it worked out pretty nicely.”
“That must have been a huge relief to your parents,” Harper answered. She knew he was leaving out a lot of the story, the part about downsizing so he could keep his crews employed. But she wasn’t going to push him on the topic.
He shrugged off her compliment. “It worked out well for me too.” Taking a sip of his cider, he gave her a curious look. “What about you? Where are you planning to set down roots when your dad is recovered?”
“I’ll be on the next flight to New York as soon as humanly possible.”
“I guess that makes sense. You haven’t necessarily received the best welcome home.”
“I don’t care about that,” she replied quickly. “My whole life is there. I can’t leave it all behind.” Harper looked over at him and saw a serious expression on his face. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was disappointed.
They finished their meal in a charged silence. “What would you say to another cider?”
“I’d say sure, I’m not driving.” She took the bottle from him, feeling a little dizzy as his hand brushed hers, more from having just eaten a meal with Evan-from-Heaven than from the drink. The teenage girl inside her wanted to scream and jump up and down with excitement. The woman in her wanted to scream, jump up and down, then rip his clothes off.
A quiet fell over them as they sipped their drinks and stared out at the remains of the sunset. Soon, the only light would be from the moon. It was that do-or-die moment and they both knew it. They had reached the fork in the road where they either went for it or forgot the whole thing. And now that she’d told him she was leaving town as soon as possible, maybe he’d decide to forget the whole thing.
Clearing off the blanket, Evan lay down on his back. “Let’s do some stargazing.”
“Sure. We are in formal wear, after all, so we should surround ourselves with stars.” Harper lay beside him, resting her hands on her tummy and watching as the tiny lights appeared in the sky above.
“What would you do if you could do anything or go any place in the world right now?” Harper asked suddenly, glancing over at him.
Evan turned his head, his expression one of surprise. “That depends. Would there be consequences to my actions or would I just get a free pass?”
“Free pass all the way. Time stops until you say so. No one but you would remember.”
“Hmm. In that case, I’d do a lot of things. I’d want to empty out a bank vault, of course.”
Harper nodded. “Of course.”
Evan looked up, considering his answer. “Then there’s riding down a long stretch of highway on a motorbike, full throttle. Guys always wish they could do that.”
“Really? Me too.”
“Really?”
With a straight face, she said, “No. Not really. That would be a ridiculous waste of time.”
Evan chuckled at her before continuing. “Drink a six-pack on the pitcher’s mound at Yankee Stadium.”
“That I understand, except I’d go with chocolate cake and the Queen’s throne at Buckingham Palace.”
He gave her an impressed nod. “Oh, break the sound barrier in an F-22 Raptor,” he continued.
“I’m assuming that’s some type of airplane?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Even though this was fun, it wasn’t going the way Harper had hoped. Maybe they were heading down the “forget the whole thing” road. Damn it.
“Of course, I’d definitely want to take you to bed,” he said as a slow smirk spread across his face. “Yes, definitely. We’d need to stop time for a good long while on that one.”
A flicker of hope sparked her desire for him, spreading a warmth through her body. Maybe they were veering to the “let’s see where this goes” path after all.
“Is that so?” she asked, lazily running a finger over the back of his hand. “But I thought it would ruin me for other men even to see you without your clothes on?”
“Oh, it would, but you said I would be the only one to remember
“That must have been a huge relief to your parents,” Harper answered. She knew he was leaving out a lot of the story, the part about downsizing so he could keep his crews employed. But she wasn’t going to push him on the topic.
He shrugged off her compliment. “It worked out well for me too.” Taking a sip of his cider, he gave her a curious look. “What about you? Where are you planning to set down roots when your dad is recovered?”
“I’ll be on the next flight to New York as soon as humanly possible.”
“I guess that makes sense. You haven’t necessarily received the best welcome home.”
“I don’t care about that,” she replied quickly. “My whole life is there. I can’t leave it all behind.” Harper looked over at him and saw a serious expression on his face. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was disappointed.
They finished their meal in a charged silence. “What would you say to another cider?”
“I’d say sure, I’m not driving.” She took the bottle from him, feeling a little dizzy as his hand brushed hers, more from having just eaten a meal with Evan-from-Heaven than from the drink. The teenage girl inside her wanted to scream and jump up and down with excitement. The woman in her wanted to scream, jump up and down, then rip his clothes off.
A quiet fell over them as they sipped their drinks and stared out at the remains of the sunset. Soon, the only light would be from the moon. It was that do-or-die moment and they both knew it. They had reached the fork in the road where they either went for it or forgot the whole thing. And now that she’d told him she was leaving town as soon as possible, maybe he’d decide to forget the whole thing.
Clearing off the blanket, Evan lay down on his back. “Let’s do some stargazing.”
“Sure. We are in formal wear, after all, so we should surround ourselves with stars.” Harper lay beside him, resting her hands on her tummy and watching as the tiny lights appeared in the sky above.
“What would you do if you could do anything or go any place in the world right now?” Harper asked suddenly, glancing over at him.
Evan turned his head, his expression one of surprise. “That depends. Would there be consequences to my actions or would I just get a free pass?”
“Free pass all the way. Time stops until you say so. No one but you would remember.”
“Hmm. In that case, I’d do a lot of things. I’d want to empty out a bank vault, of course.”
Harper nodded. “Of course.”
Evan looked up, considering his answer. “Then there’s riding down a long stretch of highway on a motorbike, full throttle. Guys always wish they could do that.”
“Really? Me too.”
“Really?”
With a straight face, she said, “No. Not really. That would be a ridiculous waste of time.”
Evan chuckled at her before continuing. “Drink a six-pack on the pitcher’s mound at Yankee Stadium.”
“That I understand, except I’d go with chocolate cake and the Queen’s throne at Buckingham Palace.”
He gave her an impressed nod. “Oh, break the sound barrier in an F-22 Raptor,” he continued.
“I’m assuming that’s some type of airplane?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Even though this was fun, it wasn’t going the way Harper had hoped. Maybe they were heading down the “forget the whole thing” road. Damn it.
“Of course, I’d definitely want to take you to bed,” he said as a slow smirk spread across his face. “Yes, definitely. We’d need to stop time for a good long while on that one.”
A flicker of hope sparked her desire for him, spreading a warmth through her body. Maybe they were veering to the “let’s see where this goes” path after all.
“Is that so?” she asked, lazily running a finger over the back of his hand. “But I thought it would ruin me for other men even to see you without your clothes on?”
“Oh, it would, but you said I would be the only one to remember
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