“Right, no ridiculous tropes.” Not entirely true, I can think of three when it comes to Harlow and me.
She swats me. “I’ll prove you wrong.”
“Okay.” I straighten my posture and wait for her explanation.
Harlow counts on her fingers. “We’ve already discussed small town, enemies to lovers, accidental pregnancy, secret baby, second chance… instant attraction.” She nibbles her bottom lip.
“You mean us?” Because I agree.
She scoots closer to me. “Uh-huh.”
“Alpha male? Yep, unlike you who is slacking in their hockey research, I did mine in the romance genre.”
Harlow giggles under her breath. “I could agree with that, but I consider that a character trait. We are traditional and doing the whole pen pal, long-distance thing.” Another one of her fingers flies up. “Hmm, I think we can end this conversation, as it’s cheesy as hell.”
My eyes widen. “See? You don’t actually believe in what you write.”
She rolls her eyes. “I do, I just… never mind.”
“One day, you’re going to have to explain yourself.” I pretend to give her a stern voice.
She blows out a breath, and our eyes hold for a beat before she gently tugs on my sweater. “What’s on the agenda tomorrow? We can attempt to walk in this cold.”
“Hell no. I may be from colder climates, but that windchill factor is brutal. I do have an idea, though.”
“Oh?”
“It’s no big deal or anything. Casual, even. But we can head to my brother’s for brunch tomorrow.” Harlow seems taken aback. “Really, it’s not a big thing. They always burn toaster waffles, and the baby normally makes a mess at some point. Nothing fancy,” I assure her.
Her mouth opens as she seems to be evaluating what to say, but she catches me off guard. “Hmm, okay,” she answers, near bubbly.
My head and neck straighten, like a goose, at her answer. “Alright then, I’ll let them know. And really, totally chill. Bringing-a-friend kind of thing.”
She laughs before she gets up off the sofa to head toward my kitchen. “Friend kind of thing. Something tells me your brother knows that you’re sleeping with said friend.”
I follow her, with the orange glow of the fireplace highlighting our faces. “True. We’re close like that.”
Harlow grabs the wine bottle from the counter. “It’s obvious. I’m that way with Flo. We see through each other. Then again, we’ve known one another for years.”
“That’s good. Friends are essential for life too.” I slide over our wine glasses that are sitting on the counter, empty from our last round, and she pours the red liquid into the glass.
“Good wine, right?”
Her face blazes in agreement before she circles the bottle to study the label. “Blisswood. Hmm, didn’t know Illinois produces wine.”
“Not much, but there are a few vineyards, mostly all family owned. The Blisswood brothers have family here in Lake Spark.”
“Nice.”
I pull Harlow to me by the waist, as we both have our wine glasses in hand. “I’m happy you’re here.”
“Me too. Uhm… how often do we plan on doing this back-and-forth thing? Hate to burst the bubble, but well… I should probably point out this tiny detail.”
I glance away, hating the ping in my stomach that feels uneasy. “Until it fizzles out?” But I don’t believe it ever will.
“Right,” she barely whispers before she sips her wine. I can’t for the life of me figure out if she was expecting that answer.
“And if it doesn’t…” I’m throwing this discussion back in her corner.
