“Shame.” I spot some guy waving at her from near the entrance. “Listen, gotta shoot. Something…came up.”
“You’re leaving with your ex?” Harper whispers. “What about Jenny?”
“She ditched him. And he’s offering to buy me food, so how can I resist?” Maria says, smirking at me. “Could be a night of handcuffs and whips for both of us, huh?”
I don’t make it worse for Harper by looking at her, but I know she’s blushing.
“Have fun,” I tell her as she jogs away.
Harper catches my eye, then glances at my hand. “Should we call an ambulance?”
“For bruised knuckles?”
“No!” she whispers. “For Bryan. You almost killed the guy.”
A wave of anger rushes through me. “Seriously? He tried to fucking hurt you and you’re still worried about him?”
“I could’ve handled it,” she mumbles.
I grab two glasses of champagne from a tray and hand her one. “Not what I saw. And what happens next time if I’m not here to save your ass? I won’t be around for much longer.”
“Why?” she says, staring at the floor.
“Thinking about a change of scenery,” I tell her. “It’s been a while since I’ve left this place. Big world out there. Talking about Jacob with you made me wonder how he’s doing. Might head over to Europe for a year.”
Harper lowers her full glass to the table.
“What’s wrong?” I say. “You knew I wouldn’t be around forever. And that was the whole point of ‘Operation Seduction,’ right? To get your dad to send me off to ‘buttfuck nowhere’ after I confess my feelings for you?”
Harper shrugs. “When are you leaving?”
“As soon as your dad comes home.”
“Okay,” she mumbles, rubbing her bare arms.
Why is it so damn hard to stay mad at this girl?
Downing my drink, I pull off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders.
“You’re taking self-defense classes with me,” I insist. “You need to know how to handle yourself when I’m not around.”
“Okay.” Harper sighs and lifts her head. Her blue eyes twinkle like diamonds as her eyebrows narrow. “Who’s that?” I follow her gaze to Milana. “The woman in the purple dress. Do you know her?”
Milana is glaring over at us with rage in her eyes.
“I’ve seen her around,” I say.
“She’s beautiful.”
Not compared to you. “But why she is staring like that?”
I shrug. “No idea. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Wrapping my arm around Harper’s waist, I guide her to the exit and a sudden thought hits my mind.
“Listen, this is important,” I tell her. “I can’t tell you why, but you’re going to have to trust me. Was there anyone at your house party who is also here tonight?”
She glances around the room.
“Oscar Karlson,” she says. “There. The tall guy with dark hair in the blue shirt.”
“Are yousure he was the only person here who was at your party?”
“Yeah,” she says. “And he asked me on a date the other day. Why are you asking? You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”
“No.” I wave at the alumni security guard. “Keep your eye on her, okay? If she does anything stupid, you have my permission to shoot her.”
Harper’s eyes grow wide. God, she’s so cute.
“Be right back,” I say.
Heading over to the bar, I lean my arm on the counter next to the guy she pointed out.
“Oscar Karlson, right? Chris Collins. Nice to meet you.”
I extend my hand and he shakes it.
“Umm, yeah,” he says. “You too. Do we know each other?”
He tries to pull his hand away, but I keep my fingers locked.
“Listen, I’m a busy guy, Oscar. Let’s not play games. You know who I am because you told Harper’s father what happened at her party.”
He glances back at a concerned-looking Harper near the door.
“Look at me,” I whisper, and he gulps as I release his hand. “How much is he paying you to keep tabs on her?”
“Hundred bucks every time I give him some info,” he says.
Using his body to block Harper’s view, I pull out my wallet. “Okay. Here’s a grand. From now on, you tell Mark that Harper’s life is boring, calm, and stress free.”
“A…thousand dollars?” he gasps, staring at the fifties in his hand.
“For now,” I tell him. “I won’t be around for much longer, but I still need to know how she’s doing. So, from now on, until she’s done with college, you report directly tome. And I don’t mean about her grades or dating some guy…”
An unfamiliar emotion bubbles in my gut and I shake my head.
“That’s her business,” I add. “All I care about is her safety. So if you see or hear anything about some Bryan guy or if she’s in any trouble whatsoever, you tell me. Understand?” He nods, wide-eyed. “Good. I’ll be in touch.”
“But you don’t have my number?” he says as I walk away.
“I have everyone’s number,” I reply, straightening my cuffs as I approach Harper. “Ready?”
As I’m guiding her through the door, a high-pitch noise echoes through the auditorium, and I turn to find Milana Kauffman glaring at me. Her hand is bleeding, the broken champagne glass scattered across her table.
“You’re ditching me for that slut?” she mimes at me. “You just wait until I find her.”
“Everything okay?” Harper asks in the doorway.
“Yeah,” I say, tossing her my keys. “Go wait in the car. I have one more thing to take care of…”
TWENTY-TWO
Harper
It’s just after one in the afternoon and I’m sitting next to Chris, our legs dangling into my swimming pool.
I often sit out here and eat lunch, but I’ve never once even dipped my toe into the water. The ripped abs and yellow swim shorts reflecting off the surface aren’t helping my anxiety.
The unused, red one-piece swimsuit I’m wearing is five years old. Maria bought it for me one Christmas, but I never attended the swimming lessons she paid for.
Almost drowning in the same car accident that killed my mother will do this to a person. I don’t even take baths because I hate the idea of being surrounded by water.
“Do we have to do this?” I say, gazing down at his toned calves. “What does swimming have to do with self-defense?”
Chris sighs. “Does your psycho ex know you can’t swim?”
“No,” I lie.
Chris raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Okay, yes. He does,” I admit.
“There you go then. So we can either get you used to water or I can bury the prick. Your choice.”
“So extreme,” I mumble.
Chris nudges my arm. “I made a promise to keep you safe, Harper. So yes, we’re getting rid of everything your ex could use to hurt you.”
“Are you still moving to Europe?” I ask, surprising us both.
“Nothing changed since last night,” he replies, sliding into the water. My heart races when he holds out his hands. “Trust me, Harper. It’ll be fine. Nothing will happen with me around.”
I hate that I trust him, but I can’t deny I do. So, with every cell in my body screaming, I take his hands and slide into the water.
“It’s wet!” I shout, gasping for breath.
Chris chuckles. “Yeah. That’s water for you.”
It’s cold too, and my nipples harden against my swimsuit. Lowering his gaze to my chest, he clears his throat and locks his eyes on mine. They look so different in the sunlight. Like two walnuts on a blank canvas.
“See,” he says. “Not so bad, is it?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.