Page 17

"I choose to view it as having my back instead."

"I noticed." The room settled into that comfortable silence which was exactly when Harper struck.

"So...”

I pointed at her. "No."

She blinked innocently. "I haven't said anything."

"You were about to. I don’t need anyone else trying to plan my life." I says with a pointed glance towards Noah and Luca, who were trying and failing to look innocent.

"I wasn't."

"You absolutely were."

She smiled into her wine. "Ok, maybe just a bit."

"I knew it."

Alexander looked between us. "Are we talking about Jake again?"

I looked at him. "Et tu, Brute?"

He just shrugged. "What do you expect?”

"You're supposed to be Switzerland."

"I'm not Switzerland."

"Tonight you are."

"I'm South Australia at best." A laugh rolled around the table.

Harper topped up her own wine before looking at me. "You know what I find interesting?"

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like where this is going."

"You haven't actually said one negative thing about Jake."

I frowned. "I've known him for about fifteen minutes."

"Exactly."

I looked around the table. "Is this an intervention?"

"No," Luca said.

"Yes," Harper answered at the same time. Traitors.

Harper smiled. "You've called him attractive."

I pointed at her. “Objectively, he is a very handsome man. That doesn’t mean I need to date him.”

"You've said he's funny."

"Also objectively."

"You smiled at him."