by Sam Ayers
“The day you returned home for your parents’ anniversary?” Harley muttered. “You left after they weren’t happy to see you there. Carter and your dad.”
“Exactly! I had no choice but to leave. I had spent all my money on the pizza I bought for the security guy and myself. And all I had was a friend that night, a friend who obliviously sacrificed his own relationship for me.” Connor looked down. “I’m sorry, Lillian. It’s entirely my fault. Liam is a great guy. He didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Yes, he is,” Lillian whispered. “And I was stupid enough to let him go. I won’t do that again. Thanks Connor,” she said, hugging him. “I’m going to find Liam now. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Whoa!” Harley exclaimed once Lillian left the kitchen. “That was something. Good job, Taylor. You just reunited my best friend with her one true love.”
“You’re welcome.” Connor smiled.
The party went on till midnight and finally Harley decided they should head home, but she wasn’t ready to let Connor drive them back. After saying their goodbyes to their friends, they headed home.
“I’m so glad things worked out for Lils and Liam.” Harley smiled. “Thank you, Connor.”
“Anytime, Evans,” Connor said, tipping his imaginary hat, making Harley chuckle.
Thirty minutes later, Harley parked her car in the driveway and got out to see Connor staring at her intensely.
“What’s up?” She asked as he closed the distance between them. Now she had her back pressed against the wall, and Connor hovered over her. Harley gulped when his nose touched hers lightly.
“Connor?”
“Evans, I wasn’t joking when I told Allison about you,” Connor said, touching her cheek. “I’m serious about you.”
“No, Connor, this is wrong,” Harley whispered. “We can’t do this!”
“Yes, we can. And we are going to,” Connor said, snagging her closer and capturing her lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. Harley couldn’t help but moan, fisting a hand through his shirt, not sure herself whether she was pushing him off or pulling him closer. Connor pulled away slightly, his forehead touching hers, his breath ghosting over her lips. He stared into her eyes for a second before pulling her back to him for a much deeper, more passionate kiss.
When they finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers and smiled. “See, that was easy.”
“Connor, I really can’t do this,” Harley said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn’t realize she was crying as they kissed. She was indeed heading for disaster.
“So you are choosing him over me?” Connor asked in a grim tone.
“I don’t know. And it would be better if you stay away from me,” Harley said, looking away.
“So that’s it? You are going to resist me? Try!” He pecked her lips one last time and walked away. Harley crumpled down and hugged herself. She wasn’t ready to let Connor go, but she had to. She wasn’t strong enough to go chasing after Connor Taylor.
The next day, Harley was sitting in the living room with Ethan and Caleb, pretending that everything was normal. She decided to forget what happened between Connor and her last night. Connor hadn’t come down, and Carter was still in his room.
She knew what she had to do now. She owed Carter an apology, and she had to do her best to resist Connor’s advances. She went upstairs and saw Connor’s door opened slightly; ignoring it, she breezed past his room and knocked on Carter’s door.
Her fiancé opened the door, all heavy-eyed and tired, but brightened up when he saw her. “Morning! What are you doing here?”
“Hi, can we talk?” Harley asked and Carter moved back, letting her enter the room. Harley observed his room closely. Darker shades, clean, well organized, just like him. Carter pulled up a chair and asked her to take a seat.
Harley sat down and touched his hand; Carter mingled his fingers with hers. “Is everything alright, Harley? You look tense.”
“I’m sorry . . . for what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean to be so rude,” she apologized.
“I should be the one apologizing, darling. I think I’m expecting a lot from this marriage, and I ended up forgetting that I’m not doing this alone,” Carter said in a sincere tone. “Together we can do this. I promise we will be really happy.”
Harley nodded. She knew the only way to resist the other Taylor brother was by getting close to the older brother. She slid a hand lightly to his cheek, his startled eyes looking at her. She gave him a smile before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Carter froze for a second before he seemed to snap out of his daze and took her lips in a more passionate kiss. Harley couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her when they broke apart for air. Carter was a good kisser, considerate and nice, but somehow his kisses lacked the passion in Connor’s kisses. Connor was the better kisser. Hey, what was wrong with her? She was comparing their kissing techniques now?
