Page 258 of The Rebel Billionaire

Caleb smacks him on the back.

“Baby daddy?” he says, his eyes flying between us. “Really?”

Harper grins at him and nods before holding up her hand. “You will not growl, you will be polite, and you will welcome him into our family. If you don’t, I shall kick your arses.”

“You can try, you little whippersnapper,” Caleb says.

“And I will succeed.”

“Well, if that’s the case, you better come and sit down and tell us how you two met,” Elijah says.

Kat, standing beside him, squeezes his arm, and I realise it’s probably taken a lot for Harper’s elder brother not to kick my arse.

Harper looks up at me and leads me to the two free stools.

“Well…”

CHAPTER 77

HARPER

Isit in my favourite window seat and stare out over the garden.

Alex has just left with Enzo. He’s coming back tomorrow, wanting to give me time with my family.

I’ve fallen in love with him, but I’ve not allowed myself to admit it until now because I was too scared to think about what it meant. Brooke knew, but she’s no longer in the picture. She’s gone, relegated to a moment in time. I’m all Harper again, and I have other responsibilities.

“How are you doing?” Elijah says, coming up to stand next to me.

To others, his size is intimidating. To me, he’s simply my big brother. The same big brother who used to throw me up in the air, play hide-and-seek in the gardens and give me piggyback rides.

“Honestly?”

He nods.

“I’m lost, Eli. As Brooke, I knew who I was and could be myself. I held down a normal job, made friends without strings attached and even fell in love. But as Harper… all those insecurities from my past, they’re back, and I’m not sure what to do with them.”

I draw my legs up, and he sits down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his enormous chest.

“Can I ask you something?” he says.

I laugh.

“When have you ever asked?”

His arm tightens for a moment.

“Are you in love with Alex Bianchi?”

I nod, my throat thickening as I finally admit the truth to someone other than Alex and myself.

We sit in silence.

“Was he the kind of man you’d have brought home to meet us if all this hadn’t happened?”

I nod again. “But I’m scared. Our entire relationship was built on lies, deceit and, at best, half-truths.” I rub my eyes before looking up at him. “You of all people know the damage that causes. What happens if every time we argue, he throws it back in my face? He says none of it matters, but what if, once he’s had time for everything to sink in, he finds it does?”

“Does he love you?”