Page 72 of Take the Blame (Seaside Mergers #3)

Chapter Thirty-Six

ALTA

The world was quieter without Harper. Quieter and a whole lot less colorful.

The minutes following Harper’s departure, my heartbeat felt so slow.

I think it was trying to go back in time.

I hated everything about the last ten minutes—heck, the last ten hours had been an absolute sinkhole.

But really, I wished I could scrub away any form of hurt or confusion or doubt I’d given him.

He was mad at me. I’d only ever experienced Harper being mad around me, mad for me, but never mad at me. It made me feel dirty. Unworthy. Not deserving of him. It made me want to peel my skin off and grow a whole new layer. I hated it.

But what I hated more, was the idea of Harper suffering when I could have done something about it. And even though the end result was an altercation that left my mind somewhere between comatose and freaking out, I knew I would have done it again. If it was for him, I’d do it a million times.

I’d show him however many times it took for him to understand that I would be here for him. That I wasn’t going anywhere.

He said he needed time. I could do that, I could give him time, but I would not give him up.