“Does he know?”
“Yes,” she said. “He does now.”
“He didn’t at the time?” Rupert said. She shook her head. “Was it him?”
“No and he wasn’t happy when he did find out about it,” she said. “I told you. It’s complicated.”
Shaking his head, Rupert wasn’t stingy with his disappointment. “I never thought you’d lie to me, Harlow.”
Oh, she wasn’t going to sit there meek and sorry when he didn’t even understand the full situation. On top of that, Rupert was supposed to make an announcement of his own that night. If anyone should be judged, it should be him.
“Yeah?” she asked, heated by anger. “Well, I never thought you’d fu—”
“These linens are beautiful, aren’t they?” Ryske said, smoothing a hand over the tablecloth next to his plate.
The quick conversation change was unexpected. Decor was more Jean’s wheelhouse. So, after she got over her whiplash, Jean went into a speech about the restaurant, the history of the building, and how it had been refitted. There had been a lot of gossip about the owners, and she was happy to regale them with it all.
Jean was still talking when their food came. They got through the rest of the meal without any more animosity.
“Who’s for dessert?” Harlow asked when the server brought back the menus. “We always get a sweet when we’re out.”
Ryske leaned in to murmur against her ear. “My Sweeting isn’t on the menu… Think I can order it on special?”
“It?” she asked, peeking at him, wearing a smile. “I think if you’re talking about me, you can order any damn thing you want, but it’s your job to make it special.”
He grazed his lips on hers. As he was about to withdraw, she put a hand to the back of his neck to pull him back for a deeper kiss. They were still nuzzling their mouths together when a shadow appeared at the back of her chair.
“Harlow,” Lena whispered, crouching behind their chairs. “Come to the restroom with me. Mom is busy talking to Gayle… Sorry, Ryske.”
“No, restroom emergency, I understand,” he said, curling his fingers around a strand of her hair and letting it drift away. “You ladies want another drink?”
“Please,” Harlow said, smacking a quick kiss on his lips.
Lena was nervous. “I, uh…”
“Virgin, I know,” Ryske said and winked at her. “Get lost. Let me weave my magic.”
“I love you, Crash,” Harlow said and snagged Lena’s arm to pull her away from the table.
“What does that mean?” Lena asked. “His magic?”
“He’ll keep the table busy,” she said. “No one will notice we’re gone.”
Pushing her sister into the restroom, Harlow dragged Lena into the large stall at the end and locked the door.
“Oh, Harlow,” Lena said and fell into her arms. “This is all going wrong…”
Going wrong? Harlow held her sister, stroking her hair and soothing her. Things had probably started to go wrong for Lena when she slept with Rupert.
“You have to tell them,” Harlow said, taking her arms to set Lena straight on her feet. “Just do it like I did Ryske’s dressing. Rip it off hard and fast.”
“I… I don’t know how. Where do I even begin?”
That seemed like the wrong question. The situation had begun with sex, but Harlow wouldn’t recommend telling their folks about that.
“You have to say it,” Harlow said. “Both things at once. Don’t delay the reveal.”
“But, I—”
“No,” Harlow said, aware that they may not be alone in the restroom. “You have to because one of the first things they’ll ask is, you know, who’s half-responsible.”
Breathing in, Lena blew out the breath. “You’re right… I know you’re right…”
“Or you could have Rupert do it. He’s close to dad.”
Hope made Lena regain some spirit. “Will Ryske help?”
Harlow opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again as she tried to figure out what he could do. “I… You want him to tell mom and dad?”
She wasn’t sure she was following Lena’s meaning. By the way Lena groaned and rolled her head, Harlow’s confusion was confirmed. “No, but he has a way of talking to people, of calming them down.”
“Yeah, he can piss them off too and he’s not Rupert’s biggest fan.”
“I don’t know why they can’t get along,” Lena muttered. Squeezing her lips together, Harlow didn’t offer any kind of explanation. She’d let Lena reach her own conclusions on that one. “We were supposed to eat at home. I’d feel better doing it in private. What if there’s a scene?”
