My chest heaves with each angered breath, but there’s no point fighting about something that won’t change. I smooth both hands through my hair and lower my voice. “That’s the problem, Harper. You thought I abandoned you. I gave you my word I would never hurt you again. But you didn’t trust in me.”
Her eyes plead with me for another chance. “Thiswas years ago. People make mistakes. They change.Please, Felix.”
“Things won’t be different this time, Harper. They’ll be worse. Have you realistically thought what it would mean to be with me? You were always scared I would leave you or that something would take me away from you. You kept me a secret because you were afraid of ruining your pristine image. I run an illegal speakeasy. My life is mixed with crime. None of that is changing. I can’t offer you stability.”
“I’m not the girl you used to know. You wouldn’t be my secret. We’d go public.” She grabs my scarred hand and places it over her heart. “I want everything that comes with you, Felix Blackwood. The sin. The danger. Nothing will scare me away. I’ll embrace all of it. We fell apart once and found our way back together. We can do it again. Iknowwe can. Please, tell me what I need to do. I’ll doanything.”
From the desperation in her eyes, I know she means every word.
Her heart thunders beneath my hand. My heart is beating just as fast. I tell myself to pull away, but I can’t seem to obey the command, not when the warmth of her skin is like a drug.
Instead, my free arm wraps around Harper’s waist, pulling her flush to my body. She trembles against me, welcoming my embrace. I shouldn’t touch her. I shouldn’t let myself reminisce on past memories of our love. But she’s too tempting and my resistance is weak.
My eyelids fall shut and my forehead lowers to hersas I exhale a shaky breath. Giving in, my lips press to hers, kissing Harper with years of longing and pain but most of alllove.
I need Harper by my side for the rest of my life.
“I love you, Felix,” she whispers against my lips. “Tell me we can be together.”
Cradling her face, I search her glassy eyes and nod. “I can let go of the past. I promise you, I can love you with everything I am. But Tyler can’t be involved.”
Harper’s brief moment of relief crumbles.
“I can be withyou,” I whisper. “What Tyler did has scarred me far worse. I can’t let him back into my life the way he once was. If you want to be with me, Harper, you’re mine and only mine.”
Her breath quickens. She blinks several times, her mind scattered. “I… need time to think. You both mean so much to me. Tyler and I are on a break but… We’re not over. I love him. I’ll always love him.”
“That’s my one condition. I can’t do this with him. The three of us can’t ever return to what we once were.”
“Felix… I don’t know. There has to be something Tyler can do to change your mind.”
I step back from Harper, placing painful but necessary distance between us. “It was so easy for you to choose him. Yet it’s so hard for you to choose me.”
“That’s not true,” her voice breaks. “None of this has ever been easy.”
“It is easy, Harper.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “If you’re serious about me, here’s your chance for us to be together. If you choose Tyler again, my heart willbe closed off to you forever.” I lower my hand, my fingertips missing the touch of her soft skin. “I need to return to the party. Find me when you have your answer.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HARPER
The abandoned hedge maze is dark and cold as I walk its paths, trailing my fingers along the leafy walls. The hedges are overgrown. Twigs scrape my skin as I brush by. It’s eerie and unsafe. Any sensible person would stay clear. But this maze is my favorite place in the world, where I feel closest to Felix and Tyler.
Being in here is supposed to help me find clarity over Felix’s ultimatum. Tonight, though, I find no peace within these hedges. My stomach churns with nausea at the thought of never being with Tyler again.
After what must be an hour of wandering the pathways, I enter the clearing at the heart of the maze and sit on a stone bench, hugging myself for warmth. It’s quiet here, all but for distant music from the engagement party.
Footsteps crunch nearby. My gaze whips to the source, the night too dark to see far ahead. Someone laughs. It’s feminine. Ally. Next, I recognize Dan groaning.
He steps into the clearing with Ally’s legs wrapped around his waist. Her dress is hitched up to her hips. The pair are too caught up in each other to see me. Dan presses her against the hedge wall and unbuckles his belt. I gasp, realizing they’re seconds away from having sex.
Hearing me and realizing they have company, they pull apart and scan their surroundings.
“Harper.” Ally laughs once spotting me, breathless and a little embarrassed. Her legs lower to the ground.
Dan straightens his clothes. “Didn’t know you were in here. You okay?”
I shake my head, brushing out the length of my dress. “I just spoke with Felix.”
