Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
I fought to hold back my laugh. “What time is dinner, Mom?” I asked.
“I told your brother to be here around six-thirty. You’ve got plenty of time to settle in, and maybe even take a short ten-minute nap.”
“Nap? Mom, I haven’t napped since I was a toddler.”
She shrugged. “I think you’ve earned one. Did you drive here or fly in?”
I took another chocolate-covered strawberry and popped it into my mouth. My father gave me a death glare, so I grabbed another one and slipped it to him when my mother turned away.
“Drove. I sold pretty much everything in my apartment back in North Carolina and figured it would be silly to have my truck shipped when I could just drive it.”
“That makes sense. You go get yourself settled into your room. I’ll change the sheets on your bed. I wash them once a month, but it’s been about that long now.”
I shook my head. “Mom, the sheets are fine. Don’t worry about it. Do you need any help with dinner?”
She looked around. “I just need to make a salad, but I’ll do that right before the lasagna gets out of the oven.”
I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll help cut up the veggies.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh, Declan, those days are over. I have a couple of Ceasar salad packs that I just have to open, dump the dressing on, and it’s ready.”
I laughed. “I like this new version of you, Mom.”
She winked, and then startled when her phone went off in her pocket. She took it out and rolled her eyes again. “It’s Sean. He confirmed he’s bringing her.”
“Maddie, don’t start with that,” my father warned.
“Why do you dislike Harper so much?” I asked.
Mom threw her hands in the air. “I don’t dislike her. I just thought that since they’d finally broken up, Sean could ask Crystal out.”
“Not this again,” my dad said, giving my mother a look. “Stay out of it, Maddie.”
Confused, I asked, “Crystal? Stevens? I thought they were best friends?”
“They are!” my mother agreed. “Viola and I have always wanted those two to get together, but Sean never asked her out. Then he started dating Harper, and it was serious for all those years. When they broke up, I thought maybe this was finally their chance to get together.”
I stared blankly at my mother. “Mom, Crystal is like a sister to Sean. He’s never going to ask her out.”
She shot me a dirty look and pointed her index finger in my direction. “You don’t know that.”
I did, in fact, know that. Sean told me all about how our mom and Viola had tried to push him and Crystal together on multiple occasions. He’d also told me he could never see himself with her. She and Sean were the best of friends but complete opposites.
Running a hand over my buzz cut, I drew in a breath. “I think I’ll go get unpacked.”
Dad looked my way. “Smart kid.”
I kissed my mother on the cheek again. “It’s good to be home.”
She blinked to keep the tears back. “It’s good to have you home.”
I walked out of the kitchen, grabbed my two bags, and took the steps two at a time. Once in my old bedroom, I shut the door and looked around. Everything was the same. It seemed nothing had been touched or moved, except to clean, which my mother clearly did often. There wasn’t a speck of dust in the room.
Dropping the bags, I sat on the bed and scrubbed my hands down my face. My brother was back together with Harper…and I would see her in a few hours. Not the kind of homecoming I was hoping for.
“Well,” I said softly to myself. “Might as well get it over and done with.” Once I saw Harper and my brother together, I’d hopefully find that I wasn’t still attracted to her. Knowing they were happy would make it easier for me to get on with life.
I huffed a humorless laugh. “Right. Keep lying to yourself, Declan.”
Harper
“Harper, we can’t meet at my parents’ house.”
I turned off the computer at my desk and dropped back into it as I let out a frustrated sigh. “Why not, Sean?”
“How would that look?”
“It would look like we were both working today and decided to meet there. I highly doubt your mother will read into it, or even notice as long as we walk into the house together.”
He sighed. “This has to work, Harper. If she even gets a hint that we’re lying, she’ll be relentless about Crystal.”
“Why don’t you grow a pair, Sean, and tell your mother how you feel? That you’re attracted to Caroline. Besides, she and Viola would probably be over the moon no matter which daughter you ended up with.”
“Did you forget? Caroline is dating someone.”