Chapter 20
HARPER
CHAPTER TWENTY
One Night Stan’s was dark when I walked inside, despite it being late afternoon. A few patrons were scattered about, but the bar was mostly empty. Which was exactly what I’d hoped.
In an effort to distract myself from what had happened the other night between Levi and me, I’d spent the morning researching Stan—aka Duke Nova, lead singer of Bad Karma. Mabel had been correct; they’d won several Grammys and a few American Music Awards back in the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts. They were the “it” band of their time.
But what I found incredibly interesting was that all content about Stan—or Duke, for that matter—faded into nothing several years ago. It was as if he had fallen off the face of the earth. And I intended to find out why.
I strolled up to the empty bar and took a seat on a stool, setting my purse on the one next to it. I glanced around at the space, taking it all in. It’d been years since it had been updated…if ever.
The bar itself was worn, with nicks and scratches marring the dark wood surface. Mismatched tables and booths were scattered throughout the space, and signed posters from several once-popular bands lined the walls, no doubt an homage to Stan’s roots. A jukebox sat silent in the corner, and the small dance floor directly in front of it remained empty. At the far back, a doorway led to another room, filled with what looked like a couple pool tables.
After a couple minutes, a man who rivaled Brady in size—namely, it looked like he bench-pressed semitrucks for fun—strode out from behind a swinging door carrying a bin of glasses. With dark hair, piercing eyes, and stubble dusting his sharp jawline, he was undoubtedly attractive. Objectively speaking. But it seemed my radar for objectivity was off.
Because no matter how hot this man was, I couldn’t help but compare him to Levi.
We hadn’t spoken again since our mostly silent exchange the other night, when I’d shamelessly gotten myself off in front of him. Initially, I’d just wanted to push back. Give him a taste of his own medicine. I hadn’t anticipated that he would stand there and watch. Hadn’t anticipated the hungry scrape of his gaze over my body. Hadn’t anticipated how much I would like it, either.
“What can I get you?” The bartender’s deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts. From the sparse pictures I’d found online of Stan and his family, this guy looked like one of the sons, though I wasn’t sure which one because of how much they all resembled one another. Still, it was game time.
“I’ll take a glass of red, please.”
“You got a preference?” he asked, his words just a low grumble.
“House favorite works,” I said and shot him my warmest smile. The same smile that had been known to entice more than one stranger into spilling their deepest, darkest secrets.
Barely sparing me a glance, he nodded and grabbed the bottle of wine before pulling down a glass. He poured me a healthy amount that would’ve cost me upward of twenty bucks in the city, then set it in front of me.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a sip and glancing around at the mostly empty space. “Quiet in here today.”
He didn’t even glance in my direction, only offering a grunt in response. Jesus, it was like having a conversation with a brick wall.
“Do you get busier at night?” I pressed on, hoping to get him talking.
“Sometimes,” was all he said as he started shelving the clean glasses.
Apparently, I’d started with the most difficult brother. But that was fine. I hadn’t yet met a challenge I couldn’t conquer.
I took another small sip of my wine and nodded. “This place is probably packed on the weekends. Especially with the history.”
He froze and glanced at me with a raised brow that was more challenging than curious. “History?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, wasn’t this place originally owned by the lead singer of…what was that band called again?”
With a heavy sigh, he unloaded the last of the clean glasses before tossing the rack under the counter. Then he braced his hands on the weathered bar top and stared me down, the move all the more intimidating, thanks to his size. The glower alone would’ve had a lesser woman shrinking back. Fortunately, that wasn’t me. “Look, lady. I don’t have time for small talk. So either order something else or let me work in peace.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded, knowing when to surrender. In my excitement for details, I’d made a rookie mistake and rushed it. “Right, sorry.”
He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the gall I had and strode through the swinging door without a backward glance, leaving me alone at the bar. This guy clearly wasn’t the way in—like driving seventy miles an hour into the side of a building instead of using the front door. But luckily, I had three other brothers to interview, and I could only hope at least one of them would be a bit more talkative.
After I finished my glass of wine and dropped some cash on the counter, I grabbed my bag and slid off the stool just as the front door opened with the first patrons of the night. A group of women poured in, laughing loudly and immediately livening up the place.
“Harper!” Addison called, shooting a grin in my direction.
Luna, Everly, Quinn, and Avery followed her, the group of them looking as comfortable with one another as lifelong friends, though I knew none of them were. During my brief stints in Starlight Cove, I’d met them all at one time or another, but I knew Addison the best, based on my history in town. Luna had also become somewhat of a friend—as much as I had friends anyway—thanks to my first trip back to Starlight Cove more than a year ago when we’d connected at one of her yoga classes.
She strode up to me, enveloping me in a hug, the soft scent of lavender and jasmine wrapping around me. “Hey, Harper, I was wondering when I’d finally get to see you.”
“Hi,” I said, returning her hug. “How’ve you been?”
