ALEX'S QUESTION (SEVENTY FOUR)

Chase took the time to kiss the top of Harper's head for a moment before he finally made his way to his car with slightly heavy steps. But what he hated the most was Harper's attitude of letting him go without seeming to want to hold his back or at least pretending that his presence there meant little to her. But in fact, Harper wasn't acting the way he'd hoped. It was precisely when he got into the car and yanked the door hard in annoyance that Harper waved her hand with a happy face—or a forced cheerful face. The woman didn't think his presence there mattered at all. The woman had gently pushed him away.

A few seconds after Chase's car disappeared around the corner, Harper sprinted to her car and began researching them one by one. First, she looked at the car as a whole. She circled the car twice like an idiot, convincing herself that Alex was nowhere to be seen. Then she opened all the doors of her car wide and started doing some checking like Alex was a small object that