“Yes. He knows.” She laughed. “No excuses. He’ll be there any second.”
A knock sounded right on time.
“I think he’s here. Bye.” I inhaled once more, hoping this deep breath would do the trick. When I opened the door, I froze. “Hi.”
The man at the door had green eyes. Why couldn’t they be brown or blue or pink?
He stuck his hand out. “I’m Ethan, but you probably know me as Harper. That’s what most people call me.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Haley. And most people call me Haley.” Way to sound smart right off the bat. “Let me grab my crutches, and I’ll be ready.”
“What did you do to your ankle?”
“Turned it when I went camping.” That sounded better than I heard a noise and turned around.
“Well, it’s a good thing you live on the ground level. But if you need me to, I can carry you. We get training for that in firefighter school.”
I stopped my hobble. “I don’t need you to carry me.”
Harper laughed. “That was supposed to be funny. I mean, I did get training for that, but considering we just met, I’m thinking I should wait at least fifteen or twenty minutes before I sweep you into my arms, right?”
“At least.” I started my forward motion again.
We made it all the way to the parking lot without me falling over. So far, the evening was a success.
He pointed at a Dodge Challenger. “This one is mine.” After hurrying to the passenger’s side, he opened the door and held out a hand. “Watch the curb.”
“Thanks for being cool with this. I know the crutches are a bit of a hassle.”
“Not at all. We’ll have fun.”
I eased into the seat and buckled in. “Where are we headed?”
“I figured we’d play a round of mini golf then walk down by the Alamo.” If he was teasing, he was skilled at it. There wasn’t a hint of tease on his face.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re being funny again. Did you grow up with sisters?”
He held up three fingers. “How’d you guess?”
“And you were the youngest?”
“Another good guess, but no. I have a younger sister.” He flashed a wide smile. “I picked out a place close to here that’s easy to navigate. We’ll have a nice dinner and talk.”
Harper seemed nice. I calmed down a bit, looking forward to spending time with him.
“Thanks.”
When we arrived at the restaurant, his chivalry continued. “It’s not the fanciest place, but I called ahead to get a table near the door.”
“That was sweet. I appreciate that.” I didn’t dare look at him as I did my little crutch walk. That would probably land me face first on the ground.
I held his hand as I lowered myself into the booth. While he stashed my crutches and settled in his seat, I surveyed the restaurant. From my seat, I could see four television screens, most of the bar, the hostess desk, and one other booth.
A menu hid the man’s face, but his boots sure looked familiar. Did Zach intend to hide his face all evening? What kind of dumb luck landed him at the same restaurant?
Harper straightened his silverware. “Whatever you need, just tell me.”
“How long have you been with the fire department?”
“Seven years. Adam and I started about the same time. That’s how we met.” He glanced at the menu. “Did you grow up around here?”
I forced myself not to look as the menu in the other booth lowered ever so slightly. “Yes. In the Hill Country, a little bit west of San Antonio. You?”
“Dallas. I moved here because they had an opening. I like it. Can’t imagine leaving.”
The waitress took our order, and I was feeling pretty good about myself. Here I was holding an intelligent conversation with Harper, knowing that Zach was probably hearing the whole thing.
“Adam said you’re a photographer.”
I studied the menu. “I am. I really enjoy it.”
“How rude of me!” Harper shook his head. “Would you like to sit on this side? The view from here is much better.”
Was he being nice, or did he want to check the scores scrolling at the bottom of each screen?
“Whatever works for you.” I could be nice and accommodating.
“I’d feel better if we switched.” Maybe he wanted to check out one of the hostesses.
After an awkward shuffling, I was sitting so that I could no longer see Zach.
“Do you have a gallery or a website for your photography?” Harper really was a nice guy.
“My gallery is just a separate room in my office. But I have a virtual gallery on my website.” I rattled off the website URL.
The waitress set food on the table. I loaded my baked potato with butter and cheese. But I left off the green onions. Who wanted those on a perfectly good potato?
“I’ll look it up after we eat.” Harper cut into his steak then leaned across the table. “Do you know that guy? He keeps looking this way.” He used his eyebrow to indicate Zach, as if I needed the hint.
I ran through a thousand explanations in my head, trying to decide which sounded the least weird. “That’s Zach. I’ve known him since I was ten.” Somehow, that was the best I could come up with. “He’s my older brother’s best friend.”
“That’s not weird at all.” Harper chuckled. “Should I ask him to join us?”
“You don’t have to—no. I’m sure he—why would you do that?”
Harper patted my hand. “I’d like to invite him. But if you’d rather we not, I won’t.”
“I don’t mind. But why would you want him here?” I knew all the reasons I wanted Zach at the table and had an equal number of reasons for not wanting him anywhere near me while I was trying to move on.
Harper stood up then perched at the edge of my bench seat. “His plate has been empty since we arrived. He’s had his coffee refilled three times, and I’m not sure if that’s his second or third slice of pie. It’s pretty clear that he’s not leaving until we walk out of here. We might as well invite our chaperone to sit with us, right?”
Chaperone. It was obvious to everyone. “When you put it that way.”
