She huddled over an old drawing table she had repurposed as a desk. She set it up in a corner and angled it to have a line of sight into Luke’s office. Not that he was in there now. And from the looks of the stacks of paperwork covering every flat surface, including the floor, he probably didn’t spend much time there.
Harper moved the now neatly organized stack of files to the edge of the desk and reached for a new pile. She liked being here. Liked being surrounded by Luke’s work. When he said he was in construction, he left out that he ran a ridiculously successful contracting and building firm.
Digging through the files, she discovered that both the bank on Second Street and the sprawling farmhouse on the outskirts of town that she had admired were Garrison projects.
Where some men couldn’t shut up about every minor accomplishment of their day, Luke was a vault. He could thwart a bank robbery and deliver a baby on his lunch break and the only thing he’d volunteer was that he had a BLT.
It only made her want to pry information out of him.
Harper jumped as a brown paper bag landed on the keyboard in front of her.
“Mom sends her best,” Luke said from behind her.
Harper pounced on the bag. “What. Are. These. Nevermind, don’t tell me.” She unwrapped a brownie and took a bite. “Mmm. Heaven!”
“She said you could share if you want to,” he hinted.
She eyed him over her brownie. “Let’s see if you’ve earned it. Did you save any old ladies from harm’s way?”
“No, but I didn’t put any in harm’s way either.”
“Good enough for me.” She handed him a brownie.
She watched him unwrap it and take a manly bite. “How’s your day so far, boss?”
“Not too bad. Just checking up on a new employee, making sure she’s not painting her nails and napping on the company’s dime.”
Harper wrinkled her nose at him. “Speaking of work, you should meet my boss. What a whip-cracker.”
Hmm, Luke with a whip. That was pretty hot. Hotter if he was shirtless.
Oblivious to her fantasy, Luke eyed her desk setup. “Have everything you need here?”
She kicked back in her chair and took another bite of brownie. “I think I can get by for the next month. And when I leave, you’re going to miss me.”
“We’ll see.” He said it with a smile.
A shrill jingle interrupted them. Harper snatched her cellphone off the desk and groaned.
She answered it with a vicious swipe. “Stop calling me,” she shouted into the phone and hung up.
“Problem?”
Harper rolled her eyes. “It’s Can’t Keep His Dick in His Pants.”
Luke frowned. “How many times has he called you?”
She scrolled to her call history. “Only twenty-three since Friday night.”
“Is he leaving voicemails?”
Harper adapted a slightly slurred manly voice. “Oh baby, I want you back. Tiffany means nothing to me. Do you know where my Batman shirt is?”
Her phone shrilled again and Luke snatched it out of her hands. “Do you want him to stop calling you?”
“Uh, yeah! How are you going to make that happen?”
“I’m your fake boyfriend. I have many powers.” Luke straightened away from the desk and answered the phone.
He walked a few paces away and Harper strained to listen. He stood with a wide stance, hand on hip, staring out the window. There was always such an intensity about him. Power and control were the driving forces behind everything he did.
Luke rarely divided his attention, making it seem like he was always fully focused on the task at hand. It was that intense focus that Harper felt every time he looked at her. She felt important. Worthy. Interesting.
And now the man who made her feel important, worthy, and interesting was in a conversation with the man who treated her as replaceable.
Luke hung up and walked back to Harper. He tossed her the phone.
“Well?” she asked.
“He won’t be calling you anymore, and he’s sending your last paycheck here to the office.”
Harper jumped out of her chair and whooped. She tossed her arms around his neck and planted a smacking kiss on his cheek, savoring the feel of his stubble under her lips. “I’m taking you out to dinner with that paycheck.”
His hands settled on her waist and held. “Don’t you think I should pay for our first date?”
“An unconventional relationship calls for unconventional etiquette. Besides, we’ve already slept together and you brought me brownies. That your mother made for me. We’re practically engaged.”
He looked nervous again. She could tell he wanted to back up and get some space between them. Harper liked that she could make him a little uncomfortable. It partially made up for the pointy butterflies that went careening around her stomach when he looked at her with those soulful eyes.