“I might have to.” All Harper wanted to do was put on her nightshirt and climb into bed.
“I’ll watch it with you. We’ll have our breakfast right here.”
Harper groaned. “How can you even talk about eating again?”
Frankie nodded. “I know, trust me. I might just have coffee.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Archie came over, lay down on the rug between them, and seemed to fall asleep. A few moments later, he was snoring.
Harper looked over at her sister. “I guess I’m not taking him out one last time before bed.”
“After all that running around he did at Lucas’s, I’d say he’s as ready for bed as we are.”
“Good, because I’m out of energy.” Harper smiled, thinking about the evening. “You and Lucas sure hit it off.”
“He’s a really nice guy.”
“Plus, he’s hot and he cooks. Win-win.”
“He’s not interested in me. He was just being neighborly.”
“I don’t know…” Harper pursed her lips. “I’m sure there are alotof people he could have invited over to help taste-test his new recipes. But he picked you.”
“Only because we ran into each other on the beach and—”
“Frankie, he likes you.”
“I don’t think so. Not in the way you’re implying.”
Harper stuck her hand out. “Ten bucks says he calls or texts you tomorrow.”
Frankie rolled her eyes but shook her sister’s hand. “Ten bucks is too rich for my blood, but since you’re the one who’s going to be paying, I’m all right with it.”
“You’re going to owe me. You’ll see,” Harper said, still smiling.
Frankie leaned forward. “You keep dreaming. I’m going to bed to do some actual dreaming. See you in the morning.”
“Night,” Harper said. She hauled herself off the couch and headed for the bedroom, but stopped when she realized Archie hadn’t moved. “Archie. Bedtime.”
He slowly got up and wandered toward her, looking very much like he was still half-asleep.
She ruffled his fur as he walked by. “You had a good time with Scout, didn’t you? We’ll see if you guys can’t get some time at the dog park. Now that I know there is a dog park.”
She brushed her teeth and changed, getting into bed with the intention of reading, but she was too tired. She closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to the sounds of Archie’s snoring.
When she woke up, soft light was streaming through the windows. She’d forgotten to close the blinds.
No big deal. She’d slept hard and needed to get up anyway. Mimi would probably want to talk about her appearance on the show sometime today, which meant Harper needed to watch it as soon as possible.
She went out to the kitchen to start the coffee, then came back to get ready for the day. There were no major plans, but she knew she’d have to fix herself up later if Mimi wanted to Zoom again. For the moment, comfort was more important. She knotted her hair on top of her head and went with leggings and a tank top.
Frankie came down as Harper was pouring herself a cup of coffee. She took another mug from the cabinet and filled it as well. She put the mug on the island, closer to her sister, then got out the sweetener and creamer and two spoons.
Frankie slapped a ten-dollar bill down on the counter before fixing her coffee.
“What’s that for?” Harper asked.
