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Stars blanketed the sky like a thousand fireflies overhead.
“So,” Harper said, taking a seat on one end of the sofa, a cup of tea in hand.
“So,” Andi said, taking a seat on the other end. She set her Mexican hot chocolate on the side table, then lifted one of the toss pillows and cuddled it. For whatever stupid reason, it made her feel secure. Not as secure as when in Christian’s sight, but she didn’t want to acknowledge that sentiment. She did not need a man to feel secure, but he made her feel safe all the same. And not to be cliché, but she really did have butterflies looping inside her and the sensation of the flutter of their wings along her skin. He made her tingle, and that was dangerous. Though, in retrospect, Jeremy had never made her tingle. Not once.
“So...” Harper nudged.
Andi exhaled. Here it came. “Now’s probably not the time,” she said, trying to buy herself some time before admitting what she knew was coming.
“We’ve covered the cases, at least for the night. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to shift topics. I could use something fun.”
“And, I’m fun?” She shook her head with a smile.
“The thing you got going between you and Christian is.”
Andi cocked her head, ready to say there was no thing, but Harper would see right through her.
Harper propped her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her head on her hand. “So, let’s dish. He’s cute.”
The man was beyond handsome. Andi tried to remain impassive as his gorgeous face flashed before her mind, but a smile broke on her lips despite herself.
“See...” Harper smiled in triumph. “I knew it.”
Andi leaned over and retrieved her drink, the silky smell of dark chocolate and the warming scent of vanilla wafting from the cup. “Gloating is not becoming on you.” She smirked, then took a sip, whipped cream tickling her nose.
“Oh, please, I see the way you look at him.”
She swiped the cream from the tip of her nose. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“All right.” Harper sat back. “But he looks at you the same way.”
Andi pulled her legs up on the cushioned patio couch and tucked them beneath her. “He does?” she asked, unable to help herself.
“Oh yeah,” Harper said.
The butterflies swirled.
“But I know what you’re going to say,” Harper continued before she had a chance to speak. “It’s ridiculous. I just met the man. I couldn’t have feelings for him. He certainly couldn’t have feelings for me. Blah. Blah. Blah.”
“All valid points. Thank you for saying them.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Honey, one of these days you’re going to have to take another chance at life. I know you were hurt, but Christian isn’t Jeremy.”
“How do I know that? I thought Jeremy was a good guy. Good enough to marry.”
“There you go.” Harper waggled her finger at her, and she clutched the pillow tighter.
“What?”
“Good enough. You thought Jeremy was good enough. He was exactly what your stupid parents—sorry about that, but I call them like I see them—wanted. Someone handsome and intelligent and driven. What they didn’t care about is how he treated you or made you feel, especially after you were engaged.”
His behavior had shifted after the engagement. Subtle at first, then growing. Snapping at her for little things. Running late for their dates. Distant at times.
“You know what I think,” Harper said.
“Am I going to be able to stop you from sharing?”
“No. And I’m ignoring that slight. I think Jeremy already had Stepford wife number two picked out, and he just used what went down as an excuse to do a cruddy thing.”
