Sweet Harmony (Harmony Falls, Book One)

by Elizabeth Kelly

  Fake boyfriend.

  Instead of getting pissed off, a small smile crossed her face as she gave him a considering look.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  “Why? It’s a fair question. I like it, actually. It gets straight to the point, right? Anyway, I’m probably looking for comfort but since we’re practically strangers, I’m not gonna make you do that.”

  She sat up a little straighter and wiped away all the lingering traces of tears from her face. “So, before we get started on learning all there is to know about Dr. Connor MacMillan, I just want to reassure you that even though we had to start our little dating ruse early, I’ll still go to your cousin’s wedding with you, no matter what.

  A little bit of the tension he’d been holding all day left his body. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’m sorry that we had to announce it early, but Daniel was already halfway up the porch stairs so I…”

  “No, I get it,” she said. “You had to come back and, um, kiss me again so that Daniel would, uh, believe it.”

  “Yes,” he said.

  Now he was the one not looking at her. Just talking about the kissing from this morning was threatening to give him a stiffy. Christ, he really needed to get control of himself.

  “Okay, well, um, do you want to come inside? I can make us some iced tea and you can give me details about your life.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck as fresh anxiety trickled down his spine. “What do you think about going for a walk or something?”

  He needed to be away from her house, needed to be far away from her bed. Keeping his distance from her hot little body would be much easier if they weren’t a few feet from her bedroom.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “We could drive over to the Falls and hike one of the easier trails,” he said.

  “Okay.” She stood. “Just let me change my clothes and my shoes. I’ll be back in five.”

  “Sure.” He waited a few minutes after she left before he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He stood and paced back and forth on the porch, keeping his eye on the hallway through the screen door as he phoned Lucas.

  Lucas answered on the second ring. “Dude. S’up?”

  “Hey. Do me a favour?”

  “Sure.”

  “You said your boss will be looking at commercial properties here, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “When is he coming to look?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe this weekend or next?”

  “Text him and recommend that he speak with Kira Walker at Rose and Ray Realty.”

  Lucas didn’t ask questions. “Yeah, all right. Rose and Ray Realty.”

  He could hear Kira walking down the stairs, see her sneaker-clad feet through the screen, and he walked to the far end of the porch and lowered his voice. “Kira Walker, Lucas. Make sure you recommend her specifically.”

  “Yeah, yeah, got it. Recommend your fake girlfriend. I’ll text him.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Jesus, dude, what is up with you?”

  “Just do me a favour and text him tonight.”

  “Fine,” Lucas said. There was the muffled sound of cheering and Lucas muttered a curse. “Are you kidding me? The guy was clearly out. He tagged him like a mile before he stepped on the base.”

  “Lucas! Tonight, text him tonight.”

  “I will,” Lucas said. “I promise. Later, dickhead.”

  “Bye, asshole.” He hit the end button and shoved his phone into his pocket, turning around just as Kira stepped out onto the porch.

  “Ready to go?” she asked.

  He smiled at her. “Yes.”

  * * *

  “Grace, you are a world-class idiot.” With a frustrated puff of air, Grace blew the hair that had escaped from her ponytail away from her face. She held up the map of the Falls and the surrounding park and studied it carefully. “Okay, so according to this map, you entered the trail here, you didn’t leave the trail, so you should be back at the park entrance by now…”

  Yeah, she should have been. Only she wasn’t and she had no frackin’ idea why not. She hadn’t taken a foot off the damn path. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her yoga pants and tried to Google directions out of the park, muttering another curse when she realized she didn’t have service.

  “Oh, for the love of God,” she said before shoving her phone back into her pocket. “I can’t seriously be lost in the goddamn park.”

  She could and she was.

  She should have known better. When Addie had called and cancelled their hike last minute, she should have kicked off her damn shoes, ordered take-out, and binge watched Good Girls. But, oh no, she went to the Falls anyway, even after promising Addie she wouldn’t.

