Teaching Harper (Tempting Mr. Bedford #2)

One

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SIMON

I sounded the horn of my car again and waited. The huge iron gates stayed shut. No one came down the driveway to meet me.

Where the hell was the housekeeper? Lucas said she'd be here when I arrived. Maybe she was taking a nap? Unlikely, as it was seven in the evening, but who knew what people did here on the West Coast. I hadn't seen much of California during the few times I visited my brother or attended conferences so I couldn't say. There was too much work to do — reading, working on academic papers, attending and giving lectures — for me to waste time meeting people or getting a drink. And anyway, it was never a good idea for me to imbibe alcohol.

After five minutes, I sighed and got out of the car. I'd try the doorbell, but if no one answered, I'd have to go to a hotel. My brother was in the Alps on holiday with his girlfriend but he insisted that I stay at his home until I found an apartment close to the university where I was going to start my new job in the history department in the fall. I kept my finger on the buzzer longer than necessary, then waited. Lucas assured me the housekeeper Colleen would be here, but thus far, it seemed like she'd skipped town. Damn it.

"You lost?"

At the sound of a woman's voice behind me, I turned around, absently adjusting my eyeglasses as I turned my attention to her. "Colleen?" I asked.

She looked a little young to be a housekeeper, but I barely remember what Colleen looked like. In her shorts and tank top, she dressed like no housekeeper I'd ever met. In my experience, they rarely showed that much cleavage on a workday. Apart from her youth and her outfit, the woman also thought the idea was amusing. She laughed as though I'd just told the funniest joke she'd ever heard.

"I'm not Colleen," she said. "Oh, you're cute. I'm Harper, I live next door."

She had moved so close that I instinctively took a step back. There was an odd look on her face as she gazed up at me, her hand resting on my chest. I preferred not to have random strangers touching me but I was too frustrated at my situation, so I just ignored her hand.

"Uh, very nice to meet you, Harper," I said. "I'm Simon Bedford."

Her jaw dropped, then her face lit up. "You're not Lucas's brother, are you?"

"I am." I glanced at the house behind the gates. "Lucas said the housekeeper would be expecting me but no one seems to be home."

"Well, why don't you try calling him?" She lowered her gaze over my body before looking back up at me. She was grinning. "Or Colleen."

I glanced down my chest, wondering what she'd found so amusing. "I don't have a phone."

Her jaw dropped even lower this time and her eyes grew wide. "Shut up!" She was so shocked she stepped back and put a hand over her mouth. "You're messing with me."

I frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"Wow, you are serious." She shook her head and then patted my chest. "Well, come on then."

Before I could ask what she meant, she sauntered over to my Volvo and let herself in the front seat. Was I missing something? I glanced one last time through the gate of my brother's house, still not seeing any sign anyone was home. At this point, I suppose anything was better than just waiting here.

When I got back behind the wheel, Harper gestured toward another gate up the street, this one was opened wide. "Drive through there," she said.

I followed her instructions. "Is this your house?"

"My parents'. They're out of town so I'm all alone."

There was an inscrutable tone in her voice and when I turned to look at her, she was staring between my legs. She had her lower lip caught between her teeth and a wistful look on her face.

"You know, it's rude to stare," I said.

She looked up. "Is it?" Smiling, she said, "Sorry, it's just that you and Lucas don't look anything alike."

"We're not twins."

"I didn't think you were." She cocked her head, staring at my face this time. "No, wait, I see it now. You have the same mouth."

"Is that so. I assume you and Lucas are good friends?"

"We're very good friends."

There was a strange tone in her voice. "I see," I said, realization dawning over me. "So he's like an uncle to you?"

"Yes. We're super close like that, ever since I was a little girl. Sometimes I'd sneak in here early in the morning and wake him."

"Wake him?"

"Uh-huh." When she smiled, I could swear there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "He'd always pretend to be surprised to see me."

I pulled up the driveway. "Connor is about your age, isn't he?" I felt rather bad I couldn't recall my nephew's age, but I knew it was somewhere in the early twenties.

"Oh yes. We're really close."

I parked in front of the house. It made sense now that Harper didn't hesitate to invite me over if she was friends with Lucas and Connor. Generally, I didn't think it was safe for a young woman like her to let strange men into her home. Since I was Lucas's brother, she knew she was safe with me.

***

"How about I just call Lucas for you?" Harper said.

I followed her inside the house. The front door opened to a massive foyer with a high, cathedral ceiling. It was white, as were the walls. "No, need. If I could use your landline, I'm sure I could —"

"I honestly don't know where the landline is. Can I get you a drink?" She led me down a hallway to the living room. More white walls. Probably to make the furniture and its dark neutral colors stand out.

"Just water, please." I sat down on the couch. "I suppose it doesn't matter who talks to Lucas, so that will be fine, thank you. Just tell him I went to his house but the gates were closed and no one seems to be home."

"You sure you only want water? I have bourbon and scotch and ... a bunch of things my dad drinks."

I shook my head, repressing a shudder. Alcohol tended to alter my behavior in ways I didn't even want to think about. "Water will be fine, thank you."

An expression of puzzlement flitted over her face, then it was replaced by amusement. "One water, coming up."

She sauntered over to the wet bar in the corner and pulled a bottle of water from the bright red refrigerator beside the glass cabinet filled with bottles of liquor.

"Thanks," I said, taking it from her. "Do you live with your parents?"

"Theoretically," she said. "But they're away so often, they're pretty much guests at this point."

"I'm sorry."

She laughed. "You kidding? I love it, I can do anything I want."

With a wink, she left.

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New update every Monday! If you want to know how to access more chapters, check out my blog: https://iliadatroy.substack.com/