After crossing both of them off, she couldn’t help but be intrigued on who would be visiting her without giving her any kind of notice. The stranger knocked again, more insistently, and then a familiar voice called out: “The soup’s getting cold!”
Zach.
Zach was outside her door. With soup, apparently.
Harper’s heart fluttered in her chest and she nearly tripped over herself before rushing to the door. Her congested head made her light on her feet as the blood rushed to accommodate the jerky movement she was making, but she managed to right herself as she reached for the handle. As she opened the door, her mind screamed at her about looking terrible and how she didn’t want to get Zach sick before the start of the season, but her heart forced her to open the door, if only to see him again.
Her heart skipped twice when he shot her a warm smile and she couldn’t help but notice as his blue eyes softened when they saw her.
“You look terrible,” he told her as he walked through the door without any sort of invitation. Almost like he owned the place.
She huffed in response, immediately closing the door and locking it, before spinning around on the ball of her foot so she could keep up with him. Somehow, Zach knew exactly where to go to set down two bags of Boudin on her dining table before taking a seat himself.
“What are you doing here?” Harper asked, standing behind an empty seat and placing her hands on the back of the chair to keep her balance. “You can’t just walk in here.”
“Seraphina said you were sick,” he said as he began to remove the contents of the brown paper bags and put them on the table. “Do you want to use your bowls? Well, I got bread bowls so I guess that question doesn’t matter.”
“Seraphina told you I was sick?” she asked, furrowing her brow together.
“You know you sound sexy with your raspy voice,” he said with a smirk. “The fact that you’re rubbing your nose every five seconds just adds to the seduction.”
“There is no seduction!” she exclaimed, her fingers balled into fists as she stomped her foot. She felt especially juvenile right now. “And you didn’t answer my question. There is no way Seraphina would walk up to you and tell you that I was sick.”
“I asked where you were,” he told her with a shrug. “Question: are you cool with using plastic spoons? I can grab your spoons, if you’d prefer.”
“Why on earth would you ask Seraphina?” Harper asked. Maybe it was the fact that her head was clogged or she was still attuned to Grey’s Anatomy, but she still didn’t understand how he found out she was sick.
“You weren’t answering my calls,” he said without looking at her. “I figured if you didn’t want to see me anymore, the least you could do was tell me to my face.”
“Zach,” she said through a sigh. Her cheeks burned with shame, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. If she didn’t want to see him anymore, she should have told him a long time ago. The problem was, she didn’t know what she wanted, and she told him as much.
His brows furrowed. “That’s bullshit and you know it,” he said. “Now, please sit down. I don’t want your soup getting cold. Have you had this New England Clam Chowder?”
Harper smiled despite herself and took a seat across from him. “It’s my favorite,” she murmured.
“Mine, too,” Zach said.
It was silent for a long moment as the two ate their soups in silence. Harper loved the feeling of the hot food sliding down her throat. It still hurt to swallow but she craved the warmth it provided her, especially when she was sick on a particularly overcast day.
“Thank you,” she finally said, when she was halfway through the meal. It was hard to eat – her appetite not what it used to be before becoming ill – but she refused to let the soup go to waste. “And you’re right about me not calling you. I should have done so. I’m sorry.”
“I’m a big boy,” Zach told her. “I can handle rejection. The thing is, I don’t think you realize what you’re rejecting. There’s something between us, Harp, and it wasn’t just sex – which was the best I’ve ever had, by the way. The date we went on, to the beach for breakfast, was one of the best days of my life.”
Harper was surprised. She couldn’t help it.
“And I know you had fun, too,” Zach said, throwing a glance at her. “You can’t fake that.”
“I did enjoy myself,” she admitted, resting her chin in her palm. “More than I expected.”
“So why are you denying what’s here?” he asked. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to take this chance on something I know I’ve never felt before.” He paused to take a sip of the soda he brought with him.
“Honestly, I have no idea what this is,” she told him, her eyes bright with honesty. “I don’t know what I feel or what I’m going to feel or anything. My past has left me… wounded. It’s hard for me to open up.”
Zach gave her a look. “I’m sorry, but, again, that’s bullshit,” he told her. “You’re overthinking something that should come to you so simply. You like me. I know it. Don’t be in denial about it, with me or with yourself. Just admit it. Admit it.”
“Okay,” Harper said, her brow furrowed in frustration. “Okay, you’re right. I like you. I like you!”
“Whoa, no need to be crazy about it,” Zach teased. “I like you, too.”
Harper let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. He liked her. He said it out loud. It was real.
“So let’s do something about it,” he said, his voice softer, gentler. His hands held her forearms and they were firm but caressing at the same time. Like he was aware of his own strength and was controlling it. “I know this talk is supposed to come before sex traditionally. Whether I actually adhere to what proper etiquette says is another story but I want to give it a shot with you. Because I like you. A lot. And this isn’t because the sex was great.”
Harper felt herself smile. “You already said that,” she pointed out.
