Chapter 4

Four

Leo

C arrying Evie had been this warm, comforting weight against my chest, but my heart had filled with love at the sight of her face soft with sleep, her lashes spread over her cheeks. Evie was so full of life when I spent time with her, but tonight, she’d been adorable in sleep. She made me long for a child of my own.

Tenderness washed over me, along with this overwhelming need to protect Evie and Harper. Tonight was the first chance we had to spend any measurable amount of time together. It had opened a host of thoughts I’d never had before, like the way Harper’s dress hugged her curves and how I’d wanted to brush her hair off her neck and kiss the soft skin of her shoulder. Was she having a similar reaction to me?

I’d told her she was the most beautiful thing there was in Italian because it was how I felt, and it was safer to say it in a language she didn’t understand. I wasn’t sure she’d welcome my feelings.

I hadn’t noticed any change in her demeanor. Except, when she’d stepped away from our dance, she couldn’t manage to meet my gaze. Was she hiding her reaction, and if so, why?

I pushed thoughts of Evie and Harper out of my head as I drove to the home I’d bought in an older neighborhood. It had been a responsible purchase, cheaper because it needed work. But I wondered if I’d bought it because my parents thought it was the right thing to do, not because I liked it for myself.

I hadn’t started on the renovations because I worked long hours at the restaurant. Papà always said not to hire someone to do work that we could do ourselves. When was I going to start living my life on my terms?

If I wanted to make a change in my life, to meet someone who had the potential to be a girlfriend, and possibly even my wife, I needed to make my home welcoming.

I pulled into the garage, pushing the button to close the door behind my SUV. The garage itself was cluttered, full of things left behind by the previous owners. Inside, I saw the house in a different light. How would a woman see it? There was a narrow kitchen that faced the woods. The living room had dark wood paneling and worn furniture I’d inherited from my parents, and the dining room was empty.

I needed to clean out the garage, renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, and buy new furniture that reflected my personality, not my parents’. We were raised to be frugal, but I was tired of living my life to please my parents. I was ready for something different.

I plopped onto the couch and flipped on the TV, searching for a ball game. I loved having it on in the background, even if I wasn’t paying attention to every play.

What would Harper think if she saw my place? Then I wondered why it mattered what she thought. If Evie came here, it wasn’t childproofed. God knew what was stored in the garage and the basement.

Unfortunately, I worked most days of the week. I only had one full day off, and I usually found myself stopping by to check on the restaurant. My parents were hard workers and instilled the same in their children.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message. Harper.

Harper: I got home okay. Evie’s sleeping in her bed. Thank you for the ride and for helping me with Evie.

Leo: You don’t need to thank me.

Now that I’d talked to Harper, I’d gotten the impression she felt indebted to my family, and that didn’t sit right with me. She was like family to me. She shouldn’t feel like she owed us anything. At the same time, I didn’t like thinking of her as family, either.

If I’d met her outside of the restaurant and she wasn’t Gia’s friend, would I have pursued her? I was clearly attracted to her physically. I’d never dated a woman with a child, but I loved Evie. It didn’t detract from Harper at all; it only enhanced my opinion of her. She was strong, hardworking, and a great mom.

I would have been attracted to her if she came into the restaurant to eat or grabbed a pizza to go. I would have flirted with her for months before finally asking her out because I wouldn’t want to push a single mother. I would have eased her into the idea of me.

Fuck. Why was I planning anything when it came to Harper? She wasn’t a potential love interest. She was Gia’s best friend, and she practically lived with us when she was a kid. And now, my parents watched her daughter. This was messed up on so many levels.

I liked her. I admired her as a mom and a person. I loved her daughter. She was hardworking and sweet. She was the perfect woman for me. And it didn’t hurt that I was seriously attracted to her. How had I never noticed it before, or had I pushed it down deep so I didn’t have to look too closely at it?

What mattered was, what was I going to do about it? Now that I saw her differently, it would be impossible to see her in any other light.

