Page 48 of The Fun Part
“You brought a guy up here,” I say to Harper.
She ignores me in favor of staring down Shayla.
“Hello to you, too,” Shayla says, hugging her.
“Sorry, it’s just—”
“Owen doesn’t count,” Shay says, like husbands are background. That could be the case since Owen’s entire attention tends to stay on Shay, but he’s also Harper’s brother, which means she can’t hang with her new muscled guy without some annoying big-brother interference. “And Nathan was in the city for some kind of finance meeting, so Owen brought him along.”
My brows scrunch together in confusion. “A finance meeting on a Saturday?”
Shay waves airily. “One of those networking things. I’m sure he’ll fill you in.”
Harper turns to Olivia. “Sorry, I was distracted. Great to see you! Love your purse. The beads on the burlap really pop. Did you make it yourself?” Before Olivia can respond, Felipe joins us and takes a picture of Shayla.
“Can I get a selfie?” he asks.
“No,” Shayla says, glancing back at her bodyguards. It’s beyond rude. He didn’t even wait for an introduction before taking her picture.
One of Shayla’s bodyguards comes over. “No unauthorized photos. Delete it. Now.” He watches as Felipe deletes the picture. “Now delete it from the recently deleted folder.” Felipe scowls but follows orders.
Harper turns on Felipe. “I told you to be chill. If you can’t do that, leave.”
Felipe frowns. “I’m chill. I just wanted a selfie. Guess the great Shayla Adler doesn’t care about the little people.”
“Bye, Felipe,” Harper says, signaling to the guard.
Felipe lifts his palms and leaves.
“Sorry you had to ditch him because of me,” Shayla says.
Harper shakes her head. “I’m here for a girls’ night.” She glances to the back table, where Owen and Nathan are sitting, and turns back, her lips set in a flat line. “Talk about a cock block,” she says under her breath.
“More like a vag block,” Olivia supplies helpfully. “Or a clam jam if you want to continue the rhyme scheme.”
We all stare at her.
“What?” Olivia asks. “I don’t believe in using male terminology for women. It’s an erasure of our uniqueness.”
“Relax,” Shay says. “They’re not going to get in the way of our fun.” She waves at them. Owen stands and bumps Nathan’s arm to stand too. They walk over.
Owen pulls Shay close and kisses the top of her head. “Hey, all. Hope you don’t mind us crashing.”
“Not at all,” I say. “Any news from your networking?” I ask Nathan.
He tears his gaze from Harper, who’s suddenly very interested in imaginary lint on her dress. “I met up with a friendof a friend for a drink. This Wall Street guy. I’ll send you the details if it goes anywhere.”
“Cool,” I say. “It’d be great to have a real foothold with the finance sector.”
“Nathan’s thinking of selling his house,” Owen says. Nathan lives in Eastman, the town next to Clover Park.
Harper’s head snaps up. “Really?”
Nathan searches her expression. “Thinking about it. I could network a lot more with finance decisionmakers if I move to the city.”
“And for a woman,” Owen says.
Harper stiffens, stealing a sideways glance at Nathan.
