Harper’s eyes went wide.“Vincent?”
Trent jumped off the bed and threw the cover over Harper.“My mom shows up, you’re naked, I have a raging hard-on, and yet you focus on my middle name?”
“I didn’t see you as a Vincent,” she said, giggling into the comforter as he pulled on last night’s jeans before running his hand through his hair.
“You have five minutes.Take a clean T-shirt from this drawer if you need one.”He pulled one out for himself and pulled it over his head.“Shorts in the bottom one.”
“What?No… get her out of here… I’m not meeting her like this,” she hissed as the sound of footsteps headed toward the bedroom.“Go cut her off.”
“Five minutes,” he mouthed at her with a wink before heading out the door.
***
Harper cursed as she slammed her head into the pillow.Meeting parents was not part of the game plan.
Jumping from the bed, she sprinted to the bathroom and pulled a brush through her still-damp hair.She rummaged through her purse for a hair elastic and quickly put her hair up in a messy bun.
Thankfully, she carried a small makeup purse, though it usually saw little action.She curled her eyelashes quickly and then flicked on a quick coat of mascara.Pushing the lip-gloss wand in and out of the tube to coat it, she took a good look at herself.Yep, she looked like she’d just had sex.Which she had, in the shower.
She’d put her dress over the back of a chair last night.With a quick shake, it looked like it could get away with another wearing.Unable to stand the thought of tying the bikini strings across her back, she’d rely on the little built-in shelf for support instead.
With less than a minute on the clock, she quickly put in her earrings and fastened her necklace before giving herself one last glance in the tall mirror that hung by the dresser.
The white flashing light on her phone caught her attention.It could wait, couldn’t it?Harper looked toward the kitchen, where she could hear Trent and his mom laughing.
She swiped the phone’s screen with her finger.
An out-of-state number, but a different one than from the previous messages.
Father wrongdoer cheek abasement.I’ll be seeing you soon.
Harper grabbed the dresser to steady herself, her heart racing and her hands clammy.
She forwarded the text to Lydia and looked toward the door.Taking one last deep breath to steady her nerves, she opened it.
Trent’s mom sat on one of the breakfast stools talking to her son, who was putting a filter into the coffeemaker.Harper would never have guessed that she was old enough to have a son Trent’s age.She was as petite as he was huge.Perfectly put together, she wore fitted jeans and a beautifully cut white jacket.She and her dark-haired, heavily tattooed son didn’t even look related.All the genes must have come from his dad.
“Your dad is just parking with Kit.She wanted to surprise you, seeing we didn’t get to see you for your birthday.”
“Well, I’m definitely surprised.You couldn’t have texted when you were thirty minutes away?”They both laughed.
He turned to get cups from the cupboard and saw Harper standing just off in the hallway.Damn those dimples.Did he have to make her melt every time she saw him?
He tilted his head to the speakers.“Tito and Tarantula.‘After Dark.’Blues-based drums, but sometimes almost metal guitar.Robert Rodriguez is a big fan.”
He walked around the counter and held out his hand to her before pulling her in to him.
“Mom, this is my girl, Harper.Harper, this is my mom, Diana Andrews.”
Diana grinned at the two of them before standing and enveloping Harper in a fierce hug.Harper flinched from a blend of pain from the tattoo and the still-present fear that only Trent had managed to defeat.Hopefully Diana didn’t take it personally.
“Well, aren’t you just as pretty as a picture?It’s so good to meet you, Harper.I must apologize for my very poor etiquette.Had I known Trent had company I would have knocked, but Kit gave me her key and I was just so excited to see my son.”Her blue eyes were bright with excitement as she continued.“Come sit while Trent makes us both coffee, and you can tell me about yourself.”Diana patted the stool next to her.
With a quick kiss to her forehead, Trent left her to continue making their drinks.
Where to start?Oh yes, I’m practically a haphephobic who is on the run from a psychotic asshat who tried to kill me.Great first impression.
“I’m twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine.It’s my birthday this month.”She looked to Trent, who raised one eyebrow at her.She hadn’t told him.Whoops.“I work at José’s, which is a small café, with my best friend, Drea.There’s not much to tell.”
