Page 102 of Tides That Bind

But somewhere between wiping down the sink and lifting the vase of tulips up so I can clean the nonexistent dust beneath it, I agree.

Through the window, I watch Harper face off in a cartwheel competition with Lucas under the strings of lights.

“Good luck, kid.”

“What did you say?”

Peeking over my shoulder, I tell Finn, “Nothing.” I leave the sink and dry my hands on a dish towel when Caroline comes in.

“It’s late.” She stretches her arms.

“It’sFriday, loser,” I tease and then she pinches my forearm when she walks past. “Chain,” I say to Finn. “Your ball is calling.”

Finn pinches me in the same spot before he follows. “Later.”

Later, I think to myself, and then Harper walks in with Lucas.

“Bath and bed,” she tells him, guiding him by the shoulders through the kitchen. “It’s late.”

Lucas yawns, but doesn’t go down without a fight. “It’sFriday, Mom.”

I avoid eye contact with Harper, but it’s hard to hide my chuckle. “See you in the morning for Tic-Tac-Toe, kid.”

“Can’t wait, Riley!” Lucas calls from the stairs.

The truth is, I can’t either.

What I can wait for islater. When I hear their voices muffle upstairs, I slip out the backdoor and over to my apartment to clean up. I’ve got a few hours of work ahead of me tonight if I want to get this thing rolling, and I set a hard deadline of next week to file everything.

After showering off the smoke from the barbecue that has permeated my skin, I stare out the window that faces the house, seeing a light on in Harper’s room.

I’ll throw my face in a book and then she’ll leave me alone,I decide, opening the door and stepping out onto the landing. It’s then that her light goes off, and maybe I’m lucky because she already went to sleep.

But of course not. A minute and a half later, we walk into the kitchen at the exact same time and I silently curse the cruel twist of fate. This is my doing though. After all, I never moved out.

I open the pantry, pleased to find frosted Pop-Tarts. “Want one?”

“You going to be up late?” Harper asks as she declines my offer with a shake of her head.

“Have a lot to review.”

I quickly turn, taking my package of Pop-Tarts I have no intention of toasting with me. But I freeze when Harper touches my back.

“Riley.”

Okay. Brace yourself. This is later, I tell myself as I mentally try to draw up all the talking points I can spit out to avoid havingany conversation that leads me exposing myself as the asshole who has feelings for my dead best friend’s wife.

“Take this.”

I look down, finding a plate and grab it even though I want to grab her ass. I want to kiss every itty, bitty part of all this wrong out of me and into Harper and let her deal with the guilt for a while.

But fuck me, I care too much about Harper so I won’t do that.

In the dining room, I plop down at my make-shift desk.

Focus, focus, focus.

I barely manage to read a page before Harper reappears, holding a steaming mug.

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