Chapter 22
H
armony gave herself more time than usual to get ready in the morning. She and Brody were driving to Bailey and Aiden's school for Aiden's first recess. She used the diffuser to blow-dry her hair, scrunching it so that it waved. She pulled on her good jeans, a red cashmere sweater, and her dress boots. She wanted to look respectable if they met Aiden's teacher. When she walked down to meet Brody, he gave a low whistle.
She grimaced. “I'm supposed to look like a responsible adult.”
“You nailed that . . . and more.” He motioned toward the kitchen. “I told Paula and Ian that we wouldn't be here for lunch. I thought we'd grab something in town.”
“That'll be fun. Tessa really likes the diner.”
“So does Ian. Nothing fancy, I guess, but good food.” He crooked his elbow for her. “The car's waiting.”
As usual, he had it pulled to the door and heated up. There were perks to having a hot guy drive you to town. The air was cold, but not freezing. “Do you think kids will even have recess today?” she asked.
He held her door and waited for her to settle on the heated seatâsheer heavenâbefore he went to slide behind the wheel. “Aiden said they had recess yesterday, and it was colder than this.”
“Poor kids.”
He waited for three cars to pass, then pulled out of the lot. “Fresh air's good for them, so is running and screaming. It gets rid of the wiggles.”
The roads weren't too bad, and the county road that led to the school had been salted and sanded. Two more cars passed them, going in the opposite direction. People were out and about again. Brody slowed to a crawl before turning into the school's lot. They found a parking space close to the playground and waited.
“Have you had a chance to show Aiden how to punch?” Harmony asked.
Brody's pale eyes gleamed. “Ian and I spent some time with him before he left for school this morning.”
In a few minutes, teachers led kids from the building, and Brody pointed to Aiden in one of the lines. “There's our boy.”
Our boy. Her heart did a little hitch. She liked that. She watched the teacher reach the asphalt play area and wave the kids off. Most of them raced away, but a few girls huddled near Miss Fredericks. She hugged herself against the cold, but bent to listen to what one of the girls was telling her.
A high fence circled the area. Harmony watched Aiden and two other boys head to the basketball hoop. Aiden took a shot, missed, and went to retrieve the ball when a bigger boy stalked up to him. When Aiden bent for the ball, the boy gave him a push, and Aiden fell. Harmony's fingers curled into fists. That must be Dirty Dirk. She stepped out of the SUV, and Aiden saw her. He waved. She waved back and raised her shoulders in a question.
Aiden pointed to Dirk. Harmony glared at him.
Dirk's lips rose in a smug, half-smile, and he deliberately took off his gloves and pinched Aiden. Harmony felt her jaw drop. What an obnoxious little brat! She started to march to Miss Fredericks when Brody stepped from the SUV, went to a trash container, and threw some paper wrappers away. She swore he must have stashed them in his coat pocket. His SUV was always clean.
Aiden's friends came to get him, and Aiden pointed at Brody. “He's the one who taught me how to punch.”
Dirk narrowed his eyes, sizing up Brody. Then he looked at Aiden and laughed. “Doesn't matter. You're still puny.” He reached over and pinched Aiden again. Aiden's fist shot out in a straight line, straight for Dirk's jaw. Brody and Ian had argued about thatâwhere to hitâbut Brody didn't want to get Aiden into too much trouble, so they'd decided the jaw was best. When Dirk lunged for Aiden, he stepped aside, swirled, and kicked Dirk behind the right knee. Dirk fell, hit his head, and his face puckered.
Other boys had come to watch. They all stared as Dirk pushed to his feet and yelled, “I'm going to tell!”
“Go ahead, cry baby! Maybe Miss Fredericks will let you hide behind her,” one of Aiden's friends yelled.
The other boys laughed at Dirk, but one of them pointed at him. “From now on, if you touch one of us, we'll all jump you.”
That must be Jake. He went to join Aiden and his friends. Aiden looked surprised and happy. Harmony saw Miss Fredericks watching them out of the corner of her eye, pretending not to see, while she talked with the girls.
“You'll be sorry. Just wait.” Dirk ran to the swings, shoved a kid off one of them, and took his seat. The kid frowned, looked at the tight group standing together, and ran over to see what had happened.
Brody nodded. He took Harmony's arm and led her back to the SUV. “Our work's done.”
She climbed inside the vehicle, feeling triumphant. Brody looked pleased with himself as he pulled away. They headed toward town.
“Do you think Dirk will bother Aiden again?” Harmony asked.
