She forced herself to take a calming breath. He was right, and she had no reason to be so surly. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Harper slung her overnight bag onto one shoulder and reached for her heavy suitcase, but Chase had already picked it up with seemingly no effort, turning to walk toward the elevator.
“That… that has wheels, you know.”
He glanced over his broad shoulder with a grin. “No need. This is faster.”
Chase’s long strides carried him quickly down the hallway. “I suggest you get moving or you’ll miss the elevator.” He stopped and punched the down button as she stood watching him, her mouth agape. “And close your mouth.”
How did he even know her mouth was open? She turned to lock her door before muttering under her breath as she walked down the hallway. “Closeyourmouth.”
“What’s that?”
“None of your business,” she shot back, irritated when he only grinned at her.
CHAPTER 2
“You’re going the wrong way!”
Harper’s voice was veering into a register only dogs could hear. Perhaps it hadn’t been worth ignoring her apparent compulsion to navigate simply to needle her, but he’d been annoyed when she’d started their journey by snapping at him, followed by terse responses and awkward silences.
He had actually looked forward to this trip. Although he’d been going to the Sinclair home for the better part of a decade, he and Harper never really spent time together. She was gone a lot, and when she was home, they were always in a group.
When he heard she was stuck in Jersey without a car and planned to take the bus for Thanksgiving, he thought it would be the perfect time to bridge the distance between them. That it even would be fun to have her company for the drive. Instead, they’d barely spoken, apart from her driving instructions, which he hadn’t needed.
“Fuck’s sake, Harper. I heard you the first seventeen times.”
“It was three times. And if you heard me, you should have listened instead of passing the turnoff for Route 9W.”
Chase took a deep breath as he prayed for patience. “We’re taking I-87.”
“There are tolls on I-87,” she argued.
“I’m aware. But it’s a faster drive, and I don’t mind the tolls.”
He could practically hear her fuming from the seat beside him. Good. It gave him a perverse satisfaction to know he was bothering her as much as she was him.
No reason for him to be the only one in this car who was pissed off.
Twenty minutes of silence brought them to an exit with a coffee shop. He pulled into the parking lot. “I need some caffeine. Can I get you anything?”
Her gaze shot to him as her eyebrows lifted. “Oh. Um… hot chocolate?”
Chase couldn’t help smiling at that. “Not coffee?”
Harper shook her head as her nose wrinkled. “Too bitter.”
“Alright, one hot chocolate coming up.” He exited his Range Rover and quickly closed the door, leaving the engine running.
He wasn’t sure why she was surprised when he’d offered to pick something up for her. Did she have such a low opinion of him?
Placing the order, he also bought two almond croissants and had them heated. Carrying everything out, he balanced it as he opened the driver’s side door and handed the hot chocolate to Harper.
He held out the bag to her. “Almond croissant? I got one for each of us.”
She smiled at him then, and his brain stopped working for a moment. He couldn’t remember Harper smiling at him for years. He’d missed her smile.
Chase picked up his own croissant, taking a huge bite out of it and suppressing a laugh when Harper’s eyes flared wide. He shrugged, downing the croissant in two more bites and brushing off his hands before continuing the drive.
