I found myself prettying up more and more these days. Not that I didn’t care about my appearance, but I found if I glammed up in the office, I wasn’t taken as seriously. But Harrison made me feel beautiful in a way I hadn’t in a long time. I put on a red sundress and pulled my hair up. I felt feminine and light, albeit scared out of my mind. I kept repeating in my head we were only friends. But there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind calling me a liar.

I sat on my porch, basking in the warm evening sun, waiting for Harrison to arrive. I didn’t get outdoors as much as I liked. 

Harrison pulled up in his truck. The same truck he had five years ago, when I knew him. It was old then, but it had character. Now it had an antique quality to it. He took a moment to stare at me through his passenger side window before he got out of his truck.

I stood up to meet him.

He got out in a hurry and met me on my walkway. He looked at his watch. “I’m not late.”

“You’re right on time. I was just enjoying the weather.”

“It looks good on you.”

“Thanks. You look very handsome tonight.”

I liked seeing him in civilian clothes. For a minute, I could pretend all he wore to work was a button up shirt and khakis.

He smoothed out his shirt. “I do try.”

I laughed. I laughed a lot around him.

He held out his arm. “Shall we go?”

I strung my arm through his. “We shall.” I loved the feel of his muscular arm. I loved the way I felt around him, period—minus the guilt I felt for not being completely honest with him. I told him I needed friendship, but what were my actions saying? I forgot about all of that when he placed his hand over mine and held it like he wanted to forever. Now that I remembered, it felt that way five years ago, too. Was I really so blind? Or worse, like my brother insinuated, did I keep people away on purpose?

Harrison helped me into his old truck that had seen way better days, but the rugged vehicle fit him. It felt easy going, like him.

Harrison got in and turned toward me. “I hope you don’t mind showing up in this clunker.”

“Why would I?”

He studied me for a moment. “I get the feeling we live in very different worlds.”

“I’m just me.”

He tapped my nose. “And I like just you.”

“I like you, too.” More than I should.

He grinned before turning away and starting up his rumbly truck.

We weaved our way in and out of traffic making small talk as we trekked toward the Capital City Country Club.

“Is this club of yours the kind of place that has a dress code?”

“I only have a membership because of my grandparents, but the answer is yes.”

“Hmmm.”

“Does that bother you?”

“I’m surprised is all. When we dated in college, I had no idea this was your kind of life. You seemed so normal.” I caught his grin as he paid attention to the road.

“I am normal. And I didn’t know I needed to disclose that I had a membership to a country club.”

He reached over and ran his finger down my cheek.

There went my heartbeat again.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being different. And by the way, having a membership to one of the premier clubs around isn’t normal.”

I gave him a small smile. “I don’t think about it.”

“And that’s what makes you unique. Any other secrets I should know about? A yacht in Monte Carlo, perhaps?”

“Like I said, if I told you, I would have to kill you.”

He chuckled. “I want to discover all your mysteries.”

I turned toward my window and watched the cars around me. He didn’t know how much I wanted to let him explore my world. To know everything about me. But the thought terrified me. I was beginning to wonder if Grady was right. It was more than Harrison being a cop.

Then I did what I always did—I pushed the thought out of my mind and focused on the here and now.

When we pulled through the gates of the club, I looked at it through Harrison’s wide eyes. The magnificent buildings and breathtaking landscape seemed outlandish all of a sudden. Almost fairytale like.

“Maybe we should have taken your car.”

“No one cares what you drive.”

He arched his eyebrow. “If you say so.”

I caught a glimpse of the Porsche behind us. “My grandparents’ friends are the nicest, most generous people you will ever meet.”

His shoulders relaxed a bit. “I know their granddaughter is.”

“You must be talking about my cousin, Rochelle.”

“Maybe you could introduce us.”

“Sure, but her husband might not appreciate it.”

“I guess I’m back to plan A.”

“You have a plan?”

“Yes ma’am. Now tell me where to park.”

I swallowed hard. I was going to need an escape plan. I directed him to the parking lot, not the valet. I could only guess what he might make of that.

He walked around to get my door. He held his hand out to me. “Friends.”

I placed my hand in his. “Friends.”

He gave my hand a little squeeze and didn’t let go. And I didn’t want him to.

We walked together, hand in hand, toward Brookhaven, where the event would take place. I was nervous for Harrison to see the tented terrace off the ballroom. “Do you still golf?” I asked.

“Occasionally, but never anywhere like this. Now I’m embarrassed that I took you to that public course when this is what you were used to playing on.”

“Why? If I recall, we had a great time and you beat me.”

“I didn’t know you had grown up to be an heiress.”

I nudged him. “Not even close. If you could see where I worked in New Orleans, you would know status doesn’t matter to me.”

He didn’t say anything, but he kept me close as we headed toward our destination.

