My mate, he thought with wonder. My true mate…
Everything, absolutely everything in the world fell away, and then he pulled Harper into his arms to kiss her, because one more moment without his mouth on hers was not to be borne.
Chapter Three
∞∞∞
One second everything was normal – no, Harper really couldn't say that. It wasn't normal to see a man as drop-dead gorgeous as Morgan Castell walk into her shop, it wasn't normal to have said gorgeous man walk out in a suit that seemed perfectly preserved from some ninety years ago.
There was nothing normal about the situation at all, and as Morgan leaned in towards her, she was possessed of a deep and abiding urge to kiss him, so powerful that it almost overwhelmed her. There was something in her crying out for it, but just a moment before their lips would have touched, sense reasserted itself, and she pulled back.
“Whoa!”
There was a second, just a single second, where she felt Morgan's grasp on her tighten, and rather than being alarmed, her first impulse was to think No, don't let me go. Then Morgan allowed her to pull back, and she found herself looking him fully in the face. There was nothing evasive about him now, nothing awkward or strained. He looked like a man who had had an epiphany, and she had no idea what that meant in light of the way her heart was beating too fast or the way it felt as if the blood was practically singing in her veins.
Why, his eyes are beautiful, she found herself thinking.
They were. With his coloring, she might have expected him to have dark eyes, black or brown, or, given his model-like good looks, maybe something like a brilliant blue. Instead, his eyes shone a bright copper, shimmering like the finest silk, and she had to swallow hard before she could trust herself to speak clearly.
“Ha, well. Um. That was a thing.”
“That was indeed a thing,” Morgan said, and somehow she knew that he was holding back and doing his best not to frighten her.
She coughed, taking another step back, and his copper eyes followed her every move. There was something almost fearful about the way he watched her, as if somehow afraid that she might suddenly disappear into thin air. It gave her a strangely calm feeling. Something had clicked in her head, and now all was well in the world.
“All right, about your suit...”
“Come with me.”
That made her burst out laughing, and she shook her head.
“Want me to pony up and ride off into the sunset with you, cowboy?” she asked, and he grinned at her. God, when he smiled, it took away those pained lines she could now see at the corners of his eyes, took away that grimness that made him look so very foreboding. He was still a bit awkward, especially if he was making offers like that, but something about him was hitting all the right notes.
“Would you come? I could get you a pony.”
She shook her head, smiling because the alternative was to take him seriously, and right that moment, she did not want to tempt fate. If she actually did end today with a pony, it would be her own fault, and she only had a small apartment to keep it in.
“Never offer a girl who had a horse phase a pony,” she said. “But seriously. Your suit.”
“Yes, my suit. I need it altered, and I want you to do it.”
“Right. That was why you brought it in.” Harper felt it bore repeating. She was beginning to lose track herself, and for a moment, she wondered if it had simply been too long since she had gotten laid. Apparently a dry spell could turn any random customer into Prince Charming, but it wasn't as if Morgan needed the help, really.
“Yes. I need my suit altered for a family event I'll be going to this weekend. It's in Upstate New York. I would like you to come with me.”
She stared at him, because whatever this was, it wasn't something that she could encourage, though there was a terribly subversive little voice in the back of her head asking her why not?
“Okay. Start over, explain it to me in small words. Why do you want me to come with you?”
He hesitated, and but it didn't look as if he were deciding on a lie. Instead, it looked more as if he was trying to sort out a particularly thorny truth, and accordingly, she waited. She had some familiarity with thorny truths, and sometimes, they just needed time and space.
“Because of what I feel for you.”
It was the truth, the painfully honest truth, and it might not be all of it, but it was true enough to make her pause.
“Um. Look. That was –“ She coughed. “A thing. I mean, obviously I'm attracted to you -”
“Really?”
It came out both touched and hopeful, and Harper huffed a soft disbelieving laugh.
“Geez, do you not own a mirror? But ...but I don't care how much you pay me, I'm not that kind of seamstress.”
“That kind of – Oh! Oh God, no. No. Absolutely not. No.”
She hadn't really thought he was trying to buy her, but she was further reassured by the look of astonishment on his face.
“Okay. So that's clear. Good. So explain to me what you meant by wanting me along because of what you feel for me.”
A cloud came across his face, doubt and something painful. Harper was startled by how much she wanted to sweep it away. She wanted to see if she could soothe it with a gentle touch, or maybe a kiss, or...
“You didn't feel anything?”
Harper bit her lip.
“Chemistry?”
She said it hoping to at least get a smile out of him, but all it won was a slight twist of his lips. He regarded her carefully for a moment, as if searching for something that he badly needed, but
