Page 61 of Redeeming Harmony

“That’s right,” Nathan said. “Lucas and Emma are in the gaming group I’m in. But she’s never mentioned her expertise at Shadow Dragons. We’re currently all obsessed with a first-person shooting game released earlier this year from Stark. It’s part of the same gaming world as Shadow Dragons. It’s called Shadow Zombies.”

“So, I assume you’re slaughtering zombies rather than dragons in this one. Or are they friendly zombies?”

“Is there such a thing as a friendly zombie?” Nathan said.

Harper laughed. “Anything’s possible in the gaming world, right? So, does Lucas kick your ass in the game since he was the head developer of it?”

“How did you know that?” he said. “Have you and Lucas gone out?”

Acting jealous over someone he’d made out with twice was a bad look for him, but that didn’t stop the question from tumbling out of him.

“No, I barely know him. But he and Connor are best friends, and Connor is dating Kira, who’s one of my best friends, so, you know… you hear things.”

“Right,” he said.

“So, does he?”

“Does he what?” God, did she smell good today.

“Kick your ass at the game.”

Was it her body wash? Her shampoo? He’d never put much thought into a personal preference over long or short hair on a woman or what colour it was, but he had to admit that pink was definitely Harper’s colour and the pixie cut looked sexy as hell on her. It showed off the long and graceful curve of her neck. Would she push him away if he kissed her neck right now? Or would she tilt her head to give him better access?

“Nathan?” Harper said.

“Sorry.” He tore his gaze from the pulse point at the base of her throat. “Surprisingly, no, he doesn’t. He’s good, but Emma and Wyatt are better. He says it’s because he spends too much time developing games instead of playing them.”

Harper laughed. “Makes sense.”

He leaned against the counter, more as an excuse to stand a little closer to her than any other reason. “How’s Daniel doing?”

“Okay.” Harper’s face turned somber. “The surgery went well. His left arm is full of metal pins now, apparently, but the surgeon doesn’t think there will be any permanent damage, and he should be able to return to being a firefighter once he heals and does some physical therapy.”

“That’s good. Have you and Addison spoken to him about rehab?”

“Yes. We thought we’d have a fight on our hands, but Daniel had already spoken to Gideon and his parents and agreed to go.”

“That’s good news,” Nathan said.

“It is. Gideon told Preacher he was prepared to tell Daniel he wouldn’t cite him for a DUI if he agreed to rehab, but he didn’t need to do that. I think the accident, I think the fact that Daniel drove drunk when he’s spent a good deal of his job scraping other drunk drivers off the road, really scared him, you know?”

He nodded as Harper’s face turned pensive. “He wants to go, and I’m glad. Using bribes or threats might get him into rehab, but he needs to want to change to get healthy.”

“Will he have to wait for his arm to heal before he can leave?”

“No,” Harper said. “Addie and her mom have already found a rehab facility in New Cassel that has space. His captain has agreed to give him a leave of absence from the fire station, and Addie and her folks are driving him to the facility this Saturday.”

“I’m glad to hear he’s getting the help he needs,” Nathan said.

“Me too. But I didn’t come here to talk to you about Daniel. I wanted to talk to you about the clinic.” Harper shifted on her feet, and Nathan pointed to the chairs in the reception.

“Why don’t we sit?”

“Thanks. I had an eight-hour work shift today, and my feet are killing me.”

He should have offered to sit in his office, the chairs were a hell of a lot more comfortable, but he was worried he’d do something stupid like try to get Harper naked if he had her in his office. It was too easy to remember how hot she looked, sitting half-naked on his desk.

Harper was already at the chairs, and he followed her over, easing into the one beside her as she sat with a soft sigh and stretched her legs out. “I am way too young for my feet to hurt this much.”

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