Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
HARPER
Addison:
Double bacon cheeseburger
3 shots of pickle juice
Purple vitamin water
Harper:
Are you trying to make me puke?
Addison:
I’m trying to make you NOT puke
Trust me
I’m a professional
If I hadn’t already made this appointment with Chase for a proper interview, I wasn’t sure I would have gotten out of bed at all today.
Fortunately, the texts from Addison with her tried and true hangover cure had worked like a damn miracle.
Not to mention the ibuprofen, bottle of water, and a somehow perfectly hot cup of coffee that was exactly to my liking sitting on my nightstand.
I had no idea how any of it had gotten there. Fairies could’ve delivered it for all I knew. I was just grateful I’d had it, along with Addison’s suggestions.
After downing a few ibuprofen with the entire bottle of water, I’d done as she’d told me.
And while it hadn’t been fun ingesting all of that, her little cure-alls actually worked.
By late morning, I no longer felt like I was dying, and by midafternoon, I felt relatively normal, save for the lingering headache.
Mabel gave me a ride over to the resort since she had book club today, this time in a cabana on the beach. As soon as she shut off the car, she shot off, tittering on about making sure this week’s boob cookies were set up and ready before everyone else got there.
The main inn was under construction, which meant the entire space was in chaos, with various workers milling about. Meticulous Aiden who thrived on order just had to be loving that.
With my laptop bag slung over my shoulder and a pink bakery box in hand, I strode through the entryway, glancing around for Addison.
I found her just outside the parlor, bossing around a man who looked to be approximately twice her size.
The guy regarded her with rapt attention, not of attraction but respect.
Pretty impressive for a five-foot-nothing pregnant mama-to-be.
After finishing her conversation with the contractor, she headed over to me, eyeing me up and down. “Well, you don’t look like death warmed over. How’re you feeling?”
I breathed out a laugh and rubbed my fingers over my forehead. “Not gonna lie, it was touch and go there for a while. Thanks for dropping by with all that stuff.”
“All what stuff?”
“The ibuprofen, bottle of water, and a perfect cup of coffee, made exactly how I like it…” I said, hesitancy seeping into my tone.
Addison froze and glanced at me with one brow raised. “You had all that waiting for you this morning?”
“Yeah…” I said, drawing out the word. “You didn’t leave it?”
“Wasn’t me. But I’m glad you had all that because it seems like things were probably a little rough for you this morning.”
I blew out a breath and attempted to rub away the dull ache behind my right temple. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”
Addison tossed her head back on a laugh. “I thought that might be the case after Levi had to carry you home.”
I froze, my brain not quite comprehending her words. A brief, foggy memory came to mind—lying in bed, boneless and sated, soft lips against my forehead…and then nothing. “He…did what now?”
She nodded, shooting me a sly smile. “Yep. Took off your sandals, covered your ass with his hoodie to make sure you didn’t flash anyone, and tossed you over his shoulder.
Then he marched you straight home. When you went along without argument, I knew you were toasted,” she said. “Especially when you slapped his ass.”
I sputtered. “I what?”
She shrugged like this was a common occurrence. For all I knew, maybe it was. Maybe Levi frequently carried home drunk women who smacked his ass in thanks. It was a great ass, so they probably got in some light groping, too.
And just why the hell did that bother me so much?
Last night was little more than a blur. I remembered the not-at-all-productive talk with Brick Wall, joining the girls for dinner, talking about books and men and…probably other things, too, but I couldn’t recall.
And now that Addison had mentioned it, a flicker of last night came to mind. Levi in my bedroom, making sure I had what I needed…
Wait…he’d been the one who’d set out all that stuff on my nightstand, not Addison. And definitely not a fairy. When I’d woken up in my bed this morning, I’d been alone and completely naked. Not unusual for me after drinking, but I’d felt a tiny niggle in the back of my mind about Levi.
Apparently, that niggle was him taking care of me. Or perhaps it was the whole him carrying me home and me playing a drum solo on his ass part.
“Oh my God.” I groaned and rubbed my fingers over my brow. “That was the most I’ve drunk…maybe ever.”
“No shit?” Addison shook her head. “Damn, girl, you really jumped in with both feet. Avery was down for the count this morning, and you matched her drink for drink.”
