Page 43

43

HARPER

“ M mm, baby,” Ford says from beneath me. “That was so fucking incredible.”

I smile down at him, focusing on the love radiating from his hooded eyes when they open, basking me in adoration.

His tight grip suffices me with a sense of safety only he can provide.

My eyes dart back to the window, but there’s no one there.

Am I losing my damn mind, or was someone there?

“As much as I can’t believe I’m saying this, we should get dressed before someone sees us, and I need to fucking murder them for catching a glimpse of your perfect tits and pussy.”

His words echo inside my head.

Murder.

Blind panic shoots through me.

I can’t live without him.

If he got arrested for killing someone … I close my eyes, cutting the thought off.

I give him a wooden smile, shaking my head.

“No murdering anyone.” I lean down, pressing my lips against his so he doesn’t have a chance to stare at my expression and figure out something’s wrong.

When I pull back, tears fill my eyes. “I love you so damn much, Ford.”

His chest hitches, and his hands lift, cupping my face. “I love you, Harper Brooks.” A slow smile curls his lips. “With every fucking piece of me.”

Part of me knows I should tell him what I think I saw… but the other part doesn’t want to spoil our moment.

Especially when I lift up, slide off his cock, and glance at that spot again.

Nothing.

It has to be my imagination.

But damn, those eyes reminded me too much of my past.

Of Jeffrey.

But that’s impossible, right?

How would he even know I’m here?

I cut off all contact after I ended things.

The stress of everything—both good and bad—must be getting to me.

The rock through my bedroom window, the break-in at my parents, a creepy man in a mask wandering around my childhood home, and planning a wedding to an obsessive, possessive as fuck hockey player in two weeks must be overloading my system.

Making me see things that aren’t there.

Yes, that has to be it.

Stress is hard on your body, whether it’s negative or positive.

I adjust my dress while Ford climbs out of the vehicle, tucking himself back in his pants.

His eyes are soft as he blows me a kiss, then looks around.

I freeze, waiting.

His eyes go to the spot where I saw the man, but he doesn’t react.

Instead, his gaze keeps moving.

He shuts the door, then whistles as he walks around to the driver’s side.

It had to be my imagination.

I’m seeing things when nothing is there .

The guys are standing in front of the inground pool, laughing and joking, while Allie and I sit by the fire pit, the blazing flames keeping us nice and toasty.

The blanket Ford draped over my shoulders helps.

I snuggle into it, my wide-eyed gaze on Allie as she hisses, “I can’t believe I kissed him.”

“What?” I shriek, clamping my hand over my mouth.

Luckily, Connor says something that has the guys howling with laughter, so for once, even Ford didn’t hear me.

“Kissed who?” I hiss, already knowing the answer but too stunned by her admission for my brain to function as it should be.

“Connor.”

Her eyes dart to him and her face turns scarlet when he meets her eyes and blows her a kiss.

“Ugh. What the hell was I thinking?”

I grab her arm. “Wait. Aren’t you with Mark?”

She lets out a long sigh. “I called him.” Her bottom lip quivers. “I pulled away from Connor and slammed into the restroom, locking the door behind me. Then I called Mark, and when he answered, he sounded so annoyed.”

Tears well in her eyes.

When she blinks, they slide down her cheeks.

“Oh, shit, Allie. I’m so damn sorry.”

She sniffs, impatiently wiping her cheeks.

Her jaw tightens as she stares into the flames for a few beats, then continues. “I told him we needed to talk and said I would FaceTime him.”

“His voice was clipped when he said, ‘Fine. But it has to be short. I’m busy.’ The fucker hung up without another word.”

I squeeze her arm, my heart breaking for her.

Even though I want to fucking strangle Mark for hurting her.

“Then what happened?”

She blows out a shaky breath. “He answered. Right away, I could tell he was at some type of party. The music. The chatter of voices and laughter. People wandering around behind him.” Her shoulders sag. “I blurted out that I thought we should take a break, especially since I wasn’t important enough for him to be my date for your wedding.”

“I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes skip to mine, a sheepish grin curling her lips. “Don’t be. It was Connor hammering me about him. After my confession at dinner, he kept whispering, grilling me about him. When he asked if Mark was coming to the wedding and I hesitated, he jumped on it.”

Her eyes move to Connor, who is already staring at her, a lovesick expression on his face.

Oh, boy. He has it bad for her already.

She looks away, heaving out a deep breath.

“Even though I know Connor has his own motives, his words made a lot of sense. Why aren’t I important enough for him to push aside his job for once and come to my best friend’s wedding?” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “This isn’t the first time. Even when I was promoted and got an award for that ad I designed, the fucker didn’t come to that either. Remember?”

I nod, biting my lip.

I’d been so pissed at Mark I wanted to strangle him with his tie.

And even though Allie seemed so happy when he was around, a part of me hated all the times he wasn’t there for her.

All the events and occasions he missed.

“But the real kicker?” Her voice pulls me from my murderous thoughts.

“He immediately agreed. He didn’t even try to fight for me. For us.” Her bottom lip quivers again and she looks away.

I wrap my arm around her, pulling her against me. “I’m so sorry, Allie.”

She sags in my arms, letting me comfort her.

We remain like that for a few beats before she slowly straightens. “And then… I saw her .”

