“In the kitchen,” I respond.
“Hey!”
“Perfect timing. Popcorn’s almost done.” I wrap my arm around her when she gets close and inhale the coconut scent in her wet hair. She’s wearing cotton shorts and one of my old college tees. I look at my gray sweats and T-shirt, chuckling at how comfortable we are around each other.
My phone dings, and when I notice it’s from Knox, I read it just in case it’s about the goats.
Knox: Kane blew me off for Hadleigh. Wanna meet up at the bar?
Knox and Kane might be twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Kane is low-key and grounded, whereas Knox is the wild child. Uncle Jackson has had to bail him out of jail a few times, and most of us have driven him home after a night of too much drinking. Not sure why he’s hell-bent on not growing up, but one thing’s for sure, he knows how to have a good time.
Ethan: Sorry, can’t. Harper just got here. Try Grayson.
Considering he was giving me shit this morning for not hanging out with him tonight, I’m sure he’d be more than willing to party.
Knox: You’re both so damn pussy whipped but getting no pussy. At least come out with me and get some.
I roll my eyes and lock my screen.
“Everything okay?” Harper asks.
“Just fine. Gonna grab some drinks, then we’re set.”
Harper grabs the bag of popcorn and empties it into one of the big bowls. I already melted the extra butter she likes, and she pours it on top before following me to the living room.
“Alright, Cowboy. Whatcha have planned for tonight?” she asks as we settle onto the couch.
“Ladies’ choice.” I grab the remote and hand it to her.
“Hmm…” She browses through the TV shows. “We could catch up on Schitt’s Creek.”
Before I can suggest something else, she clicks it and realizes it’s not the same season we left off on.
“Ethan! Have you been watchin’ this without me?” She glares at me, pinning me with her mesmerizing baby blues.
“Noooo…” I drawl.
“You liar!” She throws popcorn at me. “You’re a cheater!”
Laughing, I hold up my hands to block her shots. “Alright, calm down.”
Harper continues chucking food at me, and in an attempt to stop her, I grab her wrists and hold them above her head as I push her down on the couch.
“Let me go!” she playfully shouts, trying to wiggle free.
My body towers over hers, and she meets my gaze, knowing it’s useless. Pieces of popcorn are all over, and I lower my mouth, grabbing one that fell on her collarbone.
“You gonna be a good girl?” I watch her chest rapidly rise and fall. Her eyes drop to my lips, and I’m suddenly aware of how our bodies are intertwined.
This is it. My chance to make a move and see how she reacts.
My hand releases her wrists, and just as I’m about to grab her face, she digs her fingers into my sides.
“Fuck.” I hate being tickled, and she knows it. “Harper, no.”
“Payback’s a bitch.” She giggles as my body convulses.
“You know I’m twice your size, right? I could hog-tie you in five seconds flat.” I remove her grabby hands from my aching sides.
“I’d like to see you try.” She waggles her brows.
Before I can, the front door swings open and is followed by my sister’s big mouth. “Hey, bro! You home?”
Shit.
I jump off the couch and pull Harper up with me.
“In the living room,” I call out.
“Oh, hey!” Her eyes light up when she sees us. “Sorry to barge in, but Mom said she had some creamy chicken casserole left, and I was craving some.”
“Oh, uhh yeah…I ate all of it.” I scratch the back of my head, waiting for her to explode. “Sorry.”
“Ugh. That’s my favorite!”
I apologize again with a shrug. “Ma didn’t tell me you were comin’ to get some, or I would’ve saved you some. There’s some cornbread left.”
“Well, I’m sure she didn’t expect you to finish it off. But then again…she should’ve.”
I smack my hard stomach. “Man’s gotta eat.”
Elle digs around in the fridge for something else, then gives up and leaves. Harper and I settle back on the couch, but all I can think about is how I was seconds away from kissing her.
Perhaps that was a sign—don’t kiss your best friend.
“Oh, guess what?” Harper asks after we watch the episode of Schitt’s Creek where Moira yells at David to fold in the cheese. We laughed as the scene unraveled. “You know that small business conference I go to every quarter?”
“Yes, the one you sometimes hate going to.”
She smirks. “Yes, that one. Well, they’ve asked me to speak on a panel at the next one.”
My eyes widen with pride. “Wow, that’s awesome! Do you know what subject?”
“It’s basically just speaking about how I grew my small business utilizing modern-day social media.”
“You’re gonna kick so much ass.”
“Yeah, well, now that I’ve committed to do it, I’m nervous as hell. The president’s daughter, Shayla, is gonna watch and criticize every damn word I say. I’m already starting to second-guess myself.”
“Who the hell is Shayla?” I wave her off. “Never mind. I don’t care. I only care that this person doesn’t make you lose confidence in yourself. You know your shit and deserve the opportunity.”
Her shoulders slump as she frowns. “I know, you’re right. I just…ugh, she drives me crazy. She’s my biggest competitor, and she’s one of those friendly fake-type people. I’m not jealous of her success. I’m just annoyed that she steals ideas—including mine—to get to the top. She’ll step on anyone if it means staying up there.”
“Well, she sounds awful. You’re busting your ass to make a name for yourself. And you’re doing it the right way. People like her always fall down, so don’t worry about her too much. Karma will take care of it.”
Harper sighs, then smiles. “Hopefully sooner than later.”
Chapter Six
HARPER
The more I think about answering questions in front of hundreds of people, the more I want to vomit.
I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in only a couple of years. It’s not been easy, but I’ve had the best support system, and that’s helped me get to where I am now. I love making videos for social media, showing my process, and talking about restock days. It brings me so much joy to see everyone so excited.
But the moment I see Shayla’s company announcing nearly the same damn thing and releasing it before my launch really makes me shabby. I wanted to do something special for fall, so I put together a box of fall-inspired items—pumpkin spice soap, pumpkin cheesecake lotion, apple crisp lip balm, and apple pumpkin butter face cream. It’s called the Fall of Hart box, and it’ll be my biggest launch to date. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and finally decided to do it. That way, I could talk about the success of it at the event, but now it’s gonna look like I copied Shayla even though it was my original concept.