It wasn’t easy to imagine her mother creating a scene. Yet, if there was anything capable of causing her mother to lose awareness of their environment, finding out her youngest daughter was pregnant by her eldest daughter’s ex-fiancé would be it.
“We’ll go back to Mom’s for drinks after,” she said, rubbing Lena’s arms.
“They’ll know something’s going on if we make a big deal of—”
“Ryske will do it.”
“How will he know to—”
“Trust me, honey. He’ll make it happen,” Harlow said and kissed her cheek. “We’re all frogs in warm water when he’s around.”
12
Taking Lena’s hand, Harlow guided her out of the restroom. They only got a few steps before someone appeared from the shadow at the end of the hallway nearest the dining room.
Recognizing who it was, Harlow pulled Lena close. “Go back to the table. I’ll meet you there.”
Lena noticed the woman approaching them too. She didn’t ask questions and released Harlow’s hand to continue on to the dining room.
The woman came to a stop in front of Harlow. “You recognize me,” she said.
“Yes,” Harlow said. “The Rowe family are famous. Most people around here know the Rowe Estate. It’s less than twenty miles from town… and you go to my father’s country club.”
The woman’s head tilted. “Is that why you recognize me?”
Harlow didn’t want to give this woman any indication of her feelings, but sensed she wasn’t a bullshitter. “No,” she said. “That’s not why I recognize you, Mrs. Rowe.”
Her chin rose. “You know Aston.”
“I live with Aston,” Harlow said. The woman’s surprise made her smile. “I’m not sleeping with him.”
“Well, I… No, I… I didn’t think you would be.”
“Why? He’s hot,” she said. The woman didn’t have a response, so Harlow changed the conversation, figuring that if she didn’t they’d be there all night. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Rowe?”
“I… I’m not sure if I should say anything now.”
“Aston is safe… he’s happy. It might not be the life you would’ve chosen for him, but he’s one of the best men I know.”
Amelie Rowe blinked at her. Maybe she hadn’t expected Harlow to be so forward. It must be strange to hear someone talk about your child, adoptive or not, with such authority.
“I saw you with Ryske.”
Inhaling, Harlow’s mouth opened in understanding. “Ah, and you’re here to warn me that he’s a bad guy… Yeah, I know. The asshole can’t make a bed.” More surprise. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Rowe. I appreciate that you wanted to warn me, to make sure I wasn’t being taken advantage of. But, I’m not being taken advantage of… Ryske and I are in love.” She raised a hand. “I know, he’s in love with a lot of women. A lot of women think they’re different or special to him. You’ve done your duty. If I get crapped on, it’s my own fault… I’ll give Aston your love when I get home.”
Leaving Amelie in the hallway, she went back to the dining room to find there was a dessert at her place setting.
Ryske stood up to help her into her chair. Having such a gentleman as a date when she’d been living with Crash for so long was a bit of a strange experience.
“What is this?” Harlow asked, look
ing at the dessert.
“Dessert,” Rupert said from the opposite corner of the table.
“How do I know I like it?” she asked.
Ryske put his forearm on the back of her chair. “There’s booze, coffee, and chocolate in it,” he said. “Eat it.”
“Hmm,” she said, scooping some onto her fork. “Missing just one of my favorite ingredients.”
“What?” Ryske asked.
She offered the fork to his lips. His brow twitched in confusion, but he opened his mouth to accept the creamy dessert she presented. Harlow fed it to him then put the fork on her plate, her eyes locked to his.
“You,” she murmured, taking his face in her hands to pull him down for a full tongue kiss.
He hadn’t swallowed all of the dessert, so the kiss was full and sweet and intoxicating. If Amelie Rowe had seen them together then others had seen them together too. Most wouldn’t know what Ryske did. The Rowe’s didn’t advertise what their son and his friends were into. To the majority of the room, he was just a curiosity.
Anyone could look, but Harlow was going to make sure they all knew he was hers.
