by Nicola Marsh
“You know what would be nicer?”
He lowered his head to whisper in her ear every filthy thing he’d do to her later, and by the end of it she was leaning into him, her breathing accelerated.
“You don’t play fair,” she muttered, tilting her face up to his. “The least you can do is kiss me.”
“I’m not into PDAs in the middle of Melbourne,” he said, struggling to not laugh in the face of her outrage.
“You better give me some kind of public display of affection right here, right now, mister, or I’m going to torture you.”
“How?”
“By telling you I’m going commando under this dress and your naughty wordplay means I won’t be sitting down the entire time we’re in the bar.”
With that, she strutted up the steps in front of him, leaving him with a raging hard-on and lamenting his urge to tease, because Harper had matched him quip for quip while upping the ante.
She was magnificent.
He bounded up the steps after her in time to hold the door open, and she smiled sweetly before entering.
“There they are.” She pointed to a corner of the bar where the other couples had nabbed a tall table surrounded by stools. “Behave.”
“After that stunt you just pulled?”
“Who, me?” She batted her eyelashes and he laughed. “As I recall, you started it with your dirty talk.”
“Stop it. I can’t walk up to these people with a boner.”
She tapped her lip, pretending to ponder. “And here I was thinking I took care of that situation about an hour ago.”
“You. Are. Killing. Me,” he said, through gritted teeth.
“Hey, they’ve seen us.” She waved and slipped her hand into his. “Just stand behind me till you get that thing under control.”
“That thing is going to make you very happy later.”
They grinned at each other, electricity arcing between them with the promise of what was to come. He loved her mischievous side, and he could imagine them having a lot of fun together for however long this lasted.
Not that he was envisaging an end date just yet, but he was a realist. Never being in a relationship meant he would screw up eventually. And if she didn’t have the patience to guide him through, they’d be over. But he didn’t want to think about that yet. He intended on enjoying every scintillating second with his gorgeous girlfriend.
She always looked good, but tonight she’d outdone herself. Smoky eyes, crimson lips, hair in a sleek curtain halfway down her back. The simple black dress covered more than it revealed—high neck, long sleeves, mid-calf—but it caressed her curves like a glove, making his palms itch to do the same.
Not helping the situation behind his zipper.
As they reached the couples and greetings were exchanged, with an introduction for him and Dev, he liked that Harper didn’t release his hand. It bound her to him in a way that appealed to his inner caveman. All mine.
“What would you like to drink?” He squeezed her hand. “Or would you like me to choose you a decadent cocktail to make you tipsy?”
“A mojito is fine,” she said, tugging him closer to whisper in his ear. “For the record, you don’t need me tipsy to take advantage of me. I’m all yours.”
Unable to stop himself, he kissed her on the lips, not caring about the cheers and whistles from their friends.
When he released her, he couldn’t help the goofball grin spreading across his face. “Everyone else right for drinks?”
“We’re fine, mate, but you better get extra ice in yours to cool the fuck down,” Rory said, and everyone laughed.
“Back in a minute.” He touched the small of Harper’s back, his fingertips drifting lower to stroke the curve of her ass, before he stepped away and through a gap between people at the bar.
When he glanced over his shoulder, she was staring at him with the kind of smile that took his breath away. Half promise, half infatuation, all in.
His heart kicked hard and damned if he cared.
So what if he’d fallen for her?
About bloody time.
As he made his way back to her, mojito in one hand, light beer in the other, he wondered when the last time was he’d been this happy.
If ever.
45
“So tell me, Harper, what do you see in this bozo?” Rory raised his beer in Manny’s direction, and everyone grinned. “You know he hit on my wife too many times to count before she chose the better man.”
“Hey, watch it, man. Those fake biceps don’t fool anyone.” Manny jabbed him in the arm and winced, making everyone laugh.
“Well, I happen to think this guy’s pretty fantastic,” Harper said, slipping her hand through the crook of Manny’s elbow and looking up at him. “So quit it.”
“Oooh,” Samira said. “Someone’s very protective of her man.”
“And I love her for it.”
Everyone stared at Manny in shock, including Harper.
Surely, he didn’t mean that? It had to be a figure of speech, a throwaway comment.
Manny’s guffaw sounded forced before he said, “So, who’s getting the next round?”
“I will,” Harper said, needing to get away from the curious eyes swinging between her and Manny.
“Want some help?” he asked, ducking down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t look so frightened. When I say I love you it won’t be in front of these busybodies.”
When.
Not if.
More discombobulated by the minute, she said, “You stay here. I’ll go order drinks and get the barman to bring them over.”
“Okay.” He kissed her, not caring who saw. Another thing she liked about him: the confidence in his own skin. She wished she could be half that confident. “And by the way, how you stood up for me? Big turn-on. And I’ll show you exactly how much of a turn-on when we ditch them soon.”
