She crossed her heart. “I promise. Ty got Sophie and I pepper spray, and we carpool to our shift. Besides, Luke, everyone knows who we belong to.”
Harper dropped off the beers and a diet soda and raced back to the server station to order for Reece and Dana at the pool table.
She made another lap before circling back to the bar and spotting a familiar face.
Gloria was perched on a barstool sipping a glass of wine.
“Hey, Gloria,” Harper waved to her friend. “It’s nice to see you out and about!”
A delicate blush tinged her cheeks. “I’m celebrating my first paycheck from Blooms.”
Free from the abuse of her ex-boyfriend Glenn Diller, Gloria landed a job at the local florist and was saving for her own apartment.
“Good for you! Claire says you’re doing a great job,” Harper told her, reloading her tray. Luke’s mom, a plant lover for life, worked at Blooms part-time and had been singing Gloria’s praises.
“Thanks. I really like it there.” Gloria’s blush deepened. “Um, have you heard from Luke?”
Harper couldn’t stop the smile that took over her face if she tried. Just the mention of his name gave her a little rush. A fast, electric tingle.
She nodded. “I had an email from him Wednesday and I talked to him last week.”
Gloria turned her gaze to her glass as she twirled the stem between her fingers. “Did he say how Aldo’s doing?”
“Oooooooooh,” Sophie cooed behind the bar. “Someone has a crush!”
Gloria turned an even brighter shade of pink.
“Stop picking on her!” Harper rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind Sophie,” she told Gloria. “She thinks she’s Cupid.”
“By the way, you’re welcome,” Sophie winked at Harper.
Harper definitely owed Soph a debt of gratitude for putting her in Luke’s bed that first night. Not that she intended to inflate Luke’s sister’s head any more than it already was.
“Anyway,” Harper looked pointedly at Sophie. “Luke did mention that Aldo’s organizing some crazy boot camp workout competition with a bunch of the people from their unit. Tire flipping, rope climbing. He promised to email pictures.”
Gloria nodded, but remained silent.
“I could give you his email address, you know.”
That had Gloria lifting her gaze. “Don’t you think it would be ... weird?”
Harper shook her head and hefted her tray. “I think you guys waited long enough. Don’t you?” She started for the crowd and called over her shoulder. “I’ll send you his email address.”
***
That night, Harper collapsed into bed exhausted and alone. On Fridays, James, Luke’s younger brother, took Lola and Max overnight so she didn’t have to worry about them being alone all day and into the night.
She smiled, imagining the dogs cramming themselves between him and whatever attractive, single girl he had talked into his bed. Just like his brother, he wasn’t into commitment. However, in James’ case, the girls didn’t have to be nearly as persuasive as Harper had been.
Was this Luke settling down? Asking her to stay seemed like a big step. But there were so many things unsaid between the two of them. What was he keeping from her? There were walls between them and not just the ones he had built in the basement.
Harper couldn’t help but wonder how things would be when he came home. Would it be the same old cycle of getting too close only to be pushed away? She rolled over and hugged a pillow. Doubts and concerns found their way into her mind in the quiet hours of the night, especially when she hadn’t heard from him.
They managed a phone call or a video chat almost every week and in those precious minutes everything was better. Just hearing his voice from half a world away made her body come alive.
Hanging up was hell.
Harper instituted a rule for herself. She wasn’t allowed to cry on the phone. She wanted to leave him with a warm feeling in his chest that would lift him up, not a sinking guilt or loneliness that would plague him.
After every call, she allowed herself five minutes to cry those unshed tears and embrace the hollow of her heart. And then she carried on.
She curled around his pillow. Tonight she was wearing a Garrison Construction t-shirt that she found in his office. Wrapped in his familiar scent, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The next morning, Harper set aside some time to work in her new garden. Charlie helped her till the soil and Claire had gone on a plant-buying rampage with her. She was determined to make this hobby stick and not just because she liked zucchini and fresh tomatoes. Damn it if she didn’t want to add something to this house that was just hers. She wanted to belong here, feel at home. She wanted to provide something tangible to their home together.