“Did I? I don’t remember much of anything after she ordered that last pitcher of margaritas. But your hangover miracle really is a miracle.”
“Told you.”
I handed her the box I’d brought with me, filled with a dozen donuts from the bakery in town. “A little thank-you-slash-congratulations for the mama-to-be.”
Her eyes widened, and she snatched the box from me. “Oh my God, you know the way to a pregnant woman’s heart, don’t you?”
I laughed, waving her off when she offered me a donut before grabbing two for herself. “How’ve things been here? Your brothers take it okay since Avery spilled the beans?”
Addison shook her head, swiping away some chocolate frosting from the corner of her mouth.
“Oh, she didn’t spill. I texted them because I knew she—or one of the rest of those loudmouths—would.
So at least the boys heard it from me first. I’ve been threatened with a puppy pile at the Saturday meeting.
In the meantime, they’ve all just been walking around, high-fiving, and calling each other Unc.
” She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Idiots,” but there was no hiding the affection in her tone.
Her family had been through so much, all of it after I’d already been out of their lives, so I hadn’t witnessed the fallout. But I knew it had to have been tremendous with how close they’d all been to their mom and how little their dad had always been involved.
It was good to see that even after they’d lost her, they’d managed to grow closer than I remembered their being when we were kids. They all deserved that peace. Every single one of them.
This was my favorite part of the job. Talking to people…listening to their stories. Asking the right questions to uncover details even they didn’t realize were lost in their memories.
As Chase sat across from me at one of the tables down by the beach, I readied my equipment for the interview, setting out my notebook with the list of questions I’d jotted down and a pen. Then I placed my phone on the table between us and navigated to the recording app.
“Okay, we can get started if you’re ready. Let me just turn on my recorder…” I pressed the button on my phone, the software starting up as I glanced at my notepad, deciding where to dive in first.
Chase barked out a laugh, then reached over and pressed the red circle on my phone, stopping the recording. “Seriously?”
I glanced at him, brows raised. “Oh, are you not okay if I record this interview?”
“Interview?” He scoffed, leaning back in his chair and linking his hands behind his head as he shot me a grin. “I was kind of hoping we could just talk. You know, as friends.”
Friends. Right. The trouble with that was I wasn’t in Starlight Cove to be someone’s friend.
I was here to complete an assignment. And hopefully to complete it well enough to be offered a permanent position with the magazine.
Chase’s and my history didn’t change that, no matter how close we’d once been.
I cleared my throat, tapping my pen twice on my notebook.
“Right now, we’re not friends. You’re Chase Lockhart, hockey superstar who’s decided to settle back in Starlight Cove, and I’m here to interview you.
As previously discussed.” I raised a brow, reaching over to press the record button again. “So if we could just—”
Before I could even finish the sentence, Chase pressed the red button, stopping the recording once again.
I barely bit back a groan of frustration. “Seriously?”
“How about we chat first? We haven’t really had a chance to since you’ve been back in Starlight Cove. Hell, I don’t think we’ve really talked since we grabbed lunch last year in Chicago.”
Clenching my jaw in an attempt to rein in my irritation, I folded my hands on top of the table.
“Well, this isn’t our usual once-a-year lunch.
We’re talking today specifically for the article I’m writing.
And I’m not going to quote something you mention during a conversation with a friend.
I didn’t think I had to say this, but I take my job very seriously. ”
He lifted a single shoulder in a shrug. “And I take my friendships very seriously.”
I huffed out a breath and barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes. “Do you really, now? The years I spent alone say otherwise.”
There was a heavy pause, one in which I wished like hell I could turn back time. Rewind to twenty seconds ago and never allow those words to leave my mouth. Because what was the point after all this time? He’d moved on. I thought I had, too.
“Fuck,” Chase said under his breath as he scrubbed a hand down his face. Then he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, and met my gaze head on. “I owe you an apology, Harper.”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head, not in any kind of headspace to deal with this right now.
Maybe not ever. It’d been more than a decade since all that had gone down, and I’d moved past it.
At this point, I was fine going the rest of my life never discussing it. “Can we not do this now, please?”
“I think we’re long overdue, actually. I was a shit friend to you.”