Chapter Twenty-Four
“I DID THE background check on your potential renter,” Lucas said. “She’s squeaky clean. No arrests, only two speeding tickets and neither of those are in the past five years. You did the credit check?”
Harper appreciated the information and the question, but really? Now?
Twenty minutes ago he’d shown up with no warning at ten o’clock on a weekday. He’d asked if Dean was around and when she’d said he was working from home, Lucas had started kissing her. Seriously kissing her, until she had no choice but to respond, then melt, then try not to squee as he led her into her bedroom.
The sex had been hot and fast and incredibly satisfying. Afterward, as she did her best to catch her breath, he wanted to talk about her soon-to-be renter?
“You need to work on your postcoital chitchat,” she told him.
He rolled onto his side, supported his head with his hand and grinned at her. “I would have thought three thousand a month in rent money would be pretty sexy.”
God, he looked good. All tanned and chiseled and manly. She was still flush from her orgasm and feeling more than a little naughty, not to mention confused. Not that she didn’t appreciate the unexpected delight, but what exactly was going on?
“I have to get up,” she told him, thinking that any conversation that wasn’t “take me, take me hard,” should occur while she was dressed. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not sufficiently skilled at draping to get from here to the bathroom without something showing.”
“I’ve seen you naked.”
“You’ve seen me naked and lying down. There’s a difference.” Was he being dense on purpose? “I’m not twenty-two.”
He leaned over her, lightly kissing her, then staring intently into her eyes. “You have to let the age thing go.”
“You first.”
He grinned. “Point taken.” He flopped onto his back and closed his eyes. “Better?”
She grabbed her clothes and ran rather than answer. After tidying up, she dressed and returned to the bedroom where Lucas had pulled on his clothes. They stared at each other across the mussed bed.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
She thought he might tease her with a silly answer, but instead he said, “I haven’t got a clue, but I like it. How about you?”
“I like it, too,” she admitted. “But I’m nervous. You’re used to dating girls named Bambi and Thumper. That’s not me.”
“I’ve never dated a girl named Thumper but I get your point. You want to know where this is going. What are my expectations, which is completely fair. Can I ask what you’d like them to be?”
She held up both hands. “No way. You first. You’re the scary one. I’m conventional.”
“I like you,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I’d like to continue spending time with you.”
“Including sex.”
He grinned. “Including sex.”
“So dating...ish?”
“Dating-ish works.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “Now tell me the rules.”
Because there would be rules, she thought. There would have to be. “Becca can’t know. She’s dealing with a lot and I don’t want to upset her. Plus you’re here all the time already, so it’s not like that will be different.”
“Agreed.”
She hesitated, then told herself to just say it. Blurt it out and deal with any consequences. Because if Lucas said no, she would be smart to walk away.
“I want exclusivity. I’m not expecting this to be much more than a fun, short-term thing, but you don’t get to cheat. When you’re done and ready to move on, say you’re done. No showing up at my house with one of your women.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Was that agreement?”
“Assuming I’m the one who ends things—”
“Oh, please. Lunch meat has a longer shelf life than your relationships.” She paused. “I mean that in a nicer way than it came out.”
“Good to know. As I was saying, assuming I’m the one to end things, I promise to tell you and not simply show up with one of my women.”
Holy crap! They were doing this. They were figuring out a semirelationship. Was she ready? Was she sure? There were a thousand other questions, but Harper realized they didn’t matter. She liked Lucas and she really liked having sex with him. She was going to go for it and figure out the rest of it later. Terence had always told her she needed to be more spontaneous. For once, she was going to listen to her ex.
“Then we’re good,” she said, glancing at the clock. “What time do you have to be back in court?”
“I’ve got a couple of hours.”
“Want to get an early lunch?”
He pulled her close. “Not really.”
* * *
“There’s a delivery for you in the conference room,” Lexi said.
Stacey looked up from the report she’d been reading. It took her a second to return to the ordinary world and to be honest, she found it disappointing. There was so much exciting research being done all over the world. Keeping track of it was nearly impossible and her reading time was precious. Something Lexi knew, which meant she wouldn’t interrupt without a good reason.
“A delivery?” Stacey asked as she came to her feet. “What kind?”
