Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4) by Lily Harper Hart Page B

mini fight when it happened,” Harper said. “Zander has his nose out of joint and thinks Jason came back in town to be his arch nemesis.”
    “Harper, you don’t owe me an explanation,” Jared said. “I just … got jealous. I didn’t mean it and I’m embarrassed.”
    “Well, I guess it’s good you’re hot,” Harper said, rubbing her nose against his cheek. “If you were ugly I wouldn’t forgive you. You’re just handsome enough to skate on your looks, though.”
    Jared poked Harper’s ribs and he swiftly grabbed her around the waist and wrestled her to the bed, scorching her with a hot kiss as he knocked the yearbook to the floor. “I’ll show you how hot I can be.”
    “What about your dinner?”
    “After,” Jared replied. “I have priorities, Heart, and you’re number one on the list.”
    “That was a really good answer. You don’t even have to steal my underwear. I’m going to give them to you.”

    T HE KITCHEN was quiet when Jared made his way into the room shortly before midnight. He didn’t want to get out of bed – mostly because Harper looked like an angel and he didn’t want to risk waking her – but his stomach refused to quit growling. He pulled up short when he found Zander leaning against the counter and eating a cookie.
    “You scared the crap out of me,” Jared hissed. “Make a noise or something.”
    “Sorry. I’ll chew louder next time.”
    Jared arched an eyebrow as he opened the refrigerator and snagged Harper’s promised plate of food. His stomach growled in appreciation as he popped a tomato from the pasta salad into his mouth and took the opportunity to look Zander up and down. Thanks to the limited light emanating from the fixture above the sink they weren’t completely in the dark. “You look crabby.”
    “I’m not crabby,” Zander shot back. “I’m … contemplating my next move.”
    “Would your next move happen to be against Jason Thurman?”
    “It would indeed.” Zander bobbed his head up and down. “Do you want to join my mighty avengers team and bring Jason to his knees?”
    “Why would I want to do that?”
    “He’s after our woman.”
    Jared stilled. He wasn’t lying when he admitted to feeling ridiculous for letting his jealousy get away with him earlier. He also refused to ignore Jason should the man set his sights on Harper, which he figured was a very real possibility. He wasn’t going to overreact and make a fool of himself, though. “What makes you say that?”
    “Oh, you’re playing it cool, but I see your mind working,” Zander said, wagging a finger. “You want in on the team. Just for the record, I am the Captain America of our group. I look great in skintight rubber. You can be … the Hulk.”
    Jared frowned. “I’m not joining your crusade against this guy,” he said. “I have no reason to dislike him … so … I refuse to dislike him just because I might be a little insecure.”
    “Wow, it’s great that you admitted that,” Zander said. “That doesn’t change the fact that he’s after our woman.”
    “I would argue with your use of the word ‘our,’ but I can’t so I’m going to let it go,” Jared said. “What makes you think he’s after Harper?”
    “Oh, you should’ve seen the look on his face when he saw her,” Zander said, making a disgusted expression at the memory. “He schmoozed her and told her this outrageous story about wanting to give up Interlochen because he had a bad case of puppy love.”
    “That’s probably true,” Jared said. “When you’re young and dumb you think everything is the end of the world. You think you’re going to marry your prom date. How often does that happen?”
    “In my case … um … never,” Zander replied. “Harper was my prom date.”
    “Of course she was.” Jared ran his tongue over his teeth. “Why do you hate Jason so much? Harper said he stole your thunder – and Mel said he stole your underwear – but I want to hear what you have to