And right there, my decision is made for me.
Fuck my fear. Fuck my past. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make that hurt disappear. Not for me. For her.
And I’m never—fucking never—going to hurt her again.
“Harp,” I murmur.
As though she realizes I’ve seen beneath that shield of fury she’s clinging so tightly to, she throws her hands up and steps back. “Fine,” she says frostily, “you want to take out the trash, take out the fucking trash.”
Then she spins on her heel, starts for the propped-open back door of the kitchen.
I snag her wrist, halting her, trying to find the right thing to say, the words that will put her at ease, will make her understand. “I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her. “I’ll be here for you and the baby both—today and in the future.”
She looks down at her feet. Exhales.
“I promise,” I add softly.
“Right,” she says, her head coming up, her gaze not quite meeting mine. “Of course you’ll be here.”
And I would almost believe her words, the smile that’s curving her gorgeous mouth…
If not for her eyes.
She doesn’t believe me.
Nope. Not at fucking all.
And I can’t even blame her.
Twenty-Five
Harper
I’m desperate to hold on to my anger, my rage.
It’s better than the other crap I’m feeling.
But then he says, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here for you and the baby both—today and in the future.”
And…it’s bullshit.
Maybe he believes it in this moment.
Maybe he wants it to be true as much as I do.
But eventually the shine is going to rub off and he’ll realize that sticking around isn’t exactly in his long-term plan.
And he’ll go.
And I’ll be alone.
The kind of love that Luna has, that Kailey and Faye have…it doesn’t exist for me.
Believe me, I’ve tried.
I look down at my feet, exhale slowly as I try to collect myself?—
“I promise,” he murmurs, his tone going so gentle my heart convulses, my eyes fill with tears.
