Page 134 of An Engagement for Erica

He never let on about much.

She would have been all over the place trying to find out every detail she could and planning things out.

He let it fall where it might and lucked out that it fell as it had.

A scam that he could move on from without too many ripples in his life.

“No,” she said.

“I have to agree with Erica,” Harmony said. “Nothing like your father, but if Erica and I get drunk, don’t hold it against us.”

“I won’t be getting drunk,” she said. “I’ll have a glass of wine, maybe two, but not much more. I’m not risking another migraine.”

“Are you going to tell Mom about it?” Harmony asked.

“No,” she said. “I called my doctor after I talked to Dad. You know that. It’s all good.”

They increased her dosage back to where it was prior to seeing what happened. Maybe she needed to stay on it and she’d follow orders.

“So back to our mother,” Harmony said. “The house is all white with some black in it. My mother hates color.”

“She doesn’t hate color,” she said. Which she knew was why Harmony made sure she dressed cheerfully for the day. Bright orange and brown pants with a floral belt and a few accessories.

Even Erica had put on a blue sweater and a floral scarf. Maybe her sister was wearing off on her.

“We all have some piece on that is colorful now just to add something to the house because it’s so sterile,” Harmony said. “My mother will bring up grandchildren at some point, but we joke they won’t be able to touch anything in the house.”

“Is that how it was for you growing up?”

“At times,” she said. “We had rooms we could go in and do things, but there was a house cleaner that all but followed us around picking up so my mother didn’t have to see it. She doesn’t like clutter.”

“That might drive me nuts,” he said. “And I’m not a person who likes clutter, but sometimes you’ve just got to throw a piece of clothing on the floor.”

“Now, now,” Harmony said. “No personal conversations there. I don’t want to have to get jealous again about not having a boyfriend.”

Erica turned her head. “You’ll find your man when it’s time. You’re young still.”

Harmony rolled her eyes in the back seat. “Aside from the fact that the house is pristine. My mother is going to ask you a hundred questions or more. She’s going to try to find out everything she can about you. She did this to Daisy and then used all that information to do background checks on her.”

“What?” he asked.

“I told you that,” Erica said. “But I might have left out the fact that she asked so many questions that she got enough to be able to look into Daisy. I also told you that it didn’t go over so well with Theo and my mother is lucky that Theo accepted her apology.”

“Do they have a strained relationship now?” he asked.

“I think we all do, but it’s our mother,” Harmony said.

“Harmony is being nice. My mother normally hammers on her the most.”

“And then the rest of you jump in to stand up for me. I appreciate it, but I don’t let it get to me anymore. I’m sending happy vibes when I walk in the door. Maybe that will help.”

Erica laughed. “It hasn’t before, but we could get lucky.”

“Thanks for the heads up on your mother,” he said. “But before I forget, I wanted to say I loved what you did with the website, Harmony.”

“Thanks. I had a good time doing it.”

“If you’re interested in working with my marketing department, I’d like them to learn how to promote more on social media. We have little to no presence and I’m not sure who knows what or if what they know is beneficial. It might be best to just start with someone who is skilled with it to get it going.”

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