Harper jumped up and strolled to Zach’s table.
I focused on my plate, listening.
“I’m Harper. Would you like to join us?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want to intrude.” Zach sounded so sincere.
The voices dropped to a whisper, and I glanced back over my shoulder.
Zach made eye contact but only briefly. “In that case, sure. I’ll move to your table.”
In what case? What did Harper say?
“Hey there Ca—Haley. How should we do this?” Zach glanced at both sides of the booth. “Harper, you should sit next to her.”
I scooted over to make room. My phone buzzed as I shifted, and while Harper moved his plate and silverware, I checked my messages.
If you need to elevate your foot, you can rest it on my knee. Zach was maddening. And how had he gotten my number?
No! After hitting send, I tucked the phone away.
“Haley says you’ve known her since she was ten.” Harper shoved his broccoli to the side of his plate, which was a mark in the plus column.
Zach sipped his coffee. “Seems like yesterday. She’s grown up so much.”
I kicked him under the table, and he didn’t even look up.
“She’s a great photographer but a horrible camper.” He finished the last bite of his pie. “What do you do, Harper?”
“I’m a firefighter. You?”
“I’m an investigator in Schatz County. It’s west of town.”
“You grew up there?” Harper was nearly done with his food, and I’d barely taken two bites.
Zach nodded. “What do you want to know about Haley?”
“He thinks he’s funny.” I shot Zach a death glare. “We were talking about something before our food came. Oh, what was it?”
I wracked my brain, trying to find anything else to talk about.
“Your website!” Harper pushed his plate away and pulled out his phone. “Wow. This is some great stuff.” He scrolled through photos. “This one with the hand holding the poker and tending to the fire—it’s fantastic.”
Zach dropped his hands off the table.
“Thanks. I like the way the fire danced in the air.” Keeping my eyes on the screen, I avoided looking at Zach.
Harper turned the screen toward Zach. “Have you seen these?”
“Not the pictures, no.”
I wanted to slide under the table. The early poundings of a headache thumped on my skull. I slipped ibuprofen out of my purse and tried to take them without the guys noticing.
Zach bumped my foot and raised his eyebrows. He was hovering more than my brother.
“Dessert?” Harper slid the dessert menu next to my plate. “The choices look good.”
Zach gave his advice without being asked. “I highly recommend the lemon pie and the apple pie. I think this time, the peanut butter pie is calling me.”
“Three slices? Really, Zach?” I pointed at a decadent chocolate dessert. “That looks tempting.”
“I work out. I can handle the extra calories.” Zach flashed that deliciously mischievous grin.
Harper caught the waitress’s attention. “After all this, I’ll have to run seven or eight miles instead of my usual five.”
I was embarrassed for them.
“Can I interest you in dessert?” The waitress shot me a congratulatory look.
Sitting at the table with two totally hot guys earned me that look. “I’ll have the triple chocolate brownie pie.”
“Apple for me,” Harper said before nodding toward Zach.
“I’ll have that triple chocolate thing.” Zach lifted his mug. “And a little more coffee.”
If he had any more, he’d never sleep again.
Standing outside the restaurant, Zach tipped his hat to me then shook hands with Harper. “It was great to meet you. I’ll tell her brother that you’re a nice guy.”
Harper laughed. “I appreciate that. We’ll have to do this again, but next time we should double date.”
“Perfect.” Zach used the same tone he’d use when agreeing to watch a romantic comedy—sweet-sounding but completely fake.
I forced a smile. Between the pounding in my head and the throbbing in my ankle, I wanted to go home.
“You stay here. I’ll pull the car up for you.” Harper turned toward Zach. “Do you mind staying with her a second?”
“I can do that.” Zach stepped closer as Harper walked away. “If you start to fall, tilt this way.”
I waited until Harper was out of earshot. “You completely ruined my date. And I . . .” I wasn’t sure if I liked Harper enough to go out with him again. He was good-looking and pleasant, but there was no zing.
Zach stood way too close. “Carrot, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to—”
“What were you trying to do, Zach? What?” I blinked, determined not to cry.
“I didn’t plan to be at the same place. It was a coincidence. I swear.” He nodded toward the car. “He’s pulling up. Can we talk later?”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea.” I smiled as Harper jumped out and ran around the car.
He opened the car door. “Your carriage awaits.”
“Thank you.” Using Harper’s hand, I slid into the car.
As we pulled away from the curb, Zach didn’t move. I didn’t understand him at all.
Chapter 9
Mixing Mentos and Coke always resulted in an explosion just as ignoring calls from my best friend resulted in a visit. Eve didn’t care that it was almost midnight.
“Hey. Come in. I only have chocolate ice cream.” I hobbled back to the sofa and picked up my bowl.
Eve strode into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of ice cream. “What happened? Why are you ignoring my calls? Harper seemed so nice when I met him.”
“He’s very nice.” I adjusted the icepack on my ankle. “What did he tell Adam?”
“Was it Zach who showed up at the restaurant? Was he following you?”