A gentle knock on the door made her jump. Connor stood there with Padfoot at his heel. How long has he been there? Harley thought, blushing. Connor’s expression gave nothing away.
“Mom called you both downstairs for breakfast. She said you have a meeting with the wedding planner later,” Connor said calmly. Padfoot let out a small bark next to him, as if agreeing with what he said.
Harley nodded and turned to face Carter. “I’ll see you downstairs.” With that, she walked past Connor and didn’t look back. Connor was about to leave too, but Carter stopped him.
“Hey!” he called.
“Yes?”
“Thanks,” Carter said quietly.
“What was that?” Connor smirked. “I didn’t hear you, please say that again. Loudly this time.”
Carter grimaced. “Thank you, Jerk!”
“You’re welcome, Moron.” Connor mock-saluted his brother and walked away with Padfoot.
Padfoot dashed downstairs and rushed to the kitchen for his breakfast. Mrs. Taylor had already placed his bowl next to Connor’s chair, but Padfoot was waiting for his daddy’s delicious breakfast. He didn’t understand why he was given brown stuff when his daddy ate a lot of tasty food. Padfoot waited for Connor patiently as he ate his own breakfast and gave him treats in the middle.
“So, who’s the wedding planner?” Connor asked Harley, who looked up at him in shock. He really was talking to her! “And can you pass me the salt, please.”
“Here you go,” Harley said as she handed over the salt. Connor’s fingers touched hers, and she pulled her hand away quickly as if a bolt of lightning had hit her.
“So?” Connor prompted, munching on his French toast. He turned and gave Padfoot some eggs. Padfoot was now proudly seated in the chair next to Connor. He had finished his own breakfast but Connor was giving his more. The pup woofed and let his tongue hang out. “You want more?” Connor asked him and got a lick in return. “Yeah yeah, I get it!”
“My mother hired the wedding planner. I don’t really know her, but she’s doing a good job.”
“Indeed,” came a voice behind her. Carter had joined them and now he took a seat next to Harley as he smiled at her. “It will be a beautiful wedding.”
Connor munched on his toast loudly with a disinterested expression and gave some to Padfoot, who did the same.
“Seriously? Can you be any ruder?” Carter turned around, glaring at his little brother and the little dog next to him.
“What? Pads and I are eating our breakfast.” Connor shrugged, feigning innocence and fed more French toast to Padfoot. “Would you like some milk now, Pads?”
Carter’s eyes widened in horror as Connor took the milk that was kept there for his tea and poured it into a bowl for Padfoot to drink.
Harley burst out laughing as Carter fumed. “I’m gonna kill you, Taylor. And I’ll ship your dog off to Madagascar!”
Connor smirked. “In your dreams, big brother.” With that, he pulled Carter’s napkin from his hand and wiped Padfoot’s mouth. “All clean, Padfoot. Now let’s go and play!”
Connor and Padfoot jumped up and dashed out of the room as Carter stood up furiously to go after them. Harley grabbed his hand and grinned. “Chill, Carter! Connor was pulling your leg.”
“I hate that kid,” Carter muttered as he poured himself some orange juice instead of his regular tea. When he saw Harley giggling, he smiled brightly at her. She got up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“I’m going home to change, and I’ll come back here later. We can leave after that?”
Carter grabbed her hand and kissed it. “Absolutely.” He smiled.
“Bye, Carter!” Harley waved. She walked out to see Connor playing with Zoe and Caleb in the driveway. How is he so calm? Did he forget what happened last night? Harley thought, looking at him.
“Hey Harls!” Connor grinned. “Wanna join us?”
“Umm . . . no, sorry, I need to get going,” she muttered walking away. Connor was being normal but why was she feeling weird? Just as she reached home and walked in, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out to see a text from Connor.
Harls, everything okay? You were very quiet. Wanna talk about it? – C
Harley walked to her room and sat on the bed, she didn’t feel like replying so she kept the phone aside and sighed loudly. It buzzed again and it was another text from Connor.
