“I don’t know.”She paused to look at him.“I just panicked, I guess.And all I seem to do around you is freak out.I’m fed up with it.I hate that it controls me.I hate feeling like I did in the car last night.I fucking hate it!You must think I’m a freaking nut job.”
He didn’t answer immediately, not a great sign.“Not quite.Answer me this.Do you feel something for me?Did you want me to touch you in the car?”
“YES!That’s the whole point.I do… I mean, I did.It was the first time I’d felt something in forever.I’d been thinking about it all day.”Finally a smile.A self-satisfied and slightly smug, male smile, but a smile nonetheless.
“I was worried that maybe I’d overstepped the line.I was as mad at myself for manhandling you as I was at you for running.I would never force myself on you, Harper.You know that much, right?”
Finally working up the courage, she joined him on the sofa, her hands clasped together in her lap.Thank goodness for waterproof mascara.
“You didn’t.I’m the queen of mixed messages.Seriously, I suck at this.”
Tears clung to her lashes, but she willed them to stay there, tired of falling apart in front of him.
His hand was warm and comforting as he took hold of hers.“You know what I think?”
“What’s that?”she sniffed.
“That we’ll do this.You and me.It’ll be in your time, but wewilldo this.And to make it easier on both of us, you need to talk to me.”
Trent lifted her onto his lap, circling his arms around her.
“I’ll try.I haven’t told you everything yet, and I don’t know if I can.”
“So tell me when you’re ready.If you’re not ready, just tell me.I’m a patient man.”
She nodded in agreement and placed her head in the crook of his neck, letting the warmth of his strong arms soothe her.
“There’s one other thing,” he said, “and I don’t want you to take offense.”
“What’s that?”
“You seriously need to lighten up and have more fun.”
She delivered a swift elbow to his ribs before looking up again and laughing.
“I mean it.Sure, you’ve gone through some seriously fucked-up shit, but merely existing isn’t the same as living.It’s okay to laugh, to let go, and have some fun.That’s the biggestfuck-youyou can give to the guy who did this to you.I just want to get to know you.All parts.But especially the hot, funny, sexy ones.”
A sense of relief washed over her, bringing a smile as he stroked her hair.
“There it is,” Trent said, leaning in to kiss her mouth gently.“Happy is by far your best look.”
Sitting on his lap in the safety of his office, she was beginning to believe it.
Chapter Nine
There was something very different about Harper when she walked through the studio door.He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.He wasn’t particularly poetic, but she looked even more… shit, something.There was a different kind of quiet confidence about her.
A smile lit up her face after she saw him.She even waved to Cujo as she walked over.
“How comfortable are you with PDA?”she asked.
“Unless it involves nudity, very.”He wasn’t really.He usually hated it, thought it lacked finesse.But for Harper, he’dgetokay with it.If he grinned any harder, he was going to break his own jaw.
She stood up on her toes and placed his arms around her back before wrapping her own arms around his neck.
“Good,” she whispered against his mouth as she kissed him.She laughed as he lifted her just enough to take her toes off the floor and carried her into the private tattooing room.
He wondered what country music delights he would be subjected to this time.Nails down a chalkboard sounded better to him than high-pitched twang.But anything to make her more relaxed.
