Frankie nodded. “All three of us. And Lucas, apparently. That sounds like fun. The only thing we need to bring is whatever we want to drink. Shall I tell her yes?”
Harper nodded. “Definitely. Wait until you meet Ruthie. What a sweetie that baby is. And Joyce’s sister is there now, too.”
Frankie typed a quick note back, thanking Joyce for the invite and confirming they would all be there, then she looked at Harper. After a moment, she said, “You really think you could give all of this up?”
Harper changed lanes again, avoiding an overloaded pickup. “Could I? Yes. Do I want to? Would my income suffer? Those are the questions I need to answer.”
“Let me know when you do.” With Buck’s help, and Harper’s insistence that Frankie could live at the house by herself, it seemed that Frankie’s decision had been made. She might still have to get another job to supplement things until her business could sustain itself, but so what?
It was worth a little sacrifice and hard work to get a second chance at happiness.
She had illustration work to do when she got home, but she was also going to draft her letter of resignation to the school.
It was scary to think about making that kind of change, but her life would never get any better if she didn’t.
Not to mention, she wasn’t getting any younger. If she didn’t do this now, when would she?
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Harper walked Archie in the backyard, even though she knew Lucas would have taken him out numerous times. She just wanted to hang out with her dog. She’d missed him, which was silly. They’d only been gone for the day.
But Archie was a big part of her life.
So was her sister. Could Harper really walk away from this opportunity to share a house with Frankie?
It seemed like the perfect antidote to the separation life had dealt them. And now, with Buck being so close, they really could make him a part of their lives. If they lived here.
So what was holding her back? It wasn’t really her clients. Those that remained had all pretty much said they were fine with Zoom calls. And if they really needed her, she could always fly out.
Archie sniffed at a spot in the grass and sneezed, making her smile. “Silly boy, don’t sniff it if it makes you sneeze.”
Was there something about living in California that she’d miss? Not her housing situation, that was for sure. Her small apartment, which was part of a larger house, didn’t hold a candle to the gorgeous, spacious domicile behind her.
For Archie, moving here would be a huge win. Not just because of this space and this yard, but because Hideaway Bay had its own dog park. And he now had a buddy, Scout. He might have another one soon, if Mitch really adopted a dog. So Archie went in the pro column of her decision-making.
In the con column was the fact that moving here would probably be the end of signing new clients. Her people were stars and celebrities. Granted, she’d found Mitch, but he was a special case. She couldn’t see anyone else in the neighborhood hiring her.
Then again, Mitch really belonged in the pro column. Not only had he offered her more work than most of her clients, he’d offered her a job as part of his creative team. If this new movie happened. Big if. She knew that.
But the fact that he was interested in keeping her around for other projects was something. He valued her input. She loved that. Loved working with him. It felt bigger than the work she did with most of her clients.
A lot of that was just hand-holding and ego-stroking.
With Mitch, she was actually participating in the creative process. She wasn’t doing the writing, obviously, but she was contributing to the storylines. She’d made suggestions that he’d used. At least he said he had.
She squinted out at the water. He wouldn’t have just said that, would he? Mitch wasn’t the kind of guy to lie about a thing like that. More than once she’d given him an idea for the story and he’d shaken his head and said it wasn’t for him. He wasn’t shy about expressing his thoughts on what worked for him and what didn’t. She valued his ability to be so honest. She respected it. And him.
So why not stay? Why not?
She swallowed, knowing it was time to face the truth. Which brought her back to Mitch. She liked him. As more than justa client. She liked him as a person. As a handsome, genuine, eligible man.
She shouldn’t have those kinds of feelings about a client. It wasn’t ethical. Not only that, but Mitch was very clearly still in love with his late wife.
Harper walked closer to Archie, who was snuffling his way toward the property line between her house and Mitch’s.
She’d kept her feelings shoved down. It was the only way to handle them. Eventually, she figured they’d peter out. She hoped. There was no way she’d act on them.
But she’d had California to fall back on. The safety of her impending return meant she could mostly ignore her burgeoning feelings, because what was the point if she was leaving? That knowledge had made it easier, somehow.
