“I was thinking maybe I could stay the night with you. Just for tonight,” Harper says. I feel her gaze on me, watching me closely.
My body craves her company, her warmth, the feel of her skin on mine. I’ve been having dreams about her but just for tonight is nowhere near enough.
And then there’s Zeke.
Aside from the obvious, that she lied to me about him and kept him a secret, I can’t let her get too close to me, to us becoming real. Not if I’m forced to work for my father.
Zeke deserves better.
So does Harper.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, and my heart hurts when I answer her.
She sighs ever so softly. “You’re never going to forgive me, are you?” Her question is hardly above a whisper.
Harper will never understand where I’m coming from, the things I’ve seen as a child of the mafia, and I don’t want that for Zeke.
Anything I can do to protect the family, my family—Harper and Zeke—I will. Even if that means breaking hearts.
Six
Harper
“When is your next hockey game?” I ask Ashton.
“Why? Looking forward to showing up and cheering me on?”
I toss a fry at him. I’m seated across from Kensley, and Ashton is between us at the lunch table.
It seems like every time I go to grab lunch with Kensley, Ashton keeps showing up uninvited.
“That wasn’t my first thought,” I quip and laugh.
“Harper’s going to be cheering for Luca. Am I right?” Kensley asks, her eyes wiggling suggestively.
She still doesn’t know about the upcoming wedding, Zeke, or the new living arrangements in the works.
I’ve been keeping so much from Kensley, she’s going to absolutely hate me when she finds out I’ve been lying to her.
“Those two are something else,” Ashton says between bites of his hamburger. “I swear, the two of you are trying to make my life more difficult.”
“Why’s that?” Kensley asks. “Did Luca send you here for intel? Because if he’s avoiding Harper again?—”
I love how protective Kensley is of me. “Luca and I are fine,” I say. I grab another fry from my plate and chomp on it. The food is an easy distraction from having to talk about Luca.
“Fine,” Kensley repeats. “Usually, fine is like shit is bad, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
Exactly.
Kensley doesn’t seem to give up, though. “We can go to the game, and then are you free this weekend? You ditched me last Saturday. I was hoping we could do a movie marathon of Christmas romances. ‘Tis the season.”
Inwardly, I grumble, but I force a smile. “I’m free Saturday.” I don’t elaborate on last weekend.
Ashton is watching me with too much intensity, probably wondering if I’ll break.
“What?” I ask, glaring at him.
“Gosh, Harper. You and Luca really aren’t shacking up, are you?” Kensley asks.