Friday night was one of our busiest nights of the week, but with the rain coming down outside in slanted sheets, we were swamped. The dining room was full, the waiting area standing room only, and the carryout orders were piling up.

On top of that, a waitress called out sick. Mom and Dad were taking a much-needed day off work, and I refused to bother them. I wanted to prove that I could handle things without their presence.

Carlo handled the accounting side of the business and rarely stepped in to help with the running of the dining room or the kitchen. Now that Gia had her own business, she adamantly refused to work at the restaurant. I think she wanted Papà to see her in a different light.

I’d messaged Harper an hour ago, begging her to come in and give me a hand. She wasn’t on the schedule regularly but filled in when needed.

The kitchen was working smoothly and didn’t need me hovering, so I filled in for the waitress who’d called out. I took orders, ran food out, and cleared tables. Over the years, I’d worked every position in the restaurant, and I wasn’t above doing them.

Every time the door opened, I looked up, hoping it was Harper. When she finally came in, her hair was wet, but she had a big smile on her face as she talked to Evie at her side.

“How’s my favorite girl?” I asked Evie, who wore a green rain jacket and held a ladybug-patterned umbrella.

“Can I play in the puddles?” Evie asked me.

Her expression was so earnest, I almost said yes, before I remembered that this was Harper’s call.

“No.” Harper gave me a look as she squeezed water out of her hair.

“Why don’t you come back to my office? I have a towel you can use,” I offered.

Harper’s eyes widened as she took in the crowd. “Is everyone in town here?”

“I think so,” I murmured as I touched her elbow and guided her through the maze of tables to the hallway that led to the offices and storage room. Evie trailed behind, chattering excitedly about the rain.

When we were alone in my office, I grabbed a towel from the adjoining bathroom and draped it over Harper’s shoulders. “Where’s your jacket and umbrella?”

Harper’s shoulders lowered, and for the first time, I noticed how exhausted she looked. Her eyes were red rimmed with dark circles underneath. “I got Evie ready and thought we’d make it before the rain started up again. But we didn’t. This is just from the walk from the car.”

I was sure she had to park at the back of the parking lot due to the number of people inside. “You don’t have to work tonight. I shouldn’t have called you in.”

She offered me a tired smile, dabbing her hair with the towel. “No. It’s fine. I don’t have anything else going on. I hope you don’t mind that Evie is here.”

Evie threw her jacket on the floor, propped her umbrella against a chair, and sat down, pulling coloring books and crayons out of her book bag. “I brought coloring books!”

“I see that.”

Harper’s forehead wrinkled. “Is it okay if she colors back here? I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Of course. You know she’s always welcome here.” I’d practically grown up in the restaurant, doing homework and coloring in that same spot.

“Why don’t you sit at my desk?” I asked Evie.

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“You’ll be more comfortable,” I said as I cleared a spot for her.

“We’d better get out there before the customers get upset,” Harper said, grabbing an apron from my closet, a pen, and a pad. She kissed Evie on her cheek and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Evie rolled her eyes in response.

We could always put a show on one of our phones if Evie got restless. I intended to pop back and check on her too.

Harper stopped in front of me before we stepped into the hallway. “Thank you for this.”

Knowing she meant allowing Evie to stay in my office while she worked, I touched her shoulders with my hands, silently pleading with her to look at me. When her gaze lifted to mine, I said, “Evie’s always welcome. I love having her here.” I loved Evie, and I was quickly realizing I might feel a little something for her mother too.

“Thank you.” She touched my cheek before pulling me down, and before I could question what she was doing, she kissed my cheek. The touch was feather light, and I closed my eyes for a second to try to memorialize the moment.

By the time I opened them, Harper was gone, and Evie was smiling at me. “Do you have to work, Mr. G.?”

I cleared my throat, feeling a little off-kilter from Harper’s lips on my cheek. “It’s Leo. Mr. G. is my dad.”

“Mommy said to talk to adults with re-pect,” she said, drawing out the word, and missing the S entirely.

