Page 31 of Fool Me (Timberline Peak #1)
CHAPTER
TWENTY
HARLOWE
The invincible feeling I’ve been carrying all day evaporates when I step out of Phantom at Town Hall for my interview and find Canyon leaning against the building like he’s been waiting for me to show up.
A warning creeps up my spine, making my palms damp and my stomach churn. This is too bold a move for Canyon. My instincts tell me he’s nervous about his chances and he should be, but I prefer him being blissfully ignorant to having stalker-like tendencies.
Squaring my shoulders, I head for the door, determined not to spare him a glance.
“Harlowe,” he tsks. “Try not to look so tense, they’ll think you’re nervous.”
Do not engage. Keep walking, I coach myself. But when I pass him and he whistles, I whirl on him.
“Damn, princess, that skirt was a good call.”
My face flushes hot, and the bite of my fingernails digging into my palms holds me in place. I refuse to take his bait and let him see how much he’s getting under my skin. I turn back and reach for the door, pretending to be unaffected. “Not today, Canyon.”
His slimy laughter follows me through the door, but I don’t miss a step, going left instead of right, making a beeline for the bathroom.
Hands braced on the sink, I glare at myself. “Get your shit together, Corbin,” I tell my reflection. “You can’t let him win. He doesn’t get to take anything else from you. Never again.”
I watch myself in the mirror, forcing myself to relax, to take deep breaths and let it go until I force the tension out of me. Then I leave everything that Canyon said to me, every ounce of doubt, on the floor of that bathroom, and leave it behind to claim what’s mine.
By the time the two-hour interview is done, I’m mentally and physically drained. I walk back out to my car with peace of mind knowing I did everything I could, and confident I’ll move on to the next steps.
There is no other option. I refuse to believe that they’ll be able to ignore what I know in my heart—that I’m the more capable leader. As a former nurse, my medical knowledge has far more breadth than Canyon’s, and I would bleed out for this team before I would fail them or run from my mistakes.
It’s a relief to be done with the first step. All I can do now is focus on preparing for the practical exam next week and the final round of interviews before I go to California for the wedding.
Getting into Phantom takes more effort than it should in my skirt and heels after the last two hours, but I manage without flashing anyone, or making a fool of myself.
Instead of turning on the car, I tip my head back and enjoy the silence, but it doesn’t take long until I’m reaching for my phone to text the one person I want to talk to.
Harlowe : All done.
Atlas : You feeling good?
Harlowe : I never want to hear the sound of my own voice again.
Atlas : A world without your words isn’t one I want to live in. Come over tonight and we can celebrate.
Harlowe : Celebrate how?
Atlas : By silently watching a movie together. Something funny and mindless.
Harlowe : Will there be food?
Atlas : There are burgers from Perdition Ranch in my fridge.
Harlowe : Consider me there.
Clicking out of the thread with Atlas, I pull up my best friend’s name and call her. It’s not until the phone is ringing and I’m backing out that I realize I wanted to talk to Atlas before her.
That’s never happened before. Vivi is my ride or die. Even with her living in different states and being engaged to Xavier, she has always been my first call.
“Hello, earth to Harlowe. Are you there?”
Shit. “Yeah, sorry, I’m here.”
“That’s it? Your interview was today. Tell me everything and don’t spare a single detail. I want to hear exactly how much ass you kicked.”
I shake off my shock and say, “Not so fast. Tell me how you and my favorite little guy are doing.”
My best friend lets out the most contented sigh. “Haze is perfect. God, I love him so much. Sometimes it feels like I might burst from how full my heart is.”
I hum, my happiness for her lifting my spirits. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“He’s going to steal your heart.”
“I don’t doubt it. And how’s Holland doing? Is she still pretending he doesn’t exist?”
Her answering laugh is tired. “No, now that she’s adjusted to not being the center of attention, we are working double time to keep her from treating him like her own personal doll.”
“That’s sweet and probably exhausting.”
She snorts her agreement. “Exhaustion is our baseline at the moment.” She pauses and there’s some shuffling as I hear her hand Haze off to Xavier with a whispered thank you .
“Okay. Okay. Babies are great, but I want to hear about your interview. I’m dying to talk about something that doesn’t revolve around my boobs or poop. ”
“I think we have a problem.” Smooth leather slips through my hands as I head out of town to the overlook because I’m not ready to go home yet. The buzz of the day is still too loud.
“Did it not go well?” Concern colors her voice.
The road out of town and up into the mountains stretches out in front of me as I think about her question.
“No, the interview was fine—great, even.” Canyon’s stunt only made me more focused on my goal, but I didn’t call her to talk about him. “It’s Atlas.”
“Did people find out that you two are faking it?”
“Still blissfully ignorant. But I think I like my fake boyfriend.”
“That’s not exactly a revelation. I’m thousands of miles away and I could have told you that. You talk about him all the time. And you seem happier, more at ease than I’ve seen you in years.”
“But he’s trying to build a closer connection to his parents.
I’m his brother’s ex. If he wants a relationship with them, and if Canyon sticks around, doesn’t that seem like an issue?
They’re going to be forced into situations where they have to spend time together. I don’t think I could deal with that.”
“Be so fucking for real right now.”
“Excuse me,” I scoff.
“Harlowe, who told me to pull my head out of my ass and talk to Xavier when I was struggling with my family?”
It was me.
“That was different. You and Xavier had been sleeping together for months by then. You were head over heels for him.”
“Maybe, but I fail to see the difference.”
“We’ve never even kissed for real—this is all a show.
We’re friends, but it’s been weeks, and he’s had opportunities to make a move.
Beyond that, the whole point of this was to focus on getting this job, not to snag a man.
My focus needs to stay on the job, the upcoming test, and the interview process until it’s done. ”
“Okay. Ambition recognizes ambition, I get that. But what about after?”
“Is it even fair to ask him to choose?”
“Not your call, babe,” she says frankly.
“Fuck, why does this have to be so complicated?”
“Because you’re fake dating your ex’s brother. It’s complicated by design.”
“You’re not helping. I should’ve called Aspen.”
Vivienne laughs, the fatigue of being a new mom slowing it down. “I think I’m helping just fine. You just don’t want to hear it because you know I’m right and you don’t want to do the hard thing.”
“Oh, I want to do the hard thing, all right.”
She sputters out another round of laughter.
“Christ, you can’t say things like that to me right now.
My hormones are already doing funny things and there’s no telling what innuendos will do to me.
I could leak all over myself, start crying, or pee my pants from laughing.
It’s a gamble.” There’s a tiny voice asking for snacks and a hush reply from Vivi.
“I take it he’s still coming to the wedding?” she asks after a moment.
“Yes,” I say as I pull into the lot at the overlook, backing into the spot with the best view of the stunning valley below.
“Good, I can’t wait to meet the guy that’s got the formidable Harlowe Corbin all tied up.”
“Traitor.” Phantom’s doors creak as I step out, opening the hatch door so I can stretch out in the back.
“I’m always on your side, babe. I just think he might be good for you if you give it a chance.”
“You’re just lovesick and want everyone to drink the Kool-aid.”
“Take a sip. You know you want to,” she teases.
I grumble a response about wanting a lot of things I shouldn’t have, and then we move on to other topics. Vivienne and I talk about the wedding for a while before she has an absolute fit when I tell her I’m heading over to Atlas’s for a movie night before we finally hang up.
I try not to think too much about what she said about Atlas being good for me, but it keeps creeping back in.
Whether I’m ready to confront my feelings for him or not, they’ve made themselves known.
Now to figure out if I’m going to risk our entire plan by telling him before either of us accomplishes what we set out to do.