“More than you would think. Especially since I work at the gym. We get people that come in all the time just to see if I actually work there, and they always ask the same damn questions.”
The look of confusion crosses his face and I find it endearing that he seems to forget what media people are like.
“What it was like to find him, what my life has been like living in his shadow…” I trail off, the shock on his face evident.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that with me.”
I raise an eyebrow. That was not what I expected him to say.
“Harper, if you want to talk more about him, about what happened, you can, but you don’t need to. It’s that simple.”
My stomach flips because no one has ever said something like that to me before. This man is making it very hard not to fall head over heels for him. He gives me a smile as he brings my hands up and brushes his lips over my fingers. I take a deep breath and give him a small smile.
“Thanks,” I say, feeling utterly infatuated. I’m falling hard and way too fast.
17
Josh
“What movie do you wanna see?” I ask as we stand outside the movie theater, staring at the revolving door in front of us. After dessert I asked if she wanted to see a movie, I didn’t really care what movie we saw, all I wanted was for the night to continue.
Harper studies the board like there will be a quiz at the end of the night, and I grin as her bottom lip gets trapped between her teeth. It takes all of my strength not to groan at the sight. All I can picture are those lips and what they would look like wrapped around my cock.
“What do you want to see?” she asks innocently, and I have to continue to shake the dirty thoughts out of my head.
“Whatever you want…” There’s hesitance in my own voice and she grins, knowing that I don’t actually mean that. I would prefer she pick something that doesn’t involve a girl falling in love with a boy from a small town.
“So, Midnight to Paris is okay with you?” she teases but apparently I don’t have as good a poker face as I thought, because she bursts out laughing. “I’m just kidding. Calm down. You look like I just told you I was going to kill your firstborn or something.” The relief is instant as I take her hand in mine.
“I just hate romantic movies, they’re always so unrealistic,” I whisper in her ear and as much as she tries to hide them, the goose bumps rise all over her shoulders.
“How very original of you,” she says, her eyes rolling. I love that sarcastic mouth of hers and if she’s not careful, I’ll make her pay for every word she says.
“You have to admit they’re all the same,” I say, pulling her closer and placing a kiss on her temple. “The guy always falls for the ugly girl after she has a makeover. I mean, it’s all so contrived.”
She’s silent for a minute and for a split second I think I’ve offended her, then her shoulders start shaking with laughter.
“Yeah, especially when you’re referencing a movie from the nineties.”
I look down, confused. What the hell is she talking about?
“She’s All That? Freddie Prinze Jr.?”
I say nothing because none of those words mean anything to me.
“Never mind,” she mutters. “I see your point that most romance movies are similar, but for the record I still love them.”
I give her an incredulous look as she grins.
“Okay, so what movie do you really want to see? And I promise I won’t make a face if it’s one I don’t want to see.” I am such a liar, and from the look on her face, she knows it. She takes another look at the board and I see her studying the options again and I wonder if I should make her sit down in case she needs a rest.
“The Marvel one looks good. How about that one?” I don’t know why that choice shocks me so much, but I find myself turning to her in surprise.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, I’m serious. They’re good movies and honestly, I was going to ask Mel to go see it anyway.”
I grin, gripping her face with the palms of my hands and place a soft kiss on her lips. It’s not nearly as heated as I want it to be, but it does pack a punch. Her lips remind me of what we did at her apartment, and all I want to do is strip her bare and taste her everywhere.
I take her hand, leading her through the front door as we line up to buy tickets. All of a sudden Harper tenses beside me and as I look over to see what’s the matter, I catch her eyeline and watch as Cole strides toward us. The rage starts boiling under my skin as Harper squeezes my hand, making my eyes leave Cole and find hers. She gives me an apologetic smile and kisses my cheek.
“Well, well, well,” Cole sneers as he walks over. “You’re looking hotter than ever tonight, baby.” His eyes travel over her body as if he owns it, and it makes me want to punch the living shit out of him. “Looks like someone found her fairy godmother after all.” He gives Harper a once-over as her fingers tighten in mine. “Either that or someone helped you with that outfit because we both know you don’t have the taste to pull something like this off yourself.”
Harper tenses beside me once again as I untangle our fingers, grabbing her hip and bringing her as close to me as possible.
“Let’s go,” I whisper into her ear as she nods slightly. I lead us away from Cole and toward