“I’m not sure. Reception called and asked you to go check it out.”
“That’s incredibly odd.”
Stacey went down the hall and pushed open the conference room door. The space was pitch-black and it took a second for her to realize she had to turn on the light to see anything. As soon as she did, over a dozen people yelled, “Surprise!”
There were Welcome Baby! banners taped to the wall, piles of presents and trays of food on the table. Even more startling, Kit was there, along with Harper and Bunny, Karl, Max, her team and some of their spouses. While she realized that she was being given a baby shower, she mostly couldn’t believe it was happening.
“I know, I know,” Lexi said as she ushered Stacey into the room. “I should have asked, but you would have said no. You’re always the one telling me to seek forgiveness, not permission. I’m just taking your advice.”
Kit came over and hugged her, as did Bunny and Harper. Stacey greeted all her coworkers and their significant others. She was confident she said and did the right things, all the while having the sense of an out-of-body experience. She was observing rather than participating.
“I was so happy when Lexi called,” her sister told her. “I’d been thinking about throwing you a shower, but I knew you wouldn’t want one. This way it’s happening and you’re not mad at me.”
Stacey smiled at what she was sure was supposed to be a joke, then turned as Max introduced a pretty blonde woman.
“This is my wife, Karen. Karen, Stacey Bloom.”
Karen shook her hand. “I’m so excited to meet you. Max talks about you all the time. You are the most together person I’ve ever met. I really admire how you’ve balanced your career and a relationship.” She glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. “Is your husband actually going to stay home with the baby?”
“Yes. More and more fathers are staying at home.”
Karen smiled. “You’re so brave. I would never trust Max with our kids. For a few hours, sure, but not long-term. Who knows what kind of trouble he would get in and what he would teach them.” She laughed as she spoke, as if telling a joke, but Stacey knew she wasn’t kidding.
“Kit’s very excited about staying home with the baby,” she said, wishing someone would come and interrupt them.
“If you say so.” Karen laughed.
Bunny walked up. “This is nice,” she said, shaking hands with Karen, then turning to Stacey. “Maybe later you can show me around the lab.”
“Are you sure?” Stacey asked before she could stop herself. “It’s fairly scientific.”
Her mother sniffed. “Are you saying I’m not smart enough to understand?”
Karen excused herself and quickly walked away.
“No. Of course not. I would be pleased to show you my work if you think you’d be interested.”
“You’re my daughter. Why wouldn’t I be interested?”
Stacey felt as if she’d stepped into a Bunny-created minefield and no matter where she stepped, she was going to get it wrong. Thankfully Harper appeared.
“I’ll keep track of the presents,” she said as she snagged a small sandwich from a nearby tray. “Make a note of who gave it to you and what it is. Also, pass me the cards and the gifts, so I can keep everything together.”
Stacey eyed the stack of presents and wished she were anywhere but here. Even that horrible birthing class had been less stressful.
“And that is so...” she began.
“You can write your thank-you notes,” her mother said, sounding scandalized that Stacey would have to ask. “You have to get them out by this time next week, although within forty-eight hours is better.”
Because she had nothing else to do with her day? But Stacey knew better than to say anything like that. She and her mother were finally speaking. She didn’t want that to change. Despite their differences, Bunny was family and Stacey needed her in her life.
Lexi clapped her hands and got everyone’s attention.
“All right, let’s get started with the game,” she said, and had the group find seats at the table.
She picked up two large grocery bags and turned them upside down in the center of the table. Dozens and dozens of small socks spilled out. Some were obviously for babies and others were for toddlers. Lexi held up her phone.
“You have three minutes. Whoever matches the most pairs of socks wins. Go!”
Stacey watched in amazement as everyone else dived into the pile. There was plenty of laughter and groans as people tried to put the socks into pairs.
“Those don’t go,” Bunny told Karl. “That’s a sheep and that’s a cow. They’re not the same thing.”
“Close enough,” Karl muttered good-naturedly before splitting the pair he’d made and digging into the huge mound.
Kit rapidly sorted socks. When he saw Stacey looking at him, he winked. “I hope there’s a prize,” he told her. “I feel lucky.”
Stacey snagged a few socks and realized right away they didn’t match. As the pile diminished, she had an easier time collecting pairs, but before she had more than four, Lexi called time.
