sometimes I forget who that is. My mother expects me to be a 'proper young man', talking proper, walking proper, thinking proper and acting proper, then my fans expect me to raise hell all the time…but really, I'm just a guy somewhere in between."

Isabella nodded. "I can see that." She smiled. "Thank you for coming tonight and taking my mind off everything. It means more to me than you could ever know."

Parker smiled. "It meant a lot to me too. I know that I wasn't exactly on board the whole time that you were pregnant, but in my own way, I was really beginning to like the idea of being a father." Bella's eyes began to water, hearing Parker's admission. He took her chin in his hands. "You're going to get through this…we're going to get through this, together. I am so sorry for being such a dick before."

She shook her head. "You must hate me…It's all my fault." She said before the waterworks came on full force. "I should have been happier about the baby. I should have slowed down at work. It's all my fault that I lost our baby."

Parker grabbed he shoulders and shook her. "No!" He yelled. "It's not your fault in any way. The doctor said that these things happen and you did nothing wrong. You've got to stop thinking that way. Do you hear me?"

Bella looked up at him hesitantly. Seeing that he wasn't lying, and that he didn't blame her, she felt a little weight lifted off her shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"I know, me too." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. He rocked her body with his as the tears kept coming from her eyes. "Me too."

The shrill ringing of the phone woke them both from their slumber a couple of hours later. They both looked at each other and jumped apart as if they'd been burned. Bella picked up the phone that was on her nightstand next to her bed, and Parker got up and began collecting the movies that he had brought over.

"Oh, hi Dylan. No, it's alright, we'd…I'd just fallen asleep." She spoke into the phone. After listening to the earpiece for a moment, her face grew rigid. "Yes, he's still here. He came over to help me through a difficult night, not that it's any of your business." She spat at him then sighed. "I'm not going to fight with you about this. If I want Parker here, then he'll be here. End of subject." She rubbed her forehead. "How did business go tonight?"

After Parker had gathered his things, he motioned to her that he was leaving. Isabella held up her hand, stopping him, and told Dylan to hold on for a moment. She covered the phone with her hand, then asked, "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I have an early interview in the morning. Besides, I don't want to overstay my welcome. I remember what happened the last time." They both laughed. "I'll give you a call though, ok?"

She nodded and began to put the phone up to her ear again as he turned to leave the room. "Parker, wait." She called out as she dropped the phone and crawled out of the bed. She shyly walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek. She looked into his eyes briefly before softly kissing his cheek. "Thank you for everything tonight."

Parker pulled her in for a tight hug, one that was nearly bone crushing, but felt better than any other hug she had ever received. "My pleasure." He kissed the top of her head before letting her go and leaving her room. Only when she heard the door to the apartment close did she go back to her bed and pick up the phone again.

*****

A few days later, Isabella's body felt better from the D&C that she had when she was in the hospital, and she was ready to get back to work. She was tired of laying around in bed, with nothing to do but think about what happened.

As she approached her restaurant, she was surprised to see that her workers weren't milling around in front, waiting for her to open the doors. She was sure that she had told Dylan that she'd be back that day, and hoped that he hadn't gotten everything done before she got there.

The front door was still locked when she pulled on it, making her fear that, instead of starting before she got there, everyone was late. She dug her keys out and opened the door, muttering to herself about slackers as she turned on the lights. To her surprise, all of her staff jumped out and blew on noise makers, cheering for her return. A big banner hung behind them, 'Welcome Back Boss' painted on it.

Isabella smiled at the craziness of her crew. "I knew you guys weren't lagging behind on your duties while I was gone."

"Not a chance boss. Dylan kept us all in line." Marty, one of her waiters yelled to her.

Bella looked around, past at all of the smiling faces coming to hug her. She took in all of the sights of her restaurant…The cream colored walls with Tiger Lily orange trimmed wainscot, the Tiger Lily orange table cloths, with brown cloth napkins, and the fresh Tiger Lily bouquet centerpieces at every table. Her eyes roamed over to the fireplace, and the table that she tried to stick Parker at. The thought made her smile. Everything within these walls made her smile. This was where she needed to be; with her staff, with her customers, inside her restaurant…her source of inspiration and happiness. At that moment, she knew that everything was going to be ok.

Isabella scanned the packed dining room as she made her way out of the kitchen to greet her customers. She sure had a full house, and what pleased her the most was that most of the faces were new to her. Most, except one very familiar table. Before she could turn around and seek refuge in the kitchen, she was spotted and waved over.

'Great, what do I say to the mother of the man that I had a one night stand with, got pregnant with his child, and lost the baby?' Isabella thought to herself as she wrung her hands, walking to their table.

"Good evening ladies. How is everyone tonight?" Isabella forced her smile.

"We're great, but what about you? We heard you've been under the weather. Are you feeling better now?" Sasha asked, offering her the vacant seat next to her with the wave of her hand.

"I'm doing better. It's a slow recovery, but I'll live." She joked.

"What was wrong dear, anything major?" Bunny asked.

'She doesn't know.' Isabella thought. 'What do I do, do I tell her?'

"Oh Bunny, that's really none of our business." Sasha told her friend after noticing Isabella's hesitation.

Bella looked relieved. "Let's just call it girl problems and leave it at that."

"Well, I am so glad you're back. And perfect timing too." Sasha said, searching through her purse. She pulled out a small black envelope and handed it to Isabella.

"What's this?" Isabella asked, opening the envelope as she spoke. Inside was a black card with the words 'You're Presence is Requested…' inscribed with gold lettering. She opened the card to find more information regarding a charity ball that Sasha was hosting at her house that weekend.

"It's our annual Gold and Black Ball. When my husband was alive, he started a foundation to help rescue dogs from puppy mills and the abuse and mistreatment that they received. God rest his soul, he truly believed in 'Man's Best Friend', and he would do anything he could to save them." She wiped a tear from her eye, remembering her late husband. "You really must come. I'm afraid I can't take no for an answer." She said with a huge smile.

"I'm honored that you would think to invite me, but I can't really leave the restaurant again so soon after being sick." She tried to protest.

Bunny pulled a silver envelope out of her purse and sat it in front of Isabella. "That's an invitation to my ball the week after. Our foundation benefits orphaned children to give them a better life, and puts them through college. I won't take no for an answer either. Besides, we've already talked to Delicious Dylan, and he assured us that he would take good care of the restaurant in your absence."