Harper shook her head. She didn’t want dressing. She didn’t even want the salad anymore. “I’m fine.” Talk about a whopper of a lie.
Bailey turned to Rusty. “Do you want anything?”
“Yeah, but I’ll put my order in at the counter.” He spun on his heel and followed Bailey to the front of the diner.
Not even a goodbye.Stunned, Harper watched as Rusty stood by the cash register and talked to Bailey, the reality that he was bailing on the auction finally sinking in. But that didn’t bother her nearly as much as his frosty demeanor.
She slid out of the booth and walked over to the counter. Dishes and utensils clanged in the kitchen, and the scent of sizzling hamburgers and salty fries saturated the air. Tanner was manning the grill, flipping burgers and barking orders to Frank and Mabel, his longtime employees. But she barely noticed the usual diner noise and scents as she waited for Bailey to put in Rusty’s order.
“It’ll be a few minutes,” Bailey said as she walked out from behind the counter, her pad and pencil in hand. “We’re swamped.”
He nodded, and as soon as Bailey left to take a customer’s order, Harper moved to stand next to him. “You’re upset,” she said.
He stared straight ahead at a chalkboard that listed the day’s specials. “Yeah. I am.”
She glanced around the diner, hoping no one was listening to their conversation, although in a town as small as Maple Falls, the chance of that was zero. Still, she asked the question anyway. “Did I do something wrong?”
He faced her. “Why didn’t you tell me the Miles Road place was off the market?”
How did he find out about that? “I meant to,” she said quickly. “That’s what I was calling about—”
“We spent an entire day together.” His brow flattened. “You could have said somethin’ then.”
She opened her mouth, ready to tell him that he was the one who’d insisted she didn’t talk about work. But that was a cop-out. Her being scatterbrained and off her game wasn’t an excuse for being unprofessional. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I forgot to mention it.”
“You’re my agent. How do you justforgetsomething like that?”
“I...” Then something happened that Harper had never experienced before: she found herself at a loss for words, as if a fog had enveloped her brain. When it came to Rusty, being his real-estate agent wasn’t what first came to her mind. In fact, it was dead last.
“Brielle called and told me it was back on the market,” he said.
She clenched her jaw. So that’s how he’d found out. She wasn’t surprised the woman had tried to poach Rusty.Disgusting.
“Here you go.” Bailey brought out a large plastic bag with Styrofoam containers inside.
He took them from her. Then he glanced at Harper before he walked away.
Bailey moved closer to her, shoving a pencil behind an ear that was pierced from the lobe to the top. Small gold hoops shone from each hole. “Everything okay?”
Harper watched Rusty leave the diner. “I don’t know,” she whispered. He had a right to be irritated with her, but she hadn’t expected him to be this upset. Still not knowing what she should say, she followed him out the door. “Wait,” she called out as he rounded the corner to the back parking lot.
He stopped, then faced her. His eyes were blank, but his Adam’s apple moved up and down. “I’m busy right now, Harper.”
She halted in front of him and tugged at the hem of her brown suede jacket. “I’m sorry, Rusty. I should have told you about the Miles Road property. I know I let you down. It’s just that...”
“Just what?”
That you make me forget about my problems. That spending time with you is magical. That you’re an amazing guy, and I can’t stop thinking about the two of us... together.
She put on her real-estate smile, even though her heart was only half in it—the half that wanted to make Rusty happy. “I’m going to call Brielle and get you that showing.”
“She already offered to show it to me.”
“Did you take her up on it?” She fought to remain calm, almost afraid of his answer.
He paused, then shook his head, the tight tension at the corners of his mouth relaxing slightly. “Didn’t set right withme doin’ that. You’re my agent. I want you to show me the property. I’m going to see this through till the end.”
Her knees nearly buckled with relief. “Thank you, Rusty.” She should have known better than to doubt his integrity. He was the most standup guy she knew.
