Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

fractures?” she asked cheerfully.
    Dunnigan flipped through the series of images. “It looks like you’re in the clear. This time.”
    “Told you,” Harper smirked at Luke.
    “You’re awfully cocky for someone covered head to toe in bruises,” he reminded her.
    “Same story with your arm,” Dr. Dunnigan said tapping the screen. “Old break. This one looks like it healed better than your rib.” She looked pointedly at Harper.
    Harper shrugged and didn’t respond. Time had healed those physical hurts a long time ago, and with them the mental ones as well.
    “Any new ones?”
    “Nope,” the doctor swiveled in on her stool and put the laptop back on the counter. “A little swollen, a lot of bruising. But overall not nearly as bad as it could have been. I’ll write you a script for some pain meds to help you sleep and I’m telling you that rest is the best medicine.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    T hey rode in silence after leaving Dr. Dunnigan’s. Each lost in thought. Harper was finally the one to break the silence.
    “So do your tattoos mean anything?”
    He kept his eyes on the road. “Why?”
    “Do you not want to tell me what they mean?”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “You’re answering questions with questions. It’s like a therapist trick.”
    “Is it?”
    She sighed loudly. “I feel like I’m playing Jeopardy when I talk to you.”
    Luke grinned and said nothing.
    Harper let it drop. She watched the road signs flash by, heading back to the city she had called home for the past two years. She had called a lot of places home, but it was for the lack of a better word. She had never really felt at home anywhere. Not since she was a little kid, in a postage stamp-sized house with a mom and a dad who now were more ghosts than memories.
    “So what’s your plan once you get your stuff?”
    Harper pursed her lips and sighed. “Gas up my car and head to Hannah’s.”
    “You’re putting a lot of hope on a friend’s generosity.”
    She sensed judgment in his tone. “It’s only temporary. I already checked out some jobs and apartments on Craigslist. I’ll be off of her couch in no time.”
    “What kind of jobs?”
    “There’s a couple of waitress/manager openings, an inventory clerk position, and, worst case scenario, one of those people who sit on stools in the middle of the mall and try to sell you a new bathtub.”
    “Dream job?”
    “Any job that pays the bills is a dream job these days.”
    He changed the subject. “So do you want to talk about why you ran out of your place with nothing yesterday?”
    “Not particularly,” Harper said, looking out the window. She sighed. “Just a mistake on my part. Poor judgment followed by a nasty surprise when I came home early.”
    “Boyfriend?”
    “Ex, as of yesterday.”
    “Cheating?”
    “A bike messenger girl. She had great legs from what I could see.”
    “My God, Harper, you’re a mess.”
    She puffed out a breath. “It would appear so.”
    An hour later, Luke pulled up in front of the beige townhouse that Harper pointed out. “Do you want me to come in with you? I don’t want you moving anything heavy.”
    “No, he should be at work. And I don’t have much to pack. It won’t take me long.” Harper opened the door and slid out.
    “Just come out when you’re packed and I’ll carry the stuff to the truck.”
    She hurried up the walk to the front door and let herself in. The beige carpet and off-white walls had never screamed “home” to her. And they certainly didn’t make her feel homesick now.
    It was time to go.
    She grabbed her purse out of the hall closet, double-checking that her wallet and phone were there before hurrying and upstairs to the bedroom. The sheets were still in disarray and she could see two head indentations on the pillows. Messenger Girl must have spent the night. Or maybe he’d ordered pizza after he was finished with Messenger Girl.
    She turned her back on the bed in disgust and grabbed her suitcase and