Page 92 of Shortcake
I poked my head in first, hesitantly even though she’d given me the okay to come in. “Hey, Turkey.”
“Dad!” Harper hopped off the bed, her book that she’d been reading still clutched in her hands. “Oh my God.This book. Gah! It’s so good!” She twirled with the book, hugging it to her chest and I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Did you finish it?”
“Yeah, I just finished.”
“Wow, you flew through that one.”
“How could Inot? Technically, we’re not supposed to finish it for book club for another week, so I’m a bit ahead.”
“That’s great.” Hm. Maybe I should read it, too. It would give us something to talk about at dinner. It was like a throwback to me reading Pride and Prejudice for my mom. It was sort of the easiest way I knew how to connect with the women in my life. “Since Addy’s almost done withPride and Prejudice, you could start on that one next.”
“Or…” she dragged the word out, bouncing her dark brows at me. “Because I’m a whole week ahead of schedule, I could read the new Olivia Harper book.”
“Did you buy it the other week?”
She shook her head. “It slipped my mind when I met the kids at book club.”
I grinned and sighed, defeated. If buying books was the worst thing my daughter asked of me? That was pretty damn good. And again, being that she was grounded, it wasn’t a bad way to have her spend her time.
I wasn’t sure if it was nerves over needing to tell her about me and Addy, or if I was legitimately softening around my kid, but I found myself saying, “How can I say no to that face?”
Grinning, I pinched her cheeks. And while normally, she would have rolled her eyes and swatted my hands away, this time she grinned a cheesy, wide smile and leaned into my pinch, acting along with me the way she used to do.
Well, that was new.
Or old.
Or rather, a throwback, as Harper would say.
“I’m happy to take you when I get off work tomorrow or—”
“Can Addy take me?” She scrunched her nose, as though she knew this was a big ask that might hurt my feelings.
Surprisingly, it didn’t. I loved that Harper enjoyed Addy’s company so much. Hell, it would only benefit us if this talk went well.
“I don’t mind, as long as she doesn’t have anything else planned.”
Harper nibbled the inside of her cheek before asking, “You’re not going to show up again all pissy flashing your badge again, are you?”
“I didn’t do either of those things last time.”
It was Harper’s turn to level me with a look and I had to smother my laugh. She had my no bullshit expression down pat. And when she scowled like that? Holy God, you could see just how much she was clearly my kid. She had my brows. My eyes. My frown.
It was pretty surreal having your own little mini me running around out there.
“Okay, fine,” I admitted. “I might have been alittlepissy. In my defense, you were supposed to be grounded and I walked in to find you hanging out with a bunch of kids.”
“But—”
I held up my hand to quiet her. “Harper, I get it. You’re new to town. You’re upset about Grandma and Jake and leaving New York. I’m not saying I’m okay with you getting drunk and sneaking out… but I do get it. I was a teenager too once upon a time, you know.”
She gave me a little smile. “Yeah, I know. But you were a boyscout. Grandma literally told me all the stories about how good you were.”
“I wasn’t perfect. Grandma exaggerated.”
“Look,” Harper said with a sigh. “I know how stupid it was getting drunk at Shortcakes was.Ican’t even believe I did that. I mean, I know underage drinking is bad, but in New York, we at least always had one sober person to keep an eye out for the others.”
