Harper's day had gone from bad to worse, she leaned back in her chair spinning as she tried to think of a way to overcome the hurdle that was Mr. Pacer. She was convinced that he was determined to make her life as miserable as possible because she was a woman. He was one of those old school men that believed that there was no place in construction for a woman. It was like she had fallen back in time by fifty years when she dealt with him.

She perked up when she heard the bell that meant that the office door had opened, maybe it was someone who would be able to take her mind off of her current problem. She gave a weary sigh when she heard Luke's voice as he greeted Trudy who was preparing to leave.

Harper turned her chair around and slumped into it in an attempt to hide, hoping he would cruise right by her office and go straight to his, then she could sneak out when he wasn't looking. Normally she didn't go to such lengths to avoid him, but she was still embarrassed by what had happened that morning. She knew she owed him an apology, but he was so utterly frustrating as a human being, and he knew what to say to rattle her. He knew all of her pet peeves, and he loved to use them against her.

Harper sensed him standing in the doorway to her office but she remained silent, waiting for him to move on, only he didn't. He stood there silently waiting, so with a dramatic sigh she turned her chair and looked up at him.

"You're like a bad penny," she said as she threw her pen on her desk.

He grinned, not the least bit put out by her less than welcoming greeting. "You were trying to hide again, weren't you?"

He walked into the office and sat a warm cup of her favorite hot white chocolate down in front of her. He was the only one who ever bought it for her, everyone else bought her coffee. She picked it up and cradled it in her hands, savoring the smell of it before she took her first sip, closing her eyes at the richness. He knew how to rattle her, yes, but he also knew some of her favorite things, and he always knew when to use them to get himself out of trouble or make her feel guilty.

"Next time you need to park your car around back, it gave you away." He sat in her guest chair, throwing his dirty boots up on her desk as he settled in for a little chat. He knew it drove her nuts, and he watched her as she ground her teeth in an attempt not to say anything at the mud that crumbled onto the corner of her desk.

She sipped her chocolate and took a deep soothing breath, remembering that he had bought it for her, but when he leaned forward and knocked a chunk off mud off of his boot she almost screamed. "How on earth do you find women to date, you're a Neanderthal."

"They generally don't know that on the first date, it takes them a few to work it out and by then..." He shrugged, sipping his coffee.

"They need a few of those shots I mentioned earlier?" she finished for him.

They sat there sipping their drinks, silently watching each other. With anyone else it would have been uncomfortable or awkward, but not with her and Luke, they had known each other too long to worry about manners.

"Why are you working so late?" he changed the subject.

"I might ask you the same thing," she countered.

"I have a problem with a client." He frowned as he thought about it.

"So do I," she admitted. "What's your problem?" She sat her hot chocolate down on the desk and absentmindedly reached up and unwound her braid from her neck, releasing the band that held it and easing her fingers through the thick ebony mass, massaging her scalp as she thought about Mr. Pacer and the trouble he was giving her.

His attention was captured by the lights in the parking lot turning on as dusk turned to darkness.

"Well, she's a woman-"

"You didn't sleep with her, did you?" Harper paused mid-massage, her fingers starting to pull at her hair as she thought about the nightmare it would cause.

"No, why does everyone think I sleep with every woman I meet?" He frowned again.

"Well, not every woman, but probably more than your fair share." Harper leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "But that doesn't excuse my comments from this morning and a moment ago, I am sorry I said them, Luke. They were petty and unprofessional."

"Are you sorry enough to fix my radio?"

"You can't tell me that you don't know how to fix it yourself," she insisted.

"That's not the point, the point is you made the mess and now you need to clean it up."

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth, "I'll fix your radio."

He nodded and was about to say something when their attention was caught by Trudy who was standing in the hallway watching them.

"I was just leaving," she smiled as she looked between them.

"Thanks, Trudy, we'll see you tomorrow," Harper said with a smile.

"You look pretty with your hair down Harper, you should wear it that way more often." She smiled again then was gone, missing Harper's surprised look as she reached up and felt her hair, she hadn't been aware she had taken it down.

She patted her desk until she found her hair band and then wound up her hair, which hung well past her shoulders, into a loose bun on top of her head.

Luke watched the process with a bored expression.

"Your problem?" Harper reminded him.

"This woman is, well, she's hinted that she wants to go out, more than hinted, and I did my best to get out of it, but I don't know how much longer I can continue to do it before she starts to get upset. Plus, she keeps changing her mind about everything, and it's driving me nuts. The paperwork for the change orders is already putting me into overtime."

