“Hey, Harlow,”I said, returning his smile in the mirror.“I hope he didn’t pull you away from anything important to pick me up.”
“Not at all, Miss Sophia.”He merged smoothly with the downtown traffic like a pro.
“So where are we headed?”
“To the Steele Estate.”
My humor faded.“The what?”
“The Steele Estate.”
“You mean, Konni’s house or his family home…as in where his parents live?”
Harlow’s assessing gaze in the rearview mirror didn’t miss my rising panic.
“The family home.Konni often stays there with his parents on weekends.They’re a very close family.”
“Can you pull over, please?”
“Of course.”He signaled to pull over.“If you’re choosing not to return with me, would you kindly call Konni so he doesn’t misunderstand the situation?”
“And what’s the situation?”
“That I did or said something to upset you, which caused you to cancel your plans with him.”
Damn Harlow for being a decent guy.He didn’t deserve having to deal with the fallout of Konni’s disappointment when I didn’t show up.
I pulled out my phone and called Konni.
The low rumble of his contentment was a soft background noise to his pleased “Hello, Sophia.”
“Don’t ‘hello, Sophia’ me, Konni.I am not going to your family home.I asked for professional distance.How is going to your parents’ place keeping professional distance?Do you invite Bomir there on the weekends?”
The rumbling stopped mid-scolding, and Konni sighed.
“No, but I think I’m going to start.”
“Don’t.Pick somewhere else, or tell me what you need to tell me now.”
“Why is it so complicated to have a dinner date with you?”
“Because we aren’t dating?We’re not from the same world, Konni.What do you think would happen if you brought me home?”
“My mom would be overjoyed.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Wait.Go to Rexbies and get a private room.I’ll be there soon.”
I hung up and looked at Harlow, who seemed a lot more serious than usual.Was he actually worried that Konni would blame him?I’d need to let Konni know it wasn’t Harlow’s fault for being honest with me when Konni hadn’t been first.
“Would you mind taking me to Rexbies?”I asked.
“Not at all, Miss Sophia.”
He dropped me off in thirty minutes and waited until I was at the door before driving away.
Rexbies was a unique pub and lounge combination that I’d checked out with Wrenly and Miranda a year ago.It had a few tables and conversation areas scattered randomly throughout the bar, with moody music playing at a reasonable volume.
