Page 24 of One Night in Paris

Harper’s eyes widened in what looked like horror. “What? A date? With you? I thought—” Abruptly, she stopped talking and pressed a hand to her mouth for a moment before she said, “Mom!”

“What’s going on?” Not sure whether I should be embarrassed or hurt, I stood there, trying to sort this out, but I couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Logan.” Harper shook her head, finally dropping her hand. “My mother must have gotten your number out of my apron and called you herself! I told her that I’d met you in Paris and then seen you here and gotten your number.She must’ve taken matters into her own hands. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Disappointment filled me completely as her explanation sank in. All I could say at first was, “Oh.” But then, I realized I needed to let her go. “Well, if you want to leave, I understand. You were expecting someone else?”

“I was expecting her,” Harper said, one hand on her hip. It was obvious she wasn’t particularly happy with her mother. “I’m glad to see you—just surprised. Don’t get me wrong.” With that, she reached out to grab my arm. “I just thought I’d lost your number.”

Relief washed over me as I processed her words. A goofy laugh ejected itself from my mouth. “That’s great to hear. Well, we can just enjoy each other’s company and forget about the misunderstanding. Or, if you’d rather not, we can reschedule for another time.” Either way, I wanted to get this girl’s number this time. Next time I asked her out, I wanted to know I was speaking to her.

Harper’s face lit up in a gorgeous smile. “No, no. I’ve already taken the night off from the diner, and I’d really like to spend it with you, if that’s still what you want after I was late and treated you like you’d done something wrong.”

Her smile immediately brought heat to my cheeks. “Of course, I’d like to spend it with you.” With that, I walked around and pulled out the chair for her, and she sank down into it. Maybe everything would work out tonight after all.

Sitting back down, I asked her about her day, and we made small talk while deciding what to order. The menu was filled with gourmet dishes making it difficult to choose just one. I finally settled on the pan-seared salmon, while Harper ordered the filet mignon. After we ordered, the waiter stepped over and filled our glasses with red wine.

I made some more small talk with her until some of the tension faded. Then I decided to address our previous night together head on.

“So… not a professional lingerie designer.” Smiling, I took a sip of my wine. “But a waitress?”

Harper nodded. “Yeah. I’m really sorry I lied to you. I guess while I was in Paris, I wanted to be someone else.”

“Me, too,” I agreed. “I have been a student for much of my life, but as you know, I’m now the CEO of an architectural firm.”

“Your own architectural firm, right?” she asked.

Just then, the food arrived, so I let the waiter finish and tried my salmon before responding.

Harper took a bite of her food as well. “Mmm, this is incredible,” she murmured.

A chuckle escaped my lips. I loved seeing Harper happy. It reminded me of how she looked in the bedroom.

Clearing my throat, I managed to pull my head out of the gutter. “That’s right. I was in Paris on business. Were you on vacation with your friends?”

“Yep.” She lifted her wine glass to her lips. “I saved up every penny for that trip. And… this dress.” Looking down at the sparkly number, her cheeks pinked. “If I would’ve known it was you, I would’ve worn something else.”

Was she embarrassed? I hoped not. “Why? You look gorgeous in that dress. Of course, I have a feeling you’d look gorgeous in anything.”She looked gorgeous in nothing.

Her blush deepened with the compliment. “Thanks, Logan. You look great, too.”

“What, this old thing?” I joked, making her laugh.

Talking to Harper felt like talking to an old friend—a sexy one. We chatted about our lives growing up, the city, and our jobs. Waitressing was definitely not her passion, though she didn’t explain to me why that was her current job, only hintedat health issues and her mother, whom she seemed to love a lot despite tonight’s subterfuge. By the time we’d finished our food, it became clear to me that Harper was the kind of girl I wanted to get to know better.

So when she asked, “Would you like to go somewhere else to get drinks? I’m really enjoying talking to you, but I couldn’t stuff another bite down my throat, no matter how delicious their dessert looks,” I had to reply with an affirmative.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” I told her. “There’s a bar not too far from here that’s pretty nice. Not as small as the one in Paris, and a little more upscale.”

I thought I saw a look of apprehension on her face, but she nodded. “Sounds great.”

When I asked for the check, she made to pick up her purse, but I assured her, “Harper, I’ve got this.”

“But technically, I asked you out,” she reminded me.

Laughing, I said, “Maybe we should send the bill to your mom.” That made her smile. “But seriously, I don’t mind. I would be honored to be the one buying you dinner.”

Looking at me through her long eyelashes, Harper grinned at me. “Thank you, Logan. You’re amazing.”

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