A shiver of longing shot through her. “Counting on it,” she said, before heading off to order drinks.
A crowd had built up in the bar over the last half hour, and patrons lining up were three-deep, so she sidled her way to the farthest corner near the restrooms and waited for the people in front of her to move.
A light touch landed on her shoulder. “Harper?”
She froze.
No way.
Colin hated the bar scene. He’d never wanted to go out when they’d been dating, saying he preferred to chill at home after long hours at the restaurant, and he certainly wouldn’t pay the exorbitant bar prices for the Shiraz he liked.
She turned and fixed a polite smile on her face. “Colin.”
He looked the same, though his hair skimmed his collar these days rather than the short back and sides he’d favored when they’d dated. His blue eyes were warm, his smile endearing. Colin channeled the boy-next-door perfectly, but she knew firsthand the sweetness hid a shallow soul.
“Small world, huh?” He had the audacity to touch her arm, and she gritted her teeth before stepping back a fraction.
“Yeah, too small.”
His eyes widened at her sarcasm and she continued. “Funny running into you in a bar. It’s the last place you’d usually frequent.”
He shrugged, sheepish. “I like to mix it up these days.”
Translated, he was only a boring old fart when he was with her.
Screw you, Colin.
A frown dented his brow, and for a moment she wondered if she’d spoken out loud.
“You look incredible,” he said, searching her face with an intensity that made her want to squirm. “Absolutely stunning. The patches all gone?”
Harper could play this game. She could be polite and make small talk and pretend like what Colin thought of her mattered. But she’d been done with him the minute he turned his back on her because she didn’t fit hi
s image of perfection, so she was finished with playing nice.
“None of your fucking business.”
He reared back like she’d poked him in the eye. “Hey, where did that come from?”
Harper tapped her lip, pretending to think. “Let’s see. Probably from the same place that thinks you’re a weak prick for dumping me when I showed you those patches.”
“That wasn’t the reason.” The lie slid easily from his lips, but he couldn’t meet her eyes as he said it.
“Yeah, it was, and even now you don’t have the balls to admit it.”
He threw his hands up. “I just wanted to say hi, but if I’d known you were still hung up on me, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Hung up on you?” Harper laughed so loud several people nearby turned to stare. “News flash, Col. See that gorgeous guy at the other end of the bar, the one who’s about five inches taller than you? He’s my boyfriend, and he’s one hundred times the man you’ll ever be. And for the record?”
She held her hands about a foot apart. “Those five inches in height isn’t the only measurement where he’s got you beat.”
Colin flushed an angry puce, before stomping away. Applause rang out from a few women nearby, and Harper flashed a sheepish smile before slinking back in the direction of her group. She’d find another spot to wait to order.
However, she’d barely made it ten feet before she ran into Manny.
“You okay?”
When he touched her arm, she melted and craved his touch all over.
“Yeah.”
“Who was that guy?”
“My ex.”
“What did you say to him?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m pretty sure I glimpsed tears as he stormed out of here.”
She chuckled. “I may have insulted his manhood by saying you had five inches on him in all aspects of anatomy.”
Amusement lit Manny’s eyes. “Five inches, huh? I’m not sure whether to be flattered or to make sure you’re not prone to exaggeration.”
“Hey, I tell it how it is.”
Not wanting to waste another thought on Colin, she slipped her hand in his. “My ex is a shallow prick and not worth talking about. So how about you and I make our excuses to the gang and leave so I can get out my ruler and validate those inches?”
He laughed and pulled her in close. “You are one of a kind.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Let’s go.”
46
It would’ve made sense for Harper to stay over at Manny’s place, considering his apartment was closer to Southbank than her house, but she’d insisted she needed to be home in the morning for a delivery. Manny hadn’t cared. He’d go wherever she wanted if it meant spending the night in her arms.
She’d been surprisingly quiet on the thirty-minute drive to her place, and he wondered if it had anything to do with her ex. While Manny hadn’t been dating her long, and talking about an ex wasn’t high on his list of priorities, seeing the guy’s reaction and hearing her label him a shallow prick meant there was a story there beyond two people growing apart.
They were a few streets away from her house, and he couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.
“I know it’s not kosher to discuss previous relationships, but considering this is my first and you can’t quiz me, I think it’s only fair I get to interrogate you.”
Her hands, resting in her lap, tightened, making her knuckles stand out. “Talking about Colin is the last thing I want to do.”
“At least the shallow prick has a name.”
He’d expected her to laugh. She didn’t.
“How long did you two date?”
“About a year.”
“You mentioned he dumped you?”
“Yeah.”
“The guy’s obviously a dickhead.” He wanted to ask the all-important “why” but had to lead into it. “Did you live together?”
