But she was too proud. Don’t let him see you break, she reminded herself.
Harper found them arguing about how to bag her groceries at the self-scan checkout. She cringed when she saw Luke hand Linc a box of tampons.
She should have just gone for the fetal position.
***
Luke spotted her first in the midst of his argument with Linc on how to bag chicken breasts.
“Hey, sunshine. We got you reusable bags,” Linc announced, grinning at Harper. Luke wanted to punch him again. He settled for elbowing him in the gut instead and then shoved his hands on his pockets. It was the only way he could be sure he wouldn’t reach out and grab her ... or break Linc’s nose.
Looking at her was still a punch in the gut. Those damn eyes — stormy now — were shadowed with dark circles. The light was missing from them. She was thinner, too, noticeable even with her wearing a fleece. He could see the hollows in her cheeks.
Tired. Empty. And all he wanted to do was fill her. But he had made his choice. His bed was empty, his house quiet. And that was the way it needed to be.
When he opened that cooler door to escape Georgia Rae’s small talk ... just seeing Harper in Reed’s arms, smiling up at him ... His gut still churned.
The reaction, that blind, burning fury, took him by surprise. He lost control as quickly as if a leash had snapped inside. Luke didn’t like that that was coiled within him, ready to strike.
And strike he had. Not just with his fists. He had cut Harper to the quick with his accusation. He saw the sting of his words register on her face just before Linc came at him. He was nothing without his control. But she had taken him past his limits before.
It wasn’t her fault. The blame fell on his shoulders.
He owed her an apology. Ty one, too. And while he was at it, he could throw one in for Linc, but probably not. Even if the man did have a point. He let Harper go. What did he expect?
Didn’t she deserve to be happy, to be loved, to have someone remind her to wear a damn coat when it snowed?
“Where’s your coat?” He regretted the harshness in his tone, but not being able to control himself was par for the course with Harper.
She shrugged. “Your house.”
Along with everything else she owned. Waiting.
“I’ll drop it off. I can bring the rest of your stuff.”
Harper was already shaking her head. “Joni doesn’t need —”
The song “Bad Boys” shrilled from her phone. Luke saw the flash of pure panic and watched as her fingers fumbled on the screen in her haste to answer.
“Hi. Hey,” she said, spinning away, clutching her phone to her ear.
“No, I didn’t get it. I moved.” Her eyes darted to Luke and away again. She lowered her voice. “I know. I’m sorry. It was kind of sudden.”
She listened in silence for a moment and he swore every ounce of color drained from her face.
“He’s getting out? When?” She sank down on a narrow bench next to the window.
She bit her lip and looked his way again, her gaze darting away when she saw him watching. Linc shoved a bag of lettuce at him. “Keep up, bro.”
“Give me a minute ... and don’t call me bro.”
“Fine. Keep up, dick.”
Luke stepped closer to Harper, but couldn’t catch much. She was arguing quietly now. “You don’t need to come here to play bodyguard — I can protect myself ...”
After another minute of whispering, she hung up and without a word hurried out of the store.
“Where’s she going?” Linc demanded, coming up next to Luke. “She forgot her stuff.”
