ChapterThirty-Seven
Frankie took Archie’s leash off as soon as they were inside. He went for his water bowl even though he’d had water at Lucas’s. She’d never imagined she’d be gone as long as she had been, but it had been a wonderful morning that had drifted toward afternoon surprisingly fast.
She’d said goodbye before Lucas felt obligated to feed her lunch, too. He’d done enough for her today. She was eager to work on his logo and had a few ideas burning in her head. “Harper? We’re back.”
No answer. She walked over to the deck to see if Harper was out there. Nope. But movement below caught her eye. Her sister was in the pool. Suddenly, that sounded so good. Frankie ran upstairs, changed into her suit, grabbed a towel, and went downstairs.
Archie followed, so she let him tag along, figuring he’d stay close. He was too worn out from his playdate with Scout to go wandering. “Hey, sis.”
Harper made the turn on her last lap and looked up. She stopped swimming to tread water. “Hey, there you are. I was starting to think you’d kidnapped my dog and had run away from home.” She blew a kiss at Archie. “Mama missed you.”
Frankie laughed as she came down the steps into the water. “No running away. Things just went differently than I expected today. We took the dogs to the dog park, where they ran around like crazy. We ended up talking about logos, and he invited me back to his place for breakfast. I wasn’t about to say no to that.”
Harper swam closer, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t have either. Lucky you. What did he make?”
“Omelets with prosciutto, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers.” Frankie held her hand up. “I swear to you, easily one of the best omelets I’ve ever eaten. The man cooks like it’s his superpower. Which it might just be.”
Now in the shallows, Harper stood and fluttered her fingers under her chin as she grinned like a teenager. “Was there kissing?”
“Shut up, no. It wasn’t that kind of date. It’s just business. He was pretty burned by the last woman he was involved with, so I don’t think he’s remotely interested in a relationship. And I’m fine with that. I’m happy to work with him on this logo thing.” She walked all the way in. The water came to her waist. It felt great. “How was your day?”
Harper was still smiling. “Mitch hired me to work for him, but you can’t say a word about that toanyone. I mean it. Just telling you violates my own non-disclosure agreement, but I’m going to be going over there every day, so I’m sure you’d have figured it out.”
Frankie took a second to absorb that. “What? Explain.”
Harper shrugged. “I inadvertently helped him with his book the other day and now he wants me to come over in the evening and discuss the day’s work with him. Help him brainstorm new ideas and even do some beta reading.”
“That’s incredible. So you’re going to know what happens before anyone else.”
“Basically, yes.”
“That’s so unfair.”
Harper laughed. “I know. And you still can’t tell anyone.” Then her face fell. “That wasn’t all that happened today.”
“What else?” But Frankie knew without asking that it wasn’t good.
Harper trailed her fingers through the water. “Prisha called and said Suzanne might be up to something. She doesn’t like me, apparently, and told Prisha I’m not what I seem.”
Frankie frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“That’s what I asked.” Harper wasn’t making eye contact. She shook her head. “I’m worried that Suzanne’s going to use her connections to out me as the woman who broke Ford Keating’s heart.”
“Yikes,” Frankie said. “Do you really think she would?”
Harper finally looked at her. “After talking to Prisha? Yes. Suzanne is a known troublemaker and likes to be the center of attention. Telling her media connections about me would certainly fit the bill.”
Frankie thought a moment. “Do you think you should get ahead of it? Reach out to a source and tell your side of things?”
“I don’t want to do that. I feel like that would just add fuel to the fire. And it might make me look like I’m trying to get attention.” Harper sighed. “I just want this all to go away. It could ruin my life.”
Frankie didn’t think it was all that bad. “I don’t know about that. There are a lot worse things than being romantically linked to an A-list celebrity.”
Harper pressed her lips together until they were a thin, straight line. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from saying anything else.
Frankie had seen the look in more kids than she could count. “What is it? Out with it. What else don’t I know?”
“Nothing. Are you going to swim? I want to do a few more laps. I got shrimp out for dinner. Might just panfry them and have them over salad, if that’s all right with you.”
