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“Oh, no. What’s going on?” Harper walked inside and winced. The place looked worse than she remembered.
“The inspector came by today. Apparently, there are previous violations on file that I didn’t know about. And the bathrooms aren’t ADA compliant. So that, in addition to new fixtures, means widening the doorways so they’re wheelchair accessible. Oh, and they found asbestos in the windows, so those all have to be removed, remediated and replaced.” Savannah ran a frustrated hand through her blonde waves that looked so much like Harper’s. “All these costs are adding up so fast and I’m starting to panic. Maybe I should cut my losses and get out while I still can.”
“No! Opening your own place is your dream. And I’m here to help, remember? We’ll figure it out, even if we have to get more loans.”
“No bank in their right mind is going to lend me any more money.”
Harper looked down, knowing they wouldn’t give her a penny, either. But she had to stay positive for her sister. “You’ve got this, Savvy. I know it.” Harper grabbed her sister and pulled her in for a hug.
Savannah was two years older and Harper’s best friend in the whole world. Even though they were like night and day, they understood each other on every level. While Savvy, ever the pragmatic one, wrote the list of cons, Harper encouraged her to buy the place with a solid list of pros. Somehow, she convinced her realist sister to follow her dreams.
Shit, I hope I didn’t steer her wrong. Look what happened to me after I tried following my dreams.
Squashing those thoughts down, Harper released her sister and stepped back, eyeing the plastic covered tables, buckets, rags, paint cans and array of tools scattered across the floor. “What can I help you with?”
“I was just sanding the bar down so I can stain it.” She swiped up a piece of sandpaper and offered it to Harper. “Care to join me? It promises hours of endless fun.”
“Sure.”
The sisters sat down on stools and started sanding the scarred bartop. For a few minutes, they focused on the task at hand and the sound and motion was a good distraction from the current situation. Neither wanted the bar to fail before it ever had the chance to begin.
“So, enough with my bad news,” Savannah finally said. “Why’re you glowing?”
Harper pressed her lips together and tried not to smile, but she couldn’t contain it. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just going out with Ryland tomorrow night.” Though she tried to downplay it, Harper was unable to stop grinning.
Savannah paused sanding, looked over at her sister and frowned. “Your neighbor? I thought you were taking a break from dating.”
“Technically, he lives a few doors down. And Ryland is nothing like Patrick,” she assured her, setting the sandpaper aside. “I know you’re concerned and that’s your job as a big sister, but I’m also nothing like the girl I was with him. I learned a lot. I’m not making the same mistakes again.”
Savannah arched a dark brow. “Part of the reason you left L.A. was because of your breakup. If that happens again—”
“I’m not leaving here. Promise.”
“I hope not. You just got here.”
“You’re all I have, Savvy. Los Angeles may have chewed me up and spit me out, but San Diego feels like home.”
“Still though.” She let out a sigh. “You’ve only been here a few weeks and you’re just getting back on your feet.”
Just getting back on her feet was a bit of an understatement. After their parents died, the memories had been suffocating and the sisters decided to leave their small town in Ohio and head West. To establish new memories by pursuing their dreams. After all, Charlie Grant, their father, had always encouraged the girls to chase after their hearts’ desires.
Harper decided that meant Hollywood. Memories of hours sitting beside her dad on the couch, watching all the old movies on Turner Classic, inspired her to reach for the thrill she imagined surrounded that lifestyle. She admired the glamorous starlets who flitted across the screen. Reveled in the tales of found fame and fortune prevalent in the behind the scenes documentaries they binged.
She never had serious intentions of moving to L.A. For her, acting was a fun hobby. Something to extend the joy of theater she shared with her dad. She’d done all the school musicals and local theater productions she could to satisfy her acting bug. And her parents were always there with the loudest applause and the biggest bouquets of flowers on opening night.
But then, her parents passed. And she and Savannah were forced to sit down to discuss their futures. Futures that no longer included or carried the support of two of the most important people in their lives. In that moment of grief, the sting from the dramatic backhand of reality still fresh on her cheek, Harper decided to do it. To move to Los Angeles all by herself and try to break into the entertainment business.
In memory of her dad.
Little did she know it would turn out to be the worst decision of her life. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but falling flat on her face wasn’t it. Lucky for her, in addition to his love of classic movies, she’d also inherited her dad’s positive nature. She might fall, but she also knew how to bounce. And that rebound brought her back to her sister. So, as much as it hurt, it wasn’t the end of her world. Again.
“Promise to take it slow, okay?”
“I will. I’m just going to dinner with him. That’s it.”
“What do you know about this guy, anyway?”
“He’s former military—”