Brody shook his head. “I saw the look on Jake's face. If Dirk's smart, he'll pick on kids somewhere else.”
It was only eleven when they reached Main Street with its brick buildings, striped awnings, and old-fashioned street lamps. Brody pulled to a curb and turned to Harmony. “Would you mind showing me the antique shop where you found the cradle? I'd like to find a matching changing table, if I can.”
They spent half an hour, looking at chests of drawers and side tables, until Brody said, “This one will work. I can build a top for it and install a pad. What do you think?”
Harmony blinked. It was a beautiful table, perfect for a hallway. It had a drawer that was deep enough to hold pins and changing pads, and its bottom shelf held three deep baskets. If anyone could make it into baby furniture, it was Brody. “It's pretty. It's the same color of wood as the cradle.”
He laughed. “Then it's a go.” He bought it and she helped him load it in the SUV. “Now, let's eat.”
It was a short drive to the diner, and Harmony realized she was really hungry. When they opened the door, the aroma of sizzling meat, grilled onions, and tomato sauce greeted them. A handwritten sign, propped near the cash register, said, “Specials: meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Italian sausage sandwiches, beef and vegetable soup.”
The entire restaurant went deathly silent as they made their way to a booth. Harmony stepped closer to Brody, feeling uncomfortable, like she was on display. Then an older waitress smiled and called, “Be with you in a minute. You must be Ian's brother and Tessa's friend.”
Brody nodded and studied the people staring at them until they looked back down at their plates and began talking again. One at a time, people came over to greet them.
Harmony wasn't used to how personal interactions were in a small town. Everyone obviously knew each other, and they wanted to know the new people who'd stopped in.
Brody fielded questions with aplomb. Harmony was impressed by how easy he made it look, but then he was a businessman. He dealt with customers and dealers all the time. She was so used to sitting at her laptop, probably still in her pajamas, writing in the privacy of her apartment, the public's curiosity made her uncomfortable.
A worry niggled at her. If she were with Brody, would she be expected to go to business dinners at night? Attend functions at the country club?
Where the hell had that thought come from?
Brody had complained about Cecily dragging him to one social event after another, but surely social events were part of his life, too. She pursed her lips, fretting over that thought.
Brody glanced at her and frowned. He seemed about to say something when the waitress brought glasses of water to their table. She looked to be in her forties. She greeted them with a smile. “Hi, I'm Jules. Hope you're hungry. Ralph's been cooking up a storm today.”
Brody ordered the meatloaf. She ordered the Italian sausage sandwich. People stopped drifting to their table to let them eat, and Harmony felt herself relax.
“About that look you had earlier,” Brody said. “Something popped into your head. What was it?”
“You're expected to do a lot of social things, aren't you? You're good at it. You've had practice, I can tell.”
His expression closed. He was searching for the right answer.
“You said that Cecily dragged you to something every night, but that's part of your world, isn't it?”
He spoke slowly, as if treading carefully through a minefield. “I have some social commitments, yes. It's part of being successful. I belong to three country clubs.” He stopped when her eyes widened, and she looked shocked. He pressed his lips together in a grim line before starting again. “I belong to the chamber of commerce, and I have to attend business get-togethers. But I only do the minimum of those. Cecily loved them all.”
“How many are the minimum?” she asked.
He swallowed. “Maybe once a week.”
Too many. She and her friends went out for beer and pizza every Friday. If they were feeling rich, they hit the Italian restaurant close by or a deli. The dress code meant jeans and a shirt with no holes in it. She probably didn't own anything worthy of a country club. Not her style.
Brody studied her face. “You'd like the people I meet. They own businesses and make a lot of money, but they're not pretentious.”
Like hell, they weren't. Rich people were so used to money, they bathed in its scent and didn't even realize it . . .
if
they were nice. If they weren't, heaven help her. She couldn't stand snobby pricks. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Brody. Okay, he was easy to get along with here, but what would he be like in his world? It wouldn't be the same.
He ran a hand through his black hair. “Ian's rich. Do you think he's a snob?”
“No, but he lives in Mill Pond. No one would talk to him if he put on airs.”
“Did he put on airs when he came here? Did I?”
This was ridiculous. There were perfectly nice rich people. She just didn't fit anywhere in their world, had no interest in it. She smiled. “You're both wonderful. I'm sure your friends are, too.”
His shoulders sagged. “I just got a black mark behind my name, didn't I?”
She shrugged. “Don't be silly. We're friends.”
“And that's all it's ever going to be, isn't it?”
