LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER TWO

      HARPER BLINKED. “WHAT?”

      “I’m offering you a place to stay. Clark took me in when I was in trouble. I owe him.”

      “Okay. But, Seth, as beautiful as your condo is, it’s small and Crystal can be very noisy.”

      He walked toward the kitchen and the coffeemaker. “And I’m not home a lot. I work from nine to six. Most evenings I have dinner meetings or dates. You’re going to find you have the condo to yourself more than you think.”

      She didn’t know why that gave her a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

      He made his coffee, then glanced at his watch. “I have just enough time to get ready for work.” He motioned to the door. “You go home, get things settled and come back when you need to. I’ll have keys made for you.”

      She slid Crystal into the stroller. “Are you sure?”

      He smiled. Harper’s heart thumped. The grown-up version of Clark’s best friend was absolutely gorgeous.

      “This is not a big deal.”

      Harper totally disagreed. Ten minutes ago, Seth wouldn’t get within six feet of her baby. Now he thought he could live with her? Not to mention the way she kept noticing he was attractive, reacting when he smiled. She was lonely and vulnerable, missing Clark, and Seth wasn’t known for discretion when it came to women.

      Moving in together did not seem like a good idea.

      Seth headed back down the hall, probably toward his bedroom. “As soon as you’re settled, we’ll go over your résumé, find you a job and start house hunting.”

       Because those were things Clark had helped him with.

      He hadn’t said it, but she realized this was nothing but payback for Clark’s kindnesses and, honestly, she needed it. If her mother saw her, six days away from being homeless, she’d blame Clark and never forget.

      Harper could not let that happen.

      She said, “Okay,” but he was already opening the door of his room.

      Harper blew her breath out on a long sigh. This was not going to be easy, but it was better than living in the street.

      After spending an hour contacting movers, Harper finally found one who had a cancellation in his schedule the following day. She booked the appointment and spent the rest of the afternoon, evening and the next morning packing. Right on time, the movers arrived and picked up her furniture and boxes of household goods, clothes and baby things. They drove first to the storage unit and dropped off everything but Crystal’s crib and baby accessories, which were packed in the back of her SUV with a few suitcases of clothes.

      She waved goodbye to the movers and headed for Seth’s condo.

      Though it was close to five, Seth had told her he worked until six and she knew he wouldn’t be home. Which meant she could have everything set up in his condo before he returned.

      But when she arrived at his building, the doorman wouldn’t let her into Seth’s apartment. Not that she blamed him. She’d thought Seth would have already made arrangements, but apparently he hadn’t.

      The doorman punched a few numbers into his phone and within seconds was talking to Seth. Then he handed the phone across the desk.

      “He wants to talk to you.”

      Oh, boy. He probably wasn’t expecting her until Sunday. Plenty of time for him to get adjusted or change his mind. Instead here she was, a little over twenty-four hours later, her car loaded with baby things.

      What did a playboy need with a baby and broke widow?

      “Hello. Seth.” Not giving him a chance to back out, she said, “I got lucky and found a mover who’d had a cancellation today. I packed last night and this morning, and now everything I own, except Crystal’s things and a couple suitcases of clothes, is in a storage unit.”

      She hadn’t meant to sound desperate, but oh, Lord, she had. She squeezed her eyes shut, but Seth easily said, “Okay.”

      Her heart started beating again.

      “I have one more meeting before I can leave, but I’ll call my next-door neighbor, Mrs. Petrillo. She has a key and will let you in. Just go ahead to the condo.”

      “Should I knock on her door?”

      He laughed. “No. She’s something of a snoop. It’s why I want her to let you in instead of George. She looks out the keyhole every time the elevator arrives on our floor. This way she’ll know I know you’re there.”

      Harper laughed. Her first genuine laugh since she’d realized how much trouble she was in. She liked the idea of a nosy neighbor. It felt less like she and Seth were all alone.

      Because they weren’t. They had Crystal, the nosy neighbor and probably a hundred other people who lived in the building.

      They would not be alone.

      “I also have an extra parking space in the basement. I told George to get you a pass.”

      “Okay. Thanks.” When she disconnected the call, George handed her the card that would get her entry into the garage. “Is your car on the street?”

      “Yes. I was lucky to get a spot right in front of the building.”

      “Good. I’ll arrange to have your luggage and baby things brought upstairs. Then I’ll park your car in Mr. McCallan’s second space.”

      Balancing Crystal on her hip, she wondered how much Seth had promised this guy to be so accommodating. She handed him her car keys. “Thanks. It’s the blue Explorer SUV.”

      He nodded once. “We’ll have your things upstairs in a few minutes.”

      She rode the elevator to Seth’s floor and just as Seth had predicted a short gray-haired woman stood by his door, waiting for her.

      “Mrs. Petrillo?”

      “Yes. And you must be Harper.”

      “Yes.” She presented her baby. “This is Crystal.”

      The older woman lightly pinched Crystal’s pink cheek. “She is adorable. Aren’t you, sweetie?”

      Crystal grinned.

      Mrs. Petrillo inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. “Sorry about your husband.”

      “Thank you.”

      “Death is a terrible thing. I buried three husbands.”

      Harper gasped. Knowing the pain of losing Clark and the emptiness that followed, the loneliness that never seemed to go away, she said, “I’m so sorry.”

      “It never gets easier.” She turned to Harper with a smile. “My soap is on right now. But I’m next door if you need anything.”

      “Okay. Thanks.”

      The petite woman waved goodbye and

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