I wasn’t expecting his reaction. I tried to get us over the uncomfortableness of the situation. “What is the diameter of the earth?”

He gave a small laugh. “Eight thousand miles. Don’t worry, we have this in the bag.”

“I don’t want you to worry, either.”

He met my eyes. “Will your brother be here?” I’m sure he was hoping to see another familiar face.

“This isn’t really my sister-in-law’s kind of thing.”

“She’s not a fan of this lifestyle?”

“Oh no. She loves this place. In fact, she and my brother met here. How do I say this? Trivia isn’t her strong suit. But if you want to know where to shop for designer clothes and shoes, she’s your woman.”

He tilted his head. “Maybe she could help your brother.”

I laughed out loud. “She does her best.” I pulled him along. “Come on. It’s going to be great. I promise.”

“As long as you’re there.”

I smiled inwardly.

Once inside, I observed Harrison take it all in. It was a spectacular sight, maybe too much so. And I knew not only was he looking with interest, but he was scoping out each exit. Always on duty.

I steered him toward the ballroom and there the greatest woman to ever grace the world, Clara Porter, greeted us. Goddess divine with her still blonde hair and willowy figure. “Darling.” She approached us with open arms. She embraced me first and then, to Harrison’s surprise, he was next. “My, my love.” She directed her attention toward me once she got in her fill of Harrison. “You didn’t do him justice.” She smiled at Harrison. “I’m Clara, by the way.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“A man with manners. I like it.” Grandma gave him a little wink. “You two sign in and I’ll be by later so we can get to know each other better, Harrison.”

“I’d like that.” Harrison took my hand again.

Grandma took note and raised her eyebrow. There was a twinkle in her eye. I was going to disappoint her and him. And let’s not forget myself.

Harrison led us to the sign-in table where we got our name tags and our table number. We were assigned to table three.

I handed over the fifty dollars to cover the entry fee for both Harrison and myself. Harrison frowned and whispered in my ear, “I was going to pay for us.”

I smiled up at him. “I invited you, so this is my show.”

“Can I get a starring role?”

He had no idea how much I wanted to cast him as my leading man. How did I answer him? “Let’s go.” I tugged on his hand and my actions plead the fifth.

We arrived at our table to find that Mason was on our team.

“I see Grandma roped you into participating.”

Mason stood up and kissed my cheek. “She’s had me tied up for over fifty years, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

I smiled at Mason. “You remember Harrison?”

“Of course, the man that ran into my granddaughter.” Mason held out his hand to shake Harrison’s.

“Mason, it was my fault.”

Mason gripped Harrison’s hand. “We could have won our case in court.”

Harrison was a sport about it. “I have no doubt, sir, and I’m sorry for any danger I placed Kallie in. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her.”

Mason raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. “Good man. Keep it that way.”

I did my best not to roll my eyes at either man, especially because they were both so sweet when they simultaneously tried to pull out my chair for me. Mason stepped back. “I’ll let you have the honor.”

“It is an honor. Thank you, sir.” Harrison pulled out my chair with a smoldering smile directed toward me.

I sank into the chair, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. Harrison took the seat next to me and wasted no time holding my hand under the table. I was so torn about the affection. I know he said friends, but we both knew friends didn’t behave like this. I didn’t want to lead him on, but how could I hurt him and pull away? And I didn’t want to. In his hands, I felt something different. I felt like I had arrived at my destination, if that made sense. But I knew I couldn’t stay.

Mason sat across from us and observed. “Kallie mentioned you scored a 170 on the LSAT. That’s a terrific score. Are you sure you’re in the right profession?”

Harrison sat up straighter. “Yes, sir. I want to serve my community the best way I can.” He gave my hand a little squeeze. He had no idea how much that comment made me want to run toward the nearest exit.

“I can respect that. My son-in-law—”

I panicked. He couldn’t bring up my dad. “Mason,” I interrupted, “why don’t you tell Harrison about the company you spoke to today about sponsoring the Shop with a Hero program.”

Mason narrowed his eyes at me. He knew me too well, but he played along. “I spoke to a longtime associate over lunch today. His company sponsors an event every Christmas and he would like a formal summary of the details.”

I turned toward a smiling Harrison. “I would be happy to write something up. Maybe I could coordinate with your PR department.”

“That would be excellent.”

“Kallie’s your woman if you want something done well. She takes after her grandmother and can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.” Mason gave me a sound endorsement.

Harrison kept his eyes on me. “Kallie is definitely the right woman.”

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Thank goodness our other teammates joined the table. Their timing was impeccable. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. I was digging a hole and needed to put the shovel down, but I so badly wanted to get buried in it with Harrison. But I couldn’t risk my heart to a man whose job might force me to make arrangements to have him buried six feet under.