Page 67 of If You Were Mine
“And I’m good at my job so I see things quickly. She’s good for you.”
“We’re just, well, it’s not what you think.”
Her eyes widened, then that look of pity in her eyes stunned me. I turned and cursed.
“Harper,” I whispered.
She held up her hand. “Well, that is my fault for overhearing.” With that, she left the room, her shoulders tight. But I hadn’t missed the look of hurt in her eyes.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, my hand shaking. “Fuck. That’s not what I meant.”
“You better figure out what you meant.” Theo slapped my shoulder.
“I love her.”
My brother’s eyes widened. “Then maybe tell her that, and don’t try to pretend that you’re protecting her by lying about what you feel to others.”
With that, I moved towards the door, only to be blocked by Theo. “Joshua’s not here, so I’ll kick your ass if I have to.”
It was another kick to the solar plexus. “Let me through. I need to fix this.”
“By fix this you better not mean breaking up with her. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and we both know it. Don’t fuck this up.”
I pushed past Theo, ignoring the ache in my leg as I made my way down the hall. At the end of the hallway there was a fork, one path went to the main building, the other to a balcony that was only for certain VIPs. It wasn’t late enough yet for people to be out there, but I knew she was there. Everything about her drew me to her. And I was a fucking idiot.
I moved forward and tried to figure out what the hell I was going to say.
She stood there in the moonlight, her face lifting towards the sky. It was damn cold up here, the wind whipping at her since we weren’t at the ground, and I cursed under my breath. I pulled off my suit coat and draped it over her shoulders. And she didn’t push me away. I had to hope it was because she wanted me there, not because she was cold.
“Wellesley, that’s not what I meant to say.”
Her voice didn’t shake but I couldn’t tell what she was feeling in that moment. “What do you think this is then?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I’m not walking away from it.”
She turned and looked at me, confusion on her face. “You brought me here. And yet you’re trying to hide it.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Okay. Then what did you mean to say?”
“That I don’t know what the hell I’m feeling because I’ve never felt this before,” I said quickly, and her eyes widened. “See? It’s scaring me. Not because it’s wrong, I know that. But because I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do. So when people say that they’re happy for me, I freak the fuck out. Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to be thinking.”
“Dorian.”
I kissed her softly, taking her mouth as if she were everything to me. Because damn it, she was.
“I’m sorry. All I want to do is claim you in front of the world, to make sure everyone knows you’re mine, and then the other part of me is so damn afraid of what I’m supposed to do, that I just sit here, confused as hell. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know you didn’t mean it. But it’s still hurt nonetheless.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” I kissed her again, needing her taste.
“I’m sorry for overreacting and running out like the kid you think I am.”
“Baby, I don’t think of you as a kid. Seriously. You may be younger than me, I may call myself a creeper, but I know exactly who you are.”
And that’s what scared me. But in the end, she wrapped her arms around me, and I took her mouth and hoped to hell I didn’t fuck this up again. I was falling for Harper Wellesley. No, that wasn’t right. I’d already fallen for her.
