“What are you going to do between now and then?”
“I’ll probably just get a motel room for the weekend. Oh! Maybe a hotel with an indoor pool! It’ll be like a vacation.”
After lunch, Harper had Luke pulled the truck around to the dumpster behind the restaurant. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any questions.
He remained silent when she hopped into the bed of the truck and after a brief struggle, hefted the marlin over her head and heaved it into the dumpster.
Neither of them said a word when she climbed back into the truck and belted in.
***
They returned to Luke’s house where Luke unloaded the boxes and bags, stacking everything in the foyer. Harper watched uselessly from the couch where Luke ordered her to stay.
When he was done, he joined her on the lumpy antiquity. “Let’s talk about what you’re doing tonight —” Luke was cut off by Sophie yoo-hooing from the front door.
Harper was sure she heard Luke swear under his breath.
“Oh there you are,” Sophie said brightly, “How are you feeling today? Your face doesn’t look too bad.”
“Thanks, neither does yours,” Harper said dryly.
“Smarty pants. I’m going to get a drink, anyone want one?” She headed back to the kitchen. Harper shrugged at Luke and they got up to follow.
“Soooo, how did the stuff collecting go?” Sophie helped herself to a soda from the fridge and joined Harper at the island while Luke got a beer.
Luke’s eyes met Harper’s.
“Uneventful, wouldn’t you say, Luke?” Harper smiled innocently.
He leaned back against the counter and nodded. “Very uneventful. But I have a craving for fish sticks.”
Sophie watched as they grinned at eat other. “So, Harp, what’s the plan? What are you’re going to do now?”she asked, toying with the can.
“For now, the plan is still to get to Hannah’s and find a temp job there.”
“I was thinking —”
“Soph.” Luke crossed his arms.
“Now hear me out!”
“What? What’s going on? What’s happening?” Harper looked back and forth between the siblings.
“Well, I had an idea that I think could work to both your advantages.”
“Our advantage or yours?” Luke snorted.
“If you’ll shut your trap for all of ten seconds, Crabby Patty, I’ll explain.”
“Children. Don’t make me turn this kitchen around,” Harper sighed.
“Look. I’m just going to throw this out there and you two can decide whether or not it would work. Harper, you have no money, no job, and no place of your own.”
“When you put it like that it doesn’t sound good.” Harper wrinkled her nose.
“Luke, you just had me draft an office manager job posting and if you don’t show up at Mom and Dad’s with Harper tomorrow, Mom has June Tyler on stand-by.”
Luke slammed down his beer. “The June Tyler that I took to a dance in seventh grade? The recently divorced with four kids June Tyler?”
Sophie nodded. “The very same. Mom figures if you dated her once, you’d date her again.”
“Christ,” Luke muttered and picked up the beer again.
“Hey, I told you if you didn’t start at least pretending to date, Mom was going to take matters into her own hands. She just wants you to be happy.”
Luke shook his head and stared out the window.
“Harper, help me out here,” Sophie pleaded. “My idiot brother may not see the sense here, but you do, don’t you?”
“Are you talking about me pretending to be Luke’s girlfriend?”
“In exchange for a temporary job and a place to live.”
“How temporary?” Harper mused.
Luke was watching her with an eyebrow raised. “Don’t tell me you’re even considering this.”
“I’m starting to get offended by your reaction to me as a fake girlfriend.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not you, Harper. It’s the idea of this act just because my family can’t deal with the way I live my life.”
“News for you, big brother, last week I had to stop Aunt Syl from posting an online dating profile for you. Your profile name was Handysome.”
“Shit.”
Harper tried to smother a laugh but only succeeded in coughing.
Sophie held up her hands. “Luke, I’ve held them off as long as I can. It’s up to you now.”
“How long exactly has it been since you dated, Luke?” Harper interjected.
Luke gave Sophie a long look. “A while,” he said.
Harper kept quiet. There was something in that look that made her think this was more than just a meddling mom trying to marry off a holdout bachelor.