“I’m not banning her,” Mel said. “I cannot watch another display like this, though. Harper, when you come to the office you have to stand at least five feet away from Jared. That’s the new rule.”
Jared was incensed. “No way.”
“It’s fine,” Harper said, patting his arm. “It will make things more fun. It will be like a really weird game.”
“Yes, but I want to win this game,” Jared said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to him. I’ll see you for dinner in a few hours.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Me either.” Jared shot a challenging look in Mel’s direction before grabbing Harper’s chin and planting another kiss on her. “I’ll see you soon.”
Fifteen
“I think you brought enough food to feed five more people,” Harper said shortly after six, taking one of the grocery bags from Jared and leading him through the house. “How much are you planning on making?”
“I might have gone overboard,” Jared conceded, dropping his duffel bag on the floor of the kitchen and kicking it into the corner so no one would trip over it. “I wanted to make sure Zander was happy with his meal.”
Zander sat at the kitchen table with an open Victoria’s Secret catalog, his eyes briefly traveling to Jared’s bag before returning to his previous task. “I see you thought ahead this time,” he said. “Picking up clothes so you can spend the night and not race out the next morning is a good move.”
“It was my idea,” Harper said, digging into one of the grocery bags and pulling out a bottle of wine. She frowned when she read the label. “Zander isn’t going to drink this.”
Jared made a face as he collected the wine from her. “That is not for drinking, my dear,” he said, brushing a quick kiss against Harper’s cheek for good measure before returning to his groceries. “This is for marinating the steaks. It’s cooking wine.”
“If you’re marinating the steaks, that means I’m not going to get dinner until at least eight and I’m starving,” Zander complained, taking a pen to mark something on one of the catalog pages. “This dinner already sounds like a disaster.”
“I’m making you stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer,” Jared countered. “Chill out. I did bring some real wine if you need something to help you relax.”
“I do like stuffed mushrooms,” Zander said. “Harper, leave your hunky boyfriend to his cooking and come over here and help me pick you out some passable lingerie.”
Harper froze, her gaze flitting to Jared for a moment. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. “I … .”
Jared chuckled. “Where would I find mixing bowls?”
“Under the cupboard next to the sink,” Zander replied, not looking up. “I think you’re too pale for red, Harp. It doesn’t go with your coloring for some reason. I think we’re better going with blues, purples, and blacks for you.”
“Put that catalog away, Zander,” Harper hissed. “You can’t do stuff like that in front of Jared. It’s … embarrassing.”
“He’s already seen you naked,” Zander shot back. “This stuff is for him as much as it is for you, by the way. I’m sure he’s fine with it.”
Harper shot Jared a “help me” look.
“Oh, you’re on your own,” Jared said. “This conversation has ‘fun’ written all over it. There’s a dirty quality about a man looking at a lingerie catalog with my girlfriend while I’m in the same room, and yet it’s also mundane in a weird way. Go over there and shop with your friend. I’ll handle dinner.”
“Listen to him, Harp,” Zander said, patting the seat next to him. He held up the catalog as she closed the distance. “What do you think about this one? You’re not exactly what I would call well endowed, but you have enough to fake it if you have a bra like this.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Harper threatened, glaring at the photograph Zander held up. “I am not wearing that. I’d look like a hooker.”
“I’m not asking you to wear it in public,” Zander scoffed. “It’s for Jared’s private viewing. Although, I read an article once that said if women feel like they’re wearing pretty undergarments they carry themselves better in the outside world. People make fun of you sometimes. I’ll bet that’s because you wear cotton panties too often.”
Jared poured the bottle of cooking wine over the steaks and covered them with plastic wrap before shoving them into the refrigerator. He then poured three glasses of a more expensive wine and delivered them to the table before gathering his stuffed mushroom ingredients and joining Zander and Harper. He wanted to be part of the fun, too.
“That’s pretty,” Jared said, separating the mushroom heads from the stems. “I think everything you already have is fine, though.”
“See,” Harper said, sipping her wine.
“Don’t encourage her,” Zander chided. “I’m trying to get her to experiment.”
“You told me that you were experimenting when you tried to get Brad Locksley to kiss you when we were in middle school,” Harper reminded him. “Your experiments don’t usually end well.”
“Yes, well, I still maintain he was gay and he just didn’t know it,” Zander said. “It’s just like Jim Stone. I think he’s gay, too. That’s why he didn’t like me in high school. He was a closeted self-loather.”
Jared stirred at the words. “I met him yesterday,” he said. “He seemed like a nice enough guy, although he did mention having a feud with the two of you. What’s the deal with that?”
“It’s not a feud,” Harper countered. “He’s a jackass.”
Zander patted Harper’s arm before flipping the catalog page. “Jim and Harper are mortal enemies,” he supplied. “She’s threatened to set him on fire more times than I can count.”
“She did it yesterday,” Jared said. “When I first met Jim I wasn’t sure if I was going to like him because Mel said he had a crush on Harper. Then I found out Harper hated him and I felt better. He seems to genuinely care about the kids, and he mentioned something happening between the three of you in high school.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Harper said, pushing her bottom lip out as she pointed at something in the catalog. “That’s pretty.”