Kit won with twelve pairs. Sure enough, there was a prize of a ten-dollar Starbucks card. Max rubbed his hands together.
“Now that I know we’re playing for real money I’m going to try harder.”
Karen smiled at Stacey. “He’s so competitive. I have to admit, at first I worried about him working with a woman, but you’ve really mellowed him.”
“I’m not mellow,” Max protested. “I’m still a tough guy.”
“Of course you are,” his wife told him.
Stacey’s sense of being out of sync with everyone only increased. She had very little to do with Max on a daily basis. How could she have had any effect on his personality?
They played another game where they had to guess the contents of a sealed brown paper lunch bag by feel alone. The items were all baby-oriented, but some were still difficult to discern. Harper and Bunny tied for the Starbucks card, which Harper offered to her mother.
While everyone else ate, Stacey and Kit opened their gifts. She tried to get him to open all of them, but he insisted they alternate. There were onesies, bibs, little knit hats, a thermometer, boxes of diapers, sheets that coordinated with what they’d already bought, baby wipes, pacifiers, bath sets, lotions, stuffed animals and clothes.
Stacey held up tiny tights and shirts, frilly dresses and pink shoes with bows. Everything was so delicate and girlie, but more than that, it was small.
She knew that Joule would likely be less than ten pounds when she was born and that her body would be proportional to her weight, but still. The physical manifestation of the abstract that was the baby growing inside of her was not comfortable. She’d always feared she would be a terrible mother, that she would never bond with her child and always see her as an intrusion, and now that feeling grew.
Resignation joined terror as she looked at the smiling faces of the people watching her. Bunny was obviously thrilled, Harper was relaxed, and Kit... Well, Kit looked as if he’d finally been given everything he’d ever wanted. He fingered the dresses, the shoes, the stuffed animals and announced that he couldn’t wait to be a father. That it was going to be the greatest experience of his life.
Lexi teared up at his words while Max put his arm around Karen. Bunny sniffed and Stacey wished she’d never gotten pregnant in the first place.
* * *
Harper tried not to wince as she handed over her credit card. Some of her pain came from the amount she was forced to pay but a good portion of it was left over from the waxing treatments she’d just endured.
Given how busy things were at work, the first and last month’s rent, not to mention the security deposit her new tenant had given her and her surprisingly intimate relationship with Lucas, Harper had decided to treat herself to a little TLC. She’d gone to Epic Day Spa for a haircut and highlights, a brow wax and a modified bikini wax. The latter was a first-time thing for her and while she’d been (somewhat) prepared for the embarrassment based on what she’d read online, she had in no way been prepared for the pain.
The brow part had been a little uncomfortable, but when her technician had ripped off those little girl-part hairs, it had been all Harper could do to keep from screaming. She was still walking like a cowboy and hoped Lucas appreciated the effort.
After adding a generous tip to her credit card slip, she signed it and gingerly walked to her SUV. Once there, she checked her phone and saw she had two missed calls—one from Let’s Do Tea, and the other she didn’t recognize.
She called the tea shop first and spoke to Vera, the owner.
“We’re in a pickle,” the older woman said. “Our website needs a complete redo. It’s old and dated and I just don’t know what I’m supposed to say. We have delicious food and tea, come visit us? But I’ve been told that’s not good enough.”
Harper chuckled. “Customers can be annoying that way. Do you like the navigation as it is or do you want to change that, as well?” She was happy to update content but didn’t have the skills to deal with the technical end of a professional website.
“Navigation?” Vera asked, sounding wary.
“Do you like where the links are and what they do when people click on them?”
“Oh, yes, that’s totally fine and all works. It’s what’s on the pages I don’t like. Plus, we’re thinking we want to offer a coupon for Tuesday. That’s our slowest day and I have no idea why. It’s Tuesday—a great day for scones and tea.”
“I agree completely. Let me get back to my office and look over the website, then put together a proposal on what I’d suggest. The basic information won’t have to change—you still serve delicious food and tea—but with a few easy updates, we can probably make things look fresh and new.”
“I’d like that a lot. We were so happy with that flyer you did for us, and the design for the holiday gift cards.”
