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“Why would I hide the most fun person I’ve ever met? You’re the life of the party, but I’m pretty sure Harper is in the house.”
She pouted and tilted her head. Her brown hair was curled, but at this point the curls were coming undone. She ran a hand over her face and smushed her nose. “Okay. In the house we go.”
Milo followed as she stumbled backward and guided her toward the front door. She kicked off her heels, and Milo scooped them up.
“I told you not to come!” Harper’s voice echoed behind them.
Judy spun, lost her balance, and Milo grabbed her before she fell but dropped a shoe in the process.
“There’s my daughter!” Judy threw her arms up and sauntered toward Harper.
Harper held her hand out. “Don’t. You show up here, drunk off your ass, and you think I’m going to hug you? You’re out of your damn mind.”
Judy scoffed. “Can you believe her? I’m hermother. She treats me like trash.”
Both were getting loud, and he needed to diffuse the fuse before it detonated. In the moment, Harper wouldn’t care, but afterward, she’d beat herself up about it. The guilt and embarrassment Harper felt was a vicious cycle, and if Milo could prevent one cycle from playing out, he was sure as hell going to try.
Venom poisoned Harper’s gaze, turning the pretty brown to deathly black. “I treat you exactly how you portray yourself. You don’t want to be treated like trash then don’t act like it.”
Judy’s eyes widened, and Milo went to step between them, but before he could, Judy’s lashed out and slapped Harper across the face.
Harper yelped and grabbed her cheek. Judy recoiled, hand smacking against her mouth. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to.”
“Get the hell out of here,” Harper said through gritted teeth. “Now.” The one word filled with so much ice Milo got a chill.
“I’ll take her home,” Milo said.
“And leave your own party? That’s fucking ridiculous.”
“Then how do you expect her to get home? You sure as hell can’t drive her,” Milo said.
“She can walk for all I care.”
Milo glanced around Harper and noticed people migrating toward them. Luckily, Olivia and Isla took charge and corralled people out of view by announcing a water balloon fight. Milo was disappointed he’d miss the all-out battle since he spent all night and half the morning filling those damn balloons, but the balloons were the least of his worries.
“Then I might as well get Tom, and you can take him home too, so you don’t have to make two trips.”
“And let him miss the water balloon fight? Now you’re talking crazy. He stays. Judy, let’s go.”
He helped Judy to his car and helped her in, grateful he parked in a place where he wouldn’t get blocked in. “Stay here,” he said. “I have to grab my keys.”
He hurried in the house before Judy escaped and joined the party. Harper stood in the kitchen, her back to him, and he could see her shoulders shake. Women crying was his weakness—the one thing that made him uncomfortable and incapable of saying the right things without immediately going for a joke. He could sneak out; she didn’t even know he was there.
She wouldn’t walk out on him, though. His heart clenched as he went to her. He gripped her shoulder and turned her around. Tears lined her lids and her cheek had the lingering red imprint of Judy’s hand. He took her chin in his hold and angled her head to look at her face. “You okay?”
She swatted his hand away. “Fine.”
“Harp.” He moved closer and cupped her face this time so she couldn’t so easily push him away. “Talk to me. Are you okay?” A tear slipped from her eye, and he brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“She just has to ruin everything, and now you have to leave your own party.”
“It’s my fault. I invited her. I didn’t think she’d show up wasted.”
Harper threw her arms up in the air and her head fell down in defeat. “Why wouldn’t she? She’s always wasted.”
“She wasn’t when I invited her.”
“She wasn’t when I spoke to her earlier either… I told her not to come, so really, it’s my fault. I basically challenged her to show face.” Harper inhaled deeply and looked toward the door. “You should go and get her home, so you don’t miss any more of your party.”
