“Bastian’s evil, but he’s not smart. I’d know if he were planning something.” Simon opened the door opposite Shep’s room. “Nothing’s the matter. Nothing’s going to happen. Can you trust me on this one?”
Jayne glanced over his shoulder at Harlow. His eyes were glossy with tears, his waterlines sparkling with silver flecks. “You sure he’s okay?”
“I’m sure.” Simon attempted to guide Jayne into the bedroom, but Jayne’s eyes were fixed on Harlow now, and he refused to move. “Jayne?”
“Why is he here again?”
Harlow glanced at Simon, who seemed to be doing his best not to look at him at all. Still, his cheeks burned red and he shook his head. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you later.”
“But he’s not here because of Bastian?”
“No.” Simon’s cheeks burned brighter yet, and with another directing tug, he pulled Jayne into the room. His words, however, escaped through the open door. “He’s here because of me.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
The bedroom door closed, shutting Harlow out and keeping the conversation in. Harlow, stunned, watched it for a moment longer, then shook his head and returned to the living room.
Boyfriend.
He wasn’t Simon’s boyfriend. Not by a long shot. Simon was the whiz kid he’d hired to help him keep a better eye on Evie—the contract employee that Harley paid under the table to do less-than-legal things so he could clear an area faster, or check in on whether the contacts he and Evie were making were reputable. Boyfriend…
Still, Harlow’s heart lightened. His stomach lifted.
He recognized the feeling, although he didn’t want to acknowledge it.
For seven years, he’d been comfortably single. For seven years, he’d devoted his life to Evie and furthering her career, assuring that she was set for life, even after he was gone. Until Evie was grown and on her own, he couldn’t think about his own wants or needs.
Not that hehadwants or needs.
Evie’s safety and happiness were all he wanted from life.
Or,his mind suggested,is that actually, “all that youoncewanted from life.”
Mental gymnastics were getting him nowhere. Discouraged, Harlow settled on the couch, unlocked his phone, and tried several times without success to write a message to the Single Dads that wouldn’t upset Knot.
LoveHarley: How do you get to know someone better without being a creep?
Deleted.
LoveHarley: How do you get to know someone better in a PLATONIC way without it being weird?
Too suspect. Deleted.
LoveHarley: Do you guys have any tips for starting conversations?
Nope.
Text field blank, Harlow set the phone on his chest and closed his eyes. No matter what he said, the Single Dads would take it the wrong way and Knot would be upset. It wasn’t that he was trying to date Simon—his attraction and his friendship were separate.
Completely separate.
Not at all, in any way, interlinked or woven together more tightly every time he saw Simon face to face.
Harlow groaned. Was he being unreasonable? Probably. It had been a trying day filled with fear and uncertainty, and in his emotional comedown, he was vulnerable. Simon just happened to be his type, and their long-distance friendship made it easier to feel for him.
It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. Harlow was happily, willfully single. The gap Emerson had left in his heart couldn’t be filled, and the fact that no one had ever crossed his mind in a sexual or romantic way confirmed it.
Correction,his mind cut in, cheeky and disobedient.No one until Simon.
