Page 94 of Capture The Moment

Chapter 21

The phrase “in like a lion, out like a lamb” was certainly holding true on the first day of spring in late March. Blue skies, a gentle breeze, and a warm sun were the reward for a long, hard winter. Even though Harper knew it probably wouldn’t last, she was determined to soak it in while she could, insisting on driving with her windows down, much to her passenger’s chagrin.

“You’re going to wreck my hair,” McKayla complained as Harper whipped down the road.

“Your hair looks fine. Besides, you can fix it when we get there.”

“Do you think he’s going to ask me a lot of questions?” McKayla said nervously.

“I doubt it. He’s pretty laid back.”

“What about his brothers?”

“What about them?”

“Are they going to interview me too?”

“They don’t even know about this yet.”

“Oh. Right.”

For the past few weeks, Finn had been doing his homework regarding leasing the shop in Brandon. He’d even met with Nikki Branson again and had brought Harper along for moral support.

They’d been spending pretty much all their spare time together these days, and Harper had been loving every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. They’d butted heads over a few things (stubborn man!), but for the most part, they got along great. They’d also taken to leaving a few of their belongings at each other’s homes in case of impromptu sleepovers, which seemed to be occurring with greater regularity these days.

Daisy seemed more comfortable in Finn’s presence too, and she especially liked going to his house, where she and Hunter could roam freely around Finn’s big backyard. The only time Harper and Finn shut the dogs out was when they were making love, primarily due to Harper’s insistence.

She was smiling at the thought when they pulled into Finn’s driveway and parked behind the line of cars that were already there. McKayla smoothed down her hair in the visor mirror and reapplied a coat of lip gloss before declaring herself ready.

Reaching over, Harper patted her arm and said, “Don’t worry, Kay. I promise it’ll be fine.”

They walked up to the house and rang the bell, even though, if Harper had been alone, she would have just walked right in.

Finn answered the door with a wide smile and motioned them inside, playfully patting Harper’s butt as she walked past, to which she responded with a dirty look. “Behave,” she mouthed from behind McKayla.

“McKayla. Nice to see you again,” Finn said. “Come on in and meet my brothers.”

They followed him into the kitchen (where it seemed most of the O’Briens’ meetings took place), McKayla hanging back warily until Harper gave her a gentle shove forward.

Connor and Liam were sitting at the kitchen table, and they looked up at McKayla curiously—Liam in particular.

“Guys, this is Harper’s sister, McKayla. I’ll explain in a minute why she’s here.”

Connor pushed back his chair, stood up, and reached across the table to shake McKayla’s hand. “Connor O’Brien. Anyone related to Harper is always welcome,” he said sweetly. In fact, if Harper hadn’t known that he was involved with Julia, she might have mistaken his comment for flirting. But she’d seen how he and Julia looked at each other, and she knew that he was just being polite.

Liam, on the other hand, wore a deer-in-the-headlights look that was difficult to decipher. He stood too, and while he shook McKayla’s hand, he said, “Liam O’Brien. Do we know each other? You look familiar.”

“No. I don’t think so,” McKayla said and quickly slipped her hand out of his grip.

Harper and Finn exchanged glances, and Harper sensed that there was a story there, but she’d have to ask McKayla about it later.

Once the ladies were seated, Finn kindly brought them two bottles of water, and then he began the meeting.

“I’m sure you guys are wondering what this is all about…”

“You’re getting married,” Liam interjected, which earned him a slug on the arm from Connor and a smirk from McKayla, both of whom were flanking him.

“Why do you always assume that’s the reason for a meeting?” Connor asked.