by Susan Meier
Her good mood increased, and she knew she owed that to Seth.
Thinking about him reminded her of their kiss at her bedroom door and her heart contracted. The three best kisses of her life had all been given to her by Seth.
Seth.
With his kindness, commitment to his brother and the family company, commitment to helping her—the widow of a friend—and his obvious love for her daughter, he was amazing.
Crystal began to cry, and Harper took the bottle from the water warming it. She checked the temperature on her wrist, approved it and raced into the bedroom.
“Hey, angel.”
Crystal blinked up at her mom.
“Are you feeling better?”
The baby smiled.
“That’s a very welcome smile.”
She lifted Crystal from the crib, changed her and took her to the kitchen for her bottle. But when she was done eating, the baby glanced around, as if looking for something...someone.
“Oh, you’re wondering where Seth is.”
She gave her mother a sleepy-eyed smile.
“He’s at work. And pretty soon your mom will be going to work, too.” Although staying home with Crystal had much more appeal. She thought about the idea Sabrina had so easily tossed around: resurrecting her virtual-assistant company and staffing it with college kids. She wondered if the hundred and fifty thousand dollars she had in the bank was enough for startup capital and money to live on until the business got off the ground and decided she’d call Sabrina and ask her. Seth’s sister wasn’t just a smart woman; she counseled start-ups.
She picked up her phone just as it rang. Glancing at caller ID, she saw Max’s company name. Shifting Crystal to her hip, she clicked on the call.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Harper. This is Julie at Max Wilson’s office. I’m calling to let you know that if you still want the job as Max’s assistant, it’s yours.”
Her plans for resurrecting her small business weren’t clear enough yet to refuse a sure thing. “I want it.”
“Good. You start next Monday. Report to Human Resources at eight.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Happiness bubbled up inside her, as she disconnected the call. She shifted Crystal to her other hip and dialed her mom.
“Harper?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m calling to tell you I got a job.”
“Oh. Well, that’s great?”
“It is great, Mom. I didn’t tell you that Clark had mortgaged our condo and I had to sell it, or that he’d also leveraged the investment firm and I’d had to sell that, too.”
“Oh.”
The surprise in her mom’s voice was expected. What was unexpected was the ease with which she could pour out the truth of her life to her. She’d thought this conversation would be hell. Instead, the truth flowed out naturally.
“He’d used the firm to as collateral to get a loan to buy Seth’s share. The market fell right after he died, and I barely got enough when I sold it to pay off the loan.”
“That’s awful.”
Harper’s breath caught. Her mom had sympathized, and her voice sounded sincere.
“It was awful. Seth and I aren’t really dating. He was letting me live here until I straightened everything out.”
“He’s a good guy.” Her mother huffed out a sigh of disappointment, but didn’t say anything about the charade. She let it drop as if she understood. “You should have called. Your dad and I could have helped you.”
“I wanted to handle it on my own.” And now she was glad she had. Very glad. She’d gotten herself out of debt and learned to trust again. Seth helping her hadn’t just staved off homelessness. It had given her back her faith in humanity.
She swallowed hard when that realization brought tears to her eyes.
He’d given her so much more than a place to stay.
“Anyway, I am totally on my feet now. But here’s the interesting part. I thought maybe you’d like to take the baby one day a week. Not just because I’ll be working, but because it would give you and Crystal a chance to get to know each other.”
“Oh, Harper.” The happy surprise in her mom’s voice humbled her. “I’d love to.”
“I’ll have to find a daycare first. Then we’ll talk specifics.”
“That’s fabulous. Your dad’s going to be so thrilled.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
“I have some more calls to make, so I’ll talk to you once I know.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.” Tears filled her eyes again as she hung up the phone. For the first time in eight years, she meant that.
* * *
When Seth arrived home for dinner, Harper had a feast waiting for him. “What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“You only go all out for dinner when you’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. I got the job.”
His mouth fell open. Surprised and overwhelmingly pleased, he raced over, picked her up and swung her around. “That’s great!”
“And I talked to your sister this afternoon about starting up my virtual-assistant business again. She says I can do it part-time for a year or two while I work for Max and see where it goes.”
He looked up into her smiling face. “You’ve gone from no job to two jobs?”
“Yep.”
He laughed and slid her down to the floor. He hadn’t missed the easy way he’d caught her by the waist and lifted her up to swing her around. When she’d first come to his house, he’d never imagined they’d get this close. Yet here they were.
“I have a piece of news, too.”
“Take off your jacket, wash your hands and sit down. You can tell me while we’re eating.”
“Okay.”
He walked down the familiar hall to his bedroom, slipped out of the jacket and into the bathroom, where he washed his hands. Though Harper had never been in this room, everything about his condo seemed different tonight. Warm and cozy in the crispness of the October air. The scent of something Italian filling his nostrils. The sounds of cooing Crystal coming from the baby carrier sitting on the table.
