Page 24 of My Only

Between her standing over me. Between my hands still holding hers.

A beat of silence passed.

Then, he cleared his throat.

I instantly released Harper’s hands.

“I apologize if I’m interrupting anything.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said quickly, sitting up straight. “You’re not interrupting anything at all. What’s up?”

Levi’s gaze shifted to Harper again before forcing a tight smile her way.

Then, he refocused on me.

“Here’s the final site plan for the community park layout,” he said, stepping forward and placing a folder on my desk. “I wanted you to review it before we finalize it with Bryant.”

“Cool.” I nodded stiffly, reaching for the folder and lifting my attention to him. “I got you. I’ll have this back to you within the hour.”

This looked so bad.

I knew it looked bad.

Even if I couldn’t quite tell how Levi had interpreted what he had just walked in on.

“Cool,” Levi said, giving me a casual salute before shooting a glance behind me. “Harper.”

“Levi,” she replied, sharp and short.

Levi exhaled a scoffing laugh before exiting my office.

Behind me, Harper finally stepped away from my chair.

“Definitely get some rest when you make it home, tonight.” She smirked, gesturing toward the door. “I should get back to work. The designs aren’t going to design themselves, right?”

My tongue felt heavy in my mouth as I watched her move toward my office door.

Then she paused, turned, and smiled.

“Plus,” she added, her voice light, almost playful, “I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. You know how our people like to talk.”

She said it so sweetly, so innocently, that someone unaware wouldn’t have picked up on the subtext.

Wouldn’t have picked up on the subtle amusement in her tone. Like she was playing some kind of game.

Before stepping out, she added, “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

I tracked her with my eyes through the glass walls of my office as she exited, heading toward her own.

My heart was hammering at that point.

My pulse sped up as unease settled over me.

I’d dealt with women throwing themselves at me before.

Had many conversations with my father about being careful, because not all attention was good attention.

Over the years, those talks had evolved. Became more direct.

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