“Green,” he said. “I thought I already said that.”
“Like a forest green, or more of a hunter green? And we need to choose an accent color too. Ooh, maybe sage green and ivory? Hang on, I have some color samples in my bag.”
Theo got to his feet. “Harper, I really can’t do this right now. I have a meeting with the publicity team, and after that I’m sitting down with my assistant to go over the plans for the coming week. Why don’t you put these questions in an email?” He pointed to the business cards on the front of his desk, which had his email address on them. “That’s the best way for you to contact me.”
“That’s theworstway for me to contact you,” she said. “You won’t answer emails. I’ve spent enough time with you to know that. I’ll send you a hundred emails, and you won’t answer any of them. You’ll probably set me to go straight to your trash folder.”
“Well, if you send a hundred emails, I definitely will.” He couldn’t keep the grin off his face at the idea of it.
He also didn’t know what was so funny. On paper, this was the most irritating thing she could have done — storming his office like this, demanding to speak with him in the middle of his workday. He wouldn’t have liked to seeanybodyunder these circumstances, much less this woman he hardly knew who seemed to think she had the right to keep making demands on his time.
But there was something about her — something about the way she never did what he was expecting her to do — that held his attention. It was like watching a comedian. Comedians had always irked him; they were so loud and abrasive, and yet he couldn’t help laughing, and by the end of their sets, he invariably found that he’d enjoyed himself. Harper was a thorn in his side, and yet, somehow, she kept shocking him into laughter.
“I really can’t do this right now,” he told her, doing his best to keep his face neutral instead of showing anger again. That hadn’t gotten him anywhere, after all. “I know you think I’m just trying to get rid of you.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t, but I’m starting to see you can’t be gotten rid of.”
“That’s right. I can’t.”
“So, can we make arrangements to do this later?”
“I don’t know why you think I’d take you seriously. You’ve been dodging me since this started.”
“Because I’m guessing if I don’t meet you halfway, you’re going to keep showing up in my office until we get this whole wedding planned to your satisfaction. Is that about right?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted.
“So how about we meet tonight at eight? I can leave work a bit early.”
“Eight is leaving early?” She held up a hand to forestall his response. “Never mind. I can meet you at eight. Where do you want to meet?”
He hesitated. “Where’s convenient for you?”
She laughed.
“Is that funny?”
“Kind of. You’re worried about what’s going to beconvenientfor me? You have to admit, that’s new. You had me come to a ball game to talk to you about all this, and then you basically refused to talk to me there. Then I had to come all the way to your office to speak to you.”
“Don’t pretend Imadeyou come to my office,” he said. “I didn’t even know you were planning on showing up. And I agree, you’ve gone out of your way a lot. I’m trying to meet you halfway here. You could be more appreciative about that instead of laughing at me.”
“All right, okay,” she said. “Do you know Sue and Sam’s?”
“That’s the bar on Pleasant Street?” He’d never been inside, but he passed it some days when he was taking the scenic route to work. The sign was big and gaudy, so it had always stood out to him.
“That’s right,” she said. “I could meet there at eight.”
It wasn’t the kind of place he would have chosen, if the choice had been his. He’d have wanted to go to an upscale hotel bar. But he had told her she could choose, and he would stand by it.
“I’ll meet you there,” he said, and turned his attention back to his work. To his great relief, Harper seemed to understand her dismissal, and with a last quiet nod, she rose and left him to it.
CHAPTER 6
HARPER
Harper was surprised when Theo actually showed up at the bar, and further surprised that he was relatively on time. She had brought a book along with her, anticipating that she would need to entertain herself and conceal the fact that she was waiting for someone who might or might not show up.
