AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rest of the Chapmans kept all those messy emotions on lockdown. Tina knew she had issues with her parents, but her parents were nowhere near as bloodless as Harris’s. The Jensons felt like a family. The Chapmans did not interact like a normal family. It was bizarre. Sitting down to dinner with them felt like sitting through the world’s most boring boardroom meeting.
There were polite questions about how Tina’s restaurant was faring, talk about Harris’s recent trip to Perth, and mundane discussions about household affairs. They still had not found a decent chauffeur since Libby’s father had retired. Apparently, they had been through three drivers since he’d left.
It was only as dessert was being served that conversation took a more personal turn.
“Martine,” Constance Chapman began in her habitually brisk, no-nonsense voice. “I was wondering if you’d mind taking a care package to Olivia for Clara?”
“Oh. No, of course not. I’ll be more than happy to do that for you.”
“Greyson sent us a picture this afternoon. She’s just cut her first tooth. Can you believe that? At only six months old? Harrison and Greyson both cut theirs at a relatively late eight months old.”
Tina stared. She knew she was staring, but she couldn’t help herself. She was pretty sure her jaw had dropped too. But seriously? Was this the same woman who not five minutes ago had been boringly telling them of her plans to redo the kitchen?
Constance Chapman was beaming. And when Tina’s eyes shifted to Truman, he was nodding and smiling along with everything his wife said. Looking for all the world like a doting granddad. She half expected both of them to whip out photographs and point out their granddaughter’s many charms.
Her stare cut to Harris, who couldn’t quite disguise his grin as he watched his parents. Apparently, Greyson had Skyped them last night while he was babysitting Clara and had held the baby up to the laptop so that her grandparents could see her.
“She recognized our voices—I’m quite certain of that and—”
“She tried to touch the screen,” Truman interrupted eagerly, and Constance shot him an irritated glare.
“I was getting to that,” she said, allowing impatience to creep into her usually emotionless voice. “And she smiled!”
“We couldn’t see the tooth,” Truman said, looking and sounding extremely disappointed. “But Greyson told us it was there and then sent the photograph this afternoon.”
“I thought you were never going to pick your jaw up off the floor,” Harris teased in her hotel room an hour later.
“Seriously,” Tina hissed urgently. “Who the hell were those people?”
“I know, right? It’s the most bizarre thing. They’re like . . . real grandparents. It’s as if somebody flipped a switch in their brains after Clara was born. They’re super boring and emotionless one moment but light up like beacons the second anybody mentions Clara.”
“I think that’s really sweet,” Tina said, and Harris nodded.
“Very sweet,” he repeated absently, and Tina, who had been pouring them both a glass of wine, looked up to find him staring at her intently. She had invited him to follow her to her hotel after dinner, and he had done so without argument.
“Why am I here?” he asked, and she handed him his glass of red wine before replying.
“You know why.”
“I think maybe I do . . .” He grabbed her hand and tugged her down beside him. “But in case I’m mistaken, why don’t you show me?”
Hours later, Tina lay curled up against Harris’s body, contentedly circling her forefinger around his pendant.
“What is this, Tina?” Harris knew it was probably best not to ask, but he could not seem to help himself. “What’s going on between us?”
“I don’t know,” she said after a long, thoughtful silence. “I just know that I like spending time with you, Harris. I like doing what we do together. I like . . . you.”
Harris remained quiet, considering her words. She liked him. He had known that her feelings for him were nowhere near as strong as his were for her. And he thought he had resigned himself to that fact. But hearing her say she liked him when she was aware of how much he loved her hurt like hell.
“I signed all the necessary documents this morning, Harris,” she said into the silence. “Once my tenant’s six-month lease is up, the flat is going on sale.”
“That’s good,” he said absently, his thoughts still churning.
Tina couldn’t quite get a read on Harris’s emotions. He seemed troubled, and she was very reluctant to utter her next words.
“I’m going home in the morning,” she whispered, and he tensed, every muscle in his body going instantly taut.
“Home? Already?”
“Yes. I have a business to get back to. Ricardo called me earlier and begged me to come back soon. They fear that Libby and Greyson are going to kill each other. Perhaps not my brightest idea, leaving both of them in charge. The point is, I have responsibilities, and for once, I’m actually keen to get back to them.”
