Page 100 of From the Start

“You need to stop pushing me,” she grumbles to me.

“I’m not pushing you.”

She rears back. “You’re not? You didn’t send your mom and brothers after me?”

“Technically, I only sent my mom. She called my brothers. I didn’t.”

Did I know she’d call them? Yes. But I didn’t actually connect the calls myself.

“Do not get technical with me, Kai Raider.”

“You asked if I sent my brothers after you. I did not.”

She throws her arms in the air. “This is what I mean. You push, push, push.”

I prowl toward her. “And I’m not sorry. I had to be certain you were okay when you hightailed it out of my house faster than Zane runs to the bathroom after eating beans.”

Her face softens. I have a feeling no one’s made sure Harper is okay for a long time. Her dad loves her – it’s plain to see – but she’s the one caring for him, not the other way around.

Harper needs someone to care for her. I signed up for the job and I don’t plan to quit. Ever.

“I love you, Slugger.”

The hardness disappears from her eyes, and I dare to grasp her hand.

“I’ll wait forever for you if I have to, but I will take care of you in the meantime.”

She bristles. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

“I didn’t say you did.”

She blows out a breath. “It’s awful hard to argue with you when you keep giving me the perfect answers.”

I palm her face. “I’ll always give you the perfect answers. You’re it for me, Harper Poole. The woman I’ve been waiting my whole life for.”

She sniffs. “You’re twenty-four.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t change what I said.”

She swallows, and I brace for a blow. Guessing by the stubborn tilt of her jaw, whatever she wants to say is going to hurt. “What if I don’t love you?”

I was wrong. It doesn’t hurt. It fucking kills. I let her words burn through me. They’re not true. I know it. She knows it. She’s just scared.

I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You care for me, Harper. You can’t deny it.”

“I can if I want to.”

I lean over and whisper into her ear. “Your body doesn’t lie, Slugger.” I kiss the skin below her ear and she moans. “I’ll wait forever for you if I have to.”

She arches her neck to give me more space, and I nibble her skin. She clenches the front of my t-shirt.

“What if I’m never ready?”

“Stop worrying about the future.”

“One of us has to.”

I sigh and retreat a step. I keep my hands on her hips – I can’t stop touching her when she’s near – but I give her the space she obviously needs.