Page 4 of The Attraction

“Funny. No, just clearing the head,” I grumble back.

There is something about Harper that makes me wary.

She certainly has flirted with me enough times to let me know she is interested, and although I think she’s beautiful, she reminds me of my brother, just in a female body. Never going to settle down, full of confidence, and not afraid to be the joker in the room. Pushy, but I can tell she uses that to her full advantage in her job and is amazing at what she does.

“Oh, what I wouldn’t give to know what a clear head feels like. I feel like I’m drowning.” The flat tone in her voice has me turning my head to the side quickly to look at her, and then I really notice how tired and pale she looks.

“Have you eaten today?” I stand up straight from where I was leaning against the wall, the whirring of the elevator breaking the silence as she fails to answer me.

“Barely,” she mumbles. This is not the Harper I’m used to.

“What are you having for dinner?” I ask, knowing I’m about to do something I’ll regret.

“Protein shake probably, while I continue working on design things for the apartment.” She looks up at me with no enthusiasm at all for her night ahead.

The doors to her floor open on the lift, and I hit the close button as she is about to step forward.

“No, you’re not. I’ll feed you dinner, proper protein,” I growl at her, horrified that all she is fueling her body with is a stupid shake.

“What the hell. Open the doors, Forrest, now!” she says, standing up to me, and her voice is raised.

When I don’t move, she brushes her body past mine, hitting the open doors button, and again we are at a standoff, both of us hitting the buttons one after the other.

“You are going to break the lift, you idiot, now move. I don’t have time for your macho bullshit tonight. I’m over today, and I just want a shower, to get into my comfy clothes, and get this work done. Goodbye, Forrest.” She glares at me as she sticks her shoulder into the door as it opens a little, and I know I can’t hit the button again for it to close because I don’t want to hurt her.

“Sorry for being nice. Good night to you too, Harper,” I grumble as she leaves the elevator and heads toward her door.

I know why I’m so wary of her, and it’s because she drives me crazy with her stubbornness and sass. No wonder she doesn’t want a relationship with anyone, because she just loves running her own show obviously. God help her if she would take a bit of help from a man.

If she thinks she can push me like that, then I’ll show her that I don’t back down so easily.

I know exactly what I’m going to do.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I’m knocking on her door.

I watch the annoyance flash in her eyes as she opens her mouth, about to say something, but I shove the plate with steak and steamed vegetables on it covered in plastic wrap into her hands, without giving her a chance to speak.

“Eat it,” I growl at her and turn and walk away. I storm straight back into the elevator that hadn’t left the floor yet.

I turn around to face her door again as the elevator doors are closing, and all I see is her stunned face which makes me smile with satisfaction.

“You’re welcome,” I manage to get out just as the doors shut in front of me and head back upstairs to eat my dinner and try to work out why the hell that felt so good.

The sooner she moves back to her own apartment the better.

Because I have a feeling, I just made things messy.

ChapterTwo

FORREST

It’s been ten days since that night I stormed up to Harper’s door and demanded she eat.

I walked out of my apartment the next morning to a clean plate sitting at my door, no note or a knock on the door to say thank you or how she enjoyed it.

I didn’t really care at the time, and thankfully, I haven’t run into her since.

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