Page 63 of Singled Out

As Danny and I approached the long tables of barbecue pork, homemade buns, cold fried chicken, and more from Henry’s Restaurant, I set him beside me and took his hand. I stacked two plates, then piled food for both of us on the top one.

There were a few people in front of us, and the line moved slowly. I tried my best not to gape at the vision that was Harper Ellison. She looked like a goddess in that bikini top, with her flat, bronzed abdomen exposed and her skirt hanging low on her hips.

“Hi, Max,” she said before I was directly in front of her. Before I was ready.

“Harper.” I smiled, reining it in enough so it hopefully didn’t radiate the lust that pumped through me. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

She brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “My dad begged me. Bronwyn had an emergency root canal this afternoon and wasn’t up to the task.”

“Understandable. Well, we’re glad you’re helping out.” I cringed inwardly at my lameness. Extra points for sounding like a stuffy teacher with no connection to her.

“Who is this handsome boy?” she said, her eyes on Danny.

I took two full seconds to understand she was a step ahead of me in pretending she’d never met my son. Considering it’d been the middle of the night when she had, I appreciated the act.

“Can you say hi to Harper, Danny?” I said.

When I thought he would duck into my thigh, he surprised me by peering up at Harper with a shy smile. He didn’t say anything, but the eye contact alone was notable.

“You enjoy your nuggets, cutie-pie,” Harper said to him. Her gaze drifted over me for an extra second as if acknowledging our secret that she’d previously met Danny.

With a half smile and a nod, I moved forward in line. I forced my thoughts to the fruit selection in an effort to keep from reacting to that look from Harper.

Ty Bishop was in line behind me. He was an inch or two taller than me and twice as loud as he kept an ongoing dialogue with anyone and everyone around him, most of whom were female. He was a few years younger, good-looking, athletic, and unlike me, he loved attention from women. He could have it.

“Hey, pretty lady,” he said to Harper as he came up even with her.

I clenched my molars together as I leaned over to ask Danny if he wanted watermelon or apple slices.

My son pointed at the apples.

“Hi, Ty.” Harper’s smile at the basketball oaf was audible.

Her use of his name, as if she knew him well, grated on my nerves. I reminded myself he was closer to her age than I was and possibly ran in the same social circle as her, unlike me.

“Guess we got an upgrade to the food servers this year,” Ty said.

I rolled my eyes, then scolded myself for showing any reaction.

Harper laughed, and I hated that the musical sound that turned me inside out was directed at him.

My son tugged at my hand, diverting my attention from Harper, who was offering Ty an extra-large serving of potato salad.

“Dat,” Danny said, pointing at the watermelon slices, so I piled some of those next to the apples, then moved us along, farther from Harper and her suitor.

Back at our places, I settled Danny into his booster, added food to his plate, and dug into my own dinner.

I’d made it through the necessary interaction with Harper without apparently drawing undue attention. Now I just needed to avoid looking at her for the rest of the evening.

Chapter Nineteen

Harper

Most people would probably help their dad with a picnic jam out of the goodness of their heart.

My heart must be a little less full of goodness, because my main motivation for saying yes when my dad had asked me to fill in for poor Bronwyn was the chance to spend the evening with Max.

Or, I should say, to spend the evening in the same place as Max.