He sighed and turned to face her so they were eye to eye. “I asked Shorty to give it a tune up.”
“It runs fine,” Harper said, with a measured glare.
“Bullshit.”
He said it so calmly it didn’t register for a full second.
“I’m not leaving you with a car that barely runs.”
“Luke, that’s not your concern.”
He sighed. “You’re my concern and that extends to any metal container that you strap yourself into and hit highway speeds in.”
She was equally touched and annoyed by his gesture. Was it worth fighting over with seventy-two hours left together? She sighed. “When will it be done?”
“Should be done tomorrow end of day.”
“Two days? What are they doing to it?”
“Anything it needs.” He cut off her outraged reply with a hard kiss on her mouth. “Now get in the truck.”
“Fine, but don’t even think for a second that you’re paying for this,” she yelled at his retreating back.
“Truck, Harper,” he called over his shoulder.
She climbed in in a huff.
“Listen,” Luke said, sliding the key in the ignition. “I want you safe when I’m not here to keep an eye on you. I’ve gotten kind of attached to you being alive and in one beautiful piece.”
“Don’t you think you’re being just a little overprotective? Especially for someone who is basically breaking up with me in a matter of hours.” They backed down the driveway into the street.
“Can we talk about something else for a minute and then you can go back to complaining?”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “By all means.”
“I saw you started packing last night.”
She had. It was just some clothes tucked into a bag and a few boxes of odds and ends. “I didn’t want to leave it all until Friday. Too depressing.”
“I know you’re planning on leaving and I was thinking maybe you could stay a few more days. After I’m gone.”
Harper shot him a look, but his gaze was fixed on the road. “Why?”
“It might be a little hard on my family if we both leave the same day.”
“You haven’t told them yet?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t think of the right way to do it. Dad’s always wanting to tell me about something great you’re doing in the office. Mom’s always shoving baked goods at me for you.”
“That’s kind of sweet.”
“Yeah, you try crushing their dreams with the truth.”
“So what are we going to do? I’m not just supposed to disappear one day, am I?” She watched the tidy neighborhood slide past her window and forced the lump in her throat to release.
“I did something I never do and asked Sophie’s advice.”
“I’m suddenly intrigued.”
“I told her I didn’t want either one of us coming across like a jerk.”
“Good call.”
“So her solution is for us to announce that you’ve just landed your dream job somewhere else and we’re parting as friends.”
Harper mulled it over.
“When do we tell them?”
“I was thinking about doing it at the dinner?”
“Before you leave?”
“It’s either that or you tell them after I get on the bus.”
“That is so not going to happen.”
“Dinner it is then.”
With her future decided, Harper leaned against the headrest and tried not to think about it.
***
Harper smoothed the golden waves away from her face and secured them in a clip, leaving the rest hanging loose around her shoulders. She took a deep breath to steady herself before tackling the makeup. She wanted to look perfect.
She even bought a new dress. The white sundress had a fitted bodice with a scoop neckline and a full skirt that floated away from her body. It was too fancy for dinner, but she wanted to be memorable.
“Harper.” Luke’s voice carried up the stairs. “We gotta go, baby.”
“I’m ready,” she called back. One last look in the mirror and another deep breath and she told herself she was ready. One last night.
She sailed down the stairs and smacked soundly into Luke as he came around the corner from the living room. He caught her, hands at her waist. “Hey there, beautiful.”
His voice was a caress. One she would miss for a very long time.
He was dressed in charcoal slacks and a thin black sweater that fit like it had been poured over him. Perfection. Harper ran her hands across his chest provoking a growl.
“Baby, if we get started, we’re going to be late.” He ran a hand up under her dress to gently stroke the barrier of her silky underwear. “Very late.”