stopped the words before they could be expressed. Somehow, she did not think Sandy was as unaffected by Rory as she pretended. Smiling to herself, she drained her glass, plopped her feet back down onto the floor, and stood. “Ready for more wine?”
Two hours and another bottle of wine later, Harper asked Sandy to spend the night, but Sandy insisted she needed to get home. Calling for a taxi, the two women walked outside, running into Daniel. He insisted on waiting with them and leaned down to get the driver’s ID when he pulled up.
Hugging Sandy, she whispered in her ear, “Remember, there are good guys out there. You’ll find one.”
Sandy grinned and whispered in return, “I’m just happy right now that you’ve found one.”
Waving as the taxi drove down the road, she turned to Daniel and they walked back into the building. Saying good night, she moved into her apartment, flipped the lock, and sighed. It had been a wonderful evening, but she missed talking to Sean.
Stepping back into her apartment, she scanned the room. The wine bottles were already rinsed and in the recycle bin, and the wine glasses were already in the dishwasher. Yay for Sandy always helping with cleanup. She walked back to her bedroom, finding Smokey had already curled on her bed.
The wine that had made her and Sandy giggle as they watched an old chick flick was now making her mellow. She glanced at the clock by the side of the bed, seeing that it was just shy of midnight. I wonder where Sean is now.
As though on cue, her phone vibrated with an incoming message and she grabbed it off her nightstand. Peering at the screen, she smiled as she read the message from Sean.
How was gorl’s night/
Snorting at his misspellings, she typed back. It was fun as always. How was poker night?
It was. Difren
Different.
Still smiling, she was now intrigued and typed, Different good or different bad?
Her phone rang, and seeing this name, she connected quickly. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, yes,” he assured. “It’s just I figured if you were awake it would be easier to talk instead of text. My fingers are too big for texting. I hope that’s okay.”
She settled back against the pillows on her bed, watched as Smokey lifted his head and gave her a sleepy blink before laying his head back down. “It’s absolutely okay. But tell me, what was wrong with your poker night?”
“It turned out that you and I were the topic of conversation.”
Blinking, she repeated, “You and me? The topic of conversation?”
“You have to understand, I’m the oldest of six kids and haven’t brought a woman around to meet the family since... well, ever. So, the fact that you and I are going out became a topic that first my brother brought up, then my friends jumped on, and then my mom, who was in the kitchen... Well, let’s just say her ears perked up. Now, it looks like they’d like you to come over for dinner sometime.”
Multiple thoughts slammed into her all at once. Excitement over the idea that his family wanted to meet her mixed with concern since she and Sean had only gone on a couple of dates. The idea that her relationship with him could be leading somewhere was thrilling, but right now, he did not sound too thrilled. Finally breaking the silence, she said, “And... um... how do you feel about that?”
“I think I’d like to have a few more dates under my belt before we tackle a huge McBride family dinner where you meet everyone.”
She also wanted more time together, but a sliver of disappointment moved through her that he was not ready for her to meet his family. Self-doubt slithered into her thoughts. “Right, sure,” she stammered. “That’s a big step and we certainly don’t want to—”
“Don’t get me wrong, Harper,” Sean interrupted. “I’d love to take you to meet my parents. But all the McBrides at one time?”
“What’s wrong with all the McBrides?”
“Honestly? There’s really nothing wrong with my family, but we’re close, and we get in each other’s business. I’m the quietest one of the family, and a few of my siblings can get loud and wouldn’t mind questioning you endlessly.”
“You make it sound intimidating.”
“All kidding aside, they’re really great. I know I’m lucky my parents have been together forever, and my siblings would do anything for each other, just like I’d do anything for them.”
Relief hit, easing the nerves jumping in her stomach. “Well, I definitely