Evie’s head was bent over her book, her tongue between her lips in concentration, as she squeezed the crayon.

“But I’m your friend.”

Evie blinked up at me.

“I’m your mother’s friend. So, you can call me Leo.”

She smiled, and it was wide and sweet, and I blinked against the brightness. “Okay, Mr. L.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, knowing she was teasing me. “I’m going up front to help. If you need anything, just holler, okay?”

“Okay, Mr. L.” Then she giggled.

“Stop calling me that,” I bellowed as I headed out of the room and shut the door firmly behind me. Evie had been here enough times that she knew most of the staff and felt comfortable coming to anyone with a question.

I should have been stressed with the dining room full and the carryout orders coming in, but I felt content knowing Harper was here, and Evie was in my office. It felt right, even though I hated that I had to bring her in. Harper had enough things going on without me adding to them, but she was the one we called when we needed an extra server.

We’d rented the apartment above the restaurant to her for years, so they didn’t have far to go. But still, I felt responsible for the exhaustion I saw on her face.

Harper had taken over my tables, so I was free to float between the dining room and the kitchen, pitching in when necessary. The waitstaff’s uniform was a white polo and black pants, but Harper stood out in her office clothes of a white tailored blouse, slacks, and heels.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. I oversaw everything, which meant making sure that carryout orders were getting out the door, food made it to the tables, trash was cleared, and diners were seated quickly. Every fifteen minutes or so, I checked on Evie.

When I checked on her at the end of the night, she was curled up on my leather chair, watching a show on Harper’s phone.

Evie’s eyes widened. “Mommy said I could watch.”

“You want me to take you upstairs?” I asked, concerned.

Evie shook her head. “Mommy said I had to wait until she was done working.”

“Let me check on her.” It was getting late, and things had slowed. If I was going to send anyone home early, it would be Harper so she could get off her feet. Those heels weren’t ideal for waitressing.

Harper was by the service area, plugging in yet another order. “Why don’t you head out with Evie, and I’ll take over from here.”

“I usually work until closing.” Closing for us meant ten, but that was too late for Evie.

“Evie’s falling asleep in my chair.”

Harper winced. “I’m sorry. I’ll carry her up when I’m done.”

I nudged her out of the way and plucked her notepad from her hands. “Clock out and take Evie upstairs. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

Her brow raised, and I couldn’t blame her. We never sent Harper home early because she was a family friend. My parents didn’t question asking her to help. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” I said firmly.

I was enjoying having Harper around me in a way I never had before, but I wanted Evie to sleep in her bed tonight. “You already worked a full day with Happily Ever Afters. Take a load off.”

Harper finally nodded and untied her apron, tossing it into the laundry basket we kept by the kitchen.

“Thanks for coming in.”

“Anytime,” Harper said with a tired smile, and I watched her as she walked away. Then I got back to work. By the time the restaurant was shut down, I’d remembered my promise to check on Harper and Evie.

I had a good excuse because Evie left a couple of crayons in my office. They must have rolled off my desk, and she didn’t see them.

Other than my promise, there was no reason why I should check on them. I never had before. I hadn’t seen the inside of this apartment since I was a kid. We always kept it for cousins or relatives who needed a cheap place to stay, but Harper had been living here since she graduated from high school and wanted to move out of her mother’s place.

I didn’t know how much she paid for it, if anything, since it was always used for family. It wasn’t an investment rental. When the last of my employees left for the night, I turned off the lights, grabbed the crayons, and took the back steps up to her apartment. There was an interior and an exterior entrance to her apartment. The latter was really a fire escape.

Not hearing the drone of a TV, I knocked softly on the door. Maybe I shouldn’t be here so late at night. What if she was sleeping?

The door swung open a few seconds later. Harper stood in the doorway in a tank top and tiny shorts set that left nothing to the imagination.

I could make out her nipples under the soft top, and there was so much skin on display, I wasn’t sure where to look.

