“You worked for me almost a year, and we traveled together a lot during that time,” he said, as he sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. “Did you think I wasn’t paying attention?”
“Yeah. I definitely thought that.”
His grin turned teasing. “Shows how much you know.” He climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged, then lifted the lid to reveal an enormous cheese pizza. It was very thin and slightly charred at the edges, and he picked up a slice and folded it in half lengthwise before taking a huge bite.
“So, we’re eating in bed?”
He nodded. “You look very settled in, so I don’t want to uproot you.” Who was I to argue? I followed his lead and folded a slice of pizza before taking a bite. After a few moments, he asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Sure. Why do you ask?”
“You decided to blow off your plans and spend the evening in bed.”
“I just needed some time to myself after spending all day at the studio,” I said. “That’s the introvert in me. I can be social when necessary, but then I need time alone to recharge.” Harper nodded at that, although he was the most extroverted person I’d ever met and I doubted he really understood it.
Once we finished eating, he said he’d be right back and left with the empty pizza box. When he returned a few minutes later, he’d changed into gym shorts and a T-shirt, and he was carrying a worn-looking paperback.
He stood beside the bed with a hopeful expression and asked, in all earnestness, “Can we be alone together?”
He was so cute that I just couldn’t point out the obvious contradiction. Instead, I said, “We can definitely do that,” and slid over to make room for him. He looked happy as he climbed under the covers, but I had to ask. “Are you sure this is how you want to spend your last night in New York? You have a lot of friends you could call if you wanted to do something.”
“I am doing something,” he told me, as he flipped to a page marked with a receipt. “I’m having a nice night in with you.”
It might not have seemed like much to anyone else, but to me that was just about the sweetest thing I could imagine.
Chapter 5
When we returned to his house on Sunday evening, we were greeted by Harper’s scrawny pet chicken. Kind of.
She came running when we stepped into the foyer, and Harper dropped his luggage, crouched down, and held his arms out as he exclaimed, “There’s my Loco girl! Did you miss your daddy?”
The chicken dodged around him and ran out the front door, and he swore under his breath and chased after her. I chuckled at that as I went into the living room and dropped my bags on one of the chairs. Kel was sitting on the couch petting the super relaxed greyhound, and he said, “Welcome back. How was your trip?”
“Excellent. How was your weekend?”
He tilted his head and grinned as he said, “Not nearly as fun as yours, by the looks of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“That hickey tells me you hooked up with someone while you were in New York.”
I slapped my hand onto the side of my neck and muttered, “I keep forgetting it’s there.” It was taking forever to fade.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but I bet Harper’s been teasing you mercilessly.” I decided not to tell him he’d actually caused it. Kel asked, “Where’d he go, anyway? I was sure I heard him come in with you.”
“Loco darted out when we came in, so he ran after her.”
Kel exclaimed, “I’d better go help him!”
He leapt to his feet just as Harper stepped into the living room. He was sweaty and gasping for air, but he’d succeeded in catching the chicken, who was tucked in the crook of his arm. When Kel started to apologize for letting the chicken get away, Harper cut him off by saying, “It was my fault. I thought she’d come to me, so I didn’t close the door. But after just two days, it seems she’s forgotten all about me.” When he put the chicken down, she darted across the room, bounced off an ottoman like a pinball, reversed direction, and ran off.
A moment later, the failed service dog wandered in with a can of beer in his mouth, and Harper said, “Thank you, Buddy! Is that for me?” The dog stared at his owner for a moment, then kept going down the hall. Harper sighed and muttered, “All my animals hate me.”
Kel ran after the dog and called, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t drink that beer.”
I turned to Harper and said, “I want to take a quick look at your mail before I head home. You’d mentioned it was piling up, but I didn’t see it in the office when I was here on Friday.”