She blinked at him. “You knew that. No strings attached. When we leave here, you go home, and so do I.”
He pushed his plate away, obviously no longer hungry. Neither was she.
Jules came to give them their bill, and she frowned at their half-eaten meals. “You didn't like it?”
Brody smiled. “We just weren't as hungry as we thought we were. The food was delicious.”
She didn't look convinced. “Hope you stop by again sometime. Have a great day.”
Harmony wasn't great at hiding her feelings. She was upset, but more, she was mad at herself. What had she been playing at with Brody? She forced a smile and followed Brody out of the diner. The drive home was strained. Brody glowered the entire way.
Harmony dug her nails into her palms. This was ridiculous. She felt like she'd just gone through a bad break-up, but she and Brody had never gotten that far. So what was wrong with her?
Brody dropped her at the lodge's doors, as always, and said, “I'm going to get Ian to help me carry the table inside. We'll decide what we want to do with it.”
Good, they wouldn't linger in the foyer. She could retreat upstairs to her room. Her voice sounded too eager when she said, “Okay, see you later.” And she hurried inside, practically ran up the stairs, and went straight to her laptop. When life turned to shit, she could retreat into her characters' world. And that's exactly what she intended to do. She'd write like a mad woman and finish this manuscript early. And then she'd leave here, whether her apartment building's boiler worked or not.
Chapter 23
H
armony pursed her lips. She'd had an idea for a scene yesterday. . .
Luxar and Serifina were going to meet with a vampire clan Luxar usually considered rivals. Now, both packs were thinking of calling a truce and working together to defeat Torrid and the army of supernaturals he'd called to their city. Tension crackled in the air as they gathered at a conference table, but Luxar, as always, remained calm and charming.
Listening to him negotiate, Serifina realized he used the same techniques to convince and cajole them as he used on her. It made her wonder. How deep were his feelings for her? And why did she care? If they survived this war, they'd go their separate ways. Still, she wouldn't like it if she was only a fling for him. She wanted to mean
something
to him.
But what if he
did
care? He wouldn't leave his mansion/fortress. She'd have to move to
his
place. She'd be giving up more than she'd realized. He'd add her to his world. She'd be leaving hers. Witches wouldn't drop by his mansion, like they did her place, so she'd see her friends less. Either way, if she was with or without him, the outcome was a no-win for her. She'd be losing something whichever choice she made.
When the meeting ended, and he'd accomplished what he wanted to, Luxar took Serifina's hand to lead her to his car. He leaned close to whisper, “I know a place where we can have privacy. We haven't had time alone since my ex's pack came to my mansion.”
Serifina shook her head. “I don't want to.”
He raised his black eyebrows, surprised. “Have I angered you?”
How could she explain when she didn't understand her convoluted feelings herself? “No, but we fell into lust too fast. I need to rethink things.”
“Lust. Is that all I mean to you?” His expression turned hard, but he didn't argue. A chill emanated off him.
Good, let him be angry. Then he'd keep his distance.
Harmony's fingers poised over the keys when Aiden and Bailey burst into her room, alone.
Bailey jutted out her bottom lip. “Brody's working on a surprise for Tessa. He's too busy for story time.”
Harmony nodded. Good. She needed to keep more space between them. “Don't worry. I'll tell him what happens in this chapter when we have supper together.”
Bailey didn't look happy. “Will he be here tomorrow night?”
“He hasn't said anything to me. Maybe he doesn't like the way I read.”
Aiden studied her. “You two had a fight, didn't you?”
“What?” Since when did she have to defend herself to rug rats? “We didn't fight.”
Aiden's lips turned down. “Neither did Mom and Dad. When they got mad, they just stopped talking to each other.”
Kids noticed too much. She picked up the book. “Do you want to hear a chapter or not?”
Aiden flopped on the bed, legs up and swinging. “I made a new friend at school today.”
“Really? Who?”
“Jake. We played together at last recess.”
“Nice. Jake seems like a neat kid.”
Aiden nodded, and Bailey climbed onto Harmony's lap. When she finished reading a long chapter, they both took off, and she went downstairs to start browning hamburger. She'd decided to make sloppy joes for supper.
Brody stuck his head in the kitchen and said, “Need any help?”
“No, it's easy tonight.”
“Mind if I keep working?”
“Go for it.” A sinking feeling settled inside her. She'd been hoping they could enjoy each other's company until the end of their stay here, but something had happened, something unspoken. Their camaraderie might be a thing of the past.