Theo made his way over to the phone. Not having the number for a tow company handy, he had no choice but to dial the only phone number he had committed to memory. Max answered on the third ring.
“Max, I need your help,” Theo said without preamble. “My car broke down and I’m stranded, so I need you to send a tow out to pick me up.”
“What do you mean, your car broke down?” Theo could hear one of the kids crying in the background. “It’s seven thirty in the morning, Theo. Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You can’ttellme? How am I going to send you a tow?”
“Just… give me a number for a towing company. I’ll make the call.”
“Theo, am I just supposed to not worry about this? You call me and tell me you’re stranded, but you can’t tell me where? How would you react if I did that to you?”
“Max—”
“You’d panic, that’s how. And you’d be right to, because that’s a crazy thing to say to someone. I’m not giving you thenumber of a tow truck. Tell me where you are, and I’m coming to pick you up right now.”
“No, you aren’t. Your kids?—”
“Tara can watch them. She can call in to work.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not the one acting like I’m in the middle of some shady crime deal gone bad.”
“Oh, my God — I’m doing a wedding thing, all right? I don’t want to tell you where I am because I don’t want to spoil a surprise.”
There was a long silence on the phone.
“You’re doing awedding thing?” Max said finally.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“You’re up at seven thirty in the morning doing something for my wedding?”
“Don’t get all mushy on me. I wouldn’t have gotten up this early. The car broke down yesterday, and we were stuck out here. I haven’t been able to make calls until now, that’s all.”
“We? Hang on. Harper’s with you?”
“Yes, we’re working together, which is what you asked us to do, if you’ll recall.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?”
“I guess I didn’t foresee it going as well as it seems to be, that’s all. But I’m glad it is,” Max added enthusiastically. “She’s a great woman, isn’t she?”
“She’s all right.”
“You don’t have to worry about surprises — you can tell me where you are. Let me come pick you up. Tara will come too, and we’ll bring the kids. Maybe we can all go out for lunch.”
Max sounded so eager, so excited, and there was a substantial part of Theo that wanted to just say yes to what his brother was suggesting. It did sound like a fun way to pass an afternoon.
But could he really sit next to Harper all day and not get lost in thoughts about what it had been like to have her in his arms? To be with her so intimately… even though they had agreed it was to be a one-time thing. He needed the rest of the day, at least, to shake it off before he would be able to really feel normal in her company again.
“Just give me the phone number,” he said. “We want to keep this place our secret for now, so we can surprise you with it. Trust me. You’re going to be glad you went along with that. And we can all go out together some other time, but right now I think Harper and I want to get home and take naps and showers.”
“Are you sure you’re both all right?”