“Mmm,” Ryske made a sound of approval when their mouths parted. Picking up a napkin, he wiped a smudge of dessert from the corner of her mouth. “We should get some of these to go.”
“Maybe we should,” she said, nuzzling closer, kissing him again, twisting her body closer and dragging her teeth along his jaw to take her lips to his ear. “You need to get us invited back to my parents.”
Ryske didn’t respond to her words, but she knew he’d heard her. He kissed the soft spot under the curve of her jaw that was open to him at this angle. He kissed beneath her ear, the side of her neck, sliding his hand up her skirt under the table.
“This is an upscale restaurant,” Rupert said. “Your behavior is inappropriate, Ryske.”
It was tough to put a man in his place when everyone used his last name.
“I started it,” Harlow said, twisting toward her dessert.
“Yeah,” Ryske said. “You should see what she’s doing to me under the table. Harlow the Harlot, that’s what they call her back home.”
Breathing out a laugh, she took another forkful of dessert. She ate one and then fed one to Ryske. His accusation was rich given he was the one who hadn’t kept his hands out of her skirt all night.
“Crash, I don’t need to play with you under the table. If I wanted you, I’d take you by the hand, lead you out that side door and have you.”
“Harlow!” Jean said. “Really? Must you speak like that?”
If her mom was worried people would over hear, she’d probably been worried about the kissing too, which may have been why Rupert had spoken up. Turning her fork, Harlow flattened her tongue on it to lick it clean. The dessert was good; it had been a good choice.
“Mom, I’m the Sweeting girl who went to jail for murder,” she said, scooping up some more dessert and feeding it to Ryske. “Just be glad the room doesn’t think I’m a lesbian.”
“I could be your beard,” Ryske said, stroking her inner thigh and accepting more dessert.
Her lips curled. “Could be. With all the sex we’re having, you’re convincing even me.”
“That you’re straight?” Ryske asked, catching some of the dessert with the end of his tongue. “Don’t worry, baby, I wouldn’t let that happen.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Pussy’s way too much fun.”
Nudging him away with her body, she ran her little finger around the rim of her dessert dish to gather the smudges. Harlow was about to raise it to her mouth when Ryske caught her wrist and tugged it up to his mouth. Opening wide, he took the full digit into his mouth. Squeezing it between his tongue and palate, he sucked it clean, dragging his teeth down her finger as he did.
The sensation of his teeth scraping on her skin and the force of suction made her steal her lip between her own teeth. She couldn’t tear her attention away from his mouth. That mouth. God, she wanted him.
Snaking a hand onto his thigh, she was still watching him nibbling on her finger when she pressed her palm to his groin. Harlow had only been half kidding about taking his hand and leading him outside. She’d known she could do it, but hadn’t thought she’d be this tempted.
Stimulating him through his slacks, it didn’t take her long to get his full attention. When he gritted his teeth, she leaned in and licked his lower lip.
“We should go out for dinner more often,” she said. “I didn’t realize it turned you on so much.”
He only held his control because her parents were opposite them. Even in spite of that, Harlow thought it was fun to take him right to the edge of his restraint.
“Oh my goodness,” Jean said. Harlow expected they were about to be chastised again. But, it turned out that her mother wasn’t talking to them. “Mrs. Rowe. It’s an honor.”
The name made Ryske lift his head. Harlow twisted around to see the woman standing at the end of the table was the same one who’d accosted her in the hallway outside the restroom.
“Charmed,” Amelie said, flashing Jean a smile that faded when she turned. “Harlow, I feel I should apologize.”
“I won’t tell him you offended me,” Harlow said, picking up her drink. “Though now I’ve said that in front of Ryske, he probably will.”
“Tell Maze you were offended?” Ryske asked and took her glass from her when she lowered it from her lips. “Yeah. I probably will.”
Amelie’s attention rose to Ryske. “Ryske,” she said in acknowledgement.
“Ame,” he said.
There was enough tension in that exchange to tell her all she needed to know. These two people had known each other for a long time. That went without saying given Ryske had known Maze longer than Amelie had. They were both suspicious of each other. Leaning back, Harlow rested in the crook of his shoulder between his body and where his arm rested on the back of her chair.
