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“You thought it wouldn’t be?” I couldn’t help but butt into their conversation. Silas was good at everything he did, especially in business.
“I was hoping there would be something I could exploit.”
I leaned back, still hungry after devouring the salad. I needed something more substantial. “You aren’t in direct competition, you know. If a couple wants a resort, they come here; if they want a venue in Annapolis, they go to you.”
“I’ve been losing more clients lately. When I ask about why, they say they prefer the all-inclusive offerings of Silas’s resort.”
“Can you blame them? I can’t imagine planning my own wedding.” Harper shuddered. “There are so many details.”
“Yet you don’t mind doing it for other people,” I said, interested to know more about her.
“I’m not a wedding planner. I’m the manager.”
“That’s right.” I wondered what her position entailed in Gia’s business. Gia had said Harper had been invaluable to her since she hired her, but I hadn’t paid close attention to her job duties.
Dinner finally came, and I dug into the steak while Gia and Harper made small talk with the other couples at our table. Afterward, Finn played his guitar for the bride and groom’s first dance, and a few others. When the guests filtered onto the dance floor, Gia said, “You two should dance. We need to blend in and look natural.”
“Not like we’re on a supersecret spy mission?” I teased.
“Just go dance,” Gia said with a wave of her hand.
I had a feeling she wanted to take another tour of the place, and I should have told her not to, but when had she ever listened to me?
I stood and held my hand out to Harper. She placed her hand in mine, and it reminded me a little of another wedding of Gia’s I attended, and Harper insisted we dance. It had been a little awkward because I’d never been that close to Harper, but it surprised me because I realized I was attracted to her. As much as I tried to shove it down and ignore it over the years, I liked her.
When we reached the dance floor, I pulled her into my arms, keeping a little distance between our bodies.
“We’ve been in this position before,” Harper mused.
“This is weird, isn’t it?” I asked her, needing confirmation that she felt the shift in the air between us. Maybe I’d never gotten close to her for a reason. Because the way she felt in my arms was nice.
Harper’s lips pursed. “I wouldn’t say it’s weird, but it is different.”
I’d put Harper into this little box labeledGia’s best friend, and I didn’t like to take her out of it. Whenever I did, like now when I was forced to dance with her, emotions swirled in my chest that had nothing to do with affection for a sibling or a friend.
A couple brushed behind Harper, causing her to stumble into my body. I pressed her close, steadying her. “Are you okay?” I asked into her hair.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice a little shaky, so I kept her close, enjoying the feel of her soft body pressed against mine. I tried not to think about how I felt the hard nubs of her nipples pressed against my chest, and when I spread my palm on her back, I didn’t feel the band of a bra. Was she bare under this slip of a dress?
I felt my pants getting tight, the blood draining from my head.
“I’m okay,” Harper reassured me, and I loosened my hold on her, letting her create a few inches of space between us.
“Even though I’m in the business of planning weddings, I think it’s an odd tradition.”
I eased back so I could see the expression on her face. “You don’t like weddings?” They’d always been a big deal in my family. A celebration of life, love, and family.
“I wouldn’t say that. I just don’t understand them. Why spend so much money on one day?”
“I think it’s because women look forward to feeling special. They don’t care about the cost.”
Harper pursed her lips again, and I chided myself for forgetting that she hadn’t grown up with money. She’d relied on government assistance and our family’s hand-me-downs.
Harper shook her head. “It’s not about the money. I just don’t get it. I can’t explain it.”
Then a thought hit me: She didn’t think meeting a man who’d accept her and her daughter was possible. “There’s someone out there for you.”
Harper laughed without any humor. “You believe that?”
