She stole a look at Harrison’s profile, but he didn’t appear unduly worried by that declaration. Then again, he did have a hand curled around her upper thigh, so maybe he was preoccupied with other thoughts.

But when he spoke, it was with nothing but a relaxed, calm air. “Would they? Huh. I’ve been wondering what she’s like.”

“She’s intrusive and overbearing, but in such a nice, likable way that it’s impossible to complain. Once you open the door and let her in, you’ll never get rid of her again.”

“She’s like you, then.”

She smacked him on the arm. “Excuse you. I’m a freaking delight.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss onto her hand, which lingered on the swell of his bicep. “Yes,” he said, his voice grave. “You are.”

Those simple words, simply uttered, sent a thrill through her. Harrison Parks wasn’t a man who gave compliments very often—or very effusively—but that was what made this one so powerful.

He liked her. He took delight in her. And more to the point, he wasn’t scared of the possibility of meeting her mother.

They pulled up next to the car, which Sophie quickly realized didn’t belong to her mom. Alice Vasquez’s car was a mess of her husband’s academic papers and books, with half a dozen stuffed puppies of various breeds crammed below the back window. Dawn had given them to her for Christmas one year, joking that dogs were all the grandchildren she’d ever get. The toys were faded and lopsided now, but she’d never remove them. They’d been there so long they’d become a family totem.

“That’s not my mom,” Sophie said as the truck came to a halt. “Her car isn’t nearly that clean, and she’d never dangle a crystal from the rearview mirror like that. She read an article once about how many people crack their windshields that way.”

“Then who—?” Harrison asked before cutting himself off.

Sophie didn’t have to say what she was thinking.

“No,” he said. “I don’t believe it. You and Oscar can conjecture all you want, but he’s not seeing someone. My father doesn’t even like regularly seeing the dentist.”

“Would it be so bad?” she asked, wishing Wallace hadn’t sworn her to secrecy about his moving-out plans. “If he did find love?”

“No.” Harrison turned the key and sat back against the seat, his rugged face relaxed into a semblance of calm. Then he grinned, his smile so devastating and warm she almost feared her heart would stop. “If it had happened a month ago, I might have called the FBI and warned them about a case of body snatchers in the area, but not now.”

She couldn’t resist. “But not now?”