Chapter 4
4
PAIGE
Hearing my phone, I glanced down at where it lay on the couch beside me and smiled when I saw Harper’s name. “Hey.”
“Where are you?”
I shook my head at her greeting. “Home.”
“Home!” she shouted. “It’s Saturday night.”
“Yeah.” I stared at the television, bored out of my mind. “I know. I didn’t feel like going out.”
“Bullshit,” she exclaimed, and I smiled. “Put on a slinky dress and meet us at Crush.”
“Us?”
“Me, Bailey, and Bree,” she clarified. “We’re heading there now.”
“Umm...”
“If I don’t see you at Crush in the next twenty minutes, I’m coming to get you.”
Laughing, I threw the blanket off my lap. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”
She hollered something incoherently before the call ended. I wasn’t kidding, I hadn’t wanted to go out, not after the last time. Just remembering what I did with Cole and what he said afterward made my face heat with embarrassment, but the idea of sitting on my couch all alone made me feel worse, so I pushed to standing and looked around my living room. I had no reason to stay home, and I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d see Cole at Crush—especially if Bailey and Bree were there to give Harper a ride home—so I made my decision pretty easily. Jogging up to my room, I decided to forgo a shower, knowing if I didn’t show up soon, Harper would make good on her promise and come looking for me. I grabbed a dress from my closet, put on a little makeup, and was out the door in ten minutes.
I pulled into Crush’s parking lot, and my eyes widened at the number of cars. Crush was a popular club, but this seemed busy even for them. Shaking my head, I parked and headed inside, bracing for the noise that would be intense with a crowd this size. I spotted Harper almost immediately and headed toward a tall pub table against the back wall.
“I knew you’d come!” she shouted as soon as she saw me.
Smiling, I grabbed the back of an empty stool next to Harper, pulled it out, and slid onto the seat. “Hey, girls.”
“Hey, Paige,” Bailey and Bree said almost in unison, making me laugh.
“I can’t believe you weren’t already out tonight,” Bree said.
“Wait, before we start.” Harper interrupted. “What are you drinking?”
I pointed at a pitcher filled with something reddish-orange in color. “What’s that?”
“Bay Breeze,” Bree answered. “And it’s strong.”
“I’ll take that.” I smiled when Harper pushed a glass in my direction, then lifted the pitcher and filled it.
“Okay, now,” Harper said while I took a drink. “Why were you at home?”
I swallowed and set my glass down. “I don’t know. I just wasn’t feeling it tonight.”
Bailey nodded. “I get that.”
At the same time, Harper said, “That’s ridiculous.”
Bree narrowed her eyes. “Okay, spill it. What’s going on?”
I hated how observant Bree was. I wanted to share what was really going on, but how could I tell Cole’s sisters what I did? How could I tell them how much it bothered me that he didn’t like me at all and that I couldn’t stop thinking about him, especially after we kissed?
Not seeing any option to talk to them about Cole, I used the only other logical reason for me to be at home. “I broke up with Landon.”
“Ohhh,” they said in unison, but Harper spoke first. “Why would you break up with him? He's hot.”
“Is he one of those guys who’s hot but a jerk?” Bailey asked.
I shook my head. “No, he’s actually a great guy and a lot of fun.”
“Then I don’t get it.”
I decided to be honest with them, or at least as honest as I thought I could be. “I made out with someone else and came clean with him. He was great about it because we had a really open relationship, but...”
“You can’t stop thinking about the other guy.” Bree smirked and finished for me.
“Something like that,” I mumbled and lifted my glass. “What about you guys? Why are you out?”
“Also because of a man.” Harper grinned and glanced at Bailey.
My attention shifted in her direction. “Who?”
She sighed. “Chase.”
My eyes widened because I’d heard Jake talk about the engineer who works for their company. “Chase, the engineer, who works with Ben and Jake?”
“That’s the one.” She lifted her glass and took a sip.
I glanced at Bree, but her face held no expression, so I shifted my attention back to Bailey. “What happened?”
When Bailey didn’t answer, Harper sighed. “She has a massive crush on him, so we invited him out with us tonight. He showed up at Hank’s, they made out, then he left.”
I frowned at Bailey. “Why did he leave?”
“Who knows.” She shrugged. “I honestly just want to forget about him tonight.”
“And that’s why we’re here.” Harper raised the pitcher and refilled all of our glasses. “We’re going to forget every man who ever pissed us off and just have a good time.”
We tapped glasses, and true to the plan, we did just that. For the next two hours, we drank and danced, but we never talked about the men in our lives who’d disappointed us. It was exactly what we needed, and when they announced last call, I was sad the night was ending.
Stumbling outside, we laughed as Bree stared down at her phone. “I called for an Uber, but it’s going to be about twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes!” Harper yelled, and we laughed. “Fuck that. Let’s just walk.”
“It’s two in the morning, Harper,” Bree said. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not? We can be home before the stupid Uber will even come. Walking has to be smarter than standing around in a deserted parking lot.” She started down the road. “Come on, I know a shortcut.”
Bree still seemed unsure, but when Bailey stumbled behind Harper, she shrugged and followed. I fell into step beside Bree, laughing at Harper’s antics while we walked, including waving at every car that passed us.
Even Bree, who was definitely the more serious one in the bunch, was laughing, but we were so drunk everything seemed hilarious.