“I’m good.” She pulled back, holding me at arm’s length, her mouth turned down at the corners as she swept her gaze over me. “How about you? Everything okay? You look a little…unsettled.”
I didn’t know if it was thanks to my unfruitful interview with Brick Wall or the memories of the other night with Levi, but I didn’t particularly want to talk about either. I waved her off with a smile I’d long since perfected, making sure no one else saw the cracks in my facade. “I’ve been making some questionable decisions lately.”
“Questionable, huh?” Luna got a knowing glint in her eye. “Sometimes those are the best ones.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” I hiked my bag higher on my shoulder and lifted my chin toward the door. “I was just heading out.”
“You should stay and have dinner with us!” She squeezed my arm, gesturing toward the table the rest of the girls had descended upon. “We’ve escaped the men, and I, for one, am ready for some girl time.”
“Same,” Quinn said. “Living with Ford is testosterone overload. If I have to pick up any more of my husband’s dirty socks that never manage to find their way into the laundry basket, I’m going to scream.”
“It’s the beard trimmings for me,” Everly added. “How does one man have so much hair?”
Avery nodded in agreement. “Thank God for the sex is all I can say.”
“Amen to that.” Addison lifted a water glass in cheers.
“Harper’s got it the worst of all of us,” Luna said, eyeing me speculatively. “She’s got all the negatives of living with a man without the sex to balance things out.”
My cheeks flushed as a memory of that night with Levi came to me unbidden. How he’d watched me from the door, his gaze boring into me as if he never wanted to look away. I hoped to God my thoughts didn’t show on my face, because I had absolutely no intention of discussing that particular transgression with anyone, least of all this group of women, one of whom was Levi’s sister.
“Oh, I definitely need to hear the details about that whole situation,” Avery said.
I cleared my throat, tapping into the poker face I’d perfected over my years in journalism. “There’s not much to tell.” Definitely not the fact that he’d welcomed me home by jacking off in the living room, then watched me get myself off. “We mostly just ignore each other.”
“Uh-huh,” Luna said, disbelief heavy in her tone. “I am extremely well-versed in this, and tension like you two have always explodes one way or another—usually fighting or fucking.”
I huffed out a forced laugh and shook my head. “I’m pretty sure the only thing that’s going to explode is my sanity.”
“Come on and sit already,” Addison said, pushing out the empty chair next to her. “We’ll have some drinks and good food to distract you from my annoying brother.”
“That’s why we’re all here, to be honest. Her annoying brothers,” Quinn said, and the rest of them laughed.
Everly shot me a warm smile, sunshine personified. “A night out with the girls sounds like exactly what you need.”
I stood there, holding my bag and actually…hesitating. For the first time in my life, I was tempted by their offer. I didn’t do girlfriends—or any friends at all, for that matter, Chase notwithstanding. But that was mostly due to his persistence than anything else.
After the fallout with Levi, I’d separated myself from others, closed myself off from friendships—from relationships of any kind—whether intentionally or not. It had taken me months to get over the loss of one of the most important people in my life, not to say anything about my second best friend or the only family I’d known, and I hadn’t wanted to go through that again.
But I had no intention of staying in Starlight Cove. No plan to cultivate any sort of lasting relationships here. This place was just a small blip on my radar, like all the others that had come before it and all those that would come after. A moment in time I’d eventually forget. So what did this hurt?
Besides, my other option was going back to the apartment and hoping like hell Levi wasn’t there. Because I had no idea what the fuck I was going to say when I came face-to-face with the man who’d watched me come mere days ago.
“All right. I’ll stay for one drink.” I settled into the seat Addison had pushed out for me, and cheers went up around the table.
“So, how’s the article coming?” Luna asked, sitting down on my other side. “What’s the scoop on our little town?”
I breathed out a laugh and shook my head. “I’m sure you guys know more than I do. At least right now.”
“This is for Weekend Wanderlust, right?” Everly asked. “That must be fun, working for such a huge magazine.”
“It definitely has its perks. I’m just freelancing for them now”—though hopefully not for long—“but they’ve sent me to parts of the world I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.”
“That sounds amazing.” Avery propped her chin in her hand, eyes bright. “I love traveling. Do you have a team who goes with you?”
“Sometimes they’ll send a photographer, but even if they do, we don’t always work side by side. So it’s just me a lot of the time.”
Everly studied me, her brow pinched, lips turned down at the corners. “That sounds kind of lonely.”
I pasted on a smile and shrugged. “You get used to it.”
The truth was, she wasn’t entirely wrong. While I’d traveled all over the world, had met some amazing people, been immersed in cultures I never would have if it weren’t for my career, I couldn’t deny that it was isolating sometimes. But I’d never regretted the choices I’d made years ago—choosing this career I loved over a family whose love came with rules and stipulations, if at all.
Snagging a permanent position with Weekend Wanderlust, embarking on unlimited journeys that would take me all over the world on my own, was exactly what I wanted.
Wasn’t it?