“I’m glad. I’ll get you a proposal by tomorrow afternoon, say by three, so I can call after the lunch rush?”
“Perfect. You’re a lifesaver, Harper. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Vera.”
Harper sent herself a reminder, then returned the second call to a woman named Phyllis.
“This is going to sound really strange, but my sister uses the landscaping company you did the billing for. The one where everything got messed up?”
Harper held in a groan. Why did mistakes always have a half-life? “That would be me.”
“She was so impressed with how you handled yourself. She’s friends with the owner and he told her the whole story—how you corrected everything and did a month’s billing for free. It’s a work ethic I can respect. I own a pool cleaning business. We have customers all over the South Bay area and the billing takes forever. Normally I do it, but I’m getting married and honestly, I want to cut back on my hours for the next few months. I don’t want to hire someone just for the billing so my sister suggested I give you a try.”
“I’d be happy to help you out,” Harper said, more than a little surprised by the odd referral. Maybe Morgan screwing up had a bright side. “Let me call you when I’m back in the office and I have my schedule in front of me. I’d like to set up a time to come by and look at your program and discuss what you need more fully.”
“Sounds great. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Two jobs in a single morning, Harper thought happily as she drove home. She ran into the house and yelled for Dean.
“We have more clients!” she announced happily. “Let’s Do Tea wants a website spruce and a pool service business wants us to do the billing.”
Dean walked into the living room, then put his hands on his hips. “I knew it,” he said as he circled her. “I knew it in my gut. Lance told me I was imagining things, but I’m not wrong, am I?”
Harper’s elation shifted into caution. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said primly, even though she could make a decent guess.
“Oh, you know. There’s a man.” He pointed at her. “Highlights and a brow wax. You’ve been extra happy. Getting laid happy. Who are you seeing and why haven’t I met—” Dean’s eyes widened. “Shut the F up. You’re sleeping with Lucas.”
“What? That’s crazy. I’m too old for him. You’ve seen his girlfriends. I could be their mother.”
“Uh-huh, while that all sounded convincing, you didn’t deny it.” Dean grinned. “He’s very handsome and I like his style. I think you make a cute couple.”
“No, we’re not a couple. We’re not.” Harper wished she sounded a little more certain and a lot less whiny.
Dean patted her arm. “I get it. You’re keeping things quiet because of Becca. Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.” He linked arms with her and led her back to their office. “Now tell me all about the new clients and how much pretty money they’re going to be paying us! And after you’re done with that, I have a proposal.”
“Which is?”
Dean had rearranged the big workspace so that their desks were pushed up against each other in the center of the room. That left the wall space available for cabinets, files and a long worktable for special projects. A big dry erase calendar showed what was due when and there was another progress list for big jobs that had to be done in stages.
Dean gestured. “We’re going to need to hire someone to help with all we have going on.” He held up a hand. “Before you tell me that getting another person in here freaks you out and that you’re not sure how much of this work is permanent and you’d hate to find someone and train them, only to fire them in three months, I have a solution.”
“We really do share a mind. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Scary, huh?” He grinned. “Here’s my suggestion.” He paused for a second. “Becca.”
“My daughter?”
“She’s smart, she’s responsible and those videos she did for the city were great. Summer’s coming up and she’s going to want to earn some money. Working here is the perfect solution, especially because she can work for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’ll be my employee, not yours. You and I will figure out what we need her to do and I’ll pass on the assignments.” He leaned back in his chair. “Trust me, I know all about mother-daughter dynamics. She’s a great kid and you’re tight and all, but you’re her mother, not her boss. I think things will go more smoothly if I’m the one she reports to. The best part is, come September, she’s back in school. At that point you and I can assess where we are. We’ll have an idea of which clients are steady and which are one-offs. At that point, we can make a more informed hiring decision.”
Once again Harper knew she had reason to be incredibly grateful to her sister for suggesting Dean. Everything he said made sense—especially the part about Becca working for him.
“I couldn’t love you more right now,” she said.
“I know.” Dean sighed. “It’s a curse, but one I live with. I’ll talk to Becca when she gets home from school. Now tell me about our new clients.”
“One of them is Let’s Do Tea.”
Dean groaned. “Do not get paid in scones. I would eat them all and explode.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to risk that for anything.”