Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
And oh, yeah, she was fucking stunning.
Jesus, I had been such an idiot to let her leave like that ... and an even bigger idiot to ask that kind of favor from her.
I barely finished anything that afternoon. At the end of the day, I left my office and walked the two blocks over to the building where HAUTESCENE was located. Just standing out front filled me with excitement. Harper was so close, I could practically feel her.
And just like that, there she was. She was walking out of the building in a stylish sheath dress with her blazer draped over her shoulders and large sunglasses perched on her pert little nose. She was on the phone, talking and laughing, and barely paying attention to her surroundings.
Watching her, my heart sank. It was clear that she’d moved on – she had to be talking to a boyfriend or worse: maybe even a husband. She wasn’t going to call me.
She wasn’t even going to think about me. She had obviously already forgotten about seeing me earlier in the day, and I clenched my jaw as I watched her trim frame disappear down the street.
There was nothing I could do. I had to let her go, let her move on.
If she wanted anything to do with me, I’d just have to wait for her to make the first move.
6
Harper – Saturday
Between the stress of running into Nico on the first day of my new job at HAUTESCENE and learning the ropes of the new gig, the week flew by. I felt guilty – this was easily the most time I’d ever spent away from Ada. Even when I was at home in the evenings, I was usually working on my laptop while Ada played on the floor with her stuffed animals. I was so proud of her that just looking at her made my heart swell up like a balloon – she was getting to be so independent. The three years of her life had flown by, and while I was eager to see what kind of person Ada would grow into, I missed the days when I could bundle her up and carry her around.
Ada had adjusted to daycare very well, even the workers at Dawning City said so. They had spoken to me about enrolling her in pre-school, which I was hoping to do at the end of the year. My dad kept telling me that Ada was old enough to learn how to read, but I didn’t want to push her – we had already been through so many changes that I didn’t want to stress her out.
Today was supposed to be a nice, relaxing day. I’d planned to take Ada to the park and maybe even treat her to ice cream or go to the Bronx Zoo. I was in the bathroom, putting sunscreen on Ada, when I heard my cell phone ring.
Instantly, my heart sank. It was in the other room and I couldn’t see the name on the screen, but I had a bad feeling.
“Mommy will be right back,” I told Ada, whose face was still covered in glops of white. “You stay here and rub that in.”
Ada pouted, putting her chubby little fists to the sides of her face. She stuck out her tongue at me and I pointed my finger at her.
“You do that again and we’re not leaving the house,” I said before darting into the bedroom and grabbing my phone from the nightstand.
“Hi, Nell,” I said after swiping open the call and holding the phone to my ear. “What is it?”
“Harper, I need you in the office this afternoon,” Nell said briskly. “A shipment of clothing came in and we need everything organized and folded by Monday morning – we’re doing a shoot first thing.”
I swallowed. “Okay, sure,” I said. “I’ll be right there in a couple of hours.”
There was a pause.
“A couple of hours?” Nell asked. “Harper, what’s the problem? Are you out of town?”
Inwardly, I winced. Trying to make my voice as cheerful as possible, I replied: “No, ... I actually have a daughter, and I’ll need to make arrangements for someone to look after her.”
“Don’t you have any friends in the city?”
Fuck, I thought. Why is she pushing me on this?
“Not exactly,” I said, still trying to stay chipper and bright. “I just moved back here, after all.”
Nell sighed, like I’d just asked the world’s biggest favor of her. “Fine,” she said, and I could tell that she was less than thrilled with me. “Just make sure that you make it into the office this afternoon. Those clothes need to be sorted. Oh, and Harper? Please make sure they’re clean and pressed.”
“Of course,” I said sweetly. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
As soon as we hung up, I called my dad and asked him to drive down from Boston. He promised that he’d arrive as soon as possible. While Ada and I waited for him, I made dinner – a taco skillet that Ada loved – and we watched Frozen, singing along with Anna and Elsa.