She Loves Me (Harmony Pointe #3) - Melissa Foster Page 0,96

has friends now that he sees every day, and in his lucid moments, he enjoys them. It’s turning out to be everything Derek had hoped it would.”

“That’s wonderful. I know how hard he worked for this.” When Talia met Derek, he’d been on the cusp of making his dream come true. He’d been working as an erotic dancer and bartender at a club in Harmony Pointe to earn money to care for his father and to start the adult-daycare center. Though Derek hadn’t sought out investors, Ben had seen potential in the business, and he’d offered to invest as a silent partner, which had allowed Derek to remain in control and not deplete his savings. Piper and their father had handled the renovations to bring his dream to fruition.

Piper pulled into Harley’s driveway and cut the engine. “I have to go, Tal. I just got to my boyfriend’s house.”

“I still can’t believe that you have a real boyfriend. You haven’t had one since . . . Oh my gosh, Piper! Since Marshall? Can that be right?”

A flutter of discomfort rattled her. She’d been trying not to think about Marshall, mainly because he wasn’t a happy memory for her, but also because she wondered if her having dated Marshall bothered Harley. He’d mentioned his brother the other day when he’d spoken of self-sabotage, and that had stung. But he’d quickly soothed that sting by using his experiences with Marshall to understand how Piper’s mind worked and help her understand, too. That he thought she was anything like Marshall bothered her, but there was an element of truth about her pushing people away. She was working on that.

“Yes,” she answered. “But don’t make a thing out of it.”

“What? That you have now run through all the Dutch men in Sweetwater?” Talia laughed at her own joke. “I’m just kidding, but it’s true.”

“Goodbye, Talia.” She ended the call and grabbed the gift from the other seat, wondering if she should bring up Marshall with Harley and kick that big old elephant to the center of the room.

She chewed on that thought as she climbed from the truck with the gift for Harley in her hand. A lantern glowed from the top step of the front porch. As she approached, she noticed a note tucked under a rock behind it. She set the rock to the side, scanning Harley’s distinctly male handwriting. The note was written in pencil. Although each letter was perfectly crafted with tall, strong vertical strokes and perfectly rounded elements, the words were half-printed, half-cursive, as if he’d been in a hurry.

Pipe, you know where this half of our coupledom will be waiting. H

Piper usually hated games, and she had no idea what Harley was talking about, but a thrill tiptoed through her. She looked around for clues of where he was waiting. His truck was there, which meant he was on the property, and he’d left a lantern, which she assumed meant she needed to walk somewhere. She sat on the steps, mulling over her dilemma, and ruled out the obvious choice of Dutch’s Pub.

Her mind drew a blank. She and Harley didn’t have a special place.

That realization bothered her. Didn’t most couples have special places? She guessed the pub was sort of their special place. It was where they’d spent so much time together, where they’d found each other . . .

She glanced at her truck and debated driving there, but quickly nixed that idea because he wouldn’t have walked there. She read the note again, and her mind sifted through their conversations about being a couple.

I want to be with you . . . Check. They were together every night.

I want to be the guy you come to see at Dutch’s . . . Check.

I want to go out with you as a couple, with other couples, and do more than play basketball. She thought of the night they’d gone out with Willow, Zane, Remi, and Mason and mentally checked that one off, too.

I want to spend time together at night doing normal things people do when they’re in a relationship, like having dinner and talking about what they want out of life. Their hockey date was always on her mind. It was a night she’d never forget. Check.

I want to go out on my boat with you and go fishing and swimming and make love to you under the stars. Checkmate!

She shot to her feet, grabbed the lantern, and ran down the path toward the dock. As