I tense.

“Her?”

She bites her lip, her gaze bouncing from me to the fire.

“Before I ended the…” Her lip quivers, and she stops, her hands clenching into fists on her lap.

She clears her throat. “A beautiful blonde came up, sliding her arms around him and leaning over his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch.” Her sorrowful eyes lock with mine. “Her touch was familiar. As though…” Her voice is a whisper. “They’ve been intimate before.”

My spine snaps straight as pure, unadulterated rage courses beneath my skin.

That bastard!

I’m gonna kill him for hurting her.

Guilt makes my chest tighten.

I’m a shitty friend.

Why didn’t I voice my concerns?

That gut feeling that something wasn’t right when he traveled for work, promising to call or text but then didn’t?

Or he’d text her when he arrived but not until after he left again?

Oh, God.

What if he’s married?

I close my eyes.

Fuck.

When I open them, my gaze lands on a large tree on the other side of the pool.

The dim lights throw shadows, but I swear, I feel like someone’s watching us.

Staring right at me.

I blink, watching as the shadow moves, disappearing behind the tree.

I open my mouth to draw Allie’s attention, but Connor’s booming voice interrupts. “Did you tell her about our kiss?”

He squats down beside Allie, who immediately scowls.

“Connor. Shut up!” she hisses, her wide eyes darting around. “One moment of weakness and?—”

“No, that’s not what that was. You kissed me because you wanted to. Because you think I’m hot.”

“Jesus.” She rubs her forehead. “Connor, it was a mistake. A chaste kiss because I was hurting. No one saw it, and only you, me, and Harper know about?—”

His lips plant against hers, his hands cupping her face.

She gasps, and I swear, his tongue teases her bottom lip, about to slip inside, when she pulls back, mortified.

“What the actual hell?” she sputters, her face flaming. “Connor! You can’t just go around kissing?—”

“See? We kissed. In public. In front of witnesses.” He gestures to Ford, Jake, Cole, and Daltyn, who are standing on the other side of the fire pit, smirking.

Oh, shit.

Poor Allie.

“That means we’re basically engaged.”

Allie’s hands smack her thighs. “I swear to God, Connor. I will taze you if you don’t get out?—”

“You carry a taser? Kinky?” He leans over, looking down her dress. “Is it between your tits?”

“God, no.” She presses her hand over her cleavage, then glares at him. “I swear to God, I’m two seconds from punching you in the nuts.”

“You wanna see my nuts? That can be arranged.” He leaps to his feet, grabbing his zipper.

“God, no.” She jumps up, putting one hand on his arm and the other over the hand that’s currently on his zipper.

Immediately, her face flames brighter than the fire before she jerks away, as though touching him burned her.

“Whatever you’re into, I’m down for.”

She slaps her hand over her forehead. “Jesus! Why are you like this?”

I’m chewing on my bottom lip, trying not to laugh.

But I mistakenly meet Ford’s dancing eyes, and I have to turn away, pretending to cough, as giggles erupt from me.

Although Allie was hurting, Connor has single-handedly taken her mind from Mark to his crazy shenanigans.

As exasperated as she looks, there’s also a hint of a smile tugging at her lips that she’s trying desperately to fight.

“I will cut you.” She looks around as though she’s searching for a knife.

“Just don’t cut my dick off. Trust me, you won’t want that.” He leans closer to her, loudly whispering, “I don’t like to brag, but the women I’ve dated were very impressed with my skills and stamina.”

She folds her arms over her chest, a look of disgust on her face.

Connor’s eyes immediately drop to her cleavage, which is more pronounced from her current stance.

“I’m sure there have been a lot of women in your bed. I have no desire to be one of them.”

He shrugs. “We don’t have to use my bed. We can use yours.”

“What the fuck?” She throws her arms in the air. “You’re so damn annoying?—”

“We don’t have to use a bed. The floor, couch, table… hell, even the swimming pool?—”

“No. No, no, no!” She releases a shaky breath, her hands clenching into fists. “Not a bed. Not the floor, the couch, or the pool. I don’t wanna have sex anywhere with you.”

“Is that Dr. Seuss?” Connor deadpans. “It sounds like something he’d say.”

“I-I… Just… Jesus. I can’t speak.” Allie throws herself in the chair beside me. “Just leave, Connor.”

He squats down beside her. “No. You were crying. You looked miserable until I came over here and got you fired up.” A grin slides over his face. “You’re welcome.”

“ARRRGGH!” She puts her head in her hands. “I just can’t anymore.”

Ford comes over, lifting me from the chair and setting me on his lap.

I bury my face against his chest, my shoulders shaking from laughter.

“I told you she didn’t stand a chance against Connor,” he whispers.

I’m laughing so hard at the situation I forget about the shadow by the tree.

Well, almost.

When I get control of myself, I lift my face, wiping the tears of laughter from my face.

“You called it.”

My gaze darts to that tree, but the shadowed figure I swore I saw earlier isn’t there.

I should probably tell Ford ? —

The horrific sounds of someone attempting to sing draw my attention.

It’s so terrible, I think someone is choking.

Then I realize Connor is singing to poor Allie.

Even worse?

He’s singing “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx.

I collapse against Ford, both of us laughing our asses off.