When a car slowed down beside us, we all turned to look and saw it was filled with a group of men. “Hey!” the driver called out. “You ladies need a ride?”
Harper pushed past us and walked to the car, leaning down provocatively and putting her hands on the door. “Depends on who’s offering.”
“Harper,” Bree said, but when Harper ignored her, she said it more sharply. “Harper!”
“I would love to take you home, Harper.” The driver smiled and gestured toward the back seat. “Get in.”
“No thanks,” Bree called out and grabbed Harper’s elbow to pull her back.
And then we heard the sirens.
Groaning, I reached out for Bailey when she attempted to turn and stumbled. I watched the cop pull over and park behind the man’s car. Harper didn’t bother standing up. She just shifted her attention to the cop making his way toward us.
“What’s going on?” the cop called out.
“Nothing, Officer,” Bree answered. “We were just walking home.”
“Really?” The cop rocked back on his heels. “Because it looks to me like you’re attempting solicitation.”
“Solicitation?” I said, confused until it finally occurred to me what he thought. “Oh my god, you think we’re prostitutes?”
“How it looks to me,” he admitted. I couldn't help but laugh. As soon as I did, Bailey laughed beside me, but she had no idea what was going on. When she stumbled again, I put my arm around her waist, and she leaned against me.
Harper pushed off the door and stood straight before turning her body to face the cop. Bree groaned and stepped in front of her. “We’re not prostitutes, Officer. We drank too much and are walking home. These guys stopped to offer us a ride. That’s all.”
He shifted his attention to the driver of the car. “That true?”
Before he could answer, Harper pushed out around Bree and walked up to the cop. “Why are you asking them? Don’t you believe my sister?”
“Just trying to get all the facts, sweetheart.”
Harper lifted her finger and poked the cop's chest, but before she spoke, Bree lifted her thumb and finger and squeezed the top of her nose. “Oh my god, we’re going to jail.”
“Do not call me sweetheart.” She quirked her eyebrow. “My name is Harper Dimarco.” She ran her finger down his chest before she dropped it. “And just so you know, if I was selling myself, it would be to someone who could actually afford me.”
“Harper,” Bree hissed.
The cop stared at Harper for another second before looking over her shoulder at Bree. “I’m going to need to take you in.”
Bree sighed. “Of course you are.”
Harper opened her mouth, but Bree wrapped her hand around her elbow and started dragging her toward the police car. “Not another word.”
Harper shrugged, and I sighed while trying to guide a still stumbling Bailey to the police car. Once inside, she smiled at me. “The Uber’s here.”
Too drunk to really care that we were likely going to be arrested, I laughed. “Yeah, I guess so, and all we have to pay is our bail.”
Bree crawled into the front seat and seemed a whole lot more sober than when we left the club. She faced the cop when he turned the car and started toward town. “Why aren’t you arresting the guys in the car?”
“I’m not arresting anyone,” he replied and glanced in the rearview mirror at Harper, who was leaning forward and using his rearview mirror to put on lip gloss. “I’m taking you in so I can get this sorted out.”
“Hey, isn’t there supposed to be glass between the seats?” Harper asked. “Are you really a cop?”
“This is a detective’s car, so no,” he answered patiently.
“Are you a detective?” Bree asked.
“Yes,” he answered simply.
“That’s perfect,” Bree replied. “You can just call the New Hope Police Department and ask for Luke or Cam Dimarco. They’re both detectives and our cousins. They’ll vouch for us.”
“We’ll see,” he answered.
Bree frowned. “What does that mean?”
“That means after I get more information, I’ll determine what was really going on back there and if that included solicitation.”
“Oh my god.” I sighed loudly. “We weren’t soliciting anyone. We were walking home, and they pulled up beside us. Harper was only being funny by leaning into their car that way. It was a joke.”
Harper laughed. “It was a joke. Geez, relax, will ya?”
“Harper,” Bree snapped. “If you don’t shut the hell up, I’m going to climb over the seat and suffocate you.”
Bailey snorted out a laugh, and I noticed she was texting someone, but I didn’t ask who. I would be surprised if her text made any sense at all, considering how much she drank. “Keep talkin’, Harp.”
“Nice, Bree.” Harper laughed. “Making threats in front of a cop.” She leaned forward and wrapped her hand around the headrest on his seat. “You heard that, right? Are you adding that to her charges?”
“I think your friend is right, and you should probably stop talking.”
“She’s my sister.” Harper sat back. “So is the one on the other side of the car. They're twins.”
“He doesn’t care, Harper,” Bree said, her jaw tight.
“I’m just giving him a head start on his paperwork.” I watched Harper wink at him when he glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Do I get points for being helpful?”
Without answering her, he pulled right up to the front of the police station. He got out, then opened the back door and ushered us out of the car and into the station. Harper was shockingly quiet when we opened the cell door and gestured for us to go inside.
Bree looked inside the cell, then back at the cop. “Is this really necessary?”
“It’s the only way I can keep you all together until I figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Do we at least get our phone calls?”
He jerked up his chin. “One at a time.” He held out his hand. “Give me your cell phones.” He gestured toward Bailey. “She gets the first call.”
“Bailey?” Bree’s eyes widened. “Look at her. She can’t make a phone call.”
His eyes narrowed, but he motioned for Bailey to follow him to the desk before closing the cell door behind the rest of us.
I heard Bailey on the phone and said a silent prayer that her call would be to anyone other than her brother.