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“For what? She won't even tell me when she has one of her episodes.”
“She said she just started taking the medication and Quinn is going to adjust the dose if needed,” Daphne said softly.
I knew she meant to make me feel better, but I felt more annoyed. Harley couldn't even bother to fucking tell me that.
“Well, good,” I said, stuffing the rest of the roll in my mouth and taking my anger out on an unsuspecting roll. It tasted like sawdust. It was more just a matter of getting something in my stomach. My stomach was digesting itself with the acid of my anger and confusion about my feelings for Harley.
I knew this was becoming more than just a convenient roommate-with-benefits situation. I didn't get angry often, and that was another splinter in that scar in my heart.
I flew that afternoon, relieved that I had a busy day. Anything to keep my focus off Harley.
That night, I had dinner in town at Sally's.
“Good to see you,” Layla said as I walked past her a while later. She cast me a quick smile. The corners of her mouth were tight, and the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
I wasn't about to explain, but I sensed that she knew our no-strings-on-occasion arrangement was thoroughly over. It was.
I lifted my hand in a wave, tossed a tip on the table, and walked out into the late evening. In most places, it would be dark now, but at this latitude in the summer, even at eleven o'clock at night, the lingering colors from the sunset were still staining the sky. As the indigo darkness came to lay claim, a few stars were already glittering through the colors. A crescent moon sat above the shadowed ridge of the mountains in the distance.
My boots scuffed on the gravel as I crossed the parking lot. The sounds of the bar became louder before muting as the door swung open and shut again behind me.
I told myself stopping here wasn’t a test, but it was. My anger with Harley was still rolling on a low simmering boil inside me. I'd wanted to see if maybe I could feel a spark. But fucking nothing. Nothing. Layla was fun. We always had light, flirty fun. It was easy between the sheets for both of us. Yet Harley had ruined me, likely for all women in the future.
Everything with her was so intense. She’d taken my expectations up another notch. With the way she let her guard down, it felt like I had earned something, something I knew she didn't give over easily.
I drove home. I just hoped Harley and Cat were both asleep. It was almost dark by the time I got back home. I walked from the parking area by the main lodge through the trees to the staff house. My footfalls were quiet on the well-worn ground. An owl called in the distance with an ever-bossy magpie chattering in return.
I stopped as the trees opened up, looking ahead at the small circle of light cast above the porch. I took a breath, squared my shoulders, and walked with purpose.
When I crossed the porch, I knew before I even opened the door that Harley was still awake. Nerves tightened in my gut.
I walked in, calling out, “Hey!”
She was sitting on the couch and glanced over. The silence felt heavy. I left my boots by the door and hung up my jacket. I was just about to cross into the kitchen when her voice stopped me. It was as if she hooked a finger on the back of my shirt and tugged.
“I'm fine.”
The anger that had been simmering rolled hot and fast. I spun around. “Why are you hiding things? It's bullshit.”
She stood with her hands on her hips. “It's none of your fucking business.”
ChapterTwenty-Five
HARLEY
Grant stared at me. My heart was pounding so hard that I felt unsteady for a moment. I reflexively placed my palm on my chest. In a flash, he was at my side.
“Are you okay?”
“I'm fine,” I muttered.
Except I wasn't. The pace of my heartbeat felt like a ball rolling down a hill, picking up speed. I sat back down, forcing myself to take several deep breaths. When I opened my eyes, Grant was right there, and my heartbeat was slower.
I lied again, right to his face this time. “I'm fine. I'm just annoyed.”
Which was true, except my heart had started to race again.
“Would you tell me if you weren't?” he asked.
