Page 49 of Singled Out
Her legs were showcased by a short lavender skirt with silver buttons down the front. On the top, she wore a white, thin-strapped tank that contoured to her curves and bared a two-inch strip of skin at her waist. On her feet were minimalist sandals with wedge heels, making her legs about two miles longer.
“Talk,” I parroted as I reined in my thoughts. “We can talk. Inside? Or we could sit on the deck.”
“The deck’s good. It’s cooled down a lot.”
I flipped the living room and kitchen lights off except for one under-cabinet one to avoid attracting bugs and went to the thermostat and flipped the AC off. Then we went out the back. I left the slider open, closing only the screen, so if Danny needed me, I could hear.
“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the outdoor sectional that faced a fireplace. It was cooler than the daytime but not nearly enough for a fire.
Harper leaned down and removed her shoes, then sat in the corner of the sectional and pulled her legs up under her, her knees to the side. “This is amazing,” she said, sinking into the lush cushions. “It’s more comfortable than any furniture I own. Which isn’t a lot actually. That’ll have to change soon. Dakota and I are signing a lease.”
“Mrs. Karasinski’s place?” I asked as I sat at a right angle to her, keeping a few inches between us despite my desire to slide up against her.
“Yes. In spite of it looking just like the inside of her shop.” Her eyes widened meaningfully.
“There’s a lot of stuff in her shop if I remember right.”
“You do. I can’t wait to see the apartment once the crap is all gone. The bedrooms each have a window seat looking out on the square. There’s a deep, claw-foot tub that looks unused, and the back deck has a view of the woods.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Congratulations. You can’t beat the location. How soon can you move in?”
“A couple of weeks. They have to empty it, and then we’re getting new floors and paint.”
“The sooner you’re out of Naomi’s?—”
“Ian’s fine. Stop worrying. So when we were looking at the apartment, the agent was also showing the shop downstairs to a potential business owner.”
“Anything good going in?”
“Well, maybe. Do you know Cambria Clarke?”
“I had her in an advanced class years ago.”
“She graduated the same year as me,” Harper said. “She’s thinking of opening a shop to sell her candles.”
My brows shot up. “I haven’t been inside that store for a long time, but that’d be a lot of candles, wouldn’t it?”
She laughed and nodded. “A shit ton of candles. So she’s rethinking her business plan, possibly broadening her focus.” Harper paused and inhaled deeply. “I said I might be open to her selling my jewelry.”
“Hell yes. That’s great, Harper. I think it’ll sell easily.”
She had a pensive expression, as if she was going to say more. She bit her lip, then said, “She asked us whether we’d ever thought about going into business.”
“Like owning the shop with her?”
“I guess so. A partnership. I said signing a lease was a big enough commitment for one day. But I can’t get the idea out of my mind. I was sitting at Humble’s, celebrating with Dakota, and I kept thinking about what a shop like that might look like. After Humble’s, we went to the Fly. There were lots of people out tonight, and I still kept thinking about Cambria’s question.”
“Do you think she meant it?”
“I have no idea how serious she was, but maybe?”
“So candles and jewelry?”
“And Dakota’s ceramics. Cambria mentioned gift items and home decor. We could have handmade soaps and body care, picture frames, stickers… Lots of possibilities.”
She was animated, noticeably excited. “It sounds like you’re legitimately considering going into business with her,” I said.
“I don’t know. It’s…scary.”