Harley, I’m coming to see you.
She panicked and sat up. The door opened, and Connor stormed in with Padfoot. He closed the door as Padfoot jumped on Harley and licked her cheek.
“Hey Padfoot, did you miss me?” Harley smiled at the pup. Padfoot woofed and snuggled closer to her.
“It’s not just Pads who missed you,” Connor said, pulling the chair closer to the bed before plopping on it.
“Connor, maybe you can forget what happened and move on . . .” Harley lowered her face before going on, “but I can’t.”
“Who said I forgot? I’m just being myself, but you aren’t. Did that kiss change what was between us? We are no longer friends?”
Connor’s questions were making Harley feel strange. “We are friends. But I know you want more.”
“Yes, I do, and you want that too. Harley, do you love me? If you do, I’ll go back home and tell Carter and my parents that I want to be with you. I will talk to your parents, too. Don’t be scared. Don’t push me away. Did kissing Carter help? Were you able to erase my kiss from your memory? Was it to make me jealous?” Connor asked. “Because it worked. I never thought I would be jealous of my brother over a girl. But you aren’t just some random girl. Girls like you deserve to be loved.”
Harley stood up and looked out of the window. “Connor, this is the last time I’m telling you. I don’t love you. This won’t work.”
“Then I’ll make you fall in love with me,” Connor stated. “I promised you a lifetime in fifteen days. Now I’m promising to make you fall for me in one week. Till the moment you say ‘I do’, I’ll wait for you. And if you fall in love with Carter and decide to spend the rest of your life with him, I’ll leave, and I promise we will never meet again.”
Harley groaned. “Con, you aren’t playing fair!”
“Nothing is fair in love and war, baby.” Connor winked. He looked at Padfoot and said, “Come on, Pads. Daddy is taking you, Zoe and Caleb for some ice cream. Let’s go.”
Padfoot jumped and woofed at Connor, following him out the door. Connor walked out but peeked in for a minute and said, “Fall in love with me fast, Harls!”
With that he left, leaving Harley alone in her labyrinth of thoughts and feelings. Leaving her alone to battle with her inner demons.
Connor went back home and ran into Carter, who was glaring at him. Not letting Carter catch him, Connor jumped over the couch and ran around the room.
“Come back here, you moron!” Carter shouted, running after his brother. Finally he managed to catch Connor’s shirt, but Padfoot jumped over him and scratched his arm. Carter pulled away with a cry of pain. “You monster! Control that dog of yours!”
“Pads, no,” Connor said, holding the pup in his arms. “You don’t hurt people. Say you’re sorry.”
He brought Padfoot closer to Carter, and Pads gave him a nice lick, wetting his face. “Ew! Get away!” Carter said as he wiped his face clean with a napkin. “I’ll take care of you later, Connor! Your faithful sidekick saved you this time!”
Mrs. Taylor walked in to see Carter storming away. Connor was still holding the pup in his arms and was cooing at him. “No no, Padfoot. You can’t scratch people. Daddy doesn’t want you to hurt anyone, buddy!”
“Teddykins, is everything alright?” Mrs. Taylor called.
“Hey Mom.” Connor smiled, walking over to her. He set Padfoot down and gave her a quick hug. “Carter was chasing me and when he finally caught me by my shirt collar, Pads here couldn’t stand to see me get hurt. He scratched Carter’s arm, but licked him as an apology.”
“Oh, Boo-boo-bear, you’ve really grown up,” Mrs. Taylor said, wiping some tears. “I wish you wouldn’t leave me.”
“You know I’ve to go,” Connor said sadly. “I don’t belong here.”
“Is it because of Harley?”
Connor looked at his mother in disbelief. What did she know? Mrs. Taylor patted his cheek and said, “I’m your mother; you think I won’t know? Connor, every time you get hurt, you smile so brightly as if smiling helps you heal. Whenever Harley is around, I see that smile, and I know you are hurting, baby.”
“She doesn’t like me.” Connor shrugged.
