Page 85 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

It was Harper. I stopped and looked up at her. My heart pounded. She had a small smile on her face like she had some little secret.

“Hi, Emily.”

“Hi.”

She peered into my cart. “Doing some shopping, I see?”

“Yes.” I had no idea why I felt so tense. I stared up at her beautiful face. She had a benign expression on her face. She was making polite conversation. So why did it feel like she was going to stick a shiv into me?

“No dog biscuits, I see.”

My entire body froze. “Excuse me?”

Her smile widened. “You do have a dog, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

We stared at each other for a long moment.

She leaned forward and said very quietly, “You should keep an eye on her. You wouldn’t want her to eat anything she shouldn’t.”

My lips parted. I couldn’t believe she was saying this to me. Whywould she say something like that? Was that her in my yard this morning? Was this her evil way of taunting me?

“What do you know about that?” Rage darkened my heart. My voice wobbled.

She gave a knowing shrug. “Jackson mentioned it to me.”

She might as well have kicked me in the gut. Jackson had no business mentioning anything about our lives to Harper.

“I should go.” I wheeled my cart around her.

My hands shook as I paid for my groceries. When had Jackson talked to her? Were they still in constant contact? Did he Skype her? Thoughts tumbled through my head. When I looked up, she was gone.

Later that night,Jackson skyped me. He looked big and badass with his military gear. He sat outside beneath some camo netting. It looked like morning there. I didn’t even know what country he was in.

“Hey,” his teeth looked white against the dark tan of his face.

“Hi.”

We studied each other. Suddenly, I missed him so much it hurt. I wanted to touch him, smell him, and wrap my arms around his strong muscular waist.

“Thank you for painting Alien’s room.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I was so happy when I walked in there.” I paused and then added. “I started the mural.”

He leaned forward, interest in his expression. “Show me.”

“You don’t want to see it when it’s done?”

“Nope. Show me now.”

I carried the iPad up to the room and hesitated, feeling suddenly shy.

“There's going to be two scenes. This is the daytime scene, and I haven’t started the nighttime scene yet.”

His face looked serious. “Show me.”

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