‘You really need to work on this.’
He laughs, a mellifluous sound. ‘Right? This is the Harper effect. Turning a once articulate man into a mess.’
‘Stop, I can’t handle all these… compliments.’
‘The way you took control of the situation today, it touched me. Without you, I wouldn’t have mended bridges with Gus because I’d have held on to my anger, and he’d have held on to his hurt. And all because you care so much for a tortoise. You’re willing to go the extra mile for people. It’s rare.’
‘Is this the bit where you say I’m an interfering nosy parker?’ I mean, I freely admit that I am and that’s definitely part of it.
‘You see yourself as a troublemaker, and I did too at the beginning, but now I know it’s not that at all. You have a deep well of empathy and you risk being labelled an agitator?—’
‘A dispute enthusiast, I believe you called me.’
A blush creeps up his neck. ‘Me?’
‘You.’
‘Well, who doesn’t like a good dispute? Keeps a man on his toes. You’re pretty good at it, Harper.’
‘Well, you’re not so bad at it yourself, Xavier. Even when you try and hide behind that gruff, power-player exterior. The whole “I’m going to give you the glittery-eyed treatment because I’m a CEO with a lot on my mind”, but underneath that mask is a guy with a good moral compass and a deep love and appreciation for where he came from. Not too bad in my book either, I must admit. At the risk of ruining this little compliment-fest, I still want it known that I don’t agree with all your rules; in fact, they’re terrible. It’s your only downfall.’
‘Which rule specifically?’ He quirks a brow.
‘I think you know.’
‘Enlighten me.’
I take a bold step forward. He drops his hands to my hips and pulls me close and I feel the warmth of his body against mine. ‘Oh,’ is all he says as we stare deeply into each other’s eyes, and all I see is his desire tangled with tenderness. Every word that remains unspoken between us hovers in the soft exhalations of our breath. I lift my chin, tacit invitation that he translates just fine by pressing his lips against mine. I’m sure I hear the crackle of sparks between us as I melt against his strong frame. How can a kiss feel like home? But it does. Like I was always meant to make my way to these shores. To this moment, right here. I deepen the kiss, clasp my hands around his waist and hold on tight. When the kiss ends, we’re both breathless. I struggle to get my mind to click into gear. I’m woozy by his presence, his touch.
‘So who is getting fired?’ I say. ‘Me or you?’
‘What?’ He raises a questioning brow.
‘Staff relationships aren’t permitted, remember.’
‘You know, all of a sudden, I can see the error of my ways. What a stupid rule.’
‘Funny that. So… are you saying that rules are made to be broken?’
‘Some rules.’
‘Some?’
‘All of the ones that pertain to you and me.’
‘That’s a good start.’ I laugh, staring into his handsome face and wondering how I got to be so lucky.
‘Will you stay, Harper? On Esperé?’
‘There’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be.’ I’m not sure how I know this is the real deal, but I sense it is. A lifetime of reading romance novels will do that to a girl. They’ve shown me it’s always best to have high expectations, and not to settle for anything less than a man who lights you up from within. Yeah, sure, he might first appear in disguise as a typical swaggering alpha male, or a grump with a chip on his shoulder, but that just adds to the sizzle. Underneath that façade lies the real man, the one before me, who has a heart of gold, who pretends not to put others first but always does. Who wants to make his patch of the world a little bit better than when he found it. He sees who I really am and makes me feel like I’m one of a kind, special. And let’s not forget his apology gifts – his inflatable banana will go down in history, not to mention the shark-repellent perfume. The man is a marvel and I’m here to stay. ‘As long as we stay on dry land…’
49
Post shared on MaiMythClick Titkok 10.37a.m.
I’d like to publicly admit that four of my friends and I decided to try and game the publishing industry and use AI to write a cowboy romance to see if we could get it to the top of the charts. We wanted to see if anyone would call out a book so clearly and exaggeratedly written by AI. Harper Morgan did, inadvertently but still…
Mai goes on in great detail about what they did to me and the subsequent downfall of the friend group.
