“Forgive me for making assumptions here, but you don’t seemokay. At least not enough to drive safely.” Maya loosened her grip. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you for a bit. Just until you get some color back in your face.”
There were few things Harper wantedlessthan to stay in this godforsaken parking lot. But her thoughts were spinning way too much for her to focus on driving, and she wasn’t about to head back into the Lucky Penny and ask if someone could give her a ride.
And Maya’s hands kept her standing when she would have probably collapsed. Of all the current options, waiting with her was the least shitty by far.
“Yeah, maybe… maybe just for a few minutes.”
Harper let herself be guided to the car, sighing as she leaned against it. Having solid metal at her back made the world stop spinning so much.
Maya nudged her shoulder, holding out her leather jacket. “Here.”
When Harper just stared at it, Maya shrugged.
“You’re not exactly dressed for the weather.”
That was true, unfortunately. Harper was in her day clothes, of jeans, a tank top, and a thin jacket. Even though it was her second year dealing with Missouri winters, she had yet to upgrade her wardrobe to fit that season.
Harper eyed Maya’s torso. She was only wearing a black t-shirt. “Won’t you get cold?”
“I don’t mind the cold. But I do mind seeing you shiver like that.” She nudged the jacket against Harper’s arm. “Take it. It’ll help.”
If it hadn’t been freezing, Harper might have declined, but needs circumvented reason. She put on the leather jacket, and it was like wrapping herself in a blanket. Her fingers barely poked out of the sleeves.
“Sorry you had to step in like that,” Harper said. “Kieran usually keeps the asshole behavior behind closed doors.”
“Don’t apologize for him. From what I saw, he was the idiot.”
You’ve got that wrong.
Maya glanced in the direction Kieran had vanished. “Who is he? Boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend. He doesn’t care for the prefix and has a shitty way of expressing his feelings. No one taught him that adults are supposed to communicate using their words instead of their hands.”
Maya smiled, a brief chuckle accompanying the expression, and the sight stole Harper’s voice all over again.
With how beautiful her eyes were, Harper had assumed they were her most captivating feature, but that smile… It was open and warm, bringing a spark to her eyes and a soft humor to her face. It was the kind of smile that could make you spill a thousand secrets. Make you tell every joke you knew, just for the chance of seeing it again.
Harper knew the power certain physical characteristics could give you. And that smile wassofucking unfair.
Maya cocked her head. “Huh.”
Harper had to use conscious effort to get her lips moving again. “Huh, what?”
“You don’t scare easily, do you?”
“Not really. Not until afterwards.”
Being afraid in the moment wasn’t a skill she possessed. Where other people saw a threat and might try to escape or appease it, Harper usually went with a claws-out approach. It just sucked that they were so small.
“You don’t scare easily either,” Harper said. “Getting in his face like that at least suggests it. Do that a lot? Rescue women in dark parking lots?”
Maya leaned against the car, and this close, their height difference became more apparent. Harper usually remedied her short height with heels, but she’d exchanged those for sneakers before leaving the Penny. Maya was all but towering over her.
“I don’t seek it out. But when I see a chance to be chivalrous, it’s hard to resist.” Her eyes paused on Harper’s cheek. “Has he done something like this before?”
“Not to this degree.”
Harper touched her jaw, wincing. It didn’t hurt as much as getting slapped had done.
