Glancing over at Harlow, I saw her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She was nervous. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth and she was staring straight ahead. Well, shit. I’d ignored her this entire ride and she had been sitting over there, nervous.
I was fucking this night up completely.
I reached over and pulled one of her hands free and slipped my fingers through hers. “Hey,” I said, breaking into her thoughts.
She turned her head to look at me and a forced smile touched her lips. That wasn’t going to work. If she really didn’t want to go to this damn ball then Woods could get over it. I wasn’t making her do this. I thought the fact she had dressed to make every man she passed drool meant she was ready for this. Maybe not.
“You okay?” I asked, squeezing her hand.
She nodded and didn’t say anything.
“If you don’t want to do this we’ll go somewhere else,” I told her, and waited to see what her reaction was. She stiffened. What the hell?
“Talk to me, Harlow,” I said.
Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her head to stare down at her hands, still balled up in her lap. “I think maybe I should just go home. I don’t want to be in the way.”
What?
“Whose way are you worried about being in? Has someone said something to you that I need to fucking handle?”
She didn’t look up at me. She kept staring at her lap. “No. I meant your way. I don’t want you to feel obligated to take me. I don’t mind going home. I’m good with that. Truly, I am.”
She wasn’t making any sense. Had Nan said something to her? I wanted her out of that bitch’s house. We were talking about that later tonight. But right now I had to figure out what was wrong.
“I want you with me. If Nan said something to you . . .”
“Nan didn’t have to say anything. You said it all with your eyes.”
Wait . . . what?
I studied her, trying to figure out what that meant.
Harlow took a deep breath and then finally looked up at me. Her big eyes were so sad and broken, my chest felt like it was going to explode. I had to fix this shit. I didn’t want my girl hurting. I jerked the truck over to the side of the road and threw it into park before reaching over to Harlow and pulling her close to me.
“You need to explain that because I’m not following you, sweetheart,” I demanded.
Harlow kept her eyes fixed on my shoulder. “I saw the way you looked at her. I’m not blind. I know how beautiful she is. I know you were struck speechless. And it was obvious she would have dumped August for you. Who wouldn’t?”
Well, fuck. I hadn’t thought about Harlow thinking anything about me looking at Nan. I hadn’t been impressed; I’d been disgusted with myself.
I slipped my hand under Harlow’s chin and tilted her face up to look at me. She always looked down, and I wanted to see her eyes. I wanted to fix that sadness in them. I didn’t ever want to make her sad.
“What you saw was me looking at Nan and seeing nothing but bitterness and cruelty in her eyes. I wondered how I had missed that for so long. I wasn’t impressed with the way she looked. I had you standing there beside me, looking like an angel. No one can compare to you. You’re not just beautiful outside, you’re also beautiful inside. I see that and I cherish it. I just don’t know why I screwed around with Nan. I guess you saved me.”
Harlow continued to frown at me. “She’s every man’s fantasy.”
I rubbed my thumb over her bottom lip and tried not to think about how sweet that mouth tasted. “She’s every man’s nightmare, sweet girl. Unfortunately, they don’t realize it right away.”
“I can’t compete with her. I don’t want to.”
“There’s no competition. She pales in comparison. I wish I knew what I could do to convince you that you’re it for me. I don’t see anything but a girl I once knew when I look at Nan.”
Harlow dropped her gaze to study my shirt before finally lifting her eyes and giving me her first real smile. “I think I believe you.”
She had serious trust issues, and I needed to remember that and act accordingly. Where Nan never needed reassurance that I wanted her, Harlow needed reassurance that she owned me. She was too innocent to see just how I really felt about her. Even if it was obvious to the rest of the world.
“I’ll make sure you never doubt me again. Just know I can’t see anyone but you. When you walk into a room, you light it up.”
She leaned up and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Thank you,” she said, simply.
It was things like that that set her apart. She was like no one else I knew, and I was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.
Harlow
Blaire spotted me the moment we stepped into the ballroom, and she made her way toward us. I was relieved. Seeing a friendly face helped ease me into this. The black dress she wore danced around her legs as she walked. It also made her blond hair stand out even more. I glanced behind her to see Rush’s eyes on his wife, watching her every move. The love and possessiveness that was there on his face for everyone to see made my heart beat faster. That had to be an amazing feeling.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Blaire said as she hugged me.
“I’m still trying to decide if I am,” I replied.
Blaire laughed and glanced around. “They’re not all bad.” She turned to Grant and grinned. “You look happy.”
“I am,” he replied, and slid his hand around my waist.
“It’s about time,” she said.
“Yeah, it is,” he agreed.
I felt like there was a private conversation going on here that I was being left out of.
“You thirsty?” Grant asked me, leaning down so that his warm breath tickled my ear.
“Yes,” I replied. A drink in my hands would give me something to do.
