Page 21 of One Night in Paris

“I hear you, Mr. Winters. Don’t worry. We’ll find the right person.”

“Thank you, Andy. I appreciate your work.” With that, I hung up, thinking it was time I reviewed Andy’s performance and made sure that man got a raise. He was in charge of reviewing everyone else, so I knew that was always handled well. I thought he’d gotten a raise a few months ago, but after that conversation, I wanted to reward him even more.

My mind was on what kind of a person I needed to replace Michelle with when I realized my cell phone was ringing. Absently, I picked it up, not even glancing at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Logan. It’s Harper Reynolds. Let’s go to dinner tomorrow night. Meet me at Marcell’s at seven. Okay?”

The moment she said her name, my breath caught in my throat, and a chill went down my spine. Harper had actually called me? Finally? After spending the last couple of days constantly checking my phone, I’d given up on it. My mind couldn’t compute that I was speaking to her.

And it didn’t really sound like her either, though I thought I heard a trace of her normal tone. Why was she talking so quickly? Perhaps she was at work and that mean old lady was pestering her.

“Uh, yeah. Okay,” I stammered. “That sounds great.”

“Perfect. Goodbye.”

“Harper?” No one answered. “Harper?” My phone clicked off—she’d ended the call.

My heart continued to hammer against my chest as I stared at my phone, mouth agape. The number was unfamiliar to me, but it had a New York area code. I didn’t think it was a prank. After all, only a few people even knew about Harper and me, and none of them would do something mean like mess with me, right? Even her friend that had asked us to dance wouldn’t be that cold, I didn’t think.

No, I had to think this was actually real. For whatever reason, Harper had decided to give me another chance and called me back. A smile formed on my face as a nervous chuckle escaped my lips. Excitement pulsed through me as I thought about how awesome it would be to see her again.

But this time, I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to do things right. In Paris, I’d thought I’d never see this woman again, so I hadn’t bothered to get to know her. What she’d told me had been interesting, even if it was all lies. Her personality had enchanted me even more. This girl was special. I’d known it the moment I’d walked into that bar and seen her standing there looking incredible in that gown. So I needed to make sure I kept thinking with the right head. If Harper got the idea I was just trying to fuck her again, she might not want to keep seeing me, and I wanted an opportunity to see where this might go.

Even if she was only calling me to get laid. Would she do that? I didn’t know, but I would find out tomorrow. I’d have to see what she thought about getting to know me better, too.

Still grinning like a fool, I turned back to my computer, intending to get some more work done. But with this new development flowing through my mind, I had a feeling I was never going to be able to concentrate. Now would be a great time for Trevor to show up and ask me to go do something wild and crazy. Since that never happened when I wanted it to, I decided to use my afternoon to plan our date. Searching up the number for the restaurant Harper had mentioned, I called to makereservations and asked for the best table. Once I told them who I was, they assured me it would be no problem.

Sometimes it paid off to be the most eligible bachelor in the city. All I could hope for was that Harper saw me in the same light.

12

HARPER

After my shift ended at Uncle Joe’s diner, I headed home to check on Mom. When I discovered her in her room, taking a nap, I smiled and pulled a blanket up over her. Mom was the sweetest, and I didn’t know what I would do without her. Seeing her lying there, finally getting some rest, made my heart ache with happiness.

My body was tired from so much work. My feet ached from walking around the diner and then also traveling back and forth to the train. But I didn’t have time to take a nap. Instead, I decided to get some work done around the house. Seeing that my mom had finished the laundry while I was gone, I headed into the kitchen to pay some bills, gathering up the envelopes from the holder by the door where Mom kept them.

About an hour later, I was still sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by envelopes containing unpaid bills, I let out a heavy sigh as I looked over the numbers, knowing that we were just barely scraping by.

Taking a deep breath, I looked around me. The kitchen in the bungalow that used to belong to my grandparents was small and quaint, with a warm and welcoming feel. Fading sunlightstreamed in through the windows, casting a golden glow on the pale yellow walls. The rustic wooden table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by mismatched chairs that had been painted in a variety of cheerful colors by my grandfather many years ago. I always sat in the blue one, as I was now. This one was “mine.” Grandma’s was pink, Grandpa’s green, and Mom’s the same pale yellow as the walls. It made me smile, thinking of all of us being gathered together here.

The countertops were lined with various pots and pans, and a collection of herbs and spices sat on a shelf above the stove. Images of my grandmother cooking there filled my mind. When my grandparents were still alive, I felt so safe here. Everything had changed in the past few years, though. I no longer had an older generation to shield me from the world. Not even my mother who had been so strong back then for me.

This kitchen was the heart of the home, a place where meals were cooked and memories were made. It was a place of comfort and joy, and it always brought a smile to my face whenever I entered. But not right now. As I sat here with a stack of bills in front of me trying to figure out how in the world we were going to pay all of them, I felt anything but comfort and joy.

“Harper, is everything all right?” My mother’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts as she entered the room.

Turning to look at her, I tried to put on a brave face and give her a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for all of this chemo stuff.”

Mom pursed her lips and shook her head. I knew that expression. She felt guilty. I wished I could do something to make her feel better about it, but I didn’t have much of a chance to become rich overnight.

“I’ll just have to win the lottery,” I said with a laugh, obviously joking.

“I’m so sorry, dear. I know how hard you work.” Mom patted me on the shoulder.

“No, Mom. It’s okay. The bills are just a little higher this time around because of that extra consultation they called in last month. But we’ll figure it out. I got a really big tip the other night at Carmine’s, so that will help.” I did my best to make her feel all right about the situation, but the truth was, the situation was really stressing me out.

I could see the worry etched on my mother’s face as she sat down next to me and placed a comforting hand on top of mine. “Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I have a little bit of savings put away. It isn’t much at all, but it will help. We’ll figure it out.”

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