They arrived at the meeting late, and everyone turned to stare at them as they took the last two remaining seats available in the back. Harper was worried that she still smelled, but Manny, who was on her other side, didn't give her a funny look or move away. She glanced over at Luke who was leaning back in his chair with his usual relaxed attitude.

"Thank you for taking the time to join us," Harper's father drawled as he looked them over.

"You're welcome, we almost didn't make it, Harper got sprayed by skunk, and I had to take her home and hose her down," Luke supplied with a grin.

"Shut-up!" Harper hissed while Manny leaned over and sniffed. Harper leaned away from him and into Luke's side.

"Smell's pretty good, uh?" Luke asked Manny, who nodded and sat back looking from one to the other with a questioning look.

"I don't smell any skunk," he looked suspiciously at them. "What happened to all of Harper's clothes, why is she wearing yours?"

"She got sprayed by a skunk you moron," Stephanie said from across the room.

"I had to throw them out Manny, they were nasty," Luke leaned over Harper to say it sotto-voice, as if he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Even her shoes?" Manny looked at her bare feet with her shiny pink toenails.

"Yep, she stunk the entire house up."

"If you two don't mind, can we get ack to business?" Troy asked from the front of the room.

Luke nodded and Manny backed off, allowing Harper to settle back into her seat and stop using Luke as a back brace.

The next hour was spent going over past jobs, current jobs, and upcoming jobs. Luke filled them in of his and Harper's job swap, making it sound like she was doing him the favor, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was up to.

When the meeting was over Harper breathed a sigh of relief and stood, waiting to get past Luke, but he was in no hurry to stand and was blocking her way. All she wanted to do go home take another shower with her chosen brand of soap and shampoo then get into her own clothes.

"Hey Luke, you wanna get together tomorrow night with the rest of us?" Stephanie asked over the commotion of everyone leaving. "Most of us are going to meet up at Bravo's for drinks and maybe catch a movie after."

"I'll take a rain check Stephanie; Harper and I have a date."

The entire room froze and everyone turned to stare at Luke. Harper was doing her best not be insulted that Stephanie hadn't also invited her while trying not smack Luke upside the head for his poor choice of words. It was officially the worst day ever, and she wanted to retreat to her own little apartment and stay hidden until she had her date the following night. She was even now, debating how to get out of that.

"Not – with – each – other!" Harper ground out through clenched teeth. The room was perfectly still so there was no need to yell the words, they were heard just fine.

"No, that would be against the no fraternization rule, but we should really talk to Troy about how he feels about us dating our suppliers. That might not go over so well either," Luke said with mock thoughtfulness.

Everyone looked really confused as Luke stood up with a grin and walked out of the conference room. Harper closed her eyes, counted to ten, then took off after him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into her office and slamming the door behind her.

She was so angry she missed the herd of her fellow co-workers moving as one and packing themselves into Troy's office, with Troy leading the way.

"What the hell was that Luke!" she said as she leaned against the door.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Are you trying to make people think that we're dating? Are you trying to pay me back for stinking up your garage?"

He tilted his head and looked at her with a thoughtful expression. "No."

"Then why?"

"Because they were going to find out eventually that you and I had a double date with Ronnie and Delia, only now there's no confusion about who went out with who."

"No confusion! You walked out in the middle of the story, there is now more confusion, not less."

"What are you so worried about Harper? Everyone knows there is nothing between us, there never could be, we're like family." He shrugged trying to reach past her for the door knob, but she wasn't that easily moved.

"Where have you been for the last few years Luke, we're the long running joke in this office, are they or aren't they? Everyone here thinks that you and I are either having or are on the verge of having an affair, and now you just gave them fuel for their fire!"

"I'm aware," Luke looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

He had reached around her and placed his hand on the door handle, putting himself right up on her, she could feel his chest where it pressed against hers.  She couldn't remember if she had ever been this close to Luke before. It seemed impossible after all of the years that he had never once wrapped his arms around her even in a hug. Her heart started to beat erratically, and she could feel her face flushing as his breath caressed her cheek.

She wondered once again what it would feel like to be held in his arms and kissed. She'd bet he was a great kisser, he'd had more than enough practice over the years. That thought brought her to earth with a bump, and she broke the heavy silence between them.

"Then why on earth are you encouraging it?"

"I didn't think I was, besides, even if I am, it seems to give the masses something to do with their time so who am I to spoil all of their fun?"

"Spoil their fun!"

"Look Harper, the only reason we would ever have to worry about what they think is if what they were thinking was true and it's not, so again, I ask you, what's the problem?"

She ground her teeth together, the problem was that she had enough pressure in her life and she didn't need any more added to it. Luke, whom everything came easily to, wouldn't understand her kind of pressure. The pressure to be the perfect daughter, the perfect project manager, the one everyone could count on, it wasn't an easy or fun life. However, she knew if she said all of this to Luke he would look at her like she was crazy and tell her that life was what one chose it to be.

Harper felt Luke press more closely against her and she swallowed hard at the sudden heat that filled her limbs.

"If you want to discuss the 'more than just friends' thing I'm open," he whispered softly in her ear as his cheek grazed hers. "Is that the problem, you want it to be true? Is that why the thought of it makes you so outraged?"

Harper's head jerked away from him. He had come too close to the truth, and it was time to back away. She pushed hard at his chest and he stepped away with a chuckle.

"You're so easy to get to Harper, you really should develop a thicker skin, then life wouldn't be something that you have to endure. It might become a little more fun." He reached around her and opened the door closing it softly behind her.

Harper was done, she walked over to her desk and started to pack up her things. It was the weekend and she was going to enjoy her time away from this place. As she packed up her stuff she couldn't help but wonder if she would have responded so strongly to the events of the day if they had happened two days earlier. What the staff thought of her and Luke had never seemed to bother her before today? Was it because her thoughts towards Luke had shifted, and now she saw him as a man and not as an annoying co-worker?

When she left she walked by her father's office and saw that it was full of people once more, but she was too distracted to stop and find out what was going on with them. When she walked into the parking lot she noticed that Luke's truck was already gone.

*******

Luke didn't stop as he closed Harper's door behind him. He headed straight to his truck. He knew why he had pushed her like he had, because she had pushed him. What was so wrong with the idea of them having a relationship? She acted like it would be the end of the world if they did. Was he that horrible of a person?

He was weak, and he had caved when he had allowed himself to move into her space. He had wanted to taunt her because he knew that they would be good together, he had always known it, he only wished that she could see it.

He was fighting a loosing battle and it would be better if he moved on and gave up all hope. It was something he had tried to convince himself to do many times, but he could never bring himself to do it. He would always see her again, with her ebony hair, soft brown eyes, and strong lithe body, and he would want her just as badly as he always had.

She was buried to deeply in his soul for him to ever give up all hope.