A vehement denial sent my pulse hammering. My skin slicked with sweat that prickled beneath my suit.
We were not over.
I wouldn’t allow it.
What if it was what Harper wanted?
It wasn’t. Every interaction proved she wanted us.
Yes, she ran away when she saw the pictures. She had every right.
But it was over. We’d taken care of her.
The back of my neck itched, but I refused to scratch, refused to break the rigid stance holding me together.
I needed Harper in my life.
She brought joy and laughter. I might not laugh, but that had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the fact I was an asshole who hadn’t laughed in twenty years.
Julian sent Harper another message.
Minutes passed.
Alexander sent two messages back to back.
They asked her to check in, just to let us know she was okay.
I stared at my phone screen, my vision blurring when I refused to blink.
Three dots appeared and we all inhaled. “Finally.”
A ding announced the message and Julian cursed. “Who the fuck is Lila and why is she saying Harper is in the hospital?”
“Lila is her best friend. They live together.” Alexander stood and grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go.”
22
HARPER
The beep of alarms and the poke of a needle going into the back of my hand so the nurse could set up an IV kept me wide awake and on edge.
“You shouldn’t have called an ambulance.” I hated the fuss that came with being wheeled into a room and having doctors and nurses fussing over me.
Lila crossed her arms and glared. “You passed out and I couldn’t get you to wake up.”
I shifted on the uncomfortable hospital bed and tried to ignore the pitch in my stomach. My mouth filled with saliva as nausea rose thick and hot. “I’m fine now. I’d like to go home.”
The nurse setting my IV smiled warmly and patted the back of my hand where twin strips of tape crisscrossed to hold the IV in place. “I’m sure you’ll be out of here in no time. Better to get checked out.”
“But I feel fine. A little nauseous. Probably because I haven’t eaten much today.” I caught the glance that went around theroom. One of the nurses hanging a bag of fluids eyed me, then the nurse on my other side.
The shared look sent heat rushing into my face as they examined my body, no doubt making silent judgments about my size. Even big girls had to eat, and I was within my rights to feel faint if I hadn’t eaten all day. I could say all that. Ishouldsay all that. “Stop looking at me like you think I should skip a meal or two and be fine. You don’t know anything about me. I like my curves, and I’ll be damned if I let you make me feel ashamed of how I look.”
“We’re not concerned about that.” The nurse behind me shook her head and squeezed my shoulder. “But you didn’t list nausea as one of your complaints.”
I huffed but stopped arguing. I wouldn’t get anywhere with the nurse, and the doctor had already been through. He’d made a list of tests he wanted done and rattled them off to me so fast I probably didn’t hear half of them. The nurse’s words cut through the fog taking over my brain.
They didn’t care about my size? Bullshit.