  Both Addie and Kira were well aware of her challenges with directions. More than once they had affectionately teased that she wouldn’t be able to find her way out of a wet paper bag. Sadly, they were right. It was why they’d made her promise never to go hiking at Harmony Falls Park on her own. Not even the easier, shorter trails. The odds of her having to spend the night out here were way higher than she liked to consider.

  She glanced around, her unease growing a little. It was only a little after seven and she still had at least an hour before the sun went down, but what if she didn’t find her way back to the park entrance by then? There were plenty of bears in Harmony Falls woods, and she didn’t fancy being a snack.

  “You idiot,” she muttered again. No one knew she was out here. She lived alone and she told Addie she wouldn’t go hiking. Which meant no one would even think to go looking for her until she didn’t show up for work tomorrow morning.

  More unease, tinged with the slightest amount of fear, made the base of her spine itch. She took a deep breath and marched forward, arms swinging at her sides, the small bell on her backpack to let bears know she was around, ringing steadily with every step.

  She was fine. She was still on the path and eventually she’d come to the park entrance. All the trails, even the difficult ones, were all big circular trails that led back to the park entrance. As long as she didn’t panic, she’d be fine.

  Until it gets dark and you can’t see the trail anymore.

  She ignored her inner voice. She would get back to the park before it got dark. She had to. She had a small first-aid kit, water and a few snacks in her backpack, but nothing else. No emergency flares, no bear spray, no matches, no –

  Her breath caught in her throat and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She turned slowly to her left, staring intently into the bushes that lined the path. They rustled again and the air wheezed out of her.

  “Oh shit,” she whispered. Wetting her lips, she backed up, stepping carefully and wishing like hell she’d grabbed the goddamn bear spray.

  The bushes rustled again, she caught a glimpse of fawn-coloured fur and her eyes widened when the dog wiggled out of the bushes and spied her.

  Fuck. She’d rather it be a bear. Not that she didn’t love the big stupid dog, she was probably a little too attached to him, but where he went, his master went, and she really didn’t want –

  “Shit! Tank, no! No, boy! Sit!” She realized far too late that the dog had made a beeline for her and, as usual, his enthusiasm was notched up to a thousand. Tank hit her with what felt like the full speed of an out-of-control train. She went ass-over-teakettle, her muscles screaming in protest. Before she could curl up into a protective ball, Tank dropped on top of her like a one-hundred-and-seventy-five-pound medicine ball, driving the last of the oxygen from her lungs.

  He licked her face repeatedly, chuffing happily before blowing air from his nose like a horse. Spit and – gross - dog snot covered her face in a fine spray, and she pushed at the heavy dog.

  “Off.” Her voice was barely above a croak. “Tank, off…can’t breathe.”

  He chuffed again before licking her face from her chin to her forehead. She decided that noise she heard was her ribs cracking. She let her body go limp
and accepted her fate. Shuffling off this mortal coil by being crushed under the weight of a giant, happy, dumb dog wasn’t the worse way to go.

  “Tank, off.”

  His deep voice made her groan inwardly. She closed her eyes as Tank licked her face a final time before he jumped up. His big paw gouged her in the side as he left, and she winced.

  “Sorry about that. You okay?”

  A shadow covered her face and mentally preparing herself, she opened her eyes and stared up at Gideon.

  “Just fine.” Ignoring the way every muscle in her body was throbbing, she sat up. He made no effort to help her stand, but she hadn’t expected him to. He wouldn’t touch her. Of course, he wouldn’t. He never touched her.

  He touched you the night of -

  Nope. She was noping right the fuck out of that thought, thank you very much.

  She struggled to her feet, dusting off her ass and straightening her t-shirt. She could feel dog drool running down her face and she wiped it off, glaring at Tank who sat next to Gideon, panting heavily and giving her his big doggie grin.

  “Bad dog,” she scolded. “Very bad dog.”

