Meanwhile…
Harper flopped belly-first onto the plush bed in Maya’s suite, limbs splayed like a dramatic starfish.
“All right, spill. You sounded like a lost puppy on the phone—and I was in the middle of my sacred beauty ritual, so this better be worth the emergency call. Don’t even think about denying it.”
Maya sat at the foot of the bed, hugging a throw pillow to her chest.
“I’m not denying anything,” she muttered. “I’m just… confused.”
Harper turned her head. “About what? The way your body short-circuits when he’s near? Or the fact that his arm around your waist looked like it belonged there?”
Maya’s face flushed hot. “Harper—”
“I’m just saying,” Harper sing-songed, “it was hot. Like, dangerously hot. Like, I need sunscreen just from witnessing it.”
Maya groaned and flopped backw
