He grabs my arm and I shake him off. He arches a brow, like I shouldn’t have done that and says, “You won’t go searching for her when you hear what I’m about to tell you.”
That stops me dead in my tracks. I square off against him. “What are you talking about?”
“All you saw was the pictures of the girl.”
“Yeah, I was with the guys when they were splashed all over the that bullshit show, Dirt. But I wasn’t joking, nothing happened. Someone set that up for the photos.” My mind goes back to Griff and the way he was smirking at me. What the hell, though? Who am I to him? My mind comes to a screeching halt. Did Harper ever tell me Devon’s last name? Is it possible it’s Griff? Fuck me. “Griff had to be behind it,” I murmur to myself.
“That woman just threw herself at me, and I think I know who was behind it.”
“Do you know who’s behind this?” He holds his phone out, and when the image of Harper and me having sex at the cottage last night plays out before me, my heart sinks into my gut, and my throat dries and crackles like tinder in a blazing fire.
“What the fuck?” My eyes meet Jeremy’s. “Where did you get that?”
“The better question is, how did Dirt get a hold of it?”
I shake my head. “Dirt has this? All they showed was pictures of some random girl wrapped around me. I didn’t see this.”
Jeremy glares at me. “Maybe you should have hung around the bar a little longer, because they followed up with this.”
Since my knees can no longer hold me, I sink down onto my stoop as Rider pulls into my driveway. The guys all spill out of the car, and slowly walk toward me. From the looks on their faces they saw the follow-up on Dirt.
“Hey,” Cole says and sits down beside me. “That was from last night huh?”
“Yeah,” I say my brain racing so fast, I don’t know what to think.
“Who knew you were going to be there?” Jeremy asks.
I shrug. “I guess all the guys knew, and their wives, but none of them did this. I mean, it could have been anyone, right?” I won’t believe Harper was responsible for this. I can’t.
“I don’t know what to say, bud. I think you need to talk to her.”
I tug my phone from my pocket, and phone her. She doesn’t answer, and my heart stalls when three little dots appear.
“She’s texting,” I say to no one in particular as my heart pounds in my ears.
I fill my lungs and hold my breath as those three dots appear for what feels like a lifetime. Jesus, is she writing a book? Her message finally comes in, and air leaves my lungs in a whoosh.
Thanks for all you’ve done with Gavin. He’ll be in school soon, and you’ll be on the road, so we’ll be leaving the big brother program.
Formal. Curt. No mention of us, a future together—as a family—all the things I want. Nope, just a couple of words to effectively cut me out of their lives. “No fucking way,” I say around the lump in my throat. “Why is she doing this?”
“Because she got what she wanted from you, Liam. She won the goddamn lottery with you,” Jeremy points out. He huffs. “Why the hell do you look so shocked? This isn’t the first time a girl screwed you over.”
Won the lottery.
“She’s not like that,” I say, defending her through clenched teeth as old hurts surface. Harper knew who I really was. She saw and like the guy I was behind closed doors. I’m sure of it. She’d never sell me out…never.
He holds his phone up. “Who knew you were going to be in the mountains, outside on the deck having sex, for Christ’s sake?”
I tug on my hair, and try to wrap my brain around all this bullshit. “I didn’t even know I’d be having sex on the deck.”
“Did Harper? Did she ask to go outside?” I resist the urge to punch Jeremy in the face just to shut him up, to stop putting doubts in my brain.
“Yes, but…it’s not like that. She’s not like that.” I glance at my buddies. “Right? I mean you guys met her.”
“I met her,” Cole says. “I liked her a lot.”
“You don’t think she was behind this?”
“Liam—” he begins, a worried look on his face.
I shake my head and cut him off. “You’re all fucking wrong.”
Cole’s brow furrows. “You two need to talk. That’s all I was going to say. You love her. It’s easy to see, and you wouldn’t have fallen for her if deep inside you thought she could do something like this.”
“She was running out of here when I arrived, Cole,” Jeremy says, shaking his head at us like we’re idiots. “All her things in a bag. Why do you think she was in such a hurry?”
I glare at him. “Because she saw the pictures and thought the worst.” I exhale, and scrub my face. “I actually didn’t think she’d react that way. I thought she’d at least want to hear my side.” Then again, it doesn’t sound like Jeremy was particularly nice to her, going straight for the jugular by telling her I was using her.
“She didn’t hear you out because she was stabbing you in the back the whole time.” I open my mouth, about to protest. “I’m guessing she got a fair bit of bucks for this,” Jeremy says. “What did she need money for, Liam?” he asks.
I push to my feet. “I’m not listening to this shit anymore.”
I jump in my truck, and Cole slides into the passenger side without a word. He stays silent, as
