Page 23 of A Home for Harmony (Blossoms #16)

MADE UP IN HER HEAD

“ H ow are things with you and Micah?” Erica asked on Thursday. Harmony had just gotten off a video call and came down to make lunch. Since it was past one, she thought for sure she’d miss her sister.

“Good,” she said, opening the fridge and grabbing the last of the baked ziti from Sunday and sticking it into the microwave. Erica was eating the same thing. “Did you get held up? You always eat lunch at noon.”

Her sister smirked. “Not always, but I try to stick to a schedule.”

Erica suffered from migraines. Lifestyle changes played an important role in reducing them and Erica was OCD enough to stick to a routine.

“Just not today,” Harmony said, laughing.

“No,” Erica said. “You’re avoiding talking about Micah. Why?”

The microwave dinged. “I’m not avoiding it at all. Things are going well when we see each other. It’s not always easy. Scarlet is around, or when she’s not, she just pops in.”

“Have him come here like you did on Friday,” Erica said. “I’d like to meet him anyway and then I can go to Tucker’s.”

“I’ll think about it. It’s more about him wanting to do it. I think the only reason he came here last Friday was because he wasn’t sure when he was getting out of work and doesn’t like me driving at night.”

“The first time you met you were broken down on the side of the road,” Erica said.

She smirked. “I know. That wasn’t my fault, but I get it. I don’t want to worry about it happening again, but I can’t live my life in fear of leaving the house either. I drove to New York City last week and had no issues.”

Harmony hadn’t even been that nervous about driving in the traffic.

She and Erica had done it enough for years when they came here to visit.

“You can take care of yourself,” Erica said. “We all know that.”

“But you still worry,” she said. “I get it. I’m the baby.”

“I worry about Theo and he worries about me. It’s not about being the baby. It’s just about being siblings and loving your family,” Erica said.

She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it that way.

“I know. The thing with Micah is good. We don’t see much of each other and he has to take the step for it to be more. I can’t and won’t force it. It’s not my way.”

“It’s not,” Erica said. “You’ve always been relaxed in a relationship.”

“Making someone be or do things they aren’t isn’t good for anyone.”

She’d dated enough men like that. Or been in relationships too.

So many saw her on social media and wanted to be with her for that and not who she was.

Half the time they thought she was putting on a front more than anything and that wasn’t the case.

“It’s not,” Erica said.

“Are you moving in with Tucker soon?”

Harmony was surprised that Micah brought it up the other night while they talked. She hadn’t thought much of it. She knew it would happen, but didn’t know when.

What really shocked her was that Micah asked what she was going to do when Erica moved out. As if he thought she couldn’t stay here alone or would want to move back to New York City.

When he asked the second part, she’d laughed like he was joking.

He hadn’t been.

She assured him she had no intention of going back there.

One, it was too busy for her.

Two, she couldn’t afford it.

Three, she didn’t like being out in the open and not knowing what was going on around her or who was looking at her.

Not that she’d admit that to anyone because no one knew she was secretly dreading any messages she got from an unknown source—and wondering if the sense of potential danger from them could be made up in her head.

That was the last thing she wanted—someone to tell her she was overreacting.

But she played it in her head enough that maybe she was making a bigger deal out of it all.

She was confusing herself on what she really felt half the time and that was so unlike her.

Erica shrugged. “We haven’t gotten that far yet. But I will at some point. I don’t have to move out officially until we get married. I can walk back and forth. I won’t leave you alone just yet.”

She laughed. “I’m not afraid of being alone.”

“You’ve never lived alone,” Erica said. “I know you are for a few days or nights, but I don’t want to rush it on you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Erica. I can walk down and see you if I need to. Besides, maybe I want the primary suite and office.”

“Ohhhhh,” Erica said. “Now I see where this is going.”

“Could be that Tucker won’t give up his office for you in the house.”

“I’m sure he and I will work it out just fine,” Erica said. A phone rang. “That’s you. It’s upstairs.”

“It can wait,” she said.

