Pure Harmony by McKenna Jeffries and Aliyah Burke Page A

him out and he refused to go so easily. “I’ll be calling you too, Harmony Oshiro.”
    “Goodbye, Jonathon. Keys are on the counter.” She touched his cheek and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you, again. For everything.” She rose up on her toes and tugged him down to give him a kiss. Then she walked away without looking back.
    Wait. She said keys . Whirling around, he checked what she’d meant and swore. The key to the Corolla was there as well as the one for his condo. Dashing back to the door, he opened it to see her climbing into another vehicle.
    Damn it! He would have taken her. Instead, she’d called Lana to pick her up. Mixed emotions flowed through him at that knowledge. He stood there, watching until he could no longer see the tail lights. Then and only then did he go back inside.
    He could feel the change immediately. Something was missing. Or, rather, someone. Specifically, Harmony.
    Tomorrow—he would go see her tomorrow. For the first time in a long time, bed wasn’t what he wanted. No longer were dreams of her going to be good enough. He wanted her petite frame in bed with him. He loved how ready she was for him, any time. Not to mention the joy she brought to his life.
    His plans to see her the next day were thwarted. Like it had the previous day, court ran over and he got shoved behind. No matter how much he wanted to see her, he had a job to do and that came first. So he took another cup of coffee from his assistant and got back to work on the pile of stuff on his desk.
     
    * * * *
     
    Harmony shook her head as she looked around her new place. Lana poured them some saké to celebrate. There wasn’t much in her apartment yet but it was a start. She had her own place again, which she loved. It was much nicer than the previous apartment she’d had, and still in the same price range.
    “Here.”
    She took the drink from Lana as they shared grin then tipped it back. She blinked back the sting of tears as it went down.
    “Thanks for helping out, Lana.”
    “You’re my best friend! Besides, I’ve missed you.”
    She nodded. “I know, I’m sorry. Just with working the two jobs I didn’t have the time to have our weekly dinner so much.”
    “She shouldn’t have bought you so much if she was going to make you pay it all back. That’s bullshit,” Lana snapped. “Half the stuff isn’t your type of clothing anyway.”
    She smiled gently. “I know, but she was trying to help. And it’s done now. The stuff I won’t wear, I’m shipping to Japan for Reika. They’ll fit her—she’s my size.”
    Lana rolled her eyes. “If not smaller—she barely weighs a hundred pounds.” She took another drink. “Why did she have you helping out with payroll?”
    Harmony shrugged. “I have no clue. It’s not something I like doing, that’s for sure. I don’t have a head for figures. Luckily for all involved, she didn’t give me too much to do on that.” She touched her friend’s arm. “It’s okay, Lana. Everything is paid back.”
    Her friend scowled and sighed. “I know, it’s just bull. All they would have had to do was call me and I could have brought over the things you keep at my place.”
    “They live a bit differently than we do.” That was the only explanation she could come up with. She didn’t mind her protectiveness—Lana was her one true friend, the one who saw past the child prodigy, the scarred woman, to who she was at her core.
    “I know. I’ve seen his place. How are you doing with that, by the way?”
    “I’ll miss him, I know this, but I’m glad to be back on my own.”
    “I know you are. Have you heard from your parents?”
    She shook her head. “No. But then I also didn’t tell them what happened.”
    Bless Lana, she didn’t comment, just squeezed her hand in silent support. Then her eyes widened and she jumped up, hastening to her bag.
    “I forgot—I got you a housewarming gift.”
    She sat back on the couch and handed her a rectangular item wrapped in