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“I am honestly impressed how well you move in heels,” Harper said, stepping inside behind me and shutting the door.

“Oh.” I looked down at my feet. “I kinda forgot I was wearing them.”

“Unbelievable. To think Paisley Macleod, rather than her sister, is the one who’s so comfortable in heels she forgets she’s wearing them.”

I flushed, suddenly self-conscious. “Leave my sister out of this.”

“All right. I said nothing. Just that they suit you well.” She took off her shoes and coat at the door, hanging her bag up before she came over and dropped down on the cozy couch, faded from use, sand-brown to match the sisal rug. She looked cute in a light blouse, mint-green, and it only really dawned on me then as I was sitting down next to her that she didn’t normally wear colors, let alone pastels.

The idea of her dressing up for me was kind of… it made my throat feel tight, and I wasn’t emotionally ready to ask myself why.

“Thank you,” I said, finally, flexing my feet out. “I make anything look good.”

“Going to start a collection of high heels?”

I stuck my tongue out. “Maybe. What are you going to do, fight me over it?”

“Somehow that wasn’t what I was thinking.”

“Well, boo. Maybe you should fight more often.”

“How’d you get held up?”

I cleared my throat. “Um… Kay caught me.”

She looked far too amused. I was going to fight her. “Oh, I’m sure that was fun.”

“Close your mouth. Ugh. She would not let me go.”

“But she loved your style, I’m assuming.”

“Well…” I flopped back in the couch, feeling the cold air of the AC nip at my ears a little, staring out over the foreverness of the ocean ahead of us. “I guess so.”

She sank back on the couch next to me, letting out a long sigh, before she stood up suddenly. “Oh, before I forget. I brought the strawberry shandy you like.”

“Just for me? Oh my god, you’re an angel.”

“No. Just for me. I’m going to drink them all in front of you.”

“Hey!” I shot her a withering glare as she came back from where she hung up her bag, a cooler pouch in hand. “You’re a monster. You wouldn’t dream of doing me dirty like that.”

“Not on my life. I’d wake up with my throat slit.” She pulled a can of the pink-and-green shandy out, handing it to me, and took one out for herself, kicking her feet up on the table as she cracked the top, taking a long swig. I popped mine open, too, drinking in the sweet bliss, and I let out a satisfied sigh that, on reflection, sounded a little more like a moan. Harper looked away.

“Oh my god, it’s amazing,” I said. “You’re the best in the world.”

“Emberlynn let me have the extras after Sunday, so… I didn’t really do anything.”

“You’re insufferable. Take a compliment.”

“So… how are you feeling with somebody else knowing about your secret identity?”

“Ugh.” I knocked back another sip of the shandy. “She was nice about it, just… a lot…”

“Let me guess. She offered to take you shopping because she’s too excited to sit still.”

“Got it in one.”

“Going to do it?”