Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
He stares at me for a second like he’s trying to figure out what he really wants to say. “I want to talk to you about something, but there’s part of the story that isn’t mine to tell.”
“Okay. Does it involve you moving to, say, LA?” There’s another possibility. “You got a new show and you’re moving to Toronto.” I’ve learned a lot of the home and garden TV world is centered around Canada.
I know I said I was going with the flow, but it turns out I like the flow. I don’t want the flow to end when we finish this thing up in a couple of weeks.
“I’m not leaving New York,” he says. “I’m going to maybe downsize.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Downsizing can be refreshing.” Something about the way he says it makes me think it might not be his choice. “It’s a lot of condo for two of you.”
He nods. “And a lot of bad memories that turns out can’t be glossed over with new paint and furniture. Maybe you can help us find a new place. Anything up for sale in your building?”
“My building is a dump,” I point out. “But Lydia’s is more your style, and I happen to know there are two units up for sale there. I know because I was kind of thinking about looking at the smaller of the two. I probably can’t afford it, but I thought I’d look.”
“Then we can look together,” he says and kisses me again. “But tonight we’ll go to my place. I’ll call and let Aggie know we’re coming. I think she said she wanted to make meatloaf sometime this week. She thought we could use some comfort food.”
“Sounds delicious.” I’m all about someone feeding me. “Let me finish up here and we can head out.”
“Not staying late?” Patrick stands in the doorway, a clipboard in his hand. “Sorry to interrupt. I need to check on the camera in the corner. It needs a battery refresh.”
It’s so easy to forget about the cameras. I take a step back. Reid frowns but moves to my side.
“We were about to head out,” Reid responds, “Unless you need us for something. I finished my to-cameras with Tony. We’re shooting at the design studio tomorrow.”
Patrick nods and reaches up to pull the small camera in the upper corner of the room. “Nope. We have everything we need. And don’t worry about the cams, Harper. Anika is taking care of you in the editing room. I sat in with her last week, and if you don’t know the two of you are hooking up like crazy pants, you look like congenial coworkers. It’s all bland, if you ask me.”
“Bland?” I don’t like the word. I think Reid and I are anything but bland.
He shrugs as he opens the camera’s battery pack. “I think a hint of romance would spice things up a bit. She and Luca have the laid-back royals’ thing going, but everyone knows they’re together. We have enough footage of the two of you yelling at each other for an excellent enemies-to-lovers storyline, but Anika says no.”
“We’re not hooking up,” Reid argues.
“We’re not?” I was kind of looking forward to hooking up with him tonight. After some of Aggie’s delicious food. Ooo, and I bet she makes a hell of a breakfast, too. I threw a protein bar Reid’s way this morning because we were running late to catch the train that took us from Hell’s Kitchen to the Upper East Side. Aggie will probably be able to shove crêpes in my mouth.
“That is not how I would prefer to refer to our relationship. It makes it sound cheap,” Reid admits.
“What would you call it?” I’m interested in hearing this. I’ve been careful to not refer to him with anything that sounds permanent. Even though we’ve taken to going out as a couple with Ani and Luca and Ivy and Heath. A lot. He weirdly fits right in with the supernerd and the king of a small European country.
“You’re my…Harper,” he says and then sighs. “You’re my girlfriend.”
“Huh.” Yes, I’m at the stage Ivy talked about where he feeds me enough and I’m used to him and I kind of go with it. Past Harper urged me to fight this. Current Harper is surprisingly cool with it. “Okay.”
“So you don’t have to jump ten feet away from me when you remember there’s a camera on us twenty-four seven.” Reid reaches for my hand and pulls me in close.
“It’s not that bad,” Patrick insists. “It’s only in the rooms that are actively being worked on, and they’re all motion activated. The ones filming the actual work, that is. If you two decide to go at it here, please use one of the closets. Or the attic room. That one’s finished and not due to see a camera until the big reveal.”