Her face. That’s where I should be looking. When I finally lifted my gaze, her forehead was wrinkled in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“I said I would check in on you, and Evie left these in my office.” I held up the crayons and felt a little ridiculous. She hadn’t expected me to check on her. That was clear by her expression and her pajamas. She hadn’t expected me or anyone. At least I hoped she hadn’t. I had no idea if she was dating someone and knew I shouldn’t care.

Harper was Gia’s best friend. I just needed to keep telling myself that so I wouldn’t ogle her.

She took the offered crayons and stepped back so I could come inside. “How was the rest of the night?”

“Quiet. Thanks for pitching in.”

She crossed her arms over her chest as if she was trying to block her nipples, but it was too late. That vision was embedded in my brain, and I was positive I’d pull the image out later when I was alone. There was nothing that said I couldn’t jerk off to the vision of her in my head.

There was a small kitchen open to a living room. A TV mounted on the wall played some show, but the volume was turned down low.

“Is Evie asleep?” I asked, not sure what I was doing here or what to talk about.

“As soon as you let me off, she wanted to go to bed. She’s always tired on Fridays after a week of kindergarten.”

“I bet.”

An awkward silence fell.

I cleared my throat, seriously questioning what I was doing here. “Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I should get going.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” Harper said, and I wondered if anyone had before. We were friends with Harper and helped her out when she needed it, but she was alone in all other respects.

“Do you see your mother?” Then I winced. Her relationship with her family was none of my business.

I’d always taken Harper’s presence for granted. I didn’t ask questions about Evie’s father or ask about Harper’s family. I just assumed she’d always be there. I knew next to nothing about her as a person, other than surface-level things.

“We aren’t close,” Harper said, her words clipped.

Of course, they weren’t. She spent more time at our house than at her own growing up. “She doesn’t see Evie?”

“She’s not that interested in having a grandchild. I think it makes her feel old. Telling prospective boyfriends she’s a grandmother isn’t that attractive.” Harper rolled her eyes.

“She’s missing out.” I couldn’t imagine anyone not loving that child.

Harper huffed. “I don’t think she cares about that.”

“She’s an idiot, then,” I said, never feeling more confident about anything. I felt lucky to have Evie in my life, even if she wasn’t blood.

Harper’s expression softened.

“I’ll let you get back to your night. I’m sure you’re tired. Thanks again for covering.” I was almost to the door when Harper touched my arm.

The heat of her palm seared through my skin, sending tingles through my body. I turned to face her as she dropped her hand.

“I’m always happy to help out. Your family has done so much for me. Watching Evie, this apartment…” She gestured around us with her hands. “But no one has ever stopped by to check on me or thank me for doing my job.”

She wanted to know why I was here and what had changed.

“I just wanted to check on you and Evie. Make sure you were okay.”

“But why?” Harper asked as her eyes widened in surprise at her candidness. She obviously hadn’t meant to ask.

“I care about you.”

“You do?” Harper asked, genuinely confused.

“You’re like a younger sister to me. You know, I do the same for you that I do for Gia.” My heart pounded in my chest at my words. There was no truth to them. I’d never thought of Harper like a sister.

Her face clouded over. “Of course. Well, now you know I’m okay. I’ll see you later.”

She opened the door for me, and I was standing on the landing as the door shut in my face before I could process what just happened. Had I just compared Harper to my sister? I basically told her that I didn’t like her, that there would never be anything between us. I was supposed to be getting her used to the idea of me, not shutting it off entirely.

I ran a hand through my hair as I jogged down the steps, grabbed my keys from my office, and shut and locked the door. I was an idiot. I wasn’t used to being this clueless around women, but Harper was different. I couldn’t just drop a few Italian phrases on her and have her melting in my arms. She was worth more than that.

I needed to get myself together before I approached her again. I needed a better plan. I couldn’t help but think that Harper wasn’t a game or a challenge. She was this incredible woman, who’d get swooped up soon by another man who was smoother than me.