She huffed and started stomping toward the door. “You didn’t let her in?”
“Fuck no. I don’t know her,” I snapped.
She brushed past me and yanked the door open. The girl was still standing there. Guess I needed to work on my intimidation tactics. I thought for sure the girl would have turned tail and ran as soon as I closed the door.
“Sorry about that, Hilarie. Come on in,” Harper said, holding the door wide open and gesturing for the girl to enter. “This is my friend, Carbon. He’s a teensy bit overprotective. Carbon, this is my friend and coworker, Hilarie.”
I met Harper’s eyes and mouthed “Friend?” with my eyebrows raised in question. I wasn’t her damn friend, and she knew it. She shrugged and turned back to our uninvited guest. “What brings you by?”
“I just wanted to check in with you. I haven’t seen or talked to you in over two weeks. How was your trip?” she asked.
“You could have called her and asked that,” I interrupted.
“Carbon,” Harper snapped. “Stop being so rude.”
“It’s fine, really,” the girl said. “I was on my way home and saw your car in the driveway, so I stopped. Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” Harper replied at the same time I said, “Yes.”
Harper cleared her throat. “We’re waiting on our delivery order. You want to join us for dinner?”
I glared at the girl, willing her with my eyes to decline the invitation. It was subtle and brief, but I swear she smirked at me before she told Harper she would love to stay for dinner. It was official; I didn’t like this bitch.
I followed them into the kitchen and took a seat on one of the barstools while the girls sat at the table. As I stared at Hilarie, I felt like I knew her from somewhere, or at least had seen her before. Oh hell, I hoped I hadn’t fucked her. I had been through a lot of women in my past, and the majority of them were easily forgettable.
“How do you two know each other again?” I asked, studying the girl’s face.
“Hilarie and I went to college together, and now we both work at the crisis center,” Harper explained.
“So, you met at school?”
Hilarie answered that one. “No, we didn’t have any classes together. We worked at the same bar while we were in school. That’s how we met.”
Ah, that’s when it clicked. I’d seen her before and thankfully, had not fucked her. She was a stripper at the club where I met Harper. I snapped my fingers. “That’s why you look familiar. You had different hair, but you were a stripper, too. Ginger, was it?”
Hilarie’s cheeks flushed. “Yes, that was my stage name. The hair was a wig. I don’t miss that at all.” Both girls laughed at her statement, but I had no idea why.
“So, you work at the crisis center, too, but you two never had any classes together? That seems strange,” I prodded; something was off about this girl.
“That’s because I’m a licensed clinical therapist and Hilarie handles the finances and marketing. We have completely different degrees. Now, could you stop with the interrogation? You’re acting like an ass,” Harper snapped.
I placed my hand on my chest and pretended to be offended. “Excuse me for trying to get to know one of your friends. Clearly, I’m not wanted, so I’ll be in the living room until the food gets here.” I got up and obnoxiously stomped to the living room. In a way, I hoped they would talk more freely without me hovering over them in the kitchen. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about Hilarie made me feel uneasy.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Harper
“Sorry about him,” I said to Hilarie. “I don’t know why he’s acting like that. I wouldn’t say he’s usually sweet, but he’s normally much less of a dick.”
Hilarie waved her hand in a dismissive motion. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ve inadvertently pissed him off by interrupting his plans for the evening.” She winked and waggled her eyebrows.
“The only plans for this evening are dinner and bed. I’m freaking exhausted. I could use a good 15 hours of sleep before the work week starts.”
“Why are you so tired? Didn’t you just get back from vacation?” she asked.
I sighed, “Yes and no. I went to visit my brother and his new baby, so I wouldn’t exactly call that a vacation. A lot was going on the whole time I was there, so I didn’t really get any downtime.”
Hilarie straightened in her chair and gave me a pitying look. “I’m sorry. You deserve to have some time off that you can actually enjoy.”