Page 32 of Emergency Exit
“Watching you traumatize people in the sweetest way possible is the best.”
Harper shook her head. She didn’t understand why Ash thought marriage to her was a good idea.
“But what the hell was she thinking?” Ash continued. “I can’t believe she said any of that!”
“It was kind of weird,” admitted Harper. She felt discombobulated. Between Jell-O shot guy and Emma, what had felt like a golden moment had become disjointed and uneven.
“Here,” Ash said, handing her his phone. “Order teriyaki to my place. We can meet it there.”
Harper took the phone, belatedly remembering she’d wanted teriyaki. She pulled up an app and picked someplace from hispreviously orderedtab.
“Can you get me some sushi instead of teriyaki? What do you think Emma wanted? Why was she there? How did she know Iwould be there?”
“Maybe it was just a coincidence that she showed up. Do you want some nigiri? Is it bad that I said that to her?”
“Yes, please, and no! You were awesome. Get the eel roll, too. Her face! She was so mad.”
Harper was about to finalize the order when Ash’s phone dinged, and a text message popped up on preview.
Olly went to the zoo today.
Unable to resist, Harper tapped on the picture to enlarge it. A little boy of about three with red curls was holding a lizard, and he looked ready to explode in happiness.
“Awwwww,” cooed Harper. “Who dis?” She made pinchy fingers at Olly’s cheeks, and Ash laughed.
“My nephew Olly. And yeah, he’s the cutest. Although, I’m a bit worried about him.”
Harper went back to the food order and submitted it.
“Meal is ordered. Why are you worried?”
She felt they were both avoiding something as the conversation shifted faster than a river, but she wasn’t sure what.
“Forest hired a new nanny. And I’m sure she’s nice, but she also looks like some sort of homeless hippy freak. I don’t understand how he went from wanting a super nanny toher.”
Harper had been on the receiving end of critical comments about her attire from her teenage years on up. Now, she occasionally got comments about being too attractive, which she supposed was better but was still annoying. Clothes did not impact performance. Perhaps this nanny also had trouble dressing to meet expectations. But Forest Valkyrie was wealthy—it seemed unlikely he would hire someone completely unqualified.
“Well, have you seen her with Olly?”
“I only met her for a minute when he brought her home.”
“So maybe she’s awesome, but you got the wrong impression because she wasn’t wearing the right outfit.”
“Maybe,” he said, sounding doubtful. “But I worry.”
Harper made a mental note to double-check her spreadsheets before her dates with Ash. She didn’t want to be classified as ahomeless hippy freak.
“You really like your brothers,” said Harper wistfully. She knew Ash texted his mom and his brothers daily.
“Yeah. Don’t you like your sister?”
“No, not really, but I know I’m not supposed to say that.”
“Say whatever you want,” said Ash with a shrug. “You can’t pick your relatives, and I know I got lucky with mine. You’re allowed to not like her.”
“Well, she probably doesn’t like me either, so it’s OK.”
He gave her a look but went back to driving before she could decipher it.
