Instead, he crouches down, making himself smaller, and pulls something from the plate.
“I brought something for you too, Mel,” he says softly, revealing a few strips of bacon.
Melody sniffs the air and immediately licks her chops. Her focus narrows with predatory intensity, but she remains pressed against me, unwilling to venture closer to Harper.
“It’s okay,” he continues, placing a strip on the edge of the coffee table. “Peace offering.”
I watch, stunned, as my big bad Alpha detective patiently waits for my ghost dog to decide whether to trust him. It’s... adorable. Sweet. The kind of thing that would normally make my heart do backflips.
Melody cautiously stretches her neck out, doing her best to inch toward the bacon while still keeping her distance from Harper. Once she’s close enough, she pounces, snapping it up in her teeth before crowding back against me on the couch. Two loud crunches later and the bacon is devoured in seconds.
When he holds out another piece, she actually climbs down from the couch and takes it directly from his fingers. Harper lets her sniff his hand afterward, and when she determines there’s no more bacon there, she lets him give her a pat. An unlikely animal friendship is happening before my eyes.
It’s heartwarming, until Harper glances up at me with a wistful expression. “I know where I went wrong with the dog. I wish I knew how I upset you.”
“Wha, huh?” I mumble dumbly. “Why do you think you did something wrong?
“It seemed like we were doing good and now you can barely stand to look at me,” he says. “I hope someday you’ll tell me what I did so we can talk about it.”
Ouch. That hurts. A lot. I thought he’d just assume I was just being the same flighty, immature necromancer I used to be. The guy who had trouble getting close to people and ran at the first sign of danger. I didn’t expect him to blame himself.
“You didn’t do anything,” I say, my voice cracking. “It’s not you, it’s—”
“Don’t give me some line.”
“It is me, though,” I insist. “Or it’s my family.”
Harper frowns. “Your family?”
“It’s my brother.” Something inside me snaps. I can’t do this anymore. Can’t keep pretending, can’t watch him blame himself for my mess. As soon as I start talking, the words burst out of me. “My brother is the one who killed your brother and sister-in-law. I saw news reports from the attack. The brotherI haven’t seen in years, the one I told you about… he’s the one responsible for your family’s deaths.”
The silence that follows is deafening. Harper’s face has gone completely blank, those golden eyes unreadable.
“I understand if you hate me now,” I continue miserably. “I would. I do. That’s why I backed off. I’m so sorry. I should have just told you, but… I’m sorry.”
I can’t bear to see his reaction, to watch as realization and disgust wash over his features. I flip over on the couch, burying my face in the cushions. I wait for the inevitable sound of his footsteps walking away and the door slamming shut behind him.
Instead, I hear his footsteps get closer. A warm hand settles on my back.
“Dodger,” he says, his voice impossibly gentle. “Look at me. Is this what’s been bothering you?”
I nod against the cushion before gathering the courage to turn my head. “I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Harper says, his thumb brushing away a tear I didn’t realize had escaped. He doesn’t seem angry. Does he not believe me? “It’s okay.”
“It’s really not.” My voice cracks, betraying me.
“Nothing that happened in the past was your fault,” he says, his gaze never wavering from mine. “You weren’t even there. And nothing that happened before will change how I feel about you now. It’s just not possible.” His thumb traces the line of my jaw. “Will you trust me on that?”
“Harper—” I start to protest, but he cuts me off.
“Will you trust me?” There’s a quiet intensity in his voice, a certainty that makes my breath catch.
I nod, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
“Thank you.” Harper leans forward, closing the distance between us. His lips meet mine in a tender kiss. He kisses me like I’m something precious, something worth protecting. It’sthe last thing I deserve, but Harper doesn’t seem to care about that. He keeps kissing me, his hand cradling my head, until the tension drains from my shoulders and I find myself leaning into him.
When we finally break apart, I’m breathless. “You’re taking this well,” I murmur, still not quite believing it.
