Page 70 of Emergency Exit
“That may have been a bit harsh,” said Ash. “But let’s face it, as far as partners go, she’s not exactly what you expect for a Fortune 500 CEO.”
“Maybe that’s why he likes her,” said Harper, heading back toward her building.
“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed. Ash realized he had somehow lost the moment and trailed after her.
“I really need to get back to work,” said Harper.
“We were going to lunch.”
“Yeah, well, I had to talk to Cooper, and then this, and I’ve got a lot of work to do. I don’t really have time.”
“OK,” said Ash hesitantly. “But I really wanted to talk to you.”
Harper stopped in front of her building and turned to face him.
“Why?” she demanded bluntly.
“To hear how your Thanksgiving went?”
“My sister is pregnant. I’m pretty sure my brother-in-law is cheating on her. My Mom kind of has a drinking problem, and they all made it abundantly clear that they think I should get back together with Cooper. Also, my stepdad called me the R-word when he didn’t think I could hear him.”
“Uh…” Ash had no idea what to do with any of that.
“Right,” said Harper. “Exactly. That’s me. I’m weird. Goodbye.”
She spun around and marched into her building.
22
Harper
December
Harper left work early, went back to her apartment, and ordered a large amount of comfort food to come to her. She felt like she’d been run over. Thanksgiving had been exhausting, and she’d been so looking forward to her lunch with Ash. Harper had hoped to return to Seattle and have Ash realize they should be dating for real, but who was she kidding? Ash would never fall for someone like her. He couldn’t even like the perfectly sweet nanny, who was obviously gorgeous and wonderful with Olly. Maybe her stepdad was right—Harper was so stupid that she ought to be locked in a home.
Harper put on her favorite at-home outfit, which was a pair of super soft cotton pants and a seamless long-sleeve shirt that squished her enough that it felt like a hug. She lay on the couch and tried to find something soothing to watch. She wanted binge-able with no surprises. She settled on Gilmore Girls but almost immediately turned it off. The fast chatter reminded her of Ash. So she switched to the Hallmark channel, which was now on the annual Christmas movie marathon. There were definitely no unpleasant surprises to be had there. The stakes were so low that she was pretty sure that if the worst of the worst happened, the heroine would still end up running a muffin shop.
Harper spent a solid twenty minutes fantasizing about owning a muffin shop. She stopped when she realized that her fantasy included market research and spreadsheets.
She was so deficient she couldn’t even fantasize properly.
Harper took the remains of dinner into the kitchen and was on the way back to the couch when there was a knock on the door. She froze in terror. This was a surprise-free night—how dare someone do something unexpected. And how was she supposed to answer? What did people do when there were unexpected guests?
Go on an adventure with dwarves was the only obvious answer, but she was not prepared for hobbits, dragons, or singing.
Panicked, she tiptoed to the door and peered out through the peephole. Ash was standing in front of her door, the hall light glinting off his hair with a golden glow.
“I’m not going to sing,” said Harper, opening the door. “Although the larder is practically empty.”
“I’m a bit tall to be a dwarf,” said Ash. “And I don’t generally sing.”
“You could be a wizard,” she said suspiciously.
“A possibility, although my current status is Rogue.”
“The girl with the hairstreak?” asked Harper.
“That’s X-Men. Which, legit reference, but I meant D n’ D.”
