Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
I watched him place the last of the arrangements, and when he delicately moved a flower just so, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have those strong hands move over my body. Would he be gentle or rough?
I jumped when he pressed the button to close the liftgate, and it beeped.
“Lost in that pretty head of yours again?” he asked teasingly.
All I could do was nod.
When I didn’t say anything, Declan clapped his hands. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you when you get to my folks’ place.”
“I just need to change, and I’ll be right behind you.”
Declan smiled, but his gaze moved from mine down to my mouth—and for a split second, I nearly closed the distance between us and kissed him.
Get it together, Harper Browning!
“Right,” he finally said. “See you soon.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”
Forcing myself to turn away, I rushed through the back door of the flower shop, locked it, and then headed up the back steps to my apartment. First things first…take care of the ache between my legs and, hopefully, not picture Declan Gallagher while doing so.
Declan
I lifted the beer to my mouth and took a long drink before leaving the living room. I would puke if I had to watch Sean hang all over Harper for another second. It was so fucking obvious it was all a show…but for who? I didn’t believe for one second the two of them were really together.
No one else might have noticed, but I saw Harper cringe at Sean’s every touch. And when he tried to kiss her, she turned her head at the last second, and he planted the kiss high up on her cheek.
“Fancy meeting you here,” my father said, as he sat in the chair next to me on the back porch.
“I don’t miss the parties like this,” I said, taking another long pull from my beer.
He let out a soft laugh. “Your mother likes to make a show out of things, and I just let her. It’s easier for me that way. Pick your battles, my father once told me.”
I nodded. “Smart man.”
“He was, indeed.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a bit before I broke it. “What do you think about Sean and Harper dating again?”
He sighed. “I think Sean is using Harper to make Caroline jealous.”
“You think so? Even though Mom wants him with Crystal?”
Glancing at me, he raised a brow. “Those two are like brother and sister. As you already pointed out, it’s never gonna happen. Sean isn’t the least bit attracted to Crystal, no matter how much your mother and Viola wish it were so.”
“What makes you think he likes Caroline?”
He looked at me as if I’d just asked the stupidest question he’d ever heard. “Just watch the way he looks at her. I assumed he broke up with Harper the first time because of Caroline. But then she started dating someone within days of the breakup, so…my guess is, Sean’s only dating again to see if it bothers her.”
My free hand balled into a fist. “And you’re okay with him using Harper like that?”
He shrugged. “Harper’s a grown woman. If she’s willing to take him back after what he did to her in front of all those people, that’s her business, not ours.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. “What did he do?”
Dad took a drink of his beer. “You didn’t hear about it? Figured someone at the station would have told you. It was all anyone could talk about for a week or two, how Sean very publicly broke up with Harper. It was an accident, mind you, but if I were that girl, I’d never talk to that idiot again.”
“Dad, that idiot is your son.”
He huffed. “Doesn’t mean he still can’t be an idiot sometimes.”
I laughed as I nodded in agreement. “What happened?”
“Harper was helping to set up an event down at The Green, and she was testing a mic for the guy who’d be hosting. She was doing a sound check on the giant speakers, and whoever was supposed to turn off the mic hadn’t done so yet. Sean decided that was a good time to walk onto the stage, tell Harper things weren’t working out, and that he didn’t see a future with her. Thanks to the mic, the whole thing was blasted throughout The Green.
“Apparently, Harper was so stunned, she didn’t even utter a word back. Not until someone finally ran out and took her mic off. Then, rumor has it, she told Sean to fuck off before leaving the stage. But that part’s just hearsay.”
I slowly shook my head. “I would have been so pissed off at him.”
“Oh, I’m sure she was. Which is why I’m surprised she’d take him back.”
Looking out over the backyard, I watched as a bird landed on one of my father’s feeding stations. The man was obsessed with birds, evident by the number of feeders in the yard.