“I can’t help it if it’s the truth,” he told her. His blue eyes sparkled with earnest. “I want to see where this goes. I want to be around you. I’m not saying we have to get married and pop out a bunch of kids, but I’d at least like the opportunity to get to know you better. And for you to get to know me.”
Harper felt herself smile. “You’re right,” she said. “I do like you. I want to see where this goes.” She looked down at her half-eaten bread bowl. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your calls. That was chicken shit of me.”
“It was,” he agreed. “Luckily for you, I’m a forgiving person, as I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
She laughed and he leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on her lips. She smacked his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she exclaimed. “I can’t have you getting sick. The season starts in a couple of weeks and we can’t have you hacking up a lung when you need to start shooting the puck.”
“Everyone’s a critic,” he muttered with a smile on her face. “By the way, you don’t get to tell me I’m not allowed to kiss you. You’re my girl now, and I’m going to kiss you whenever I want.” Harper grinned and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Now, finish your soup. I spent six ninety-nine on that and I don’t want my good money to go to waste.”
Harper laughed. Before she could dig back into her food, there was a knock on the door. She furrowed her brow, surprised she had another visitor, but went to answer it regardless. It was probably her grandmother. Harper hadn’t been checking her phone and she wouldn’t be surprised if her grandmother showed up to take care of her the way she had when Harper was young.
When Harper threw open the door, she was hit with the realization that it was not her grandmother.
Chapter 17
Harper didn’t think twice about opening the front door. She should have known better. She was just having too much fun with Zach that she didn’t even think to check the peephole.
&nbs
p; There, on the other side of the door, was Bryan, and he looked nothing short of pissed. The minute her eyes rested on the familiar slump of his shoulders as he leaned on her doorstep, the way he rested his weight on his left leg, popping out his right hip, the way his brown hair constantly fell into his face, she reached for her door in order to close it. He was too quick, however, and he lifted up his left arm and prevented the door from closing.
“Wait, wait, wait, Harp,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you about something” – he cut himself off as his eyes took in her appearance. Harper didn’t care that she looked absolutely wretched. She didn’t care that she was in a large plaid shirt and yoga pants or that her hair was frizzy and hadn’t been washed in three days or that her face was dry, with dried snot just above her lips. However, Bryan looking at her at all, regardless of how she looked, was something that caused her skin to crawl. She hated when he looked at her, especially with longing. “You look sick.”
“I am,” she said quickly, pushing into the door to a close, “so I’ll talk to you later. Don’t want to get you sick.”
Bryan maintained his grip on the door, pushing back against her. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Is there anything you need?”
“To be honest, Bryan, I want to be by myself,” she replied. She didn’t struggle against Bryan, knowing it would be futile. Instead, her mind started thinking about ways to get rid of him before Zach got out of the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed and it was easy to look pissed when she had a head full of snot. “What do you want, Bryan?”
“I need to talk to you about something important, Harp,” he said, his tone snagging a rough edge with each word. His eyes narrowed and he used more of his strength to open the door even wider. Without warning, he placed a folded newspaper against her chest. “Are you dating Zachary Ryan?”
“What?” Harper asked, completely baffled. He dropped his hand and she caught the newspaper by clutching it to her chest as he pushed his way in, taking care not to physically touch Harper in any way. “Why would you even ask that?”
Bryan gave her a look – the same look that crawled underneath her skin years ago. It was condescending and infuriating and it made her feel like an idiot. Every time he used it on her, she had this irresistible urge to slap it off of his face.
“Don’t play dumb, Harp,” he said, his voice dry. “You know. I know. All of Arizona knows about you and Zach. There’s photographic evidence. I didn’t realize you were a puck slut, though. Maybe that’s why we didn’t work. Because I’m not a hockey player.”
“We didn’t work because you’re a hypocritical asshole who can’t take responsibility for his own actions,” Harper said before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened when she finished, but she didn’t regret saying what she had to say.
She was almost afraid to look at Bryan for his reaction. Almost. But she stood her ground and she did not look away, even as his cold eyes flashed with anger, and he clenched his teeth together so hard that his jaw popped. She watched as he squeezed his long fingers into tight, white-knuckled fists and tried to contain his rage.
Harper swallowed, recognizing that reaction. Her entire body seized up, like it was prepared to take whatever punishment he was going to give her. But her eyes remained on him, despite the familiarity of his anger, despite her fear. She still had a long way to recovery, but this was something she had never been able to accomplish before.
“What did you say?” he asked in a tightly controlled voice.
Bryan was different, too. Usually, he would already be yelling at her or retaliating by calling her all sorts of terrible things. That might have meant something to her back when they were dating. Now, however, she didn’t particularly care what sort of person he was and who he was becoming. She didn’t care about him at all.
“Did she stutter?”
And there was Zach, pressed against her back, towering over her and offering any and all the protection she could ask for. She felt small standing by him, and somehow, stronger. Like he would be there for her, through the good times and the bad times.
