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With her brothers staring and judging? Sounds like a blast. Still, this will keep harmony in Harlow’s life and it’s important to her, so I can’t say no.
I sigh. “Tell them we’ll be there.”
* * *
After a low-key afternoon at home, Harlow on the phone for most of it with professors and colleagues, I spend time watching other color commentators, past and present, to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. If I can pull this off, I’ll have to develop my own style. If I can overcome my issues, I’ll look forward to the challenge.
As the sun begins to set, I’m still watching clips on my iPad when Harlow shuffles onto the patio. I glance up to say something—then I realize she’s completely naked.
I can’t speak, not because my ability seizes up but because she’s stolen my breath.
“Hey.” She gives me a flirty smile.
Harlow is in the mood. I’m praising a higher power and singing hallelujahs on the inside because after one glance at her I am, too.
“Hey.” I set the iPad aside and pull off my shirt.
That gets her attention, and her double take makes me smile. Her staring never gets old, either.
Her gaze dips down toward my fly. “What’s…up?”
“My cock, and you know it.”
She grins. “I love having a man I can count on.”
I scoff. “Unlike earlier. I wanted to wimp out on the zip-lining. Not very manly of me.”
“You were totally masculine about your abject terror. You only squealed and trembled for the first few rides,” she teases.
“Come here, woman.” I stand and saunter closer, reaching for my zipper. “I’ll give you manly.”
“I thought you’d never ask…” Harlow sidles closer, hips swaying.
I lose the rest of my clothes and join her naked in the dusk. She wraps her arms around my neck and smiles up at me. Her eyes sparkle with mischief, happiness, and invitation. I don’t think before I speak next.
“Are you ready for me to more than like you, Harlow? To want more than just sex with you?”
I’m heading in that direction, and I’d rather not put my heart on the line if she’s simply going to reject any relationship beyond hooking up.
She stiffens but doesn’t pull away. “I don’t know. I like you. I have fun with you. I want to help you. But those are easy to both feel and admit. I won’t deny there’s something between us. But I’m not familiar with the ‘more’ part. I’ve never really done the whole romance thing.”
“Never?”
Easing out of my grasp, Harlow shakes her head. “We moved from San Diego to Hawaii when I was eight. You know Maui can be like a small town, and we weren’t from here. Sure, we lived here, but we weren’t locals.”
It’s true. People here are close-knit but they can be standoffish to outsiders and newcomers. “I understand.”
“Besides, any guy who liked me, either my brothers would warn him away or I’d figure out he was a teenage hormonal prick and lose interest. If I was ever tempted to dip my toe in the relationship pool, I just had to get an eyeful of my parents’ version of undying devotion. After that, I figured I was better off without.”
“Did they fight a lot?”
“Not overtly. They both operate more underhandedly. With them, it’s always passive-aggressive shit like my mom ‘accidentally’ spilling nail polish on Dad’s favorite dress shirt or him ‘forgetting’ their anniversary and planning an overnight business trip instead. Their relationship was cool and contentious under the falsely polite surface. Love never seemed to make either of them happy, so I figured…why bother?”
Wow. And her fiancé only reinforced all her worst fears about marriage. No wonder she’s gun-shy. “It’s not supposed to be that way.”
“That’s what Hollywood tells us,” she says tartly with a shrug. “But who knows? Can we just take whatever this is between us one day at a time?”
“Yeah. I like that idea. You need to know me and I need to know you. I just wanted to find out if we had any chance… You’ve been through a lot lately, and I could understand if Butler put you off relationships for a long while.”
