The half smile dropped from his lips. “No one? Not even your mom?”
She swallowed. “My mom hasn’t been well for most of my life.”Allof her life. “She’s an alcoholic.”
Something flickered in Cody’s eyes. An emotion Harper couldn’t place. It wasn’t pity. It was softer than that.
He moved closer and his hands went to her hips. “I’m sorry.”
She lifted a shoulder. “It was all I knew. This…you…it’snotwhat I know.”
“But it’s what you deserve.”
He’d decided that in the short amount of time they’d known each other? “Thank you.”
He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. It seeped right into her skin, dulling the last bits of pain in her head. “You don’t need to thank me for taking care of you.”
She swallowed. “So, it’s six at night and you’re making eggs and bacon?”
“And bagels.”
She glanced up at him, one side of her mouth lifted. “Because you like to eat breakfast for dinner?”
“Because you missed breakfast. Who wants to wake up to dinner?”
This man was something else.
Gently, he guided her to the table. “Rest. It’s almost ready.”
“How did you know I’d wake up for dinner?” she asked quietly.
“I didn’t. But I was hoping the smell of bacon would pull you out here.”
She chuckled. “And it did.”
He grabbed plates and cutlery, and she moved to help, but he shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her seated as he returned to the table. “Nope. You’ve been sick. I’m taking care of you.”
Her eyes softened, and for what had to be the hundredth time, she wondered what planet this perfect man had come from.
The hazel specksin Harper’s brown eyes flickered as she told Cody about her job as an executive assistant. It was the first time she’d willingly talked about her life outside of Misty Peak without prompting. The first time her smile looked easy and her laugh natural when referencing her past.
They’d almost finished eating, but he barely noticed; Harper had taken up all his attention.
“So you enjoyed your job?” he asked.
Her smile softened. “I loved it. But I think a lot of that was the financial freedom it gave me, and Ivy made me feel…important. And good at what I did. Two things I hadn’t really felt before.”
The familiar anger edged his vision. He wanted to learn about Harper’s life, but every piece she revealed made him angrier, to the point he was ready to go out there and find this so-called family and give them a piece of his mind.
He’d felt the pain of losing both his parents, but the reason it had been hard was because they’d given so much of themselves. They’d sacrificed for him and his siblings. Made them feel loved and important. Gifts he’d never taken for granted.
“I’m sorry you had to leave the position,” he said quietly.
She lifted a shoulder, a small smile on her lips. “The new position I found is pretty good too.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. My new boss even cooks me breakfast for dinner.”
“He sounds like agreatguy.”