“It might be important,” Erica said.

“It hardly ever is, but I’ll go check.”

She ran up the stairs and grabbed her phone, saw it was her mother and sent it to voicemail, then stuck her phone in her back pocket.

“Guess it wasn’t important,” Erica said when Harmony returned to finish her lunch.

“Nope,” she said happily. “Just Mom.”

When Erica’s phone beeped on the counter, her sister looked down. “Now she wants me.”

“At least it’s a text and not a call,” she said.

Erica picked up the phone. “She wants me to call her. She says it’s important.”

“Do you think it is?” Harmony asked. “You just talked to her a few days ago to tell her about the engagement.”

“I don’t know,” Erica said. “But I’m not taking the chance.”

“If it was medical related, she’d call Theo first,” she said.

“You’re right,” Erica said. “If I don’t call now while I’ve got the chance, she’ll blow my phone up and drive me nuts. I rather get it over with.”

Her sister hit a button and then she heard her mother’s voice loudly almost yelling in Erica’s ear. “Oh, thank God you called me back right away,” her mother said.

“What’s going on, Mom?”

Her mother normally didn’t talk this loudly so that Harmony could hear it. “I’m trying to reach your sister. Is she there? She always ignores me.”

Harmony nodded her head yes. “She’s eating lunch with me. Her phone is upstairs. Here, you can talk to her on mine.”

She grabbed the phone from her sister. “Hi, Mom. I’m sorry. I came down to get lunch. What’s going on?”

“I wanted to let you know that someone sent a package here for you.”

“For me?” she asked. “What was it?”

“It’s a box full of different things. None of it really goes together and there is a card inside that is wishing you happy holidays. It looks like it’s from some business. I don’t know how they got my address.”

The tension returned in her shoulders. “What is the name of the business?”

“It’s letters and numbers. Like a symbol or something.”

She rolled her eyes. “Take a picture of it and send it right now so I can see it.” She waited for her mother to do that and then recognized it. “That’s from a company that I did some sponsorships for in college.”

They’d had her address back then.

“Guess they want you to do some more,” her mother said. “Really, Harmony? This stuff looks like junk. I can’t believe you’re lowering yourself to pushing some plastic knickknacks.”

“If you can ship it to me, I’ll take care of it,” she said. “I probably won’t do anything.”

She didn’t know why they didn’t reach out to her online but wouldn’t worry too much about it now.

“When are you going to get an actual job?” her mother asked.

Her shoulders dropped. “I’ve got a business, Mom. A successful business.”

“Marketing junk online. That’s not a job. That’s getting free things and persuading people to buy them. How do you know the stuff isn’t junk like this? You could misrepresent things. Could this ever come back on you that someone is following your lead and getting sick or hurt?”

She put the phone down and hit the speaker button. It was wrong, but she wanted her sister to hear the things she had to deal with too.

Though she was pretty sure Erica knew already since her mother was talking loud enough.

“Mom. I don’t take on any brand or product I won’t use for myself. I’m only saying I like it, and not telling anyone to buy or use it. It’s not my only business. You have no idea what I do because you never ask. You show a lack of interest.”

“Because you’ve never been able to pin one thing down in life,” her mother said. “You always jump around and do a hundred things and not enough of them well.”

Erica’s jaw dropped. “That’s wrong, Mom,” Erica said. “Don’t be mean. Harmony is doing great. She has a sound business plan and it’s not being an influencer. That is only a part of her business.”

“I’m not sure why or how your sister can influence anyone. She’s twenty-six years old and living in her father’s house, posting videos about being happy in life. No one goes outside and appreciates the sun and is in a better mood.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Harmony argued. “But I do. It’s not like I’m doing stupid stunts online. I’m letting people know they can be themselves and enjoy the little things and not worry about being perfect.”

“We know you’re far from perfect.”

For someone who said she didn’t let her mother bother her much anymore, her eyes filled.

“I’m hanging up now,” Erica said. “That was mean and until you apologize to Harmony, don’t contact me either.”

