The more time she spent with Sean, the more she wanted to be with him. He holds my interest and my heart. With texts and phone calls during the day when they could manage them, they spent their dinners at each other’s houses, sometimes talking about work, sometimes talking about anything except work. They discovered they enjoyed the same old British mysteries on TV, and some evenings they piled up quietly on the sofa together reading. But their nights were spent in each other’s arms.
Sandy had finally put her foot down and said that the two of them needed to join the land of the living again, so Harper and Sean agreed to meet after work at the Pub. She did not see Sean right away, but it was easy to find Sandy, even though she was petite. All she had to do was look for the gathering of men, and sure enough, Sandy was in the middle.
Pushing her way through the crowd, she greeted Rory and some of the others that she recognized. Rory had saved a barstool for her, knowing that Sean was on his way. Once she was seated next to Sandy, he moved on to hang out with some of the other first responders coming in after their long shifts.
“Haven’t seen you in a long time, beautiful.”
Turning, she saw Bill and smiled. “That’s why Sandy dragged me out tonight.”
“Well, the last I heard you and Detective Fire were still going strong. It wasn’t until I saw him out with someone else last week I figured you two must have finally broken up.”
Blinking in surprise, she had no time to respond before Sandy turned on her stool and pierced Bill with a pointed look. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Without giving Bill a chance to speak, Harper said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I assure you that Sean and I are still very much together.”
Bill lifted his hands to the side. “Hey, just telling you what I saw.”
Shaking her head, she speared him with a glare. “Bill, we’ve been friends for a long time, but what you’re doing now is just plain mean. I work with men, and Sean works with women. So do you, for that matter. I have no idea why you walked in here and tried to instigate trouble, but it’s not going to work. Sean and I are together and staying that way.”
Bill’s smile dropped from his face as he looked to a point behind her shoulder. Just as she turned to see what he was looking at, arms encircled her, and Sean’s voice whispered in her ear.
“Thanks, babe. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
She relaxed backward, glad that Sean was there, but stiffened when she heard his voice harden.
“Bill, never had a problem with you, but if you come to Harper like that again, you and I are going to have trouble.”
Bill had the grace to blush. “Sorry. I was just fuckin’ with you two.”
“Fuck with me? I can take it. Fuck with Harper? You’re not gonna like what I dish out, because I’ll fuck back harder.”
“Got it, got it,” Bill said, raising his hands up in supplication.
Sandy slapped her hand on the bar and declared, “Okay, drama over. Bill, you owe both of them a drink, and we need to find a table because I want to spend some time with my best friend.”
Two hours later, Harper and Sean were saying their goodbyes. He had stayed close while she and Sandy gabbed, making sure to keep an eye on their drinks when they went to the ladies' room. Bill had not lasted at their table long, replaced by Rory and Blay. After Harper’s last round of hugs, Sean wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side as they walked out of the Pub. The winter night air had a bite to it.
Tucked into his side, she hated to bring up anything unpleasant but forged ahead. “I have no idea what was going on with Bill tonight. I’m really sorry about that.”
“Not your place to apologize for him, Harper. He did see me out with someone, but what he didn’t say was that both Jonas and I met an FBI agent profiler for coffee. Why he would make the leap that I was out on a date with someone, I have no idea.” He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. “I know he’s your friend, babe, but I won’t put up