“Be right back,” he replied, and stepped back to leave me with Blaire.
“So?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows.
I knew she wanted to know about Grant. From what I could tell she was close to Grant because of Rush. “I think he likes me,” I replied, because I really didn’t know what else to say.
Blaire’s grin only got bigger. “I believe that’s obvious, Harlow. If you aren’t positive about it, though, I think you could just ask him and he would clarify that.”
I turned to look back at the bar and saw a girl with dark brown curls and a low-cut white dress pressing very close to him as she talked to him.
“Ignore her. I assure you, he is. That’s Katrina, and she’s not one to worry about. It’s just what she does.”
I turned back around. “I can’t figure out why he chose me. He gets attention from everyone. He’s perfect. He can have anyone.”
Blaire put a hand on her hip and stared at me in disbelief. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
I just nodded. Why would I be kidding?
“Do you know what I thought the first time I saw you?”
“No,” I replied, not sure if I wanted to hear this answer.
“I wanted to know who this beautiful woman walking into my fiancé’s room was. I was instantly stunned by you. Then you opened your mouth and this sweet, kind personality of yours shone through. I wanted to get to know you. There’s this draw to you that brings people in. So that’s why Grant can’t keep his eyes off you,” Blaire said, glancing over my shoulder and grinning.
I turned around to see the girl still talking to him, but he was looking at me. I smiled and he winked. I had to learn to trust him. He deserved it.
“How did you learn to trust Rush?” I asked, looking back at Blaire.
She let out a sigh. “That was hard. Once I trusted him he blew it all to pieces. It was a long road after that, but I had to trust him. My heart wanted him, and in order for me to give in to that I had to trust him and believe he would take care of me.”
“You’re saying it’s a decision you made,” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
I could do that.
Blaire let out a sad sigh and I followed her gaze. Bethy stood in the corner in a server’s uniform, talking to some lady who looked as if she was in charge of things. “I’m worried about her,” Blaire said.
“I saw her last week at a bar. She was really down,” I told her. I wouldn’t have told just anyone, but I knew Blaire was her best friend.
“Losing Jace has completely changed her. I can’t seem to reach her,” she said. “She rarely takes my calls anymore.”
“I can’t imagine what she’s going through,” I said, remembering her words that night at the bar.
“Me neither,” Blaire replied.
“Your sparkling water,” Grant said, handing me the wine glass in his hand.
“I need to get back to Rush. You two have fun,” Blaire said, then looked directly at me and smiled before going back to Rush, who was still watching her.
“There’s Tripp. I didn’t know he was in town,” Grant said, staring at a tall guy with short hair and a tattoo visible above his collar. He didn’t look as if he was happy to be here. And he also seemed to be worried about Bethy. He was completely focused on her.
“Let’s talk to Woods and Della, then I can get away with talking to just a few other people before we escape this place and I get you alone,” Grant said, pressing his hand to the small of my back and leading me toward the tall, tanned man who commanded the room with authority. I already knew who Woods was, but even if I hadn’t, I would know he owned the place.
I noticed the woman on his arm. Her blue eyes stood out from a headful of long, dark curls. A soft smile touched her face as she stared up at Woods as if he had all the answers in the world.
Woods’s gaze found Grant and he glanced at me then back to Grant. An amused smile touched his face, and I realized Woods knew something. “Grant, looks like your choice in dates has improved,” Woods said.
“Yeah. It takes some of us longer than others,” Grant replied as his thumb made small circles on my back where his hand rested.
The dark-haired woman let go of Woods and stepped forward to hold out her hand. “Hello, I’m Della. I’ve heard so much about you from Blaire. It’s nice to meet you.”
She was sincere, and I instantly liked her. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” I replied.
“I’m happy to see Grant is making wiser choices,” Della said, grinning.
Apparently Nan was disliked by everyone.
Grant chuckled at her comment and I relaxed. I was worried he was going to take offense at everyone’s bringing it up. “How long do I need to stay at this thing?” Grant asked.
The professional all-business demeanor in Woods’s expression faltered a moment as he let his gaze travel over the room. “Give it at least thirty minutes—maybe an hour. Be sure to watch the video. I think it’ll be the hardest part of the night. It’ll mean a lot to Jace’s parents for you to be here for that. People also need to see your face, since you’re a board member. Then take off. Wish I could,” he said in a low voice.
In that moment he reminded me of Grant and Rush. He didn’t seem so powerful and serious. Della smiled at me. “I wish we could get out of here early, too.”
“If you want to leave early, I’ll find a way,” Woods replied.
Della stared up at him and smiled brightly. “No. We stay. You can’t leave early.”
Woods leaned down to her ear. “I do what you want to do.”
Della pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I want to stay.”
“Liar.”
Della just laughed and looked back at me. “I have to keep him in line.”
“Glad someone does,” Grant replied.