Page 174 of Always Us

“What’s going on with her and her parents?”

“She’s talking to her mom and her sisters, but not her dad. She’s waiting for him to call, but so far, she hasn’t heard anything. Her mom and sisters moved back to the house and Kiefer moved out. I think Kelly’s going to divorce him.”

“Have you seen her family since you guys got back together?”

“Yeah, we went to her house last night and picked up some of her stuff. Kelly was really nice to me. She apologized for how she acted before, so I guess it’s just Harper’s dad who hates me.”

Sean never did tell me that he was threatened and attacked in the park that day. But he must assume Kiefer was behind it, which is the only explanation that would make sense, since Sean doesn’t know about the organization.

“So are you and Harper back to the place you were before you broke up?”

His grin gets even wider. “Better than that. I finally feel like we’re in the same place. Like we want the same thing.”

“That’s great.”

“Hey, for New Year’s Eve, do you care if we go to my restaurant for dinner? I know we didn’t talk about it, but I really want to take you guys there.”

“Sure, that’s fine. Whatever you want.”

“Good, because I already reserved one of their best tables. It’s a really upscale place. It’s hard to get reservations.”

“Then I’m surprised your boss let you have the table. He must really like you.”

“Yeah. Something like that.” He’s still got that huge freaking grin on his face.

I’m happy for him. He’s back to his old self and back with the girl he loves.

We turn the TV on and watch sports news until Harper and Jade finally come inside. Whenever they get together it’s like they were never apart. The miles between them the past few months didn’t change their friendship at all.

The next day we go to the Santa Monica Pier, walk around Griffith Park, and check out some other tourist spots. Nobody’s recognized me, so maybe my fame is over. Or it could be the baseball cap, which Jade keeps insisting I wear.

On Friday, New Year’s Eve, Jade and I spend the morning on our own, then meet up with Sean and Harper in the afternoon and hang out at their apartment until dinner.

Sean’s been acting strange since we got here. Usually, he and I just sit and talk or watch TV while Jade and Harper do their thing, but today he can’t sit still. He keeps getting up, walking around, going to the kitchen and back. It’s like he’s had too much caffeine.

During dinner, he’s still acting that way. We’re at the restaurant he works at, seated at a table that’s set off on its own with lighted greenery all around it. It’s a fancy place and I’m sure it’s really expensive. I don’t know how expensive because they don’t list the prices on the menu. That doesn’t bother me, but it drives Jade crazy. She can’t understand why even rich people wouldn’t want to know what they’re paying for their meal. But the food was excellent so it’s worth whatever it costs.

When the waiter gives us the dessert menus, Sean says, “Forget the menus. I made a special dessert for everyone. I need to go in the kitchen and finish it.”

Harper looks at him funny. “When did you make dessert? We’ve been together all day.”

“I made it yesterday when I came into work for a few hours.” He gets up from the table.

“What kind of dessert is it?” Harper asks.

He kisses her. “You’ll see. I’ll be right back.”

Jade sets her dessert menu down. “You’d think the chef who’s working tonight could just finish the dessert for Sean.”

Harper shrugs. “Sean’s all about presentation. He probably wants to make sure it looks right on the plate.”

A few minutes later, the waiter brings out our dessert. It’s a dark chocolate, triple-layer cake with strawberry filling and a dark chocolate frosting.

“This looks really good,” Jade says as the waiter sets a piece of cake in front of her. The plate has swirls of chocolate syrup on it that go all around the cake.

“Where’s Sean?” Harper asks the waiter.

“He’ll be here shortly. Enjoy.”

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