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She lowered her lashes. “New York.”
“Yes. It was loud and fast and distracting enough for me to get through an hour without hating myself. Eventually, the hours stretched into days and then weeks and months.”
“And years.”
He nodded, his eyes dark with regret. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure things out. But I know what I need to do now. I know what I want, and I’m ready to start my future—with you.”
She sucked in a jagged breath, her heart jolting at his words. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.” He kissed her lips. “But I need you to promise you’ll be patient when I mess things up.”
“You won’t mess up.”
“Yes, I will. Mariella, I didn’t come from a normal home, and I don’t know how to do normal family things, but I want to try. I want to make a normal life with you.”
“Normal’s overrated,” she joked, leaning up to steal another kiss.
He caught her face and looked her in the eyes. “I mean it. Sometimes I get moody about memories I can’t change. When things get tough, my first instinct is to bolt.”
“Promise you won’t—”
“I promise, as long as we’re always honest with each other and we trust each other, I’ll always come to you when I’m unsure. I’ll never leave you again.” He laughed. “Hell, I couldn’t at this point if I tried. I want to be with you more than I want my next breath.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”
He kissed her again and whispered against her lips, “I’m sorry about tonight.”
She drew back and looked up at him. “You are?”
“No, not really. It got us here. But I regret upsetting you, and I might have to find that dessert spoon and murder your date with it.”
She laughed. “Please don’t.”
He looked away, true fear twisting his expression.
“Harrison, what is it?”
“I have to tell you something else…about my dad.”
“Okay.”
He released her and paced the porch, stopping to stand in front of the swing. “I can’t remember the sound of my mom’s laugh, but I remember her screams. I still have nightmares of her crying.” His brow pinched as he met her stare. “I never want to hurt anyone the way he hurt her, the way he hurt us. Especially you.”
“Oh, Harrison.” She crossed the porch, closing the distance. “You’re not him.”
He stopped her from hugging him, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I still have a lot of unresolved anger to work through.”
She forced her arms around his neck and made him look at her. “There are people you can talk to. I know you, Harrison. You would never raise a hand to anyone in anger.”
“I punched your brother.”
She gaped at him. “What? When?”
He shrugged. “Recently. But he started it.”
“How?” Her brother was not a fighter.
“He accused me of using you.”
She tried not to smile, but how cute was he? “You were defending my honor?”
“Something like that. That’s when I started admitting to myself that I was hopelessly in love with you.”
“Then I guess it was worth it.” Cupping his face in her hands, she pressed her brow to his and whispered, “I forgive you for beating up my brother.”
“Actually, it was sort of a tie fight.”
She frowned. “Really? You’re bigger than Giovanni by a lot.”
“I know, that’s what I thought, but he’s a scrappy thing when he has to be.” They laughed and he asked, “Do you still love me?”
“I never stopped loving you.”
“Promise you never will.”
“Only if you promise the same.”
“It’s a given.”
His mouth lowered to hers and he finally kissed her the way a woman was meant to be kissed. Her feet lifted off the ground as he slipped a hand under her skirt and over her ass.
“One other thing.” He nipped at her ear, hitting that secret spot that drove her wild. “I don’t want you to date that guy anymore.”
She laughed, tipping her head back to give him better access to her throat. “It’s handled.”
“Good.” He carried her to his car and pressed her into the door, unable to pull himself away from her long enough so they could get inside. “I need you.”
Tempted to have him right there against the car, she considered the location of her parents’ bedroom windows and how likely they were to be sound asleep. Then the car alarm went off and they both jerked apart.
He scrambled for his keys and shut off the siren just as the lights in the house flickered on. “Quick, get in!” she said, jumping into the car.
Harrison raced to the driver’s side and climbed in. “Do you think we woke them?”
“Who cares? Go!” It had been weeks since she had sex, and there was no way she was postponing to get invited inside where her mother and father would no doubt hold the next inquisition.
Harrison peeled away from the curb and sped through the streets of Jasper Falls, hardly slowing at the traffic lights as he raced to the hotel. The side doors were locked at this hour and there would be no slipping discreetly past the front desk, but she was beyond caring. Her only goal was to get up to Harrison’s room and into his bed.
