Falling For Her Enemy [Book #5]

Chapter 8

Harper's POV
My brother and his wife came home around 1:30 in the afternoon, right after I'd just put Riley and Kaden down for their nap. Declan handed a sleeping little Levi over to Aya before taking a seat next to me on the couch.

"How did it go?"

"Fine," Declan answered, sounding a lot less anxious than he did before he left for the appointment. "He does have an ear infection, but it's a very mild one. Doc gave us some antibiotics. It should go away in the next couple of days or so."

I smiled. "That's good to hear."

Aya, who had left to put Levi in his crib, returned. She walked over to Declan and ran her hands through his hair. "I told you everything would be okay."

He nodded. "You were right. Still, it doesn't mean I won't worry."

She kissed his temple. "I know."

After leaving my brother's place, I stopped by the tattoo parlor so Aurora could check on my tattoo. She said it was starting to heal up nicely and that eventually, the constant itchiness would die down.

Then I met up with Miles for ice cream at this cute little shop near the parlor. I ordered a strawberry milkshake while he decided to get an ice cream sundae with extra chocolate fudge syrup.

He and I were talking about how hard graphic design had been and how fun pottery was. And somewhere in the midst of our art conversation, he brought up my love of horticulture.

"A lot of your artwork is centered around plants and flowers. What made you fall in love with them?"

I took a sip of my milkshake, a smile forming when I remembered the first time I really looked at a flower. I was around three or four years old. "This is going to sound weird, but my mom and dad. My dad gifts my mom roses every day. Even when they're fighting, he still gives them to her."

"That's not weird at all. It's actually really sweet."

I hope to have that kind of love some day. Declan has it with his wife. Mason just got engaged to his girlfriend Harlynn, and Hayden recently found love with Olive. I may act like I don't care for it, but I want love just as much as the next person.

"What about your parents?" I questioned.

Miles clears his throat. "Oh, uh, they're divorced. They can hardly stand being in a room together."

I looked down awkwardly, regretting having brought his parents up. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's cool. I was far too young to remember anyway."

I wasn't sure what to say after that and chose to stay quiet for a while. Miles seemed to be feeling the same way and started looking everywhere but at me.

I was getting ready to bring up a lighter, less mood killing topic when a group of guys walked in. And not just any group of guys. Landon and his friend group.

They slid into a booth located in the corner of the shop. I know the weather was well over ninety degrees today, but surely he could have gone elsewhere to get his ice cream.

A waitress was taking their order, my eyes rolling when I overheard Landon flirting with her. Like most girls, they fall for Landon's charming behavior.

The waitress ended up writing something down on a napkin and slipping it in Landon's hand. It didn't take a genius to infer it was probably her phone number. Landon flashed that stupid fuckboy grin of his before high-fiving his friends after she walked away.

He acts like he's in high school. My eyes rolled for the second time today. Every time Landon's around, all the joy gets sapped out of the damn room.

His eyes fall on me. He's smirking, the smile on his face smug. It infuriates me. I gift him my middle finger.