“It will. He likes you.” It didn’t hurt that Mitch had done so much for his son recently. Kyle would have a hard time complaining about Mitch being involved with Harper after that.
Harper made a show of crossing her fingers. “Back to the book. How long before you reach the end?”
“My goal right now is to have this draft finished before we go to L.A. I should be able to do that if I really focus. At the very least, I should be able to get within a few chapters of the end.”
“Good goal. I’m going to rereadThe Light Withinand make notes so that I’m fresh on the story for the meeting.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
She lifted one shoulder. “It’s what you’re paying me for.”
“Speaking of, that list of dogs you sent me—you said there were three?”
“As of this afternoon, yes.”
“I’m sure there will be one on there I like. If I want to go meet one or two of them tomorrow, will you go with me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. I value your opinion on dogs.”
“Aren’t you playing racquetball with Lucas in a couple days?"
He pressed his hand to his forehead. “Yep. Almost forgot about that.”
“It’s a good chance for you to ask his opinion on dogs, too.”
“True. I’ll see what he thinks about the dogs you sent me.”
“Great. Now tell me more about where you see the story going.”
They talked until nearly seven, then Mitch walked Harper to the door, where they said goodnight with a hasty kiss.
He went back upstairs to the kitchen where Kyle was fixing them some plates. Kyle glanced at Mitch. “Harper’s really nice. And smart. You ever think about asking her out? Like on a date?”
Mitch did his best not to react too strongly to that. “You think I should?”
“I think you should if you want to. She obviously likes you. And you like her, right?”
Mitch nodded. “I do. Would you be okay with that? Me dating someone?”
Kyle shrugged. “Yeah. You should be happy. Mom would want that. And I’d definitely be okay with it if it was Harper. Or someone like her. Although I don’t know how you’d ever meet anyone else like her.”
“You mean someone who likes meandmy books?” Mitch laughed.
“And someone who sees you as a person, not just as a big author who could do something for them.” Kyle gave his dad a serious look. “I mean it. You should ask her out.”
Mitch just smiled. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Frankie lounged on the second step of Lucas’s pool. She let her legs float in the water as she leaned against the step behind her and sipped the sangria Lucas had made. The sun was slowly sinking, turning the few clouds peachy pink. “I didn’t think people actually had evenings like this. It feels like something out of a movie.”
He was only a few inches away from her. He sighed with great contentment. Even Scout, who was lounging nearby on the pool deck, seemed completely blissed out. “It is a pretty great night.” He traced a line from Frankie’s shoulder down her arm to the water. “Thanks for hanging out with me.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Why not?”
