Page 98 of Shortcake
“Good!” Harper said. “He could use some friends to talk about… things.”
With a quick hitch of my chest, I skimmed my gaze over Harper.Did she know?She was an astute little thing, but I was certain Conrad and I had been careful.
“What things?” Haylee pressed on my behalf. I could have kissed her.
“Idon’t freaking know what my dad needs to talk about,” Harper scoffed. “But I know he only had one real friend in New York. And since moving here I haven’t seen him go out with anyone.” After a pause, she added, “Well, except for Addy.”
“Me?” My giggle was a little too shrill. My eyes, a little too wide. And my smile, a little too sharp.Guilt. I wreaked of guilt. “Your dad and I don’t go out!”
“You did last night,” she answered.
Oh yeah. I forgot that she knew about that. She was the one who pushed Conrad to join me even though she didn’t know he was already planning to come.
“How was Nowhere?” she asked.
“It was, um… good.”
“Nowhere?” Haylee asked.
“You know… the new club,” I said, pointedly. “Where I went with Conrad last night.”
“Oh, right.” Haylee said, and she was about as believable as I was.
“Nowhere. Sure,” Enzo said, trying her best, as well.
Jesus Christ, the three of us shouldneverbe actors. “It was loud, though, so we left pretty early and grabbed dinner instead.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Well, I could have told you that would happen. Dad can’t even handle when Alexa plays music at a five. Although lately, I swear he’s been playing music louder and louder when I’m upstairs. Maybe you’re rubbing off on him.”
My cheeks heated. That was less about hearing the music and more so a certain teenager wouldn’t hearotherthings. “Uh, maybe.”
Dear God, I felt like such an asshole lying to her.
“So, who are these friends we’re going to trick into thinking my dad is cool enough to hang out with.”
“Our boyfriends,” Haylee said, grinning.
Harper’s eyes narrowed. “Huh.”
“Huh?”
“Well,” she worried her bottom lip. “Aren’t they like in their twenties?”
“Yeah…” Haylee said.
“Simon’s almost thirty,” Enzo chimed in.
“My dad’s likeforty.”
“He’s not fortyyet,” I said, maybe a little too loudly.
“Okay, fine,” Harper said. “I don’t really know how old he is exactly, but I know he’s older than their boyfriends. It might be weird.”
“It’s not weird when he and I hang out.”
Harper smiled at me. “Yeah, but you’re easy to hang out with. You make everyone feel comfortable.”
I tugged Harper into me and gave her a hug, surprised at how willing she was to be hugged in public by an adult. Not onlybehugged, but she wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me back.
