Page 81 of Pining for Pierce
He chuckles. “Good for you.”
Harley blushes, asking for a Greek salad, while I opt for a Spanish omelet, both of us choosing sparkling water to drink.
Seth leaves, and Harley squeezes my hand. “You realize the news will be all over town before I get back to work, don’t you?”
“Seth isn’t like that… but even if he were, I wouldn’t care.”
She thinks for a moment and then smiles. “No. Neither would I.”
At that moment, Everly comes out through the swing door that leads to the kitchen. She speaks to Seth, and he nods his head, going back the way she came, and leaving her behind the counter. Within seconds, the sound of a crying baby fills the air, and Seth reappears, carrying the infant. He walks straight up to Everly, places something in her hand, kisses her on the cheek, and disappears again, cooing softly to the distraught infant.
“I wasn’t working in Hart’s Creek when they broke up, but Mom told me there was a lot of gossip about whether Everly’s baby was his,” Harley says, tipping her head slightly.
“Among other things… like why they’d broken up, whether he’d known she was pregnant, if there was anyone else involved.” I roll my eyes.
“The scandalmongers sure went to town.”
“And all for nothing,” I say. “They’re back together, and happier than ever by the looks of things.”
“They’re not the only ones.”
I smile, nodding my head, then raise her hand to my lips, kissing the palm, before I lower it again. “Would you like to go out for dinner tonight? I mean… it’s practically our anniversary, and I feel like we should celebrate.”
“Anniversary?”
“Yeah. It was last Friday I came into your office and told you about finding the woman of my dreams.”
“Was that really only a week ago?”
“Yeah… so how about dinner?”
She shakes her head, leaning in a little closer. “Would you mind if I said no?”
“Of course not. Is anything wrong?”
“No. I’d just rather stay in and be alone… with you.”
“I like the sound of that,” I whisper, leaning over the table to kiss her.
Lunch was delicious, and after we’d eaten, I paid Everly and saw Harley back to her office, kissing her on the threshold.
“I’ll see you later,” I said, pulling back from her.
She nodded her head and went inside while I returned to the store.
Thankfully, my afternoon has been quiet, and I’ve used some of the time I’ve had on my hands to fill in the online insurance claim for the damage to my bike. In between doing that, I’ve sent three text messages to Harley, to make sure she’s okay. The last one was just five minutes ago, but knowing howbusy her afternoon was set to be, I’m not surprised when she doesn’t answer straight away, and I go out into the kitchen at the back of the store to fix myself a coffee.
When I get back, my phone screen lights up, which I assume is a response from Harley… except it’s not. It’s an alert to let me know I’ve got a message on my social media page. I don’t really do social media for myself, but I find it a useful place to show off my paintings, so I’m always interested in any messages or comments that come through, and I click on it, waiting for the app to open, and sipping at my coffee, putting it down carefully, when I read…
‘Good afternoon, I’m sorry to contact you out of the blue, but we’d be interested in exhibiting your work here at the gallery. Perhaps you could get back to me and we can discuss what I have in mind. K. Bowman.’
“Is he fucking serious?” I say out loud, relieved there are no customers in the shop to hear me.
This is obviously Kaiden’s idea of a joke, although it would have worked a lot better if he’d used someone else’s name, instead of his own. Still, the guy never was that bright, and I close the app, knowing silence will annoy him so much more than any reply I could invent. Even so, I can’t help shaking my head as I put my phone in my back pocket, and to take my mind off of Kaiden, I go over the insurance form one last time before submitting it.
It takes a while for Harley to reply, although I don’t tell her about Kaiden’s stupid games, and instead just explain that I’ll need to stop at the deli after work, and I’ll walk down and collect her afterwards. She responds with a thumbs up emoji, and a row of kisses, which makes me smile. I guess she must be really busy, and in a way, I envy her. My afternoon has been incredibly slow, and I’m relieved when it gets to closing time, and I can call it a day.
Locking up, I turn around to make my way to the deli, practically bumping into Kaiden, who’s sauntering along the sidewalk. He gives me a sly smile and murmurs, “Found your way into Harley’s panties yet? Or has she still got them locked and bolted?”
