Page 20 of Even After This
I turn back to Harlan. “Maybe your costume department could help these poor souls. Or maybe I should excuse myself when they get here so I don’t have nightmares.”
A low, rumbling chuckle escapes Harlan, and he steals a glance at me while he returns the menu to its spot against the wall. This time, I lean back and ignore how good he smells.
“How did your day go with Prissy?” he asks me while Spencer and Sally deal with the kids.
“She gave me something to think about.”
“She does that.”
“Meredith,” Spencer asks, “what do you think of our boy here’s latest celebrity stunt?”
Harlan rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “Spence, let it rest.”
“What? Last I heard, you’re supposed to be the next Bachelor,” Spencer says.
My stomach clenches, and I chance a glance at Harlan. But instead of irrationally worrying about twenty-five women vying for his attention, I’m intrigued by the flash of pain that crosses his face.
What is that about?
He picks up a piece of toasted crostini and points it at Spencer. “You need to stay off social media, man.”
Sally mashes a banana with her fork. “Harlan, what you did was a big deal. Seriously, we’re all very proud of our Hercules.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” Some of the shoveled bruschetta overflows from his toast and falls back to the plate. “And if we stop talking about it, it will disappear into the graveyard of runaway social media spotlight stories.”
Spencer grabs a fork and a knife. “Meredith, have you seen the video?”
“Oh.” Cheese from the piece of pizza I grab off the pan stretches long, and I wrestle it from the neighboring slice. “Uh, no, I haven’t watched it. I don’t watch that kind of ... thing. I’m a little bit sensitive. Sorry.” I throw a half-hearted smile to Harlan.
He turns to me, studying my face. “You haven’t seen it?”
I shake my head.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” he says softly.
“Well, um, full disclosure. I’ve seen pictures.” I forget I’m holding a slice, and my hand gestures flop the pizza around until I set it on the plate. “My niece and I are close, and she might be your biggest fan. Hannah’s personally responsible for at least a thousand of your millions of YouTube likes. She would have a coronary if she knew I was sitting here with you.”
“It probably wouldn’t have been that big of a deal”—Spencer leans over to cut Toby’s pizza—“if you didn’t take off your shirt at the end of the video.”
Staring at Harlan, I concentrate on his shoulder so I don’t picture the shirtless photograph showcased on several tabloid magazines this week. Stupid airport bookstore.
“I didn’t know the kid was filming. I was just trying to—” Harlan grabs his napkin, swipes his mouth, and balls a fist around it. He sighs, closing his eyes. “Never mind.”
My hand twitches, wanting to offer him some touch of encouragement. “I don’t know, Harlan. Maybe this kind of attention will open doors for you. You could be the next Rocky the Bighorn Sheep.” I smile. “You could have a real future in mascot wear.”
While the others laugh, his gaze meets mine, and something passes between us. Something electric that causes my belly to flip.
Exhaling, I shift my focus to the Deans. “Do you all get to the Springs often?”
“Every now and then,” Sally says. “I’m from Nebraska. Spence is the one who grew up here, but his family has scattered over the years.”
“What about you, Harlan?” I ask, proud of myself that my voice only shakes a little when I pose my question to Super Famous Man.
“I make it back more than Spence.” Shaking his head, Harlan grabs another piece of pizza, sets it on Toby’s plate, and says in an unmistakably bitter tone, “The hills of Hollywood have nothing on Colorado mountains.”
The table freezes.
Harlan glances around, wipes his hand on a napkin. “Sorry.” He offers a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Maybe I should look into that mascot thing after all, Meredith.”