  His ears went down, and he ducked his head before staring at her with soulful dark eyes. She sighed. “You’re not a bad dog. You’re a good boy.”

  His big tail thumped against the ground, his grin returning.

  “Why are you out here?” Gideon asked.

  The irrational hatred that always appeared when he used his ‘big brother’ tone on her, flooded through her instantly and she glared at him. “It’s a public park, Gideon. It’s not your own private running trails.” She ignored the way sweat made his t-shirt stick to his broad chest. “I have as much right to be here as you do.”

  “I meant why are you out here alone? You’re not allowed to go hiking by yourself,” he replied.

  “Excuse me? Not allowed? I’m not a helpless little girl. I’m a grown woman and I can do whatever the hell I want.”

  His nostrils flared and he took a few steps closer until he was standing directly in front of her. “We both know that with your sense of direction, hiking alone is dangerous and stupid.”

  “Oh, so now I’m helpless and stupid. That’s what you’re saying?”

  A muscle ticked at his jaw and his eyebrows drew down. She stared at his odd-coloured eyes, fascinated even after all these years by the difference. She was getting under his skin. After Kira, she knew him better than anyone, and a childish glee went through her. He was a constant prickle under her skin, it was nice to turn the tables just once.

  “I’m trying to keep you safe.” His voice was hard.

  “I’m not a child anymore, Gideon. I don’t need you to look after me.” Her glee was turning to - she hated to admit it - lust. She hadn’t been this close to him since his parents’ funeral and the heat of his big body as well as the good clean smell of him, was making her feel a little dizzy with desire. Fuck, how could he smell so good? He was out running in the middle of the damn forest.

  “If that were true, you wouldn’t be lost in the middle of the park right now.”

  “I’m not lost,” she lied.

  “No?” His voice was silky smooth. “Tell me what trail you’re on.”

  She didn’t reply. Her right palm was stinging like a bitch and she folded her arms under her ample breasts, pressing her palm against her side to try and relieve some of the pain. The motion pushed her breasts together. It gave her a little extra cleavage along the scoop neckline of her shirt and practically invited Gideon to check out her tits. His gaze never wavered from her face and she swallowed down her disappointment.

  “What trail are you on, Grace?”

  A little shiver of pleasure went down her spine. Gideon rarely said her name. When he did, it never failed to make her just the tiniest bit wet.

  Her gaze dropped to his mouth and he immediately took a step back. She flushed with embarrassment and looked away. “I have to go. Bye.”

  Before she could walk away, Gideon’s eyes widened and what almost looked like panic flickered across his face. “You’re bleeding.”

  “What?” She nearly fell over with shock when Gideon grabbed her upper arm. The feel of his rough hand wrapped around her bicep was just about enough to make her swoon. God, she really needed to get laid.

  “You’re bleeding,” he repeated.

  She followed his gaze to the splotch of blood that covered her shirt along her ribs. Before she could stop him, he had grabbed the hem of her shirt and was yanking it up.

  “Hey!” She tried to twist out of his grasp, and he glared at her.

  “Hold still.”

  “Let go of my shirt,” she snapped at him.

  He ignored her and pushed her flailing hands away before bending and staring at her pale skin just below the band of her sports bra. “There’s no wound.”

  “Because it’s not my side.” She shoved his hand away and tugged her shirt down, wincing when her palm scraped across the material.

  He scowled and wrapped his fingers around her right wrist. He pulled her arm toward him and turned her hand upward. He studied the smears of blood on her palm before muttering a curse under his breath.

  His scowl deepened and he stared at Tank who was sniffing at a bush a few feet away from them. “Tank, bad dog.”

  “It wasn’t his fault.” She immediately jumped to the dog’s defense. “He didn’t mean it.”

  Without replying, he turned her around a bit roughly and unzipped her backpack.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Hold this.” He handed her the bottle of water before dipping his hand back into the pack. He rummaged through it and brought out the first aid kit. “Turn around.”