“Stop. Wait,” her mother rushed out. “Harmony. I’m sorry. I just worry. Your brother has settled down and is expecting a baby. Erica is getting married and has her business. You’re left. What are you going to do when your sister isn’t around for you to lean on?”

Her arms were swinging and her teeth were grinding. The happy, laid-back girl was no more right now.

When Erica went to open her mouth to reply she put her hand up.

She didn’t need to prove her mother right by Erica fighting her battles.

“Mom, Erica and I have lived together for years and I’ve appreciated every minute, but I don’t lean on her. We split the costs in the house here and I’ll be fine on my own. I made well over six figures last year, not that I have to tell you any of that.”

She made six figures from her sponsors alone. She netted twenty thousand in her other business ventures, and that was after paying herself what she thought was a modest salary so she could invest her sponsorship money into her business and for her future.

She thought she was doing damn well for her age. Few businesses turn a profit the first year either and she had!

“How is that possible?” her mother asked.

“Anything is possible,” she argued. “If you put the work in and try. You refuse to believe I can do that.”

“Fine,” her mother said. “Maybe you’re doing well with work, even though I’ll never understand your career choices.”

“It’s not for you to understand, Mom,” Erica said. “You gave me a hard time when I went out on my own too.”

“I’ve never worried about you, Erica,” her mother said. “You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders. I was more worried you’d never find a man, but you did. Now, Harmony. I’m more worried about the type of guy she’ll end up with.”

“What does that mean?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

“It’s probably going to be someone like you that isn’t in a stable career,” her mother said. “I know you’ve got all these friends and fans online. Or who you think are friends.”

She held her hand up and shook her head again at her sister. “Who I end up with is my decision and choice,” she said. “It will be because I like them as a person and not what they do for a living. I’ve got to go now, bye.”

She disconnected the call before her mother could say another word.

“I was going to hang up on her a few minutes ago,” Erica said. “That’s mean of her. Don’t take it to heart.”

Erica got up to hug her, but Harmony knew she’d start crying if she held on too long.

She returned the brief hug and then went back to her lunch as steady as she could.

“I feel better doing it. My form of telling her off,” she said, forcing a laugh. “I was happy enough to point out that I’m making more money than she thought.”

“She did sound surprised, but it won’t change her opinion on it.”

“Nope,” she said. “Nothing will change her mind on anything. That’s on her.”

“I understand you not wanting to tell her about Micah. How do you think she’ll react when she finds out?”

She shrugged. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. She might not find out. I have no idea where things are going to go.”

Erica shook her head. “Harmony. I can see it on your face where you want things to go. Tucker and I will be married within a year. I’m not waiting nor giving Mom much time to drive me nuts. I might even elope or do a small destination wedding to avoid it all.”

“Hawaii sounds nice,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“It does,” Erica said. “My point is, Mom and Dad will most likely meet Micah. I’m positive you’ll still be together.”

“And they are going to notice he’s older than me,” she said. “Got it. Oh well, Mom will blame Dad for not being around and say I’ve got a daddy complex. I don’t. At least I don’t think so.”

It’s not like Micah had been taking care of her. Other than the day her car broke down, but he’d do that for anyone.

Since then, she’d like to think they were equally taking steps and caring for the other.

“You don’t,” Erica said. “Not at all.”

“That’s right,” she said. “But I will say that dating an older man has some benefits.”

Erica grinned. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“Because you’re getting it too,” she said. “Oh, that patience and control in bed.” She was wiggling her shoulders.

“You’re assuming it’s from being older,” Erica said. “Maybe he’s only like that with you.”

“You don’t think I’m going to ask him that, do you?”

“Maybe you should, so you realize that people see more than a pretty face.”

She leaned on the counter and grinned at her sister. “He’s not even on social media,” she said.

“I’m not talking about social media, Harmony. I’m talking about in person. Maybe he sees what is inside like the rest of us. That’s when you’ll be happy. When you find someone who sees you that way.”