“I’ll trust you on that.”

“Besides, I know how busy you’re going to be once training camp starts.”

“We’ve got a while yet. But I do plan on doing some traveling.”

She dug into her salad and took a bite, followed up by a sip of her drink. “Really? Where are you going?”

“I want to head out to San Francisco to see my brother, then down to the ranch in Texas to visit my folks.”

“I’ve never been to San Francisco. I’d love to go there sometime. Be sure to say hello to Flynn for me. How’s his restaurant coming along?”

“Right now he’s remodeling.”

She smiled. “Remodeling. A lot like you, then.”

“Yeah, sort of.”

“I’d love to see what he’s doing with the place.”

He scooped up a forkful of salad, then looked at her. “So, come with me.”

“Oh, sure. Just like that.”

He shrugged. “Why not? I’ll only be gone a few days. And you said you want to see San Francisco. You could come with me.”

Harmony knew Barrett was just blowing smoke, that he thought being self-employed she’d never take him up on his offer. But the idea of it was tempting. She really did want to see San Francisco, and she honestly was interested in seeing what Flynn was doing with his restaurant.

“When are you going?”

“Heading out this weekend.”

The timing was kind of perfect. She had nothing going on this weekend, and she had a lull in work.

It would also give them time alone. How would he react to that?

“What would you do if I said yes?”

He had finished his salad and nudged his plate to the side. “Yes to what?”

“To your invitation?”

“Oh, about San Francisco? I didn’t think you’d be able to take the time off.”

“So why make the offer, unless you really didn’t mean it.”

“Uh, sure I meant it.”

“Then I accept.”

He stared at her for a few minutes, then shrugged. “Okay. We’ll go together.”

Fifteen

Okay, so Barrett had thrown out the invitation figuring Harmony would be too busy to take him up on it. But when he’d told her earlier today that he never said things he didn’t mean, he meant what he said. He’d invited her. She’d said yes. So he was going to take her to San Francisco.

Which would likely open up a lot of questions from Flynn about Harmony and him, but he’d have to tell Flynn he and Harmony were just friends. And then hope like hell Drake never found out he’d taken his sister to San Francisco.

After dinner, they headed back to the hotel. Harmony said she was overly full from that great dinner, so she wanted to take a walk on the beach.

He had to agree with her. The food had been damn good. He made a note to find Ted later and thank him for the recommendation.

Harmony had pulled off her shoes and held them in her hand while they walked along the edge of the surf. Even though it was dark, it was still hot outside, but being next to the water helped some.

“Someday I’ll have a place right on the water,” she said.

“You’ve got that now. Sort of.”

“I have a view of the water, which I enjoy. But I mean a place right on the water. Kind of like you have, though you’re not beachfront.”

“You want beachfront.”

“Yes. Mama used to bring us to the beach on weekends whenever she could. And I hated to leave. I’d sit and dig in the sand for hours, then play in the water until Mama insisted we leave. I fell in love with the water from an early age. It’s my dream to live somewhere right on the beach, so I can get up in the morning, grab my coffee and go sit outside and watch the sun come up over the water. Then in the evening, pour a glass of wine and listen to the sound of the waves as the sun sets.” She lifted her gaze to his. “I love the water, so my goal is for it to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.”

He brushed his shoulder against hers. “Water lover.”

“You’re damn right I am. And I’ll work my tail off until I get what I want.”

“I don’t doubt that about you.”

“You love the water, too, obviously, since you bought the house right on it.”

“Yeah. I like to take the boat out. Mom and Dad always had us out there fishing, taking trips out on the lakes to water-ski. We’d go tubing all the time in the summers.”

“See what a good match we are, Barrett?”

He laughed. “Well, we have water in common, anyway.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ll bet we have a lot more than that.”

She’d paused to look up at him. They were alone out here and as he looked at her mouth, her lips parted, and all he wanted to do was take a taste of her.

Bad idea.

“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but I’m thirsty. How about we head inside to the bar for a drink?”

Her lips curved. “I think you’re trying to avoid kissing me.”

Harmony was way too smart for her own good.

“So is that yes or no to the drink?”

“A drink is fine, Barrett. But before the end of tonight, you will kiss me.”

They headed up the beach toward the bar. “If that’s some kind of challenge, or you think you might be able to get me drunk enough, you’re going to lose.”