He’d learned a lot about these women in the last couple of weeks.Wonderful, whacky things, but the one thing he’d learned for sure?There was nothing more important to them than love, loyalty and family.
“Is this a love-conquers-all metaphor?”
She winked at him.“Well, I know it’s early in the game.and I definitely know you’re both thinking some of this attraction you have to one another is what my favorite vamp calls trauma bonding, but falling in love doesn’t always make sense, and there’s no time limit to how long it takes to happen.It’s what you do with it when you figure it out.”She paused momentarily, then asked, “So, is this love we’re talking about?”
“It’s deep like.”That much he could admit.He really,reallyliked Dom, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wondered what was happening between them.
Had he met her at a social event somewhere, or in a bar or whatever, would he be this attracted?Would he have asked her out?
Definitely yes.
Would it have led to something more?
Maybe so.
But he wasn’t willing to risk getting too far into something before they’d had a chance to decompress outside the heavy weight of the stress over the potential end of the world.
So yes.Trauma bonding had occurred to him.But there were moments when he knew, deep in his gut, had he met her under any other circumstances, he’d be just as charmed.
“Well,deep likedoes funny things to people.Ask me, I know.As to why you didn’t admit your ability to handle MC to Dom?Maybe you don’t want it to be true.Maybe you don’t want her to lose focus?Or maybe the answer is as simple as, it only happened once and it was fleeting.It’s not a sure bet and you don’t want to get your hopes up.”
That didn’t feel right, but he muttered anyway, “Maybe…”
“You haven’t been able to do it since that day in the dining hall.I don’t think your incapability to wield MC has anything to do with not wanting the power and responsibility, I think it’s about your fear of failure.Failure to protect Dom.Failure to protect your people.But when push came to shove, you held MC, Harvey.Maybe it just took imminent danger to make it happen.”
Again… “Maybe so.”
She smiled at him, her white teeth flashing in the onset of evening’s glow.“Listen, I want to say something to you and then I’ll let it go.I want you to hear me when I say this—something that’s very apparent to me.You’renothinglike your father, Harvey.You’re good.You’re solid.You’re kind.You do good things for people in need.You’ve made a life out of helping others.Your inability to take control of MC hasnothingto do with some flaw in you, or whatever nonsense your knuckle-dragging brethren have fed you.Understand?”
He nodded, giving her a salute.“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.Now.About this magic we have to find.I might have a lead from a former client.I’m headed in to a Zoom call with her now.Keep your fingers crossed.Oh, and don’t miss dinner tonight before you go visit Stavros.Arch is making porchetta in your honor.”
His stomach rumbled in response.Arch’s cooking was the reason he was slow when he jousted alongside the Asgardian soldiers.“With that white wine and rosemary gravy?”
Wanda laughed out loud.“Duh.Would your bromance be complete without it?”she teased as she scurried off, swallowed up by the castle’s basement door.
He loved to cook, and Arch and Tottington had been willing teachers.Spending time with them had been a balm in the midst of this storm.And he’d learned how to make a killer roast chicken in the process.
Bard, one of the volunteers from Asgard who’d offered to help train Dom, approached him, a question in his youthful eyes.“Are you done with your break?Shall we spar another round, Harvey, or are you ready to call it a day?”
Wanda had ignited exactly what he needed to plow ahead—determination.
If he couldn’t ever lay hands on MC again, at the very least he could fight alongside Dom, and fight he would.No matter what it took, he’d do whatever he had to in order to keep her and everyone else involved safe.That meant brushing up on his sword skills.
Stretching has arms upward, he nodded before grabbing his sword.“One more time before dinner, my good man.”
Bard smiled with an amused gleam in his eye.“Then let’s hurry this along.If Archibald is cooking, you’ll never call me late for supper.Winner of the match gets first shot at the garlic mashed potatoes.”Then he took the usual dueling stance, his muscled arms flexing.“En garde!”
Well, when you put mashed potatoes in the mix, especially Arch’s, that meant a duel to the death.
“En garde!”Harvey shouted back.
ChapterFourteen
Dom pulled the blanket she shared with Harvey tighter over her legs and took a handful of popcorn.“You keep saying the Marvel movies aren’t like real life, but I think you have some infiltrators, because Asgard in the movies?Sure looks a lot like Asgard in real life.”
Harvey chuckled, plopping some kernels into his mouth.“Fair enough.They are, indeed, quite similar.But as a disclaimer, our Loki is a standup guy.Nothing like Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal.”