Sliding a hand down to his knee, Harlow tipped her chin toward her shoulder. “She thought I was sleeping with him.”
“Yeah, this is me stealing her away,” Ryske said, sipping from her glass. “How do you think I’m doing?”
“I… I apologize for my presumption in approaching you, Harlow,” Amelie said, contrite and polite. Harlow didn’t know the woman well enough to decipher if it was genuine or an act. “I wouldn’t like for there to be bad feeling between us. I would like to be friends… Maybe we could meet for lunch one day when I’m in the city.”
Harlow didn’t see Ryske smile, but she guessed he did because the burst of his laugh vibrated through his throat. “Oh, Ame, I think that is an incredible idea,” he said and rubbed her arm. “Baby, you should go to lunch with Mrs. Rowe. You guys could be BFFs.” He took a long loud breath. “You know Harlow was in jail, right? She’s not his redemption.”
“Yeah,” Harlow said, nodding and playing the dumb bimbo even though she was the opposite. “They think I killed a guy, can you believe that?”
Ryske kissed her hair. “Hey, baby, if blowjobs could kill, you’d need a license.”
Tipping her head back, she whimpered and kissed the underside of his jaw. “Oh, you’re so romantic, my love.”
“Ryske,” Amelie said. “We never wanted this.”
“I know what you wanted,” Ryske said, becoming sinister. Harlow remained slouched back against him. A tickle of awareness prickled the hairs on the back of her arm. “What I want is for you to turn around and walk away. Go back to your ivory tower, Ame, because until my boy tells me otherwise, you and me are not okay.”
Unsettled, Amelie tried to smile at the others at the table before she retreated. When she was gone, Harlow turned expecting that she’d have to soothe Ryske. She didn’t.
Her man was all ease again as he straightened and laid a hand on the table to push back.
“Brysen, want to bring the car around and I’ll take care of this?” Ryske said, gesturing at the table, showing no signs of upset or aggravation. “I say a
drink is in order, don’t you? Everyone back to yours?”
Ryske stood up and took her hand to pull her to her feet too. When they were up, he draped his jacket over her shoulders. Everyone else rose and hurried to catch up.
“You are going to pay?” Harlow asked over her shoulder, keeping their conversation quiet and private.
“Yeah,” Ryske said.
Turning all the way around, she laid her hands on his chest. “No, I mean, you are actually going to pay… aren’t you? Did we even bring any money?”
He winked and bowed to kiss her. “Have faith, Trink. You know me.”
His hands drifted off her shoulders as he retreated to head toward the front desk.
“Yeah,” she muttered and called after him. “That’s what worries me, Crash!”
13
Ryske had just disappeared around the screen that separated the front desk from the dining room when Rupert came up behind her. Seeing him so close so suddenly was a surprise. He must have rushed all the way around the table. The poor guy was stressed, that much was obvious. Harlow could understand why and didn’t envy his position.
Grabbing her hand, Rupert pulled her through the restaurant and out of the back exit to the parking lot.
“Uh, I’d like to keep my arm, if possible,” she said when they stopped in the shadows of the perimeter.
Spinning around, Rupert’s momentum almost caused them to collide. “I don’t like him.”
“Don’t sleep with him,” she said and opened her hands to exaggerate brushing them together. “There. Problem solved.”
“Harlow,” he said, pulling her back when she reversed a step.
But she wasn’t going to be dictated to or patronized. “No,” she said, raising her voice a fraction. When a nearby couple returning to their car stopped to look at them, she lowered her volume again and got closer to her ex. “No, Rupert, you don’t get to comment on my relationship. You don’t get to say a damn word. Are you insane? You fucked my baby sister. You got her pregnant. You’re going to marry her… Do you hear me busting your balls about that?”
Bobbing his head, he relaxed as understanding settled over him. “That’s what this is about. You’re trying to get back at me. I’m sorry, Harlow. I don’t know what else I can say.”
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