“She sounds happy tonight.”
“She is. The tooth isn’t through by a long shot, but apparently babies get a break from the pain every once in a while. If you want to play with her after dinner, I would if I were you. We never know when the pain will be back.”
Seth nodded, but sadness shot through him when he looked at Crystal and thought about how he’d soon be leaving.
Harper took her seat and handed him a spatula to dig out a helping of baked ziti. “Looks good.”
“It’s just one of those things I love to make.” She smiled at him.
He watched her, his heart thrumming. He’d loved seeing her laugh with Sabrina at the cocktail party, thought there was no one more beautiful when she laughed...except she was more beautiful now. Contentment shone in her eyes. But also the light of expectation. She was securely on her new road in life now.
But so was he.
“I got the penthouse.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, Seth!” She bounced out of her seat and hugged him. “That’s wonderful.”
“Wonderful for both of us.”
She returned to her seat, her head tilted. “More wonderful for you. I certainly want this condo and appreciate your generosity. But you wanted a new place to live, too.”
He did. He loved that penthouse. “It’s pretty awesome.”
“Who doesn’t love a kitchen fit for a caterer with a butler’s pantry and a formal dining room?”
“I think more about a Christmas party in the huge living room with the lights of Manhattan as a backdrop.”
> Her eyes lit. “Can you imagine if it snows?”
“That would be cool.”
“No, that would be ambiance.”
He laughed and dug into his ziti, feeling a bit better about his move.
“What are you going to do about furniture?”
He took a bite of pasta, chewing as he thought about it. “This ziti is great.”
“Thanks.”
“I think I want to totally redecorate.”
“Oh...that would be fun.”
“Really?”
She playfully slapped his forearm. “Of course! I can almost see the beautiful rooms in my head and the possibilities.”
He nearly asked her if she wanted to help him, then remembered that she had a full-time job, wanted to resurrect her assistant business and had a baby to care for.
He couldn’t ask.
“I got the keys to the place today. It’ll take a couple of weeks before it’s officially mine, but because the owners are moved out and they happily cashed my check for the down payment, I got the key card to the elevator. The place is mine.”
“That’s great.”
* * *
Harper had meant to say that with enthusiasm—instead her voice had faltered. Through all their weeks of planning for her to get a job and him to get a condo, they’d been hoping for this. Instead of being happy for them both, a thick, ugly sadness had planted itself in her chest.
“When does your job start?”
“Next Monday.”
“Have you thought about daycare?”
“Already called. Four days a week she’s in the daycare in the building of Max’s company.”
“Four?”
“One day a week she’ll be with my mom. My dad’s even thinking of taking the afternoon of that day off.”
He sat back. “Wow.”
“When I called her, my mom was confused at first about why I’d want a job, but I told her about Clark and the mortgage and leveraging the firm. Then I asked her if she wanted to babysit one day a week and she was happy.” She bit her lip. “Actually, I told her I’d only been living with you. We weren’t really dating.”
“Oh.” He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then he glanced across the table and caught her gaze. “How’d she take it?”
“It was barely a blip. I think she was so happy that I’d asked her to keep Crystal one day a week that she was stunned. I also think it’s time for us to make up. To be a family again.”
“So do I.” He set his fork down. “It’s like all your loose ends are tying up.”
She nodded.
It felt right and yet wrong that she didn’t need him anymore. Not that she wanted to depend on someone, more that it had been nice to share her burdens. Nice to have someone to talk to, someone to share her life with.
“When do you move into the penthouse?”
“I could go tonight.”
She laughed, thinking he was kidding.
“I have a cot. Avery and Jake are meeting me at the house in the morning. Before work.”
Her heart stumbled. “You’re really leaving? Tonight?”
“It would be better to be sleeping there, so I’d be there when they arrive. Eventually, though, I’d have to come back for my things.”
But by the time he got around to it, she’d already be working. He could come to the condo when she wasn’t here, clear out his stuff, arrange for his furniture to be sent to a charity, and she’d never even see him.
Silence settled over the table. The ziti didn’t seem so tasty anymore.
On the verge of tears, Harper noticed Crystal had fallen asleep in her carrier. “I better take her to the crib.”
Seth’s eyes took a slow trip over to Crystal. “Yeah. She looks beat.”
“I wanted her to catch up on sleep today, but she wanted to play. Probably because she was feeling better.”
“Maybe she’ll sleep tonight.”
“I hope.”
She pulled the carrier off the table, but Seth suddenly rose. “Let me give her a kiss good-night.”
He walked over and bent down to press a soft kiss on Crystal’s forehead, something he’d never done before.