“No, Con, she does. No one can hate my adorable baby boy. It’s just that she’s torn between a lot of things. I always knew she was unhappy with the wedding, but Carter seemed to like her, and I thought maybe in the future she would love him too,” Mrs. Taylor said with a faraway look in her eyes. “She started smiling more often after you arrived. You make her happy, can’t you see that?”
“All I see is her pushing me away. And Mom, are you seriously encouraging me to pursue the girl who is marrying your other son? That’s not fair!” Connor smiled.
“Nothing is fair in love and war, Munchkin. I remember the day I met your father. That man didn’t even look at me, and I was head over heels in love with him. You have no idea how I made him fall for me.”
“I’m pretty sure you did something genius that he’s got it real bad for you now. Aren’t you mad at me? You know how I feel about Harley, and you are still cool about that?” Connor raised his eyebrow.
“Munchkin, I’m your mom! I love you, and I know what you feel. You just met the girl at a wrong time. If you can make her fall in love with you, I can help you with convincing your dad and Carter, that you are better for her. I’m always on your side.” Mrs. Taylor grinned and pinched his cheek.
“Oh, Mom!” Connor hugged her tightly. “I love you. And I promise Vancouver isn’t too cold for you. You can always come and stay with me, with Dad, of course.”
“We’ll see to that later, Doodle-bug. Right now you should focus on winning Harley’s heart.”
“Aye Aye, Captain,” Connor mock-saluted her and placed a loud peck on her cheek.
Just then Carter came out of his study, his expression murderous. “Mom,” he called. Connor and Padfoot hid behind Mrs. Taylor as she stood in front of them protectively.
“Yes, Carter?”
“Mom, another case came up, and I need to go to work. I promised Harley that I’d go with her to meet the wedding planner about the final arrangements. Oh God! What will I do now?”
“Honey, why are you panicking? You go to work. Connor and I will go with Harley. Is that okay, Con-Con?” Mrs. Taylor asked with a grin.
“Yeah, sure.”
“You better behave! I’m warning you.” Carter glared at his brother and walked away.
“Why did Harley have to be his fiancée?” Connor gulped. Mrs. Taylor chuckled and pulled her son into a soft hug again.
Fifteen minutes later, they saw Carter coming downstairs wearing a suit, and he had his laptop bag in his hand – a
ll professional again. He stopped in front of Connor and said, “I need to have a word with you. Alone.”
Connor swallowed and followed him into his study. Carter asked him to take a seat, and Connor nodded, carefully placing Padfoot on the chair next to him while he sat in front of his brother.
“Does he really have to be here?” Carter asked, pointing towards Padfoot, who was sitting quietly, all alert and watching him carefully.
“Yeah,” Connor said simply. “Talk.”
Carter sighed and continued, “So, some important stuff came up or else I wouldn’t have said yes for you to go with Harley. It’s better if you understand, Connor, that I’m not happy with this so-called friendship of yours with my fiancée. I would advise her to stay far away from you, but knowing Harley, she wouldn’t stop being your friend. Connor, you and I both know that we aren’t on good terms, and after I marry Harley, I’ll try to keep her away from you. I do not trust you to be good company for her. Once again if I tell her this, she will get upset. So I want you to start maintaining your distance. You do that and you are free to come back here whenever you want.”
Connor raised his eyebrow, “You're not the boss of me, Carter. This is my home too. I’ll come here whenever I want, and if Harley wants to be my friend, I will be there for her. So suck it up.”
Carter glared at his brother and was about to say something when Connor raised his hand and stopped him.
“Let me finish! Just for your benefit, I will never contact Harley after you get married. I’ll be out of your life in a flash.” Connor frowned, standing up. “And one last thing, I’m already dead to you, aren’t I? Don’t bother acknowledging my presence; it’s just a waste of your time.” With that Connor stormed out of the study followed by Padfoot. He punched the wall in the living room furiously and ended up hurting himself.
“What’s up, Slugger? Why are you punching the wall?” Mr. Taylor asked walking towards Connor. He touched his son’s hand and saw how badly his knuckles were bleeding. “Damn! Connor, what is wrong with you? Come here.”
