Page 15 of Jack
She glanced at Harper.
Harper’s turn to act like all the air hadn’t left the room. “Sure. Of course—no problem.”
“Perfect. Great. Okay, Harp, I have you upstairs with Penelope. Jack, can you grab her bag?”
“Oh, no—no worries, Boo, I got this—” Harper turned toward the door.
Jack reached for the knob the same time she did, and her hand landed on his. He jerked away as if she might be a flame, about to burn him.
Nice.
She glanced at him. “Really, I can do this.” Then she opened the door and headed outside.
She could lie with the best of them too.
Because she’d clearly been lying.
No, she couldn’t do this.
THREE
“This is going to be amazing!”
Penelope Pepper sat cross-legged on one of the twin beds in the guest room to which Boo had helped Harper—and Jack, of course—carry her bags. Because Mr. Save the World couldn’t stop himself from following her outside, despite her protest, and grabbing her satchel and carrying it inside.
Which left her with her backpack and the wedding gift, wrapped and stowed in a large paper shopping bag. Oh, and her blue bridesmaid dress, still in the bag sent to her apartment in Nashville. Boo had grabbed that as she led them upstairs to one of the gorgeous bedrooms. Light-blue velvet curtains, plush twin beds with thick white comforters, bulky knitted blankets at the end, overstuffed pillows, and a vintage restored dresser with a spray of fresh flowers between the beds.
Yes, this was better than a closet.
Penelope hugged one of the linen pillows to herself, looking radiant, her dark-brown hair cascading down her back, a hint of a Caribbean glow on her skin. Clearly, she’d escaped with her family down to their vacation home in St. Kitts, in the Caribbean.Hard times, although Penelope had given it her best go to break free of the Pepper mantle and forge her own path.
Hence, thePenny for Your Thoughtsmurder podcast.
Harper cast her a wry smile as Boo set the paper bag on the bed next to her satchel. Jack had nearly left a breeze when he escaped the room, and Penelope had raised an eyebrow.
Clearly he was brimming with joy about hanging out with her.
Boo hung the dress in the wardrobe attached to the wall. “I’m so glad you guys made it.” She glanced at Penelope. “Oaken loved the podcast, by the way. He listened to it during his tour last fall. And we’re both listening to ‘The Case of Sarah Livingston.’ I love how you’ve narrowed down the suspects to her ex-boyfriend, her obsessive neighbor, and her so-called platonic friend Kyle. So, who do you think it is?”
“Can’t say.” Penelope grinned. “You’ll have to keep listening.”
Boo rolled her eyes. “Be prepared for Oaken to corner you.”
“I still can’t believe you’re marrying Oaken Fox,” Penelope said. “My sister is a huge fan. Especially after the social media about his attending the birthday party of the girl paralyzed by his sister’s accident.”
“Maggie Bloom. We’re hoping that Maggie and her mom can attend the wedding.” Boo sat on one of the leather benches under the window. She looked at Harper, frowned. “Harp, you okay? You look a little pale.”
Harperfelta little pale. She’d closed the door behind Jack’s escape and sunk onto the bed, her stomach churning, her heart pounding against her chest.
“Yeah. You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Penelope added.
“More like a haunting,” Harper said.
Boo stared at her. “Wait—is this aboutJack? I mean, I thought you put that all behind you. That was . . . years. Ages. Eons ago.”
Harper didn’t mean to gape, but, “Really? Boo. I have never been more mortified in my life than when Jack laughed—laughed—at me when Doyle suggested we go to prom together. It’s a watershed moment in my life that still makes me pull the covers up over my head.”
“You asked Jack Kingston to yourprom?” Penelope said. “What is he—four years older?—”