Page 17 of How To Not Need You

"I choose to view it as having my back instead."

"I noticed." The room settled into that comfortable silence which was exactly when Harper struck.

"So...”

I pointed at her. "No."

She blinked innocently. "I haven't said anything."

"You were about to. I don’t need anyone else trying to plan my life." I says with a pointed glance towards Noah and Luca, who were trying and failing to look innocent.

"I wasn't."

"You absolutely were."

She smiled into her wine. "Ok, maybe just a bit."

"I knew it."

Alexander looked between us. "Are we talking about Jake again?"

I looked at him. "Et tu, Brute?"

He just shrugged. "What do you expect?”

"You're supposed to be Switzerland."

"I'm not Switzerland."

"Tonight you are."

"I'm South Australia at best." A laugh rolled around the table.

Harper topped up her own wine before looking at me. "You know what I find interesting?"

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like where this is going."

"You haven't actually said one negative thing about Jake."

I frowned. "I've known him for about fifteen minutes."

"Exactly."

I looked around the table. "Is this an intervention?"

"No," Luca said.

"Yes," Harper answered at the same time. Traitors.

Harper smiled. "You've called him attractive."

I pointed at her. “Objectively, he is a very handsome man. That doesn’t mean I need to date him.”

"You've said he's funny."

"Also objectively."

"You smiled at him."