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“Hey,” Harper says, pulling me from my phone. I’d gotten sucked into some emails and didn’t notice her approaching.
“Hi,” I say, pushing out the chair across from me for her to take a seat. She’s looking a little tired, now that her morning rush has calmed down. I look around the room, and notice that most everyone has cleared out. “Is it always this busy in the mornings?”
“Yep, this is a pretty typical morning. The larger groups tend to rotate who’s here on what day, but if there’s anything I can count on from the older population of Sweet Valley, it is them coming in for their weekly coffee and breakfast gab sessions. And don’t let the stereotypes fool you, the men are just as bad as the women when it comes to the gossiping.”
“I’ll take your word for it. What time will you be done here?” I ask.
“We close at three, but I’ve got a few custom orders to work on for tomorrow, so it might be later than that before I get out of here. Just depends on how quickly I can get things done and prepped for tomorrow.”
“Can I bring over dinner, one less thing for you to worry about tonight?” I offer, hoping that I’ll also end up back in her bed with her in my arms.
“You don’t need to spend the time with your family?” she asks, and I love that she’s more worried about my time with them than making sure I get time with her.
“I’m sure, and I should have the truck back before then. It’s at the shop now and should be fixed before the end of the day,” I tell her.
“Oh, that’s good. And I’d love dinner together tonight.”
“Then it’s another date. Does five thirty work?”
“That’s perfect,” she says, relaxing back into the chair, and I can see the exhaustion setting in.
My phone rings and it is the mechanic calling me back again. “I need to grab this,” I tell her, pointing at my screen before I hit the accept button.
“This is Nathan,” I say, answering the call.
“Mr. Bailey, Tom, here. We’ve got your truck finished and ready for you to pick up at your earliest convenience.”
“Thank you, I’ll be by soon to grab it.”
“All right, see you when you get here,” he says before disconnecting the call.
“Did they get it fixed?” Harper asks once I set my phone down.
“They did, the alternator was bad, plus some spark plugs needed replaced. It doesn’t surprise me since it’s so old and Dad doesn’t drive it much anymore.”
“That’s good that it wasn’t something more serious or expensive to fix.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered what it was or the cost, that truck means more to Dad and me than the mechanics could ever charge me to fix it.”
“I’ll let you go; I need to get back into the kitchen anyways. Start prepping for tomorrow and get started on my special orders.”
“Try not to work yourself too hard. You need a break. I’ll see you at five thirty with dinner in hand. Any requests?”
“Nope, surprise me. Just no mushrooms or pickles,” she says, scrunching her nose.
“Double mushrooms and an extra side of pickles, got it,” I tease.
“Gross!” She pretends to gag. “You show up at my house with either of those two things and I won’t let you past the front threshold,” she threatens.
“Is that so?” I smirk. I’m almost tempted to go buy a container of both, just to test the theory out, but on the other hand, I don’t want to be tossed out, so I’ll refrain, this time.
I stand up, moving to crowd around her so I can kiss her senseless before I have to leave.
“Have a good rest of your day. See you tonight.” I flash her a wink before turning for the door. A little extra pep in my step today.
8
Harper
