Page 59 of This Feeling

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

Harper headed to the short set of steps that led to the roof, and I followed. Once we were outside, she went to the sofa and sat down. I headed to the edge of the roof and looked down over Main Street. “They’re getting ready for the block party, I see.”

“Are you working this weekend? I’d assume you would be. What with the block party and the scavenger hunt.”

I turned and leaned against the railing. “God, I used to love doing the scavenger hunts. That and the apple festival were always two of my favorite things.”

Harper smiled as she tucked her legs up under her.

“Do they still do the dog parade?”

“For Halloween?” she asked. “Yep. And the Halloween Fright Fest. That was alwaysmyfavorite.”

“Man,” I said, slowly shaking my head. “I didn’t realize how much I missed this place. I’ve got to be honest, it doesn’t feel like much has changed since I left.”

Watching me closely, Harper asked, “Is that a bad thing or a good thing?”

I thought about my answer. “It’s a good thing. I think. At least, that’s my answer right now. Ask me in about six months if it’s still the same.”

She chuckled.

We held a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Harper cleared her throat, swung her legs out, and sat up straight. “Declan, I need to tell you something.”

Her voice was serious, and that worried me. Ever since the news of Hope Turner having cancer, I was a bit on edge. I didn’t even know the woman, but since learning she had a child under two and her chances of beating the cancer were pretty low, something had shifted inside me. Some of the things I used to think were important didn’t seem so vital anymore. And if I was truthful with myself, the thought of someone I loved getting cancer scared the living shit out of me.

“Is everything okay? Areyouokay?”

Confused for a moment, Harper nodded. “Um, yeah. I’m fine. This is about Sean.”

My heart started to beat a bit faster. “What about him?”

She chewed nervously on her lower lip before finally blurting, “We’re not dating.”

The relief that coursed through my body was palpable. I just hoped it wasn’t showing on the outside.

“Sean came to me with this stupid idea of pretending to date again so that your mother would get off his back about Crystal. She wants them together.”

“That’s not new news.”

Harper shrugged. “Anyway, one of the reasons Sean broke up with me was because he was in love with someone else.”

That caused me to lean forward a bit, in anticipation of learning who this person was…though I was sure I already knew. “If it’s not Crystal, then…” My words trailed off, and Harper gave me a look before I said, “Caroline.”

Harper tapped her nose. “Yep. Except, she started dating someone. And your brilliant brother thought if we pretended to date, it would get both his mother off his back and possibly make Caroline jealous.”

“And youactuallyagreed to do this for him?”

A wicked smile crossed her face. “For season tickets to the Giants. Yes, I did.”

It took a second for her words to register—then I started to laugh. “You bribed him?”

“Hell yes, I did. If I was going to have to pretend to date his ass again, I wanted to be rewarded handsomely. I’m not exactly a fan of Sean’s anymore.”

“I noticed. Honestly, I knew something was off.”

She screwed up her face in the most adorable way. “Was it the trip?”

“That, and just the way you acted around him, in general. It seemed like he was constantly getting under your skin.”

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