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“Let me take that from you.” Harper looped her fingers through the handle. “Would you like a drink or something?”
“Only if I’m not disturbing you.”
Harper smiled. She really did like all of Caitie’s friends. “You’re not disturbing me at all, I was just working on some new designs.”
“Is this the new idea Caitie was telling me about on the phone this morning?” Ember asked. “The mother and daughter dresses?”
Harper was still getting used to nothing being a secret around here. Not that she minded, she liked that people were interested in her work. It was so different to the dog-eat-dog environment of Hollywood, or even Broadway, where everybody was competition.
“Yeah, that’s right. Want to come and see what I’ve been doing?”
Ember’s face lit up. “I really do.”
Leaving the bag in the hallway, Harper took Ember into the bedroom, the two of them huddling together to look at the designs and dresses she’d accrued inside. Ember listened carefully, asking questions about the marketing plan and Harper’s next steps. With each word she said Harper could feel her confidence growing. This plan really could work, if she put her all into it. It could be compatible with having a baby, too. She could run the business from home, when the baby was sleeping, or even when the baby was in a swing watching. At the very worst it could see her through until she found a full-time job.
“These are so beautiful,” Ember said, looking at the dresses Harper had ready to send out. “And worth so much more than you’re charging.”
Harper shrugged. “It’s the market that decides the price. People aren’t willing to pay more than a couple hundred dollars for a hand made dress.”
“Unless they have a matching dress for their baby,” Ember said, grinning.
“Exactly.” Harper winked.
“I know someone who can help you with the modeling,” Ember mused, staring down at Harper’s designs. “There’s a boy in my class, his mom used to be a model before having children. I’ve heard her talking about wanting to find some work again. She has a beautiful little girl, too, about three years old. I bet she’d be willing to help out if she could have some photos for her portfolio.”
“Really?” Harper felt the excitement rise up inside her. “Do you think you could ask her? If she’s willing I’d be happy to call her and explain the details.”
“Of course. I’ll send her an email; I’m almost certain she’ll say yes.”
“Thank you so much. That means a lot.”
“It’s no problem,” Ember told her. “Really. We take care of each other here in Angel Sands.”
“In that case, come to the kitchen and take a seat. I’ll make us a sandwich and a drink.”
“That sounds like my kind of treat.” Ember followed her out of the bedroom and down the hallway. “And while we’re eating you can tell me why Caitie was so evasive about what happened to you at the hospital last week. She started to say something about your baby’s father but refused to elaborate.”
Harper couldn’t be annoyed at Caitie for letting things slip. She had a big mouth herself. And Ember felt like she was becoming a close friend – one who knew what it was like to go through pregnancy. Confiding in her felt like the right thing to do.
“Sit down,” Harper said, pulling out a chair and helping Ember in it. “And maybe put your feet up, too. This is going to be a long story.”
* * *
James sat on the deck of his cliffside house, looking out at the dark blue ocean. The sun was slipping down the sky, leaving orange kisses on the surface of the waves. He’d finished his last shift for the week a few hours earlier and finally had time to think; to open up the compartment he’d stuffed all of Harper’s revelations into, and concentrate on the fact that in six months they were going to have a baby.
A breeze rose up and ruffled his hair, as he thought about everything Harper had told him. The shock on her face had been genuine enough. She was as surprised to bump into him at the hospital as he’d been to see her, and that fact alone told him there was no malice.
They were two people who should have known better than to have a surprise pregnancy. And yet this kind of thing happened every day. Even to doctors who knew exactly how the body worked, and how easy it was for contraception to fail.
One in a hundred. That’s what he was. So what was he planning to do about it?
He hadn’t confided in anyone but Rich about his situation. There was no way he was telling his parents – not until he’d decided what the next steps were. His mom had been devastated when Sara and Jacob had died, and he wasn’t an asshole who’d dangle a new grandbaby in front of her only to tell her he didn’t plan to be part of the baby’s life.
He needed to think things through with a cool head. Tomorrow he’d call Harper and ask to meet her. And yeah, maybe the thought of seeing her again sent a shot of excitement through him, but that was merely muscle memory. She’d been his first sexual partner in three years. The first woman he’d been attracted to since he’d lost his wife and child. And the way that attraction had exploded into a nig
ht of passion still confused him. But it also made him feel alive.
And he liked that feeling more than he would admit.
