“Yup.” He looked down to where her palm burned through his jacket.
She snatched it back. “I’m not sure this place is kid safe.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“You sure don’t have much furniture,” Mina said while spinning in the center of the living room.
“Not yet,” Harper said. “You can sit in that red chair if you want. It’s pretty comfy.”
“Okay.” Mina set her bear on the chair and her pack on the floor then peeled off her scarf, gloves and coat. They landed in messy puddle.
Normally Sam would have told her to pick them up, but he was waiting for a snarky comment from Harper, a roll of the eyes, a disgusted groan. Something. Anything detrimental regarding his daughter. That would sure as hell snuff his attraction to the shallow publicist.
Harper shifted and crossed her arms as Mina dragged the portable mini-DVD player from her Miss Kitty backpack. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked Mina.
“Do you have hot cocoa?”
“No, but I have herbal tea.”
“Chocolate milk?”
“Skim milk.”
Mina wrinkled her nose. “No, thank you.”
Sam suppressed a smile while shrugging out of his jacket.
“Wanna watch a movie with me?” Mina asked.
“I have business upstairs,” Harper said. “A workout and some fancy footwork.”
“Dancing?”
“Something like that.” She eyed the staircase, checked her phone. The woman was itching to make her escape. “Do you like cupcakes?”
“Do I ever!” Mina’s eyes lit.
Sam’s ears perked. “Thought you were a health nut.”
“Health conscious,” Harper corrected. “I used all-natural and low-fat ingredients.”
“You bake?”
“Don’t look so shocked, Rambo.”
“Who’s Rambo?” Mina asked.
“Never mind, honey.” Sam followed Harper into the kitchen, his gaze drawn to the old cookstove she’d used for baking cupcakes. The same cookstove used by Mary Rothwell. An original appliance that had never been replaced. He shook off a weird feeling, eyeing the cupcakes Harper produced from the fridge. “Mina’s allergic to peanuts.”
“No nuts,” Harper said as she took one from the plastic cupcake holder and placed it on a paper plate. “Apple-cinnamon with low-fat buttercream icing. Want to try one?”
“No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” She whizzed out of the kitchen with the cupcake and an attitude.
Sam dragged a hand through his hair, tempering a raging hard-on. “Shit.” By the time he peeked back into the living room, Harper was gone and Mina was immersed in a movie and her cupcake. He stepped back into the kitchen and nabbed the toolbox he’d left there the day before. He had a list of things Harper had asked him to look into and he had a list of his own. He’d always considered the kitchen the heart of the house and this heart needed mending. He wasn’t surprised when Harper had asked him about restoring the cabinets and counters to a vintage 1940s look. What surprised him was that he instantly visualized a scheme and that they’d easily agreed on style and colors. It was one of the only amicable moments of their short acquaintance.
Considering Sam needed to be home when Frank showed up to service his furnace and considering Mina would be hungry for lunch in a few hours, Sam figured he had three hours ahead of him at most.
Out of nowhere, Rae crossed his thoughts. It bothered him that he was suddenly unclear regarding his feelings for her. And the more he thought about his verbal clash with Luke, the greater his unease. Sam had reacted and spoken in the heat of the moment. He didn’t like being at odds with family and he especially didn’t care for the feeling that he might be in the wrong and that Luke’s feelings for Rae were sincere. He was pretty clear on the fact that Rae was hung up on Luke. He could see it now.
“Hell.”
The moment Sam pushed Rae from his thoughts, Harper was waiting in his mind’s eye. He could name a dozen reasons not to pursue the attraction. Unfortunately none of them snuffed his desire. Anxious to divert his thoughts, Sam immersed himself in basic repairs. The actual carpentry and painting would come later.
Time flew.
He checked on Mina twice, and both times she was lost in a movie. Once she peeked in to ask him for a glass of water and notified him that she still hadn’t seen a ghost (“
Before he knew it ninety minutes had passed and Sam had a question regarding the lighting. He’d probably have to interrupt some phone call or Skype session or whatever Hollywood gossip show Harper was immersed in, but he didn’t want to assume and all he needed was a quick answer.
He smiled at Mina as he passed but she was focused on her DVD player. He scaled the stairs and moved down the hall and into Harper’s room—just as she dropped the bath towel she’d had clutched to her body. A body still glistening with water droplets. She was reaching for the underwear laid out on her bed. A lacy black bra and thong. Oh, yeah. Sam was close enough to make out details. Close enough to smell the remnants of her shampoo. It was a blip of a moment—maybe two seconds max—but the image of Harper’s lush naked body was burned on Sam’s retinas forever.
She sensed him, turned, and gasped. “Don’t you knock?” she asked, clutching her undies over her sexy assets, not that they covered much.
“The door was open.”
“No it wasn’t.”
She grappled for the towel and Sam raked his memory. Had he really waltzed into this room like he owned the place?
“How come Miss Day gets to walk around in her birthday suit and I don’t?”
For the love of … Sam turned and ushered his daughter out of the room. “We’ll talk about it later.” He imagined Harper throwing a shoe at his head. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this flustered. Flustered was not in his vocab. At least not until this moment. He couldn’t even remember why he’d come up here in the first place. His brain was scrambling. How was he going to explain to Mina why he was in the bedroom with a naked lady?
While he urged his daughter to pack up her gear, Sam gathered his coat then paused and plucked his Blackberry from his pocket. Knowing Harper’s phone was always nearby, he thumbed an apology.
SORRY ABT THAT.
The response was immediate. NOT AS SORRY AS ME.
LEAVING NOW.
GOOD. WAIT. CUPCAKES IN FRIDGE. TAKE 4 KIDS.
Sam blinked at the message. What the … B BACK L8R 2 CLEAN MESS IN KITCHEN. He waited a heart- pounding three seconds before she texted …
BRING WINE.
TWENTY-THREE
Rae spent the majority of Monday morning and a good part of the afternoon trying not to think about Luke. He’d spent the night with her twice now and she was hooked. The sex was amazing, but it was more than that. She liked falling asleep and waking up in his arms. She liked his company. The conversation—although so far