Jared realized that the story was must be bad if she was willing to indulge Zander and shop for lingerie. “You don’t have to tell me,” Jared said. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not that bad,” Zander said, marking the item Harper liked with his pen. “It’s just … when you’re the only gay kid in a town the size of Whisper Cove, well, things can get uncomfortable. I was fairly popular in high school – especially with the girls – but some of the boys were uncomfortable around me.”
“Because they were jackasses,” Harper interjected.
Jared hadn’t seen Harper this wound up since the night he almost arrested her. He was intrigued.
“Jim was on the football team with a bunch of other kids, including Dominic Walker,” Zander explained. “Dominic’s father was on the township council and I guess Dominic asked him to make it so I couldn’t shower in the boys’ locker room after gym class because it made the other guys uncomfortable.”
Harper made a growling sound in the back of her throat as Jared frowned.
“They can’t do that,” Jared argued. “That’s against the law.”
“Whisper Cove is tiny,” Zander said. “My parents and Mel took up the fight, and it got so big it was actually added to the agenda at one of the town meetings.”
Jared’s heart sank. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Zander shook his head. “Everyone got up in front of the township board and Dominic said that he was worried I was checking him out and he felt sexually harassed.”
“Like anyone would want to sexually harass his fat ass,” Harper seethed.
“I’m worried you have somehow suddenly developed Tourette’s,” Jared said, reaching over and squeezing Harper’s hand to comfort her. “We don’t have to talk about this.”
“Let’s get it out of the
way now,” Zander countered. “The odds of Harper threatening to set Jim Stone on fire again are pretty good. She does it whenever she runs into him.”
Jared nodded, his eyes locking onto Zander’s momentarily before he turned back to his mushrooms. “I don’t understand how this could’ve been brought up at a township meeting. It’s ludicrous.”
“Well, it was,” Zander said. “The school officials had no balls and I was told I either had to use the girls’ locker room by myself after gym class or pick another elective class.”
“Did Jim say anything about you at the meeting?” Jared asked. “How does he play into all of this, other than being this Dominic kid’s friend, I mean?”
“All of the guys said they were uncomfortable with me being around them,” Zander answered. “You could tell most of them were following a script written by Dominic. Jim … added a little something to his statement.”
“What?”
Zander opened his mouth, and for the first time Jared realized that the man didn’t know what to say.
“He said that Zander tried to force him to kiss him one day in the locker room,” Harper answered for her best friend. “He lied to everyone and said Zander was a deviant.”
“I can’t believe he did that.”
“Well, believe it,” Harper said. “That’s your buddy.”
“Hey, I’m not making excuses for him,” Jared countered. “I spent exactly ten minutes with the man. He expressed regret about what he did. I had no idea what that was, though. I’m sorry this happened … to both of you.”
“My mother wanted to take the school and the township board to court,” Zander explained, regaining his composure. “Mel was on her side even though Dominic’s father made noise about getting him fired from the department. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be anyone’s symbol.”
“What did you do?” Jared asked.
“I took home economics,” Zander said, smiling at the memory and alleviating some of the tension in the room. “It was the best decision I ever made. I learned how to sew and the women loved my chocolate chip cookies. Isn’t that right, Harp?”
Harper graced Zander with a smile. “You’re the only reason I passed that class.”
“Yes, you’ve always been horrible in the kitchen,” Zander said, leaning forward and rubbing his nose against Harper’s to get her to ease up the rest of the way. “It all worked out in the end.”
“Has Jim ever apologized to you?” Jared asked. “He made it sound as if he’s tried, but Harper always stops him and that she’s being unreasonable.”
“If you want to know the truth about that whole thing, I think Jim has always had a crush on Harper that he can’t quite seem to shake,” Zander explained. “He always tried to get close to her … hang out with her … get her to go to a movie and stuff. She preferred hanging out with me and he was jealous.”
“Like I would ever hang out with him,” Harper huffed. “I already had the best friend in the world. I didn’t need the likes of him.”
“After the scene at the township hall, Jim asked Harper out,” Zander said. “She … had a very loud reaction.”
“I might have heard something about that,” Jared snickered. “What did she do?”
“She kicked him in the balls and told him now she was sexually harassing him and asked him how it felt,” Zander replied. “She was hauled into the principal’s office and suspended for an entire week. Well, actually she was offered the chance to apologize first and she refused.”
“My little vigilante,” Jared teased. “Did you get in trouble with your parents?”
“My parents never agreed about anything when I was a kid,” Harper said. “They agreed that I was right for doing what I did that day, though. My punishment was to go shopping and eat ice cream every day for a week. Zander faked sick in a show of solidarity and we watched oodles of soap operas and gossiped about how much we hated everyone else.”
“That sounds like fun,” Jared said. “Whatever happened to that Dominic kid?”
“He moved after graduation and never came back,” Harper replied. “His father is still on the town council.”
