Harrison’s hand shot out, curling around my wrist and holding me in place, his eyes boring into mine. “It shouldn’t matter. Given how this all started, I know it shouldn’t matter what they think, but it does.”
He went on as if he were unable to stop himself. “Things have changed for me, Aurelia. I want more of you than I should. I think about you when I shouldn’t. And I know you don’t feel as deeply about me as I do about you. I like our friendship just fine the way it is too?—”
Icuthimoff this time, not needing him to go off on this tirade when he was wrong. “We’ve been sleeping together, Harrison. It’s gone far beyond being friends at this point. I think we might actually be in a real relationship now.”
He blinked at me like I’d just tilted his entire world on its axis. Then he let go of me to run both hands through his hair, dragging in a shaky breath. “I think you might be right, but how do we, uh, how do we do this?”
I stared at him. “How do we do what?”
“Be together,” he said quietly, like it was the scariest, simplest thing in the world.
I blinked a few times in rapid succession, feeling like all the air had been sucked clean out of my lungs. “Um, I don’t really know, but we’re going to have to figure that out soon, seeing as we’re getting married in a little under a week.”
The air between us thickened, all our carefully laid plans about friendship and empire-building crumbling under the messy weight of the unexpected. We were on the edge of something real here, and as I looked at him, at the handsome sharp angles of the man who’d made me want completely different things out of life, I realized something.
He’d never been in a relationship before. Neither had I.
I’d never been in love. I’d never been willing to take risks for someone. Yet, from the very beginning, he and I had taken the biggest risk of all.
“I think I’d just like to be your wife anyway,” I finally whispered, surprising even myself. “Regardless of the fact we could build an empire together. I think I’d just like watching you nearly ruin my espresso machine every morning and?—”
Harrison’s mouth was on mine before I could finish, swallowing the words with the kind of kiss that told me that was enough. For now, at least, but when we finally broke apart, our gazes glued together, the problem remained.
“Our mothers could still actively get in the way of this,” he whispered, confirming that his thoughts were in the exact same place as my own. “Neither seem keen to spill the beans, which means we need to dig.”
“We’ve tried that, remember?” I dropped my forehead against his chest. “No one knew anything.”
“We haven’t triedeverything,” he murmured. “There’s one person I know who knows everything about everyone. Two people, actually, and I think it’s about time to pay one of them a visit.”
CHAPTER 33
HARRISON
Aurelia stiffened at my side, her wide eyes fixed on the horse masquerading as a dog. Hooch’s entire body quivered with the effort of restraining himself, his tail wagging so hard, I might’ve been able to fly a kite in the breeze he was generating.
One wrong move and Aurelia would be flat on her back with a hundred and fifty pounds of slobber pinning her down. She glanced at me and Jameson must’ve caught it because he suddenly drawled from behind the beast.
“Don’t worry, he only kills on command.”
Aurelia shot me a look that said this wasn’t funny, and I bit back a grin, focusing on Sadie as she ushered us in. “What a surprise to have you guys here. Can I get you something? Wine? Coffee? Something stronger?”
As always, my sister-in-law was all sunshine and warmth, brushing past her husband and her horse to wrap her arm around Aurelia’s and tug her toward the living room with her. “You know, I’ve been meaning to give you a call. Before these babies were inside me and all the craziness of having BrodyandClaire in the family, I would’ve reached out weeks ago, but I suppose we’ve all been busy.”
Jameson looked at me and finally let go of Hooch since Aurelia wasn’t in the doorway anymore, jerking his head toward the bar. “Do you want to go get a drink while Sadie plays twenty questions with your fiancée?”
“We’re actually not here to socialize,” I said, my tone sharper than I’d intended.
Jameson’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re not?”
“No, we’re here for business.”
Sadie blinked hard, clearly taken aback as she paused in the open arch that led into their living room, but I didn’t give her time to recover. “What the hell is wrong with our mother? Jamie said she’s been talking to you and I’d like to know what’s going on.”
She looked from me, to Aurelia, whose arm she’d let go of like it was a hot potato. Then she glanced at Jameson and finally let out a sigh. “Oh boy. Okay, well, I suppose you’d better sit down and we’ll cut to the chase.”
I nodded stiffly, instantly feeling a little guilty about how curt I was being, but my heart was hammering in my ears and my blood was still simmering. This needed to get out in the open. Now. Tonight. I needed it to be over with, and trying to beat around bush hadn’t worked before.
It was time to be direct and demanding or we would never get any answers. I sat down on one of their leather couches, pleasantly surprised when Aurelia came to sit close to my side. She was still wearing the jeans and sweater combo she’d had on when I’d burst into her apartment, her hair pulled back into a casual ponytail and her makeup light, but she moved with every bit of grace and confidence as she did when she was all dressed up.