Harper’s chest expanded with love, then flattened with regret. It had taken him weeks to get adjusted to the baby and now he was leaving.
Probably tonight.
By the time she got the baby into bed and returned to the kitchen, he was scraping his ziti plate to put it into the dishwasher.
“You’re leaving now?”
She said it like a question, but she knew what was happening. All news was out on the table. She had everything she had needed from him. He had his new penthouse, a place he was clearly excited to get to.
They were done.
Ask him to stay.
The words popped into her head as a soft suggestion. She looked at him closing the dishwasher door, and tried to will her mouth to move, but she couldn’t. She was the one who’d told him nothing romantic could happen between them.
But he was the one who’d told her he wasn’t the guy to settle down with. He was the guy to experiment with.
She’d worked too hard and too long to get her life back in order. Wouldn’t asking him to stay be like messing it up again?
* * *
Seth walked back to his bedroom, grabbed his jacket and a prepacked bag he had ready for spur-of-the-moment out-of-town trips and headed up the hall again.
Harper wore a strained smile. He knew what she was thinking—their change of fortune had happened too fast. He really didn’t have to leave but even he saw the handwriting on the wall. A moment of weakness would be awful for them both. He’d told her his terms. He didn’t do permanent, but he did do fun. If they got soft again with each other tonight, shared more secrets, another kiss, they’d end up in bed. He had to leave now—
Unless she understood that sleeping together didn’t mean anything except a moment of happiness for both of them?
Ask me to stay.
He willed the wish across the room. Not so much because he wanted to sleep with her but because he wanted another night. Being vulnerable with her had been exquisite. He’d never shared so many of his secrets with anyone. Mostly because he knew other people wouldn’t understand. She had understood. They’d talked things out. Both her troubles and his.
Now he just wanted one night of real closeness. If the sadness on her face was anything to go by, she wanted it, too.
“You know you don’t have to go.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear from her. And she knew it. She had to ask him to stay, not tell him he didn’t have to leave. He couldn’t ask her. He’d already asked once. She had to say it.
Ask me to stay.
She pressed her lips together and stepped back. Shakily. “Okay, if you need anything...”
Disappointment tumbled through him. “I can call.”
She nodded.
He looked into her pretty blue eyes, stalling to give her another ten seconds to change her mind. When she didn’t, he headed for the door.
Regret tried to fill him, except part of the reason he liked her was her honesty. The sweet, sweet knowledge that she’d never lie to him, never manipulate him, only tell him the truth. She wanted more than he could give. He had to accept that.
He opened the door. Stepped out in the hall. Almost knocked on Mrs. P.’s door to say goodbye, but he thought better of it.
As much as this hurt, he needed the clean break, or he’d pine after her for weeks, maybe months, the way he’d done after Clark asked her out and she’d accepted.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SETH AWOKE THE next day to the sound of the house phone. Knowing only the doorman had the number, he raced to get it.
“Yes?”
“Your broth
er and sister-in-law are here.”
“Send them up.”
He slid into jeans and a big T-shirt and got to the great room just in time to see the elevator open and his brother and Avery step out.
Avery said, “Wow.”
Jake agreed. “It’s huge and gorgeous.”
“Can you see the parties here?”
Jake laughed, but Avery walked around nodding. “Elegant parties.”
“I’m not sure about elegant. I’m still young enough to be a little bad.” But in his head, he saw what Avery saw: the room as neat as a pin, with sofas and tables, flowers and a fire in the fireplace, and the backdrop view. All because he had other rooms. A den. An office. A room that could be a playroom. A master suite big enough to have a nursery beside it.
He sucked in a breath. He knew why he’d had the thought, but he blocked it. He and Harper were not a good match.
The house phone rang again.
Jake winced. “I forgot to mention that I invited Mom. We had dinner together last night. I told her you’d bought a new place and somehow she wheedled it out of me that Avery and I were seeing it before work.”
“It’s okay.” He picked up the phone. “If that’s my mom, send her up.”
Avery and Jake poked around in the butler’s pantry, kitchen and dining room while his mother rode up in the elevator. When they heard the doors open, they returned to the great room.
“This is amazing,” his mother said as she glanced around. “So much room.” She faced Seth. “You have the entire top floor?”
“Gorgeous views from every room.”
She nodded sagely. “Good for resale value.”
He wished he could do what Harper had done. Come clean with his mom and get a fresh start. But Harper hadn’t suffered humiliation, as he had. And his mom had turned a blind eye. How did they talk about that? Forgive that?
He turned toward the butler’s pantry. “Wait until you see the rest of the place.”
He took them through the kitchen area, dining room, guest bath, two guest bedrooms, the master suite and then another two guest suites.
“It’s huge.” His mother gaped at the view from the second guest suite. “Big enough for a family of six.”
