Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
He spotted Hailey the owner, and Harlow was next to the counter. For the ten minutes he watched, he saw her move around the shop, filling a basket with orders that she packaged. This was not the job Harlow wanted to do. He had cost her, her dream job. She had quit because of him.
Hunter didn’t want to see her suffer, not now, not ever.
He had to make things right for her. Larissa was wonderful at her job. An amazing baker and cook, but that job was Harlow’s. He missed her, and some of her baked goods that had the vegan alternative.
Still, his cell phone didn’t ring.
The flowers were there in the shop.
And Hunter lost his patience. He walked across the street, and then for the first time in his life, he stepped foot into the beauty shop. There were a lot of smells, all of them nice, but he only focused on Harlow.
“You got the flowers,” he said.
Harlow pushed some of her hair out of her face and nodded. “Yeah, I got the flowers. They’re pretty.”
“And…”
“What?” she asked.
“Are you not going to thank me for them?”
“Why should I?”
“It’s polite.” Now he felt like he sounded like a prick, which was probably true.
“I didn’t ask for them. I didn’t want them. Why should I thank you for them?”
“Harlow—”
She stomped over to where the flowers were, picked them up, and then thrust them into his arms.
“I don’t need, nor do I want your flowers, Hunter. After all, I’m pretty sure when you’ve had enough, you’ll give up then.”
Hunter had never been rejected. He watched Harlow walk away and go back to her workstation.
“I’m not giving up, Harlow.”
“We’ll see,” she said.
He smiled. He loved a challenge.
****
Over the next couple of weeks, more flowers arrived, as did chocolates. They were vegan, but Harlow didn’t eat them. There had even been a special delivery from Ava’s Bakery, of her favorite items. She accepted them from Larissa, and even though they did smell good, she didn’t eat them. She refused to. They were offered to the customers. Everything else was sent back.
She didn’t accept a single item, not at work, nor at the house. Andrew continued to come and see her, and she told him what was happening. He wanted to fight for her as well.
Harlow couldn’t accept that, so she had canceled plans with him as well. By the third week, and it had been a cold one, Hailey had gone to stay with her Lover Boy, and Harlow still had no idea who it was. She had the home all to herself.
After cooking her favorite pasta dish, which happened to be a vegan creamy mushroom pasta that was so good, she had settled onto the sofa with a nice mug of hot chocolate, of course vegan. She took a sip, and it was a little too hot.
The quiet of the house didn’t appeal to her. She loved the noise, so she put on a cooking show and allowed the show to drown out the quiet. Living in a large house, silence was often a luxury, but it had also become a problem for Harlow. She needed sound to drown out her own thoughts.
She sipped at her hot chocolate and was about to change the channel when the doorbell rang. For a few seconds, she just sat, not exactly sure who could be at the door at this time of night.
She and Hailey never had any visitors, not at nighttime. Putting her mug on a coaster, she got to her feet, and walked toward the door. She checked through the peephole and was surprised to see brother Jude.
Opening the door, she folded her arms. “What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”
“Wow, is this how you open the door on your big brother? Why would there be something wrong?”
“You’ve come to my home?” Harlow asked. “FYI, you never turn up here. I think, other than to help me move, you have never been here.”
“True, but I’ve come to see how my little sister is getting on.”
“This was a surprise. “Well, since you’re here, come on in. Do you want a drink?” Harlow asked.
Jude stepped through the door and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll have what you’re having.”
“I’m drinking a hot chocolate.”
“I’ll have one of those.”
She frowned. “You don’t like hot chocolate.”
“I am adapting and evolving.”
Something didn’t sit right with her.
Going into the living room, she grabbed her cup and drank the final hot chocolate. Turning off the television, she made her way into the kitchen with Jude following behind her.
“Is everything okay with Mom and Dad?”
“Yeah, they’re all fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Trust me. They’re all good.” Jude leaned against the doorframe. Harlow washed her cup, and then grabbed a saucepan and filled it with two mugs of milk.
“Where is he?” Harlow asked.
“Where is who?”
“Big Dick.”
“I don’t know who that is.”