“I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Why am I telling you this? Please don’t apologize. I’m the one who’s emotionally dumping on you.” Her smile strengthened. “You’re a good listener.”
He’d prefer to be her fuck buddy, but he would take what he could get.
She led the way out of the room. “I should have made something of myself. Look at you, Mason. You started with nothing and finished your military career shaping future soldiers. That’s something to be proud of.”
“You talk like you have no value.”
“I don’t bring much to the table.”
“That’s not true. You’re intelligent, articulate, funny.” He stopped before he said something stupid like “sexy.”
She paused and faced him. Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say and embarrassingly nice to hear. I haven’t been getting a lot of positive feedback lately, especially from myself.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not being dramatic, just honest. And now I’m being overly emotional. You must think I’m a total mess.”
Impulsively, he reached for her. She shocked the hell out of him by stepping into his embrace. He pulled her close and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her. She held on, resting her head on his shoulder for a second, before they both stepped back.
“Thank you,” she said, brushing her cheeks. “You give good hugs.”
“That’s the goal.”
They walked down the hallway together, passing a couple of cats as they went.
“Freaking about inheriting?” she asked.
“I try not to think about it. When Lillian first started writing me about the inheritance, I thought it was a three-bedroom ranch. I couldn’t figure out what she was so excited about.”
“And when you saw the house for the first time?”
“I knew I had the wrong address.”
She laughed. “I wish I’d been here to see the look on your face.”
She opened another door, and they stepped into a room with a grand piano, a harp, a stage, seating areas, dozens of musical instruments in their cases and piles of sheet music.
“Do you play?” she asked.
“Never learned.”
“Me, either. When I was maybe ten or twelve, Lillian and Leo had the local high school orchestra come in and play. The acoustics are amazing in this room.”
He looked at the gilded ceiling, the painted cherubs on the walls. “You were right. I was surprised when I saw the house.”
“Ha! I knew it.”
She pressed a panel on the wall behind the piano. A section popped open, exposing a narrow staircase.
He moved close. “Where does this go?”
“Down to the basement.” She reached inside and turned on a light. “It’s a little winding, so watch your step. We’ll come out by the wine cellar.”
She entered the secret passage, then held out her hand to him. “Come on, Mason. It’ll be fun.”
He laced his fingers with hers, enjoying the feel of her palm against his. The house wasn’t the only surprise, he thought, following her down. The more he got to know Robyn, the more he liked her. A situation that wouldn’t end well for him.
fourteen
“YOU READY?” Kip asked.
Harlow looked up from her phone. She and Kip were having dinner with his parents that night—not anything she was looking forward to.
“One second. I heard from my mom.” Just a quick Hi, how’s it going? but at least they were talking again.
Harlow knew she had to apologize but thought that might be better done in person. So she shot off a fast, I’m good. When are you coming home? then grabbed her bag and left with Kip.
“Feel better?” he asked, backing out of his parking space.
She nodded. “I’m sorry my mom and I fought.” And that it had been mostly her fault. Funny how time had given her a little perspective. She wanted to talk to her mom about the wedding and tell her that her dad was still dating Zafina and maybe figure out a way to ask about the cheating.
“Being a grown-up is complicated.” She leaned back in her seat. “There’s a lot of responsibility.”
“There is.”
She looked at Kip. “We should talk about money.”
He glanced at her, obviously confused. “Why?”
“We never bothered coming up with a plan. You asked me to move in and I did, but we need to figure out where we are. I’m not on the lease, and I barely pay anything. I don’t even know how long you’re going to be in the apartment. Where do you see us in a year? Five years? What are our financial goals?”
He slowed for a traffic light. “You’re right. We should talk about it. Just not on the way to my folks’, okay?”
She laughed. “I wasn’t suggesting we get into it now. But I do want to talk about money on our next day off. We’re both debt-free, so we should—”
Beside her, Kip tensed.
She looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
He glanced at her, then back at the road. “I’m not debt-free.”
“What do you mean?” He hadn’t been to college, so there weren’t any student loans. “You mean the car? That’s no big deal.”
Most people had a car payment. Not everyone had a new car handed to them when they graduated, the way she had. Or a job in the family business.
“Not just the car.” There was an edge to his voice, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I’m getting it under control. The credit card stuff. It’s taking me a bit, but I’m working it.”
A knot formed in her stomach. “How much are we talking about?”
“A few thousand.”
She waited.
“Twenty.”
“What?” Her voice was a yelp. “You owe twenty thousand dollars in credit card debt? How did that happen?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe first-class tickets to Cancun and a five-star hotel for a week.”
She told herself to take a breath and think before she spoke. Attacking Kip wouldn’t make him want to tell her the truth.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I was surprised, not accusing.”
“I’m not a bad guy.”