When I set her down, my voice comes out rough. “God, Harper. Of course. But Pittsburgh, if you love it there, I could—”
“I don’t,” she interrupts. “I moved for the wrong reasons, and now I have no reason to stay.”
“Are you really ready for this? With me?”
Her lip quivers as I set her down. She removes her jacket, folding it over her arm before setting it on the couch with deliberate care. Her fingers linger on the fabric, tracing the edge of a sleeve. When she finally looks up, her eyes are glassy, and she swallows hard before speaking.
“I’m terrified, actually. You’ve made me feel things I’ve never felt before, and you’re helping me rebuild faster than I thought possible.”
“I’ll never do what he did, Harper. Never,” I promise.
“That’s good, because I don’t know if I could handle another man leaving me for Kenzie.”
The thought sends a shudder through me. “If that ever happened, it would have to be due to a psychotic break requiring institutionalization for the rest of my life. Agh!”
Harper laughs and interlocks our fingers, staring at our joined hands. “I just need you to be a little patient with me as I figure out how to do this again.”
I cradle her head in my palm, my fingers threading through her hair as I draw her against my chest. Her heartbeat flutters against mine like a trapped bird. I breathe in the scent of her shampoo, the same floral scent that haunted my dreams since high school.
My arms tighten around her, and I have to swallow twice before I can speak. “Just—” My voice breaks. I clear mythroat and try again, whispering against her temple. “Just don’t disappear on me, okay?”
“No running.”
“I was so worried,” I admit, sighing in relief. “I thought I’d send you racing back to Pittsburgh.”
“It was a lot to take in, but I’ve been denying the truth for too long. Your feelings have always been right there, and it felt safer not to notice.”
Her arms wrap around my back, and she rests her cheek against my chest. I frown. “Why?”
“Because I couldn’t fool myself into believing what Asher and I had was real,” she says with a chuckle. “There was nothing genuine between him and me or between Kenzie and me. That’s what’s hardest for me to grasp.”
“Because you planned your life around a man who wasn’t who you thought?”
“That part makes me feel foolish. And I was. It won’t make sense to anyone, but knowing Kenzie was never really my friend hurts more than I expected.”
At least it’s not Asher. “You feel how you feel. There’s no right or wrong way, Harper.”
Sniffling, she looks up at me. “Can I stay the night?”
“You can stay forever if you want to.”
Chapter 42
Harper
“You can stay forever if you want to.”
Ford’s pupils dilate as he takes my hand, his fingers trembling slightly against mine as he leads me down the hallway. My purse slides off my shoulder, abandoned by the door. I’d only planned to say my piece and leave.
But the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows, the way his shoulders gradually loosen with each step we take, the way the corners of his mouth lift into that crooked smile I’ve memorized—it all pulls me forward until we’re standing at the threshold of his bedroom.
“We can just sleep,” Ford says quietly.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I shake my head. “No.” I step closer until I can feel the heat radiating from his skin. “Not just sleep.”
I reach for the top button of my sweater dress, my fingers trembling slightly. Ford’s breath catches, his eyes never leaving mine as I work my way down. He swallows hard, then begins unbuttoning his own shirt. The soft rustle of fabric fills the silence between us.
My boots thud against the floor. Ford stands in his socks, oddly vulnerable. When my dress pools around my ankles, his pupils dilate, drinking me in—panties, bra, stockings. He sheds his remaining clothes until only his boxers remain.
