“Why don’t we get that pizza to go?” Rusty said.
She put her cell back in her purse, still stinging from her mother’s rebuke. “No. I’m still working. She can wait until I get home.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Now, what were we—”Oh no.Her stomach turned inside out as she spied a couple at a table for two on the other side of the restaurant.
“What?” Rusty said, his brow furrowing.
Unbelievable. Of all the places she would end up seeing Brielle and... wait. She did a double take at the blond, curly-headed man seated across from her. That wasn’t Jack. Where was Jack? Was Brielle cheating on him?
Good.
“Harper, the pizza’s here.”
She blinked and looked at Rusty, then at the pizza in thecenter of the table. She hadn’t noticed the waitress had come by, much less put a piping-hot Hawaiian in front of them. Now she was torn. She needed to talk to Brielle about the Miles Road property, but she’d hoped it would be over the phone. Not in person. And who was that guy she was with? When he leaned forward and threaded his hand with hers, she almost fell out of her seat. If she was cheating on Jack, she wasn’t being discreet about it.
“Is something wrong?” Rusty turned around and looked behind him at Brielle and her mystery man.
Harper touched Rusty’s arm, not wanting to draw their attention. “No, everything is—”
As if she had super spidey sense—and Harper wasn’t sure she didn’t—Brielle turned and met Harper’s gaze. After a flash of recognition, she smirked.
“—fine.” She fell back in her seat as Brielle stood. Of course she was coming over to their table.Be professional.Harper pasted a smile on her face and, without a choice, waved Brielle over.
Rusty faced Harper. “Is she a friend of yours?”
Absolutely not.“Um, not exactly—”
“Harper!” Brielle appeared at their table, her dinner companion in tow. Now that she saw him up close, he looked young. Forget dinner companion. More like boy toy.
“I haven’t seen you since I moved back to Hot Springs,” Brielle continued, then put her arm around the man’s slim waist. “How have you been?”
“Oh, busy as always. Lots of sales. A whole bunch of sales.” Unreal. She was babbling, and she never babbled.
“The market’s heating up, that’s for sure. I’ve closed sixdeals this week alone.” Brielle turned to her date and smiled. “We’re celebrating tonight.”
“Does Jack know?” Harper blurted, then bit the end of her tongue. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, hoping to seem cavalier when she was anything but.
“Oh, I guess you didn’t hear.” Brielle leveled her gaze at Harper. “We broke up six months ago. I thought you knew, considering he moved back to Hot Springs last year.”
Now her stomach was flipping out. That explained why Jack had been so persistent in contacting her. Did he really think she’d go out with him again after he dumped her for Brielle? They’d even moved to Bentonville together, and he’d worked at her brokerage firm. But what did Harper care if they broke up? She wished she never had to deal with either one of them again.
“Oh, I’m being rude, aren’t I?” Brielle turned to her dinner companion. “Mason, this is Harper and...”
“Rusty Jenkins,” he supplied. He held out his hand to Mason, who shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“And this is Brielle,” Harper said, realizing she’d ignored Rusty the entire time. Then she looked at Brielle again. “The real estate agent I called earlier today. Twice.”
“About the property on Miles Road?” Rusty asked.
Brielle paused, then smiled. “Oh yes. That’s right. I get so many messages and voice mails that I can’t get to them all right away. I was going to return your call in the morning.”
Riiiight.Sure she was going to call on a Sunday morning . . . Harper frowned. She was one to talk. She’d missed plenty of Sunday services at church lately. “That will be fine,” Harper said quickly. Not only did she want Brielle togo back to her table—or disappear entirely—she didn’t like the leering look Mason was giving her. If Brielle could get out of herself for a hot minute, she wouldn’t appreciate her date admiring someone else.
Brielle turned to Rusty. “You’re interested in the Miles Road property?”
“Yep,” he said. “It’s a fine-lookin’ plot of land. Not too far from my job.”
