Page 80 of On the Double

“Exactly. The perfect place for romance.”

Oh, she was good. But I was better.

“And when we’re done touring Italy, we could go to Greece. Hell, maybe we’ll travel around Europe for an entire month.”

“Can you afford to take off that much time?” her grandma asked.

“I have time off coming my way. I hardly ever take a vacation. Besides, the company really values family time.”

“I have your mother’s wedding dress,” her grandma said. “Maybe we could take it to be altered.”

Harper’s good mood immediately faded. It felt like the temperature in the room dropped a good twenty degrees, taking all the fun out of our morning.

“Um…I think I’ll just find something of my own.”

“Your mother would want you to have it,” she persisted.

“Yes, but I’ve seen the pictures. It’s not really my style.”

I glanced between the two of them, wondering what the hell was going on. We hadn’t even talked about her parents. Had she not gotten along with them? I hardly thought this was the time to bring it up, but I was dying to know what had made Harper turn so icy in a matter of seconds.

“So, I start my new job next week,” Oliver said, interrupting and breaking the tension.

I slid my hand over to Harper’s under the table, but she immediately pulled away. All the good feelings from earlier had vanished, and the happy-go-lucky woman I had spent the night with had disappeared. Getting through the rest of breakfast was a challenge, and thankfully, it had nothing to do with me. But as we said our goodbyes to her grandparents, I couldn’t help but watch her and wonder what the hell happened and how I could put that smile back on her face.

22

HARPER

Edu kept staring at me.I knew he wanted to ask about breakfast, but the last thing I wanted was to discuss my parents. He held my hand all the way to the truck, and I let him in order to keep up appearances. But when he tried to hold my hand at breakfast, I pulled away, not wanting his fake comfort.

Once I was settled inside his truck, I took my first full breath since the mention of my mother’s wedding dress. I wasn’t sure why the thought of wearing it sent sharp stabs of pain through me, but it did. I knew in that instant that I could never wear anything of my mother’s.

“Are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” I said, faking a smile.

He sighed, starting his truck. “You don’t have to talk about it, but?—”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I wiggled the ring off my finger and handed it over. “Thank you for going this morning. That should keep them off my back for at least a year.”

He stared at the ring for a second before tossing it in the cup holder. It pissed me off to see such a beautiful ring thrown around as if it meant nothing. Of course, maybe that’s because the ring represented me. Useless, aside from the quick relief it brought in a time of need.

“So, I’ll pick you up at the same time tonight?”

“Of course,” I gritted out. A deal was a deal, after all. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I just needed a few hours to myself to get my head on straight. He raised an eyebrow at my sharp tone, but didn’t question me about it. When he pulled up in front of my house, I didn’t even turn to give him a kiss. I just wanted to get away from him as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I wasn’t actually mad at him. He had done nothing wrong. But breakfast had gone so wrong, and then everything we said during and after pissed me off even more because of my grandma’s comments.

She would want you to have it.

I snorted at the thought. The only thing my mother would want me to have was more ambition in life.

I heard Oliver walk through the door and knew we were about to have it out. I spun before he could even start in on me.

“What the hell was that? Why did you bring him?”

“Because I wanted to sell the idea that I was okay.”

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