“I know,” Kelsey said. “You need to spend a few months just writing, and with Marlo here, it makes things complicated anyway. Apparently, she married my dad last week.”
Harper dropped her brush on the bed. “What?”
“He neglected to tell me, of course, or anyone on his staff.”
“Oh, Kelsey.” She’d been so caught up in her own world that she’d neglected to see the wounds of her friend. “Remarried...”
Kelsey shrugged. “Maybe this time, he’ll settle down.”
Neither of them believed that, but they could hope.
“I only come up to Santa Barbara to see you anyway,” Kelsey said. “When you leave, I’m heading back to LA. Or maybe I’ll spend a few weeks in Idaho with Mom, or fly to the Maldives.”
“The Maldives would be a lovely place to disappear.” Kelsey could remove herself from the paparazzi before word spread about Evan’s marriage.
Her friend smiled. “You should come with me.”
“I can’t afford—”
“My treat,” Kelsey said.
A stream of clear water rippled through her head. White sand. Cozy bungalows on stilts in the calm sea. And she wanted to go with her, desperately, but she and Kelsey had worked for years to protect their friendship from the polarizing opposites of their worlds. A trip like that, Kelsey paying her way, would change everything between them. And she wanted—needed, really—Kelsey as a friend.
“I can’t, Kelsey. I need to...” What exactly did she have to do? Her father probably still lived in Albuquerque, but judging from the one call she’d placed after Mom died, he wouldn’t want to host her. The rejection had stung fresh when she called, but he’d never placed himself in her life. “I’ll stay at a hotel for a few nights until I figure things out.”
“I understand.”
“Or...” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Maybe I’ll go to Pennsylvania.”
“To visit your aunt Marcia?”
Her mind traveled across the States, to the grand front door of the Sutton family. She’d only visited twice over the years, but the house had been standing for more than a century. And Marcia had been her mom’s best friend, keeping her rooted in this often-upside-down world. Then she’d extended those roots to Harper when she’d offered her a room last year.
“I’m going to ask. She told me that I could stay anytime.” Harper tossed a pair of flip-flops and tennis shoes into the duffel, a summer dress, and two pairs of jeans for when it turned cold. The boots and a coat would come later. “Haven’t been there since I was a kid.”
“You have to write your stories, Harper.”
“I will.”
“And you need to stay far away from food prep.”
“Guaranteed.” Harper smiled. “If I tried, I’d be fired anyway.”
“I want you to settle into a good place. A home. And maybe in your writing, you can find some resolution.”
If home was where the stories were, perhaps Harper needed to find a place for her heart first. Then she would finish her stories.
“I want you to find a good place too,” Harper said. “And a man who truly loves you.”
“I’m not looking for love.”
“Then I hope he finds you.”
“It will be good for you to be in Pennsylvania.” Kelsey held open one end of the duffel so Harper could squeeze in her hairbrush and Lakers cap. “But I’m going to miss you terribly.”
“I’m going to miss you too.”
“I’ll visit you at your aunt’s.”
