Page 94 of Wade’s Wrath

BUTCHER: You’re still an idiot.

Wade tossed the phone across the bed. “Fuck you.” The empty room didn't answer. Wade lay back on the bed. Her scent still clung to the sheets, and that made everything worse. He'd told Harlow she needed to decide whether she wanted him.

Now he had to live with the possibility that she'd decide she didn't, and for the first time since she'd walked into Wade's Watering Hole wearing a wedding dress, Wade understood something that scared him more than Frank, Richard Kane, or any gun pointed at his chest. He didn't just want Harlow; he'd fallen in love with her, and like the fucking idiot Butcher accused him of being, he'd just sent her away.

HARLOW

Harlow had spent three weeks at Butcher and Princess's house. Three weeks sleeping in their guest room. Three weeks going to work at Wade's bar every day.

Three weeks proving to herself that she could survive without depending on Wade for every little thing. Princess had given her space, and Butcher had treated her like family. Neither of them pushed her toward Wade. Neither told her what she should choose. And somewhere during those weeks, Harlow realized she'd already made the decision—she wanted Wade. It wasn’t because she needed a roof over her head. She already had one with Butcher and Princess for as long as she needed it. It wasn’t because she needed somebody to protect her, because Frank was dead and her father was in jail. It wasn’t because she needed Wade to save her, because she'd learned she could save herself. She wanted him because he was Wade, and tonight, she was going to convince the idiot that she had made her choice.

She walked into the bar and noticed that the place was empty. She spotted Wade behind the bar, cleaning a glass, and when he looked up at her, she thought her heart might stop. He looked so angry, and so fucking handsome, she nearly lost her ability to speak.

Harlow stepped closer to the bar and put her bag down. “I’ve made my decision,” she announced.

“What?” he asked.

“You’ve been avoiding me for weeks now. You don’t even say two words to me when I’m here working, not even as my boss, and I’m sick of it, Wade,” she insisted.

“You want to talk, so talk,” he said. “You should just tell me that you’re done with me, and I’ll accept it. If you want to keep working here until you find something else, I’d be fine with that too,” he said.

“What makes you think that I’m going to be done with you, Wade?” she asked.

“You just said that you’re sick of me,” he reminded.

“No, I said that I was sick of the silent treatment that you’ve been giving me. But I’m not done with you. I’ve taken three weeks, hoping that you’d figure out how you feel about me, but I decided weeks ago what I want.”

His brows drew together. “What do you want, Harlow?” he asked.

“I want you, Wade,” she breathed.

“When did you make that decision?” he asked.

“Probably a few days after I moved in with Butcher and Princess. I was angry at first, but I knew that leaving you was a mistake, not that you gave me much choice,” she reminded.

“And you've been making me suffer for three fucking weeks?” he asked.

Her mouth fell open. “Making you suffer?” she asked.

“Yeah, you’ve made me suffer, Harlow,” he said.

“You're the one who pushed me away! You’re the one who said that I needed space,” she said.

“I gave you space to figure out what you wanted,” he insisted.

“You gave me space because you were afraid that I’d leave you eventually. You didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt and let me figure out that I was right where I belonged. You pushed me away and ignored me.”

“I was trying not to pressure you,” he insisted.

“You barely even looked at me over the past three weeks,” she breathed. “You made me feel invisible and unimportant.”

Wade stared at her. “Harlow, I've spent three weeks trying not to drag you into my office every time you walked behind that bar. You definitely were not invisible to me.”

She blinked up at him. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh,” he breathed.

Heat spread through her, and she shook her head. “You could've told me.”