Bryan didn’t take his eyes off Harper. “So it’s true,” he said, his voice flat. “You are a puck slut.”
Before Harper could even process what was happening, Zach took a step forward. In one fluid motion, he pushed her behind him as a way to shield her from Bryan’s gaze and punched Bryan square in the face. Bryan grunted and his head snapped back. He almost hit his head smack on the wall behind him.
“Get up.” Zach stalked over to him and pulled Bryan up by his shirt and forced him to stand on his two feet. “If you ever come back here, you ever try to contact Harper again, you’ll have more problems than a black eye. I don’t want you to even say her name. You are done. Do you get me?”
“I’m done?” Bryan asked, taking a step back, out of Zach’s tight grip. “I’m done? You’re a professional athlete and you just assaulted a member of the general public. You’re done. You are going to be sorry. Both of you.”
“Are you threatening me?” Zach asked, squaring his shoulders. Bryan had never been slight by any means, but standing next to Zach made him look small. It delighted Harper to see him be the smaller person in a tense situation. He couldn’t use his size to intimidate her anymore.
Bryan did not flinch but Harper noticed his body tense as Zach took a step towards him. And then another.
“Get out,” Zach repeated. He reached behind Zach and thrust open the door. He didn’t push Bryan out but Harper knew Zach would do what was necessary to get Bryan out of the house. “Get out and don’t come back.”
Bryan looked to Harper, his eyes filled with more rage than she had ever seen before. He didn’t have to tell her anything; she knew what he said. Bryan was going to make them pay for this, both of them, in whatever way he could. Maybe she could figure out how to get another restraining order and add Zach as a protected person.
When Bryan was finally gone, Zach closed and locked the door. He turned, his eyes still hard and cold, his body still rigid and tense. Harper bit her tongue. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to make Zach forget everything he went through because there was no way any sane person would want to be with her, with someone who had Bryan as baggage.
But then his eyes found her, and they softened, and before Harper realized what was happening, he swept her in his arms and pressed her against his chest. He started murmuring things in her hair, things she couldn’t quite hear but at least understood the sentiment. She allowed herself to close her eyes and fall into his arms, and before she knew it, she could hear his heartbeat in his chest, against her ear. It was strong and steady, and the repetition caused her to relax and slowly drift off to sleep.
When she woke up, Harper couldn’t tell if it was day or not. To be honest, she didn’t particularly care. Zach’s arms were around her waist and her head was on his chest and they were wrapped up in the sheets on her bed.
She felt herself smile at the sight of him, his head on her pillows, his dark blond hair messy and all over the place (somehow despite its shortness). She couldn’t stop staring at him, at the way his nostrils flared as he softly snored, at the slight gap between his lips. He looked vulnerable, completely comfortable with her in her bed in her home. She was positive it wasn’t the mansions he was used to since skyrocketing to NHL fame and she supposed that it endeared him to her even more. That regardless of the wealth he accumulated, he still looked natural in a small bedroom.
“You think too loud,” Zach mumbled, keeping his eyes closed as though he were still sleeping. “I can feel you staring at me.”
Harper felt her cheeks turn pink, but she smiled and said, “I like looking at pretty things.”
Zach’s lips turned up. “You think I’m pretty?” he asked, somewhat surprised.
“I wouldn’t be with you if you weren’t,” she said. “You don’t have a great personality.”
Without warning, Zach flipped her on her back and proceeded to tickle her sides. Harper started laughing out l
oud, a bark of a laugh that shook her to the bones.
“Please,” she managed to get out. “Stop!”
“I didn’t know you were ticklish, Harper,” Zach said as he continued his onslaught on her. “Why didn’t you mention that to me? How dare you keep this integral piece of information from me! Do you think I’d use it against you like I’m doing right now?”
Harper tried wiggling out of his grip, but it was too tight. Her legs started pushing out and if Zach wasn’t careful, she was going to kick him.
“Please,” she managed to get out again.
“All right, all right,” he said, “since you asked so nicely.”
Harper smiled once he relented, and wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her closer to him. “Thank you,” she said after a comfortable moment of silence. “For what you did with the whole Bryan thing. You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
“That’s the thing, Harp,” he murmured to her, eyes on her like she was a sunset or something else just as unique and glorious. “I want to see the messy bits of your past. I want to know all about you. That’s what being in a relationship is all about.”
“So we’re in a relationship, then?” she asked, her lips turning up.
Zach nodded. “I thought you knew,” he said. “But you shouldn’t be embarrassed. Not about your past. I’m not going to judge you.” He sat up slowly. “I would like to see that paper he gave you, though. I hadn’t realized people had taken pictures of us.”
“I didn’t think people in Arizona would even know who you were,” Harper murmured.
“Ouch,” Zach said, pulling on his shirt. Harper watched his muscles ripple as he moved, and the simple white v-neck clung to his body like it was a second skin,
Exes and Goals: A Slapshot Novel (Slapshot Series Book 1) Page 10