"Poor baby," Harper soothed in her best sarcastic tone.

"What's your problem?" Luke changed the subject, looking at her through narrowed eyes.

Harper hated to tell him. The good ole' boy system was the hardest thing about working in the construction business and, thankfully, it was less and less of a problem, but when it became one she felt helpless. No matter what she said or did she felt like she was digging a hole, and then the self-doubt began to creep in which caused her to make mistakes, and then those mistakes proved the good ole' boys right.

"Dicky Pacer-"

Luke choked on his coffee. "You're having trouble with someone named Dicky Pacer?"

Harper tried her best to keep a straight face. "Stop it, Luke. I have to work with the man, that's why I only refer to him as Mr. Pacer."

"Sorry," he choked out as he held up his hand, "continue."

"Mr. Pacer-"

"Dicky," he coughed then grinned.

"Mr. Pacer, doesn't believe that a mere woman can handle his job."

"You're killing me, Harper! Stop with the innuendos, do your parents know you have such a dirty little mind?"

"Luke!"

"Fine, but the reason he's probably so uptight is that his name is-"

"Don't say it!" she warned.

"Dicky-"

"Luke!" she begged him.

"Pacer."

Harper buried her head in her arms, her shoulders shaking with laughter. After a few minutes she looked up at him still smiling, but he looked thoughtful, his mind already having moved on to working out the problems presented.

"What if we traded jobs?" he suggested. "You can have little Miss Date Me Please, and I can take Mr. Pacer."

Harper perked up at the idea. "What would we tell them though?"

"It would have to be something that wouldn't make either one of us lose face. Perhaps we could say that we're going on vacation to each of our clients, and then we can just take over for the other one?"

Harper nodded, liking the idea. "We can introduce each other to our respective clients tomorrow and tell them that we will each be beginning our vacation next week?" She thought for a moment, running potential problems through her mind. "And in two weeks when our vacations are over?"

Luke shrugged. "Hopefully we can say that our workloads are such that it's better to remain on the current job if there's a problem we can always switch back. Well, you can, I'll probably have you tell my client that I got lost in the desert or something."

Harper smiled as she shook her head at his sense of the ridiculous, noting that he still looked unsure about something.

"What is it, you look as if there is still a problem?"

He nodded, taking what could only be called a dramatic pause before he spoke, "I don't think that I will be able to look Mr. Pacer in the eye when I meet him tomorrow, especially after all of your innuendos."

"That's your fault." She smiled at him, not taking the bait, happy that her problem was finally resolved, only he didn't return her smile.

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly awkward, a first for them, as he let his gaze wander over her face, pausing on her smiling lips.

The silence between them grew heavy with something she didn't recognize, and she cleared her throat in preparation for saying something, only she wasn't sure what she should say to break the moment. She was aware that her heart rate had increased and she could feel her cheeks turning red as he continued to stare.

Then, suddenly, he threw his feet down on the floor reaching for the trashcan and brushing the dirt off her desk into it. "Good, then tomorrow you can change all of the radio stations back to where they were." He gave a wink and stood, and it was as if the moment had never happened. "We'll go first thing after tomorrow's meeting."

"No, we need to review each other's projects first, I'm not walking in there blind," Harper said distractedly as she did her best to recover from the odd moment.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" He walked towards the door.

"I can't afford it, I'm a woman in a man's world, one mistake for me is a career ender." The sober thought brought her back to reality with a thump.

He looked at her, not denying it as he gave her a sympathetic smile. "Are you staying?"

"For a little bit longer." She nodded.

"Then come and lock the door behind me," he said as he headed down the hallway and into the lobby. He didn't wait as he pushed through the door, giving her a wave as he got into his truck. She returned his wave, locked the door, then turned and headed back towards her office.

She was pleased that her problem with Pacer had been solved but her mind was already on to the next, Luke. What had happened between them? Had it really happened or had she imagined it, and if it did happen, what had actually happened? She was no expert, but the way he was looking at her made her believe that he was thinking about kissing her.

She rubbed her face, forcing the thought aside. It was only because she was so tired and he had saved her that she had imagined it. She would have to be more careful in the future that she didn't let her mind run away with her. It was amazing the way stress could make you imagine things, but now that her stress over Pacer was finished she could relax and let the ridiculous thought fade away.

He was only Luke, after all, she had known him her whole life, and there had never been any interest in that department between them.