“He’s got to be one heck of an investigator because he beat us to the restaurant with enough time to eat an entire meal. He had no idea where my date would take me. It was dumb luck. But Zach wouldn’t leave. So Harper invited him to join us.”
“And?”
I shrugged. “How do you think it went? My date was sitting beside me, and the guy I’ve dreamed about for almost twenty years was sitting across the table. Ugh, I sound so lame saying that.”
“Harper said he thought your friend was jealous.”
“I’d laugh but my ribs are still a tad sore. Jealous. That is funny.” I held out my bowl. “Will you serve me a little more?”
Eve was becoming a pro at filling a bowl in under a minute. “Haley, you can’t do this. Either talk to Zach and figure out what’s going on or find someone else to dream about.”
I wished I knew how to change my dreams. “He asked me if I wanted to go out again.”
“What did you tell him? Poor Harper.”
“Why can’t I like guys who like me? What’s wrong with me? Am I that stupid? He’s sweet and hot, but—”
“He’s not Zach.”
“Maybe I need to give him another chance.” I wiped my eyes.
Eve shook her head. “Don’t do that to Harper.”
“You’re right.” I flopped back on the cushions and nearly spilled ice cream all over the couch. “I can’t force it. It’ll happen when it happens.”
“You should sleep.”
“Because everything will be brighter in the morning?” I finished off the last of my ice cream.
Eve laughed. “No. Because you look terrible.”
Honesty was the basis of all true friendships.
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Thanks a lot.”
Moaning, I rolled over and buried my head under a pillow. If I ignored whoever was knocking at my door, surely they’d take a hint and leave.
But no.
My phone buzzed, and my brother’s picture filled the screen.
“Hello.”
“I have doughnuts. Open the door.”
“Why are you here, Hank?” I rolled out of bed.
“Doooooughnuts. I even got you some of those weird-shaped ones that are covered in chocolate and filled with that cream you like.”
“You mean éclairs?”
“That’s what I got. Are you going to open the door?”
“I’m coming. I have a sprained ankle, remember?”
“Excuses.”
I limped across the apartment and pulled open the door. “To what do I owe this sweet surprise?”
“Can’t a brother be nice to his sister without some underlying motive?” He set the box on the table. “I’ll make coffee.”
“Thanks.”
“I invited Zach, but he had something going on.” The coffee grinder drowned out the rest of whatever Hank said.
I painted on my happy face. Going back to bed now wasn’t an option.
“We need to talk about Christmas. It’s in less than three weeks. Do we want to spend it here in your apartment? Or at the house? We haven’t spent a Christmas there since . . .” Hank took a bite of his doughnut. “Zach might let us use his house.”
Since our parents died. The house had sat vacant for a while because neither of us had the heart to sell it. When Hank moved back from Montana, he moved in. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend Christmas there.
“Anywhere is fine.”
“I want some place where we can all celebrate together on Christmas Eve then walk responsibly to the tree on Christmas morning.” The more Hank talked, the worse it got. He acted like Zach was just another sibling.
“I don’t mind driving early on Christmas.” I bit into an éclair. “This is good. Thank you.”
“I’ll text Zach and see if he wants to d
o it at his place. I can help you get a tree for here though. You don’t have a single Christmas decoration out.”
I pointed at my ankle. “This is my excuse.”
“Well, I’m going to help get you into the Christmas spirit. Finish up. Then we’ll go shopping.”
“Hank, I really don’t feel like shopping or walking around. You can pick out a tree and bring it over.”
He licked icing off his fingers. “All right. I can do that.”
Fifteen minutes later, Hank left to get me a tree. Instead of digging out my boxes of decorations, I flopped on the sofa and closed my eyes. I’d been up way too late studying every detail of my boring, popcorn-covered ceiling. Mostly, I replayed dinner in my head over and over.
I didn’t blame Zach for being at the restaurant. He didn’t know. But why did he stay? He’d taken treating me like a kid sister to a whole new level and at the worst time.
When I gave up trying to figure it out, I fell asleep. And of course, my subconscious dropped me right into Zach’s arms in that field.
If I steered clear of Zach, by Christmas I would be able to deal with spending a few days in his company. Maybe.
Hank’s knock pulled me out of a deep sleep. Wiping drool off my chin, I opened the door.
“What do you think?” He held up a miniature version of the perfect tree. “I thought a small one would work better in here.”
“It’s great. You’re probably right. A big one would take up a lot of space. I haven’t pulled anything out. It’s in the hall closet.” I limped back to the sofa.
“You keep that foot up. I’ll grab stuff.” He whistled carols as he worked.
Within an hour, my apartment was decked out for Christmas.
I shifted my feet so that Hank could sit down. “Thank you. It looks really nice.”
“It’s the least I can do. Thanks for putting up with me.” He shrugged. “I know the divorce put you in an awkward spot.”
“I still love both of you.”
“I’m not expecting you to spend every minute of Christmas with me. I know you typically spend time with Eve, but I’ve learned that friends and family are the important things.” Hank scrubbed his face. “That’s why I want to spend my holiday with y’all—my sister and my friend.”
One Guy I'd Never Date Page 5
