Page 22 of Redeeming Harmony

He disappeared into the dog kennel. Red spots high on her cheeks, Savina said, “Well, I should get going. Love you, Harper.”

“Love you too,” Harper said. “I’ll be by this week to talk about… stuff.”

Her aunt flushed. “Sure. Just text before you stop by. I’m helping with children’s story time this week at the library.”

She kissed Harper’s cheek and left. For a moment, Harper considered trapping Hal in the dog kennel and grilling him about the weirdness between him and Savina. But as close as she and Hal were, she was sure he would be as closemouthed as Savina.

She glanced at her watch. Nathan wouldn’t be at the clinic for another hour and a half. She’d run into town and stop by the coffee house. Brewing coffee for other people wasn’t exactly her dream job, but she’d had her chance and blown it. It was time to get her head out of the clouds and find a real job.

* * *

“How long doyou think it’ll take before people here stop considering us outsiders?” Nathan asked before taking a bite of toast.

Lucas finished chewing his mouthful of pancakes. “Buddy, you grew up in a small town. You know the answer to that is never.”

“I didn’t miss that about small town living,” Nathan said.

“Please, at least you’re not from the rival town. Do you know how many times I’ve been spit on since I moved here?” Lucas said.

“Seriously?”

“He’s exaggerating.” Their server, a tall and curvy redhead named Georgia, stopped to refill their coffee cups. “We don’t spit on the Willies. We spit on the ground when Willington is mentioned. It’s not our fault if they get in the way.”

Lucas laughed as Nathan said, “Willies?”

“It’s what some people here in the Falls call the fine folks of Willington,” Lucas said with a grin at Georgia. “Mostly just the ones who are wildly attracted to the Willington men but won’t admit it.”

Georgia laughed before pinching his cheek. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s adorable how you keep trying to get me to sleep with you. But how many times do I have to tell you - you can’t handle what I have to give you.”

“How do we know that for sure if we don’t try?” Lucas said.

Georgia just laughed before moving to the next booth. Lucas grinned at Nathan. “Listen, don’t repeat this, and I’ll deny it if you do, but Harmony Falls women are sexier than Willington and New Cassel women put together.”

“Is that right?” Nathan said before scooping up some scrambled eggs.

“Fuck, yes,” Lucas said. “They’re sexy, funny, and feisty as hell. The perfect woman.”

An image of Harper rose in Nathan’s mind, and he immediately shoved it right back out. He didn’t care how sexy she was or how interested he might be in tasting her pussy, he was staying the hell away from her. If, and this was a very big if, she hadn’t destroyed his chance to buy her father’s clinic, the minute the clinic officially became his, he was implementing a very specific new rule. Employees only beyond the clinic foyer. The less he saw of Harper, the easier it would be to ignore his attraction to her.

Wanting to bang Warren’s spoiled brat of a daughter was madness, whether Warren was his boss or his employee.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Lucas pointed his fork at him. “I know I don’t know you that well, but you’ve been weirdly quiet this morning.”

“It’s nothing,” he said. He’d met Lucas here at Nan’s Diner about three weeks ago when they’d shared a booth during a hectic dinner rush. They’d immediately hit it off. Their mutual love of gaming was probably the main reason, not to mention that they’d both moved to Harmony Falls fairly recently. Last week, he’d met Lucas’s best friend, Connor, a dentist who’d also moved here from Willington, over beers at the pub, and he’d liked Connor as well.

As much as he loved Wyatt, the guy was an introvert who’d become even more of one since Lydia had ended their engagement and left town. It was nice to have a friend like Lucas, who was the most extroverted extrovert who ever extroverted.

“You sure?” Lucas said.

“Yes. Listen, I convinced the group to give you a chance.”

“Shit, are you kidding me?” Lucas stopped with his forkful of pancakes halfway to his mouth. “I thought you could only get in if you knew someone.”

“You do know someone,” Nathan said with a laugh. “I might have only been in the group for six months, but I have a lot of pull thanks to my superior gaming skills.”

“Or, you’re best friends with the guy who started the group,” Lucas said.

“Good point,” Nathan said. “Anyway, it was easy convincing them to let you in when they found out who you were. There was only one hesitant member.”

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