Drew picked up Rory, cradling her against his chest. “You’re going to be amazing tomorrow,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. “They’d be crazy not to give you that fellowship.”
“Thanks.” I carefully packed up my violin. “See ya later,” I said as I walked out the door without looking back at him.
What the hell had just happened?
What would have happened if Rory hadn’t woken up?
And most terrifying of all—why did a part of me wish she hadn’t?
TWENTY-NINE
The front door closed with a soft click that seemed to echo through the house. I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, Rory’s cries already quieting as I rocked her automatically against my chest. My mind was a hurricane of thoughts, all of them centered on what had just happened—or more accurately, what hadalmosthappened—with Harper.
I had almost kissed Harper Tinsley.
And from the way she’d looked at me, the way she’d leaned into my touch, she would have let me.
“Jesus,” I muttered, continuing to pace the living room as Rory’s cries subsided into hiccupping little breaths. “What the hell just happened, kid?”
Rory blinked up at me with her gray-blue eyes, completely unconcerned with the fact that she’d just interrupted what might have been the most electric moment of my life.
The way Harper had played that violin had been mesmerizing. It wasn’t just impressive—it was like she’d somehow translated her soul into sound. It had beencomplex and utterly captivating, just like I’d told her. And watching her while she poured her soul into her music and then seeing the uncertainty on her face when I’d told her how amazing she was had broken any resolve I’d had left.
Touching her had felt as natural as breathing.
“I called her a dying cat,” I said to Rory, the horror of it fresh now that I knew Harper had heard me. “What kind of idiot says something like that about the girl he can’t stop thinking about?”
The realization that we’d spent nearly a decade antagonizing each other over things neither of us had meant made me want to laugh and scream at the same time. All those years wasted on hurt pride and wounded feelings.
God, we really were just as bad as our families.
Rory made a gurgling sound that I chose to interpret as judgment.
“Yeah, exactly. The twelve-year-old idiot kind.” I checked her diaper, found it dry, and moved to the kitchen to prepare a bottle one-handed, a skill I’d perfected over the past few weeks. “And now I’ve gone and complicated everything.”
Because that’s what I’d done. I’d complicated a partnership that had been working surprisingly well. I’d complicated a fragile friendship that had been forming between us. And most concerning of all, I’d complicated my already upside-down life by nearly kissing someone who had every reason to distrust me.
And I couldn’t find a single ounce of regret about it.
I could no longer deny that I wanted Harper Tinsley in a way that made me a little crazy.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I shifted Rory to check it, hoping irrationally that it might be Harper.
Liam
Still need me to watch Rory for a bit tonight?
I’d completely forgotten I’d asked him yesterday if he could watch her for a couple of hours so I could get some studying done. Study time was the last thing on my mind now. I just needed to talk to someone before I lost it. I knew he’d been at the library most of the day working on a project.
Me
Can you come now?
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then reappeared.
Liam
Everything ok?
