Page 34 of Believing in You

No woman had ever fed him before, and Harrison had to admit it was sexy as hell. Yeah, that was something else he wanted a repeat of. Nyla’s smile turned wicked, and if that was any indication, feeding him was going to happen more often than not.

When she finally pulled her hand back, she shivered.“Stop distracting me so we can get back to the topic at hand. I need to teach you how to throw a snowball. You’re either out of practice or never learned. Because what you were doing outside, shoving snow into my face, wasnota snowball fight. Who does that anyway?”

He laughed at the way her eyebrows scrunched up and her lips twisted in mock disgust.

“Every male who has ever grown up with snow. That’s who,” Harrison said. “Snow was barely on the ground before me and my brother would charge outside to wrestle. At six years older than him, shoving the cold, white fluff into his face was my go-to move.”

“I don’t remember you ever talking about your siblings. How many do you have?”

“Two. A brother and a sister,” he said, his chest tightening. Thinking about the fun he and his siblings used to have was suddenly overshadowed with memories he wasn’t sure he wanted to revisit. “My brother, Geoffrey, is the youngest and my sister, Piper and I are three years apart.”

“Tell me about them,” Nyla said, and Harrison wasn’t sure what she saw on his face, but she hurried to say, “If you’d rather not talk about—”

“No. I want you to know everything about me,” he said, meaning it.

He’d held off long enough from talking about himself. Leaning back against the headboard, he stretched out his legs.

“When we were younger, both my parents worked full time. Meaning, I was left in charge often which was fine, mostly. My sister was never a problem. She was a peacemaker, always trying to keep everyone happy. She avoided anything that could lead to a confrontation. Even now, she’s still like that, and she’s one of my favorite people.

“My brother, on the other hand, drove me nuts.” Harrison shook his head. “Yes, we had some fun despite the age difference, but he was the baby in the family, and my mother treated him as such. He could do no wrong. It didn’t matter what he’d say or do or what type of trouble he got into, she’d defend him.”

“Typical baby of the family,” Nyla murmured.

“Yeah, but this baby of the family was a pain in the ass.”

Nyla chuckled, and Harrison managed a small smile.

“It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if my mother didn’t undermine me when they’d leave me in charge. For as long as I can remember, she always made excuses for Geoffrey. Whether it was a fight at school or even him not doing his chores, she always justified his behavior. She’d say something like, I’m sure he had a good reason.OrI’m sure he didn’t mean it.Or this or that. It got ridiculous.

“Parents usually say they don’t have favorites, but it was always clear in our household that Geoffrey was her favorite. I only had a problem with that when she defended him and knew he was in the wrong.It got worse after my father died.”

“Oh, my goodness, Harrison. I’m so sorry.” Nyla moved the tray out the way and sat next to him, their bodies touching from hip to ankle. She reached for his hand and squeezed. “I didn’t realize you’d lost your father.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles.

“He had a heart attack at work when I was fifteen. He was the best. He’s the one who fed into my love of music. It’s because of him that I learned to play the sax and took piano, as well as guitar lessons.”

Thinking about his father stirred mixed emotions. Harrison missed him like crazy, but he was thankful for the time they’d had together. As he shared stories about him with Nyla, some of the heaviness on his heart eased. Harrison Sr. was an all-around nice guy who loved his family and always made time for his kids.

“He sounds like a wonderful man.”

Harrison nodded. “He was the best. It was tough after he died, but my mother did the best she could raising us. After graduating from high school, I moved out and attended the University of Chicago. A few years later, my sister did the same, but she went to school out of state. That left Geoffrey with my mother.”

There’d been a time when Harrison felt guilty for not living at home while attending college. He hadn’t liked leaving his mother only a couple of years after his father died, knowing how much she was missing his dad. But his mom assured him that she was fine, and she’d wanted him to have the college experience.

For Harrison, living near campus had been the best decision. He worked part time while attending college full time on a scholarship. Saving most of the money he’d earned, set him up well for after graduation.

“What about your sister?”

“She graduated from high school, then attended college in California. My mother was left with Geoffrey who’d started getting into trouble. Nothing major, but enough for me tokeep my distance from both. At least until Geoffrey moved to Wisconsin for college and stayed there after graduation.”

“Does your sister still live in California?”

Harrison shook his head. “Nah, she moved back a couple of years ago. She’s a dentist and lives in Naperville.”

Silence fell between them while Harrison tried to force his mouth to keep working. He trusted Nyla. Trusted her more than he’d trusted another woman in a long time. Still, a small part of him was hesitant to share more. Specifically, his painful past.

He reached over and turned on the Bluetooth speaker that was on his nightstand, and the sounds of Coltrane filled the room. Jazz music relaxed him. He glanced at Nyla and his heart leaped when she smiled. Even without makeup, her gorgeous face was still flawless.

---