“He wanted to, but my house is my haven. He rented near the restaurant where he worked, so it made sense for us to hang out there anyway.” She snorted. “I think he only suggested moving in together to cut back on rent.”
“So he wasn’t the love of your life?”
“Hell no.”
He cast a quick glance at her, and she was tight-lipped, her silhouette rigid.
“Why did you break up?”
There, he’d asked the million-dollar question, but as he turned into her street, she remained silent.
“Harper?”
“Talking about old boyfriends is a real mood killer,” she muttered, folding her arms and slouching. “Drop it, okay?”
More intrigued than ever by her recalcitrance to talk about it, he turned into her driveway as his pager went off.
“Are you on call?”
He shook his head and picked up the pager, groaning when he saw the number. “This is from my office, which can only mean one thing.”
“What?”
“Problems.”
He slid his cell out of his pocket and called the number, not surprised when his second in charge said two of their doctors had come down with gastro and there’d been a major pileup on the Western Ring Road, meaning patients would be flown in to their ER as first point of call.
“I’ll be there in thirty,” he said, and hung up, before turning to Harper. “Sorry, but I have to go. Staff shortage at the hospital, and a stack of incoming trauma patients.”
“Go,” she said, her stiff posture finally relaxing as she reached out to cup his cheek. “I think it’s beyond cool you save the world.”
“I can’t save everyone.”
The bitter retort popped out before he could stop it, but before she could delve deeper, he said, “I really have to go. I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
They met halfway across the console and exchanged a quick kiss that felt obligatory rather than passionate. He hated it. He didn’t want their evening to end like this, with her feeling defensive about his probing for information about her ex, and him remembering how he couldn’t save the one person he’d wanted to.
He waited until she’d unlocked her front door and slipped inside before reversing out of her drive. She hadn’t looked back, and it made him wonder if he’d screwed up this relationship before it had barely begun.
47
Manny didn’t call.
Then again, Harper heard about the multicar pileup on the news late last night and first thing this morning, and she guessed he would still be working.
She couldn’t fathom having such a high-pressure job, where a split-second decision could literally mean the difference between life and death. She loved his sense of humor, but it made her wonder if he used it as a defense mechanism to deal with the trauma he saw on a daily basis.
He’d been defensive last night when she’d made the offhand comment about saving the world. It had been stupid, in hindsight. He probably thought she was making light of a serious subject.
Their whole conversation in the car last night had been a drag. Not that they’d said much. She’d been stewing over her run-in with Colin, and he’d taken his cue from her, remaining silent until they’d almost reached her place.
She’d been angry at herself more than anything, for giving Colin the satisfaction of caring about being dumped by him. She could’ve handled it better, like pretending he didn’t exist. But she’d lost it when he’d stared at her, admiration with a hint of something more in his eyes, like she was back to being beautiful after revealing the ugliness. It had triggered her in a way she hadn’t anticipated, though her comeback about inches had been snidely clever.
Harper didn’t give a crap about height or size; if she had, she wouldn’t have dated Colin. But it had been a low blow criticizing his lack of . . . ahem . . . inches, just because he’d re
surrected her old feelings of inadequacy by focusing on her looks.
As she toyed with her cell, contemplating sending a text to Manny for when he finished his shift, it rang and Samira’s name popped up.
Glad for the distraction, she answered. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. I’ve got Pia on the line too, conference call.”
Ah . . . so this would be a dissection of last night’s drinks at the bar. She should’ve expected it, but she’d been too busy wasting time mulling over Colin to think about it.
“Hi, Harper,” Pia said. “You and Manny disappeared pretty fast last night.”
“You two are seriously loved up,” Samira added, making smoochy sounds. “So how are things in Lovesville?”
“He got called into the hospital last night, so just peachy.”
“Someone sounds a little shitty because they didn’t get any loving last night,” Samira said with a snicker.
“Don’t listen to her,” Pia said. “I heard about that multicar pileup on the news. Must be tough dealing with that.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Harper liked these women, but Pia was definitely the more intuitive. “You’re both in the health industry. Does it ever get you down, dealing with people’s problems all day?”
“I do get sick of it sometimes,” Samira said, sounding surprisingly somber. “Every patient who walks into my office is in pain and wants to be fixed. When I mention the E word so they can help themselves, they equate exercise with lying on the couch and doing nothing proactive.”
“Speech therapists don’t get as much of the heavy stuff,” Pia said. “Especially working in private practice like I do. But speechies in hospitals deal with a lot of poststroke rehab, so teaching people how to swallow again, that kind of thing. It can be draining.”
“Why are you asking this? Did Manny say something?”
Harper shook her head before realizing the girls couldn’t see her. “No, but seeing him rush off last night while I chilled in bed with a book made the vast differences between us more noticeable.”
“Between your jobs, you mean,” Samira clarified.
