I pull out my phone. No new messages.
Miss you.
Unanswered. Same as always.
I put the phone away, give Seven his extra grain, and then I ride back to my house on the Ranch in silence.
CHAPTER NINE
Harper
“You cannot be fucking serious, Harper,” Emma snaps from the doorway.
I don’t turn to look at her, I just put in my other hoop earring. She has not taken the fake engagement news well. At all. She’s beyond mad.
“Don’t ignore me, Harper Jones. I’m not going away.”
I sigh, turning to face her. “I don’t have a choice,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Yeah. You do. You get in your car, you drive to New Falls, and you speak to Ace. Simple. Fuck, even tell him your boss is on the verge of blackmailing you. You can’t do this.”
I close my eyes. Oh, how I wish it were that simple.
“If I tell Ace that, he will come here, probably shoot up LA Press, get arrested just like his brother did, and that helps no one. Especially not Ace. I’m an adult; this is my mess, I’ll fix it. It’s a fake engagement. Not real. I’m not marrying him.”
She nods. “Have you fucked Hudson?”
I cackle. “Absolutely not.”
“Well, that’s something. If he traps you and gets you pregnant, I’ll slice his balls off on a live stream.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not having sex with him. And I’m on birth control.”
I throw in the last line just to help argue my case. Aliens will appear on Earth before I ever sleep with that man.
“Oh, how silly of me. No, I won’t sleep with him, but I will say yes to his proposal.”
“So I can go back to New Falls and make sure secrets stay hidden. It’s important. Okay?”
She rubs her eyes. “I guess. I’m worried about you, Harper.”
I offer her a soft smile. “I promise you. I’m fine. I’m going home tomorrow, and I’ll get the story Hudson needs. He will get the company signed over to him. I’ll get a huge ass raise. We will be sweet. I just have to ride this shit show out. Character building? Right?”
I’m not even sure that’s what I want anymore.
She laughs. “You have some hellish ways to character build. Most people go to yoga classes or wellness retreats. You? You walk into a mafia war and have cocktails with their leader.”
I hold up my hand. “She’s second-in-command. Technically.”
“Gianna Milano sounds deadly.”
I shrug. “Seemed quite nice to me.”
“My God, you’ve lost your mind.”
“Maybe,” I say, stepping towards her and wrapping my arms around her.
“Thank you for being my friend, Emma. Even in my craziness,” I whisper, fighting back the tears.
