Page 44 of Love on Ice

“Right?” Harper nods. “I’m not looking forward to facing reality.”

Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and give it a squeeze. Since the news dropped of her breakup, Harper’s phone has been blowing up. As much as she wanted to forget about it, she couldn’t, and it kind of ruined the last couple of days we had together. Not that it’s her fault, but she had a dark cloud hanging over her and was easily distracted. I suggested that she contact her friend who found out about Cynthia to see if he could find out about Josh and his intern. Like she told me, it’s always good to have information in her back pocket. She agreed and she contacted her friend. It didn’t take them long to find out information because Josh was not as sneaky as he thought he was. Apparently, he’s been fucking his intern since she started, which was almost a year ago. That felt like a dagger to her when she found that out. She then got someone in her office to send the information and photos to Page Six, and the article went out today. Things blew up. So, I can understand her apprehension about going home.

“You did the right thing,” I reassure her.

“Or I’ve just made it worse,” she says, giving me a sad smile.

“He could have left things alone, but he’s the one who went to the press first, trying to paint this narrative that you were the faulty one when, in reality, it was always him.”

“You’re right,” she says, nodding as if trying to convince herself.

I lean over and whisper in her ear, changing the subject. “I’m going to miss fucking you.” Harper gasps, and I love that her earshave turned red. “Next time my cock is in my hand, which let’s be honest, will probably be tonight, I’ll be thinking about you.”

She bites her lip. “Is that so?”

“Don’t play coy with me, princess. You know my dick is perpetually hard around you. Just say the word and it’s yours again.” Harper blinks at me surprised by my offer. “Yours, anytime, know that.” I watch as Harper swallows, and her cheeks burn bright.

“Quite the offer.” She smirks.

“And it’s a serious one, too.”

“You’re not joking?” I shake my head. “Why?”

“Why not? I had fun. I think you’re hot. I like fucking you. I’m not looking for anything serious. I like hanging out with you, plus I trust you,” I tell her honestly.

“You mean that?”

“Yeah, of course. But I’m also happy just being your friend,” I add.

“I appreciate it,” she says as the boat arrives.

After what seemslike an eternity and a day on all modes of transport, we arrive back in New York. Harper was gracious enough to let me join her on her private jet. There was a sleek black car waiting for us on the tarmac as we arrived.

“The driver is going to drop me off first and then take you to Issy’s home as it’s a little further,” Harper explains.

“Sure, no problem at all. I appreciate the ride.” Harper gives me a look. “That wasn’t supposed to be an innuendo, but it works, too.”

Harper kept her word as soon as we stepped off the boat, away from Paradise, there was no touching. I understood. Still,I guess I had become so used to being able to touch her anytime I liked now that just stopping cold was hard. We get into the car and Harper buries herself in her phone.

“Hey, have you worked out what you’re going to do about your LA house, isn’t the week almost up?” she asks, not looking up from her phone.

“Wasn’t sure what to do. I was going to have a meeting with Issy tomorrow to nut it out.”

She nods. “I think you should get your lawyer to mention that you know about her close relationship with her best friend, her husband, and some of your other teammates during girls’ night. I know you’re a good guy, and fighting dirty might not sit right, tell her you’ll give her one hundred grand, but she must sign a non-disparagement clause.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“That she can’t talk about you and your relationship negatively in the press.”

Oh wow, never heard of that. “You think she would do that for a hundred grand?”

She looks up at me. “You think she wants to open the can of worms that you have in your pocket? She might try to negotiate and see if you’re bluffing, but, in the end, she will cut her losses and take the money. I mean, you don’t have to give her a dime, she doesn’t deserve it, but that’s just how I think it might play out.”

“Thanks. I’ll talk to my lawyer about that.”

She disappears into her phone again and doesn’t raise her head until we arrive at her brownstone. Wow. This is stunning, and the location is so close to Central Park.She’s really rich.

“This is me,” she says, putting her phone away in her purse. “Thanks for a fun week and I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

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