Page 42 of Keeping You
“So,” Harper says finally, a hint of mischief returning to her eyes. You and my brother, huh?”
God, I can’t stop grinning just thinking about him. “It's complicated.”
“Is it?” She raises an eyebrow. “Because from where I'm sitting, it looks pretty simple. You like him. He likes you. A lot, based on how he practically floated into my mom’s house the other morning before work and hasn’t been back since.”
My cheeks flame. “Harper!”
She laughs, the sound genuine. “What? I’m just saying it like it is.”
“We're taking things slow.” Though the memories of our nights together suggest otherwise. “Seeing where it goes.”
“Good.” She nods decisively. “You deserve to be happy, Callie. Both of you do.” She hesitates, then adds, “If I hadn't been so selfish back then, maybe you two would have found yourway to each other years ago. Maybe none of this mess with Kirk would have happened.”
“We can't know that,” I say gently. “Besides, Luke and I were so young. He had his own demons to face, and I had growing up to do.” I squeeze her hand. “Everything happens for a reason, right?”
She gives me a small smile. “Even Kirk being a cheating jerk?”
“Especially that,” I say firmly. “Because now we both know exactly what kind of man he is.”
As if on cue, the bell above the door jingles, and we both turn to see the man himself walking in, a bouquet of flowers in hand and a hangdog expression on his face.
“Harper, baby, I've been calling you all night,” Kirk says, striding in like he owns the place, the expensive bouquet thrust forward like a shield. When he spots me, he freezes mid-step, the confident smirk sliding from his face. “Callie? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Girl talk,” I say coolly, standing up and crossing my arms. “You know, the kind where we compare notes about cheating boyfriends.”
His face pales. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Save it, Kirk,” Harper says, her voice strong and steady now. “I saw the texts. I know about Kimberlee.”
“That-that's nothing,” he stammers, taking a step forward. “Kimberlee is just a client who gets a little too friendly. You know how it is in the real estate industry. Some women want a business relationship to mean something more than just a transaction. I've been trying to let her down gently. You're twisting this into something it's not, Harper.”
“Really?” I pull out my phone, a plan forming. “Because I bet if I call her right now, she'd tell a different story. A story that probably startedbeforeyou and I broke up.”
Kirk's eyes dart between us, panic setting in. “You don't have her number.”
“No, but I have yours,” I say, holding up my phone. “And I'm guessing if I scroll through our old text threads, I might find some interesting exchanges about your 'client' from Juniper. The one you mentioned a few times when we were together.”
It's a bluff. I deleted all his texts months ago. But Kirk doesn't know that.
His face crumbles. His shoulders slump, and the flowers in his hand suddenly appear as wilted as his excuses.
“Look, it wasn't—” he starts, but I cut him off with a raised hand.
“Save it.” My voice is ice-cold. “You know what's funny? You played us both, but now we see exactly who you are. And honestly? Neither of us wants that man.”
Harper steps forward, shoulders squared. “The flowers are beautiful. They'll look perfect in the trash with the rest of the garbage I'm taking out of my life today.” She stands straighter. “You should go now, and don't come back.”
He looks like he might argue, but something in our united front makes him think better of it. With a defeated nod, he drops the flowers on the counter and backs toward the door.
“I really did care about both of you,” he says, his hand on the doorknob.
“Just not enough to be faithful,” I reply evenly.
After he leaves, Harper and I look at each other and, despite everything, burst into laughter that's half relief, half disbelief.
“Did we just...” she gasps between giggles.
“Tag-team your cheating ex?” I finish. “Yes, we absolutely did.”
