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“What?” She looked up at him and clutched the necklace close to her chest. “I love it.”
He breathed a sigh. “Okay, I’ll believe you.”
Robin held up the chain to look at the necklace again. She didn’t care if it was cheaply made or worth a small fortune, it was a physical reminder that at every turn Harper surprised her. He thought about her, unlike her family who barely noticed her.
She fiddled with the clasp a bit then put it on. It was the kind of necklace she could wear always, no matter the occasion. She ran her fingers over it then looked at Harper and smiled. For some reason, she felt better, safer, and more content than she had all day.
“Thank you,” she said.
He smiled back at her, his hair mussed and eyes warm.
This was where she should have been.
Robin leaned in and kissed him, feeding her desire for him. He cupped the back of her head, his fingers curling through her hair.
Everything in her yearned to get closer to him. She shifted, rising over him, but he gripped her hips, keeping her at a distance.
Robin sat back, putting space between them, and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Tuesday. Pearl Palace Luxury Resort, Miami, FL.
God fucking damn it.
Harper’s mind scrambled to come up with any plausible reason why he wouldn’t be kissing her.
“Your step-mom…”
He winced at that answer. It sounded pathetic.
Robin stared back at him, brows drawn down into a dark line. “Why does our sex life always go back to my family?”
Shit.
Her voice hit that note, that dangerous one all women went to when they were on the brink of being very upset. And he couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t like he could explain that his reticence to kiss her was all about the necklace. With her disappearing like that, the guys had scrambled to throw together a tracker and microphone combo. It was brilliant. But he wasn’t about to get busy with her knowing that his TL and the others were listening right fucking now.
“It’s not like that,” he said as calmly as he could.
“Then what’s it like? Because you tell me you like me and you give me a pretty present, but you don’t want to fuck me. When I ask you what’s up, you bring up my family. That’s twice now and I’m just really confused.”
“I know. You’re totally right.” When all else failed, agree with her? He was spinning his mental wheels here. “Look, a lot’s been going on—”
“Bullshit.” Robin stood, her frown deepening. “Neither of us have had a lot going on. You come over almost every day and we do nothing. You know what nothing is, right? Did my uncle pay you off or something? Is that what this is?”
Harper gaped at her. He’d never felt so wildly blindsided by a woman as he did now. Shit. How did he begin to fix this? Why had he given her the necklace now? Why hadn’t he waited?
“Your uncle has nothing to do with this.” He scooted to the edge of the sofa, doing his best to remain calm while not betraying the anxiety winding him tight. “Robin, please?”
“Please what?”
He licked his lips.
Yeah, please what?
“I… I really like you. And I just… Um. I like you a lot and that’s new for me, okay?” He was beginning to sweat. Fuck. What did he say? His mind was completely blanking on him. “I want this relationship to be different because it matters. You matter to me.”
She shook her head. “You aren’t making sense, Harper.”
“I’m worried that if we have too much sex I’ll fall out of… I mean, I’m worried I’ll make the same mistakes I always do.” That sounded pathetic.
