Page 71 of Seeing Harper

“You sure?”

“Very.”

“I’m sorry. I overslept, and I left my phone in the living room because I planned to go back in there and get on it later, but I fell asleep. No alarm.”

“It’s okay. Not a big deal.”

“I hate not being on time.”

He completely ignored her as he escorted her across the wide expanse of the marble lobby. “Guess what they have for breakfast on the buffet?”

“What?”

“Bavarian cream stuffed croissants, chocolate croissants, Belgian waffles and every topping imaginable. Blueberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast. And of course all the eggs, bacon and such you could ever want.”

“I’m going to weigh five hundred pounds by the time I leave here.”

“Won’t make a bit of difference at all.”

“Why not?”

“Nobody would ever notice.”

“Why?”

“The curve of your neck, the graceful tilt of your head. The escaped curl or two that dangles just almost against your nape. Your…”

“Okay, I get it,” she said, her voice a little less than patient.

He looked back over his shoulder at her and burst out laughing.

“Are you teasing me? You were teasing me! That is not nice this early in the morning, Joel!”

“Not a morning person are you?”

“No. And I’m barely an afternoon person.”

Joel kept laughing as they came to a stop at the hostess’s station. “Two please,” Joel said.

As soon as they were seated, Harper sat up a little straighter as she looked around the restaurant. “I’m going upstairs to change my hair.”

Joel looked over at Harper and smiled at her. “Please don’t. You are beautiful. And accept my apology. You look fantastic. I shouldn’t have teased you. I just felt like we’d become friends and it would be okay. My family and I tease.”

“Some of mine do, too. But I want to be taken seriously, not a pretty face that everyone looks past.”

“Won’t happen. You are too sharp and too put together not to be noticed. Your hair is perfect, you look great. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am. What are we having?” he asked.

Harper asked for iced water and coffee as soon as the waitress approached, and asked if it was better to order or take advantage of the bar.

Joel watched her as she interacted with the waitress, almost stupefied as he looked at her. She was everything he’d originally thought and more. But one thing was for sure, she didn’t like him heaping on the compliments. He’d have to be careful to avoid going overboard in the future or his manipulations to gain her confidence would be all for naught.

“I’m going to have the bar, then. What about you?” Harper asked, turning her attention to Joel.

“Bar! So many choices in one place. Don’t need anything but the breakfast bar. And you. I find I was looking forward to your company this morning.”