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Fortunately, neither man seemed to mind her unscheduled visits, though she wasn’t sure if that was because they genuinely liked her or because she made a point to always bring food.
“Here. Let me help you with that.” Luca reached out, taking the large tote bags away from her, tucking his smaller bag inside one. “My God. It looks like you’ve brought enough food to feed an army.”
“I probably did overbuy. Which is why…” She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a stack of take-out containers. “I bought these as well. You and Conor can divvy up the leftovers.”
“You thought of everything. So what are you making us?”
Harper narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh no. Tonight is going to be a joint effort. Those bags hold what the three of us are making together.”
“I thought…”
“That I had intended to cook for you. But I decided that falls under the category of enabling you, now that I know you and Conor are lazy about mealtimes. I picked a simple recipe you can make for yourself and have plenty of leftovers for a few extra lunches and dinners. Give yourself a break from microwave meals, which are terrible for you, by the way.”
Luca pretended to pat his pocket in search of his phone. “Hey. Give me a minute, sunshine. I want to Google the nutritional value of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese,” he teased.
“Hush.” She laughed as she shoved him on the shoulder, secretly loving that somewhere along the line, Luca had given her a sweet nickname. All he had to do was call her sunshine and all her happy, horny places woke up and did a little jig.
“I should probably warn you,” Luca said, as the elevator continued to climb. “Nonna and my aunts have tried for years to teach me to cook. It’s never ended well. Apparently, I have a heavy hand when it comes to spices and setting the timer. Everything I’ve ever made has either been burned or burned all the way down.”
Harper laughed, curious why his mother hadn’t taught him to cook. The more time she spent with Luca and Conor, the more she wanted to know. So far, their conversations had been filled with a lot of polite chitchat or work talk. She was hoping they might progress beyond that tonight.
She’d been delighted when Conor texted the two of them a couple of days ago to set up a time for dinner. She’d been worried that perhaps he wouldn’t follow through on the invitation after she’d added Luca to the guest list. It felt as if the two men were on more stable ground, though Harper sensed some tension still lingered. What she couldn’t decide was if it was work tension or sexual tension.
Regardless of Luca and Conor’s issues with each other, she planned to put tonight to good use because she had a million get-to-know-you questions she hoped to have answered over the course of the evening. While they were the only people she knew in Philadelphia, she’d learned enough about them to know she wanted to be friends, in addition to colleagues.
“Too much spice isn’t going to be a problem. We’re making shrimp and grits.”
Luca, the charming bastard, put his hand over his heart dramatically, acting like she’d just gifted him a diamond mine. “Harper. I hope you don’t think I’m moving too fast, but will you marry me?”
She started to laugh, but the elevator doors had opened halfway through Luca’s pretend proposal, revealing Conor, who’d obviously been waiting there to greet her and help with the bags.
“Should I leave the two of you alone?” Conor asked.
“Hang on,” Luca said, holding one finger up. “Depending on her answer to my proposal, you might need to get your tux dry-cleaned.”
“The answer to both your questions is no,” Harper said. “Luca’s marriage proposal was simply proving an old adage true. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
Luca shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a simple man with simple needs.”
Harper stepped off the elevator, and Luca followed her with the bags. The elevator opened directly into Conor’s spacious living room. It was clearly a room Conor lived in, versus a showplace. The furniture looked comfortable, though she barely spared it a glance as she scanned the walls. The room contained several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, all of which were overflowing with books.
So. Many. Books.
“Read much?” Luca was taking in the shelves with the same astonishment. “Damn, man. I think this is more books than we had in our high school library.”
Harper started to make a comment about them as well, until something else caught her eye. “Oh wow, Conor. You weren’t kidding about the view.” She walked over to the large windows that overlooked the city. The sun was just setting, painting the sky with an array of warm colors, muted pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges. “This is beautiful.”
“I’ll say.” Luca stepped behind her to look as well. “The view from my apartment is across the street, where there are more apartments that look just like mine.”
“Here.” Conor took the bags from Luca. “Let’s drop this in the kitchen and then I’ll give you a tour of the place.”
Harper trailed behind them, the view forgotten, her interest in the kitchen taking precedence.
“Oh my God,” she said, drawing in a sharp breath. “I love this room.”
Conor’s penthouse boasted a state-of-the-art kitchen, complete with restaurant-style range and cooktop, high-efficiency refrigerator, gorgeous ventilation, a workhorse sink, and hands-free faucets.
“It’s gorgeous,” she gushed as she took in his dedicated task stations. “Please tell me you were kidding about takeout.”