“Well, I can’t wait to meet him,” Jared said, shaking himself out of his sad reverie. “Who wants to help me make stuffed mushrooms?”
“We’re shopping for lingerie,” Zander said. “Cooking is your chore tonight.”
THREE hours later Harper shut her bedroom door and faced Jared as he sat on the end of her bed.
“Your dinner was delicious,” she said. “Zander loves you even more now. You should be proud.”
“It was just steak and potatoes,” Jared replied, his expression thoughtful.
“Take your clothes off,” Harper ordered, impatient. “I’ve been thinking about you naked all day.”
Jared chuckled softly. “I will in a minute. I want to talk to you for a second.”
Harper stilled, worry flitting through her stomach. “Is something wrong? Did you change your mind about staying the night?”
“No,” Jared replied, making a face. “I’m not going to change my mind about that, so stop imagining things that aren’t going to happen. I want to talk to you about the story you told me about Zander.”
“Oh.” Harper’s face fell. “I don’t really want to talk about that again. It upsets me.”
“I’ve noticed,” Jared said. “I want you to know that I think it’s great how you and Zander stand up for one another. I’ve never seen two people more loyal to each other. It’s wonderful.”
Harper lifted her chin, surprised. “You don’t think I’m horrible for kicking Jim in the balls? Most people think I should’ve gotten in more trouble for that.”
“I think you did the exact right thing,” Jared said, patting his lap. “Come here a second.”
Harper did as instructed, snuggling close as Jared wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I already thought you were great before I heard that story,” Jared said. “Now I think you’re … amazing. Zander is lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him,” Harper countered. “People made fun of him for being gay, but they went after me because there were rumors about how odd I was. Zander put up with a lot more than I did.”
Jared brushed his lips against Harper’s cheek. “Teenagers want to be the same and they abhor anything different,” he said. “They’re like chickens. They peck anything outside the norm to death.
“When people get older, they realize that being different is the best thing in the world,” he continued. “I wouldn’t want you to be normal, if that’s even the way to phrase that. I wouldn’t want you any other way than you already are. You’re … perfect.”
Harper pursed her lips as she lifted her flirty eyes. “You’re about to get really lucky.”
“I have a feeling I already have,” Jared said, pushing Harper’s hair away from her face. “Don’t ever change who you are. Not for anything. Don’t let Zander change either. Together you two are … magical. If other people can’t see that, it’s their loss.”
“Thank you,” Harper said, shifting on Jared’s lap. “Now I need you to take your shirt off. I’m not done drooling over your chest yet. It got cut short this morning.”
Jared pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. “Yes, ma’am. Just for the record … I like it when you’re bossy.”
“In that case, you should probably take your pants off, too,” Harper ordered. “I want to see that again, too.”
“Yup. I definitely like it when you’re bossy.”
Sixteen
“Good morning, Harp.”
Jared tightened his arms around Harper’s bare back when he felt her stirring the next morning, hoping to keep her close for a few minutes longer because he loved the way her body felt next to his.
Harper lifted her head, her blue eyes surprisingly bright for so early in the morning. “Good morning. You can’t call me that.”
Jared still, surprised. “What? Harp? That’s what Zand
er calls you sometimes.”
“I know. That’s why you can’t call me that,” Harper said, kissing Jared’s strong chin. “He’ll have a fit. That’s his nickname for me and if anyone tries to use it – including my mother – he’ll yell.”
Jared frowned as he smoothed Harper’s honey-colored hair away from her face. “I want something to call you.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea,” Jared admitted. “I just do. If I can’t call you Harp, what can I call you?”
“Um … I have no idea,” Harper said. “I’ve never been faced with this dilemma before. You could call me … honey.”
“No. That’s too generic.”
“Sweetie?”
“Also too generic.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Harper said. “I’m going to call you Jared. I don’t think you’re the nickname sort.”
“Do you have a nickname for Zander?”
“Is this a competition?” Harper challenged. “If so, I’m going to need coffee before we start playing this game.”
“Do you have a nickname for Zander?” Jared pressed. “I’m going to feel left out if he has a nickname and I don’t.”
“Not really,” Harper said, sighing as she gave in. “Sometimes I guess I call him Zand, but that’s very rare. Although, when we were in middle school he tried to get me to start calling him ‘Zan the man.’ I have no idea why, but it didn’t catch on.”
Jared snickered as he traced a lazy pattern across Harper’s naked shoulder. “I’m going to come up with something that only I can call you.”
“I have no idea why this is so important to you, but go nuts,” Harper said, burrowing her face in the hollow between Jared’s neck and chest. “You’re so warm. I don’t ever want to get out of this bed.”
“That’s going to make paying the bills rough, but I’m willing to give it a try.”
“I slept the whole night again,” Harper mused. “That’s two nights in a row. I think you might be magic.”
“Well, I already know you’re magic,” Jared said. “What are you doing today, my magical wonder?”
“I’m not sure,” Harper replied. “I left the office early yesterday because Eric and Zander were fighting and I have no idea if we got anything new.”
Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) Page 12