  She sighed and turned to face him. “Gideon, I don’t need -”

  “It needs to be cleaned and disinfected,” he said before taking the water bottle from her. “Hold out your hand.”

  She held out her hand, palm up, and he uncapped the bottle and poured water across the bleeding scrape. Water and blood flowed to the ground and he rinsed it again before leaning over and studying her hand.

  “It doesn’t look like you’ll need stitches.”

  “It’s just a scrape,” she said. “Thanks, but I really need -”

  “It needs to be disinfected.” He was already unzipping the first aid kit and pulling out the disinfectant wipes.

  He handed her the kit to hold while he ripped open the foil, and she tucked it under her arm before petting Tank who had wandered over. The big dog leaned against her, but she’d already planted her feet in anticipation and didn’t stumble. She patted the dog’s side as he pressed his big head against her ribs.

  “Tank, sit,” she said.

  The dog sat obediently, and she winced and pulled her foot free. “Not on my foot, silly boy.”

  His tail thumped and he chuffed happily when she scratched under his collar with her left hand. “You’re a good boy, yes you are, you’re such a… ow!”

  She yanked her right hand away, holding it protectively behind her back and glaring at Gideon. He flipped the wipe over to the clean side.

  “That hurts,” she said.

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. Give me your hand.”

  “No.”

  “Grace.” He gave her a warning look, and she sighed and held her hand out again. He swiped the wipe across it, not that gently, and she winced as her palm stung and smarted.

  “Ouch!” She tried to pull her hand back again, but he was on to her and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, holding her firmly. “Seriously, man, that hurts.”

  “It’s a little sting,” he said. “Don’t be such a baby.”

  “You try having disinfectant wiped across your bleeding and raw skin,” she said. “Then we’ll see who’s tough.”

  He wiped the scrape again, ignoring the way she winced. When she tried to pull her hand away for a third time, he snorted and bent his head. She went stock still when he blew on the palm of her ha
nd, every nerve in her body pinging to life and goosebumps erupting across her skin.

  Her mind went blank, her nipples went hard, and her pussy went wet.

  Gideon blew on the scrape again. “There. Is that better? Or do I need to give you a sucker to make you feel…”

  His voice trailed off into a low groan when he glanced at her face. For a moment, the only sound was the rasp of Tank’s panting, the soft cry of a bird and the return call of its mate, the low buzz of the insects.

  “Grace, don’t look at me like that.” His voice was dark and rough. She’d only heard it like that once before, and the memory of that night sent more goosebumps to the surface of her skin. Her scalp prickled with awareness, and she stared at his mouth as his thumb swept back and forth over the thudding pulse in her wrist, that soft, simple touch lighting her up like fireworks on the fourth of July.

  “Gideon, please,” she whispered.

  Chapter Six

  “Okay, so tell me everything there is to know about Connor MacMillan.” Kira smiled at him as they walked.

  The trail they were on was surprisingly quiet, especially considering the weirdly warm weather, but he took her hand anyway. “Just in case we see someone we know.”

  She nodded, and he ignored the tingle of pleasure he felt from the softness of her palm. God, his lust for her was bad. He studied her with little sideway glances as they walked. She had to still be upset about potentially losing her job, but she was doing a remarkably good job of hiding it.

  “Are you sure you want to do this tonight?” he asked. “We don’t have to. I know you’re worried about your job.”

  “No, it’s fine.” Her smile looked a little fake around the edges. “It’s good to take my mind off of it, right?”

  He didn’t reply and she widened her fake smile. “We need to do this tonight. If I can’t answer even simple questions about you, the fake relationship crumbles before it even gets started.”

  “Yeah, okay.” He skirted around an exposed root in the path. “My birthday is June thirteenth. I’m an only child, my middle name is Robert, after my dad. My parents’ names are Gina and Rob. They own a mom and pop store in Willington. Both were born and raised in Willington, and they were high school sweethearts. My dad proposed to my mom the night they graduated from high school.”