Page 27

There were reasons I didn’t get close to people. I’d been… letting myself forget them. But with a move, a new life, I could try again. Do better this time. And not let anybody help me—with anything.

If I was going to be Harper, I kind of had to.

∞∞∞

I woke up with a groggy stir, feeling something moving. I waved a hand around in front of me, swatting away whateverwas moving, and I jolted to instant wakefulness when I found Paisley on top of me. Andswattinghad led to my hand on her boob.

“Someone’s energetic,” Paisley said, looking down at my hand groping her. I jerked myself back, sitting up in bed so sharply I hit my head on the headboard. My face burned, even though my body and my chest ached badly for…

“Jesus Christ, what are you doing here?”

“Uh, duh. I told you I’d come see you in the morning.” She gestured to the windows on the side of the room, thin curtains in pale pink letting in crisp light from a clear blue sky. I hadn’t slept in past sunrise in ages. What happened to me? “And voilà,” she said. “Morning.”

I pursed my lips. “A normal human being would come knock on my front door.”

She laughed. “Since when was I a normal human being, Harps?”

“I’m not wearing pants.”

“That’s okay. You have nice legs.”

I was going to throw her off the bed. I hugged the blanket tighter to my chest. “Oh my god. Go outside and wait for me to join you. Please just do one thing normally.”

She grinned. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Peace. Solitude.”

She planted her hands on either side of my shoulders and leaned down towards me, and my head went racing, wheeling off into oblivion. Wild hazel eyes, so alive, stared straight into me, and up this close, pinning me to the bed, I was…

“Cinnamon-honey brioche,” she said. “With orange-flower honey butter on top. And a black Colombian coffee. Light roast. Does that sound good?”

“I—ugh. Sure, I guess. Did you bring me that?”

She beamed wider. “Sure, I guessisn’t the right answer. Tryyes ma’am.”

I felt a flush of self-consciousness burning in my face, but—I found I couldn’tnotdo it when Paisley told me to like that. I had no idea what the fuck was wrong with me, but I heard myself say it, softly, numbly—obediently. “I—yes, ma’am.”

Her eyes flashed with something I couldn’t read. I burned, looking away.

“I did what you asked. Now get off of me.”

“You know how to make a girl happy.” She turned and rolled off the bed, freeing me, and I told myself I didn’t want her on top of me again. “Okay, if I’m being honest, it’s your own cinnamon-honey brioche, but I brought it up from the bakery and heated it up. Now, come join me for breakfast.”

She wrenched the blanket off me, and I fumbled grabbing for it again, settling for just hugging my knees into my chest when she flung the blanket to the floor.

“Paisley.Let me put on some damn pants.”

She blinked. “I forgot you said you weren’t wearing pants.” And then, openly, nakedly, she straight-up checked me out—looking over my legs and my pink underwear with an appreciative expression—before she turned on her heel and headed back for the door. “I’ll put on some jamming tunes for breakfast while I wait, if you insist on wearing pants.”

Well… I kind of didn’t. Frustratingly, what I really wanted was to strip naked and have Paisley look at me like that all over, tell me what to do. Maybe just one more time before I left…?

Dammit.I kicked myself mentally and stood up, face burning as I got dressed.

Being in love was completely off-limits for me. And so was sex.

Even if I’d gone there with her twice already. Third time was, in fact, not the charm.

Chapter 8