“We’re fine,” Theo assured his brother. “Just eager to get out of here.”
He looked over at Harper, who was standing across the lobby nodding at something Cynthia Johnson was saying. He wondered whether he would ever be able to look at her again without a flash of memory reminding him what it had been like to have her in bed with him.
“All right,” Max said. “I’ll grab that number for you.”
Theo nodded and fished out a piece of paper and a pen to write it down. They were finally on their way home.
CHAPTER 17
HARPER
“I’m so glad you were able to meet today,” Tara said as she sat down opposite Harper at their favorite coffee shop and passed her one of the cappuccinos she held in her hands. “I want to hear all about how the wedding planning is going.”
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Harper confessed. “I think you’re really going to love what we’ve put together. But Theo and I agreed we weren’t going to tell you or Max any details. It’s so rare that someone gets to have their whole wedding put together behind their back and be surprised, and we really want to take advantage of that opportunity here.”
“Have I been leaning too much on you, asking you to do all this for us?” Tara looked slightly guilty.
“Not at all,” Harper assured her. “I’ve been having a great time. Don’t worry about that.”
“Because I know you have your own life to deal with, too. I don’t want to make too many demands on your time.”
“No. I know that, of course. But this is what I do,” Harper reminded her friend. “It’s fun for me. I’m having a good time, I promise.”
“Is Theo helping? You know, I wasn’t sure if he would, because he can be a little… standoffish at times.”
“Is that the word you’d use?” Harper laughed. “I guess he can be, but he is coming through, don’t worry. We’ve gotten a lot done together.”
That much was certainly true. Since the night they had been stranded together, Harper and Theo had collaborated much more easily than they had before. They no longer fought over every little decision, and Harper found it easy to get him on the phone when she needed to speak to him about something.
But she’d found herself reaching out to him less and less in spite of that. She couldn’t have said exactly why. Every time something came up for the wedding, she’d think about calling him, and every time, she would decide she didn’t need to. She collected options for cakes, put them in a folder, and set them aside. She chose the favors — monogrammed candles — without asking for his input at all. She justified it by telling herself he had never cared about things like favors, and he would be glad to have something taken off his plate.
But if she was honest with herself, that wasn’t the whole truth. She was avoiding calling him because the idea of speaking with him made her feel vaguely nauseous, as if she had missed a step going down. And she knew why that was.
In spite of herself, in spite of everything she knew about him and about how incompatible the two of them would be in reality, she had developed feelings for Theo.
It infuriated her to admit it. It was so irresponsible of her, and she hadn’t meant for it to happen at all. Even that night, lying on that couch, allowing him to kiss her — kissing him back — even then, she hadn’t meant for anything serious to happen. She had been caught up in the moment. She’d been sure that was all it was. It was only now, in the aftermath, that she was realizing she had wanted more. He had said the wordsone-time thing, and her stomach had lurched with disappointment at the realization that they weren’t on the same page at all.
And even so, she couldn’t bring herself to regret what had happened. She didn’t think she had ever felt such a potent connection to another person. Could it really be that he hadn’t experienced what she had? Or did he simply not care?
Either way, the idea of looking him in the eyes felt daunting to her now, and she found herself wishing they could just finish the wedding and go their separate ways. At the same time, though, she thought of the day they would part ways with a pang of distress, for she knew that there would be nothing to keep them in one another’s lives. It wasn’t as if their mutual love for Max and Tara would be enough to do that. He had made no secret of the fact that he didn’t feel the need to be an active participant in the family — he showed his love for his brother in other ways.
After this wedding, she might very well never see him again.
“I’m glad you’re getting along,” Tara said with a smile. “You know, I don’t think Theo has a lot of friends. He pushes people away. I don’t know whether you’ve picked up on that.”
Harper hummed noncommittally.
“Enough wedding stuff. Tell me about you!” Tara sipped her drink. “I feel like everything has been about me lately.”
“Well, of course it has. You are getting married, after all.”
“Oh, I know that, but I feel like a bad friend for not paying as much attention as I should to your life. What’s happening? Is there anything new about your work? I know you’re trying to transition into full-time wedding planning.”
“Doing your wedding has actually really helped me advance that,” Harper said. “I feel much more competent these days, and I’m shoring up my relationships with all these great vendors. I’m going to be so ready for the next wedding that comes my way, when this one is done.”
“That’s amazing!” Tara enthused. “So, I’m actually helping you by getting you to do this for me?”
“You are helping me a lot.” Harper smiled. “And I’m very grateful, no worries there.”
