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“Are you sure, Jackson? I do not want to tear this family apart again.”
“What do you mean, again?”
“I just–” she stammered for a second and stared at me with the look of a deer caught in the headlights. “I just mean after everything you’ve been through, the last thing I want is for your family to be hurt again. You deserve to heal and come together, and I don’t want to be the cause of any issues.”
I studied Harper for a few moments. Her soft, glowing skin. Her beautiful turquoise eyes. Her sweet, plump pink lips. She was utter perfection. Beautiful. Smart. And she had a strong sense of ethics, which I admired. I had always tried to live my life as morally as possible, but I knew I had fallen short. Harper was the type of woman who could help me become a better man.
I had wanted to settle down eventually, find a wife that would help me be better. And for a brief second I thought,what if what I was looking for all along was in front of me the entire time? What if Harper Olson was the woman for me?
I needed to remember however, that she just told me that what happened between us couldn’t happen again.
Maybe not the foursome, maybe that would be a one-time deal, but...
“You have my permission to tell Kat,” I repeated, keeping my voice level. “I see how much it means to you, and I promise you that my brothers and I will not resort to fighting, nor will you tear my family apart if I have anything to say about it.”
“Thanks, Jackson. I really appreciate it,” she said, standing up from the chair at the same time I did. We were now just a few inches apart. She smelled like vanilla and orange blossoms, and I couldn’t resist getting closer, touching that soft skin. I cupped her chin in my hand and lifted her face to meet mine, prepared to seal our agreement with a kiss.
Harper leaned in just for a second, then backed away.
“I’m sorry, Jackson. I meant what I said. It can’t happen again.”
She rushed toward the door before I could say another word.
11
Aiden
“Are you sure you can’t get me more info than that?” I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes to try and stave off the headache that I could feel coming on. “I need to know names. Not code names, not pseudonyms, but actual goddamn names. Why is that so difficult? I—”
A knock at my door caused me to shut up.
“Hold on,” I whispered into the phone. “I have to call you back.”
Being around family made things a lot harder. Someone was always poking around or nearby. I needed to remember to keep my voice down.
They knocked again. “Aiden? It’s me, Harper.”
Right away, all the tension left my shoulders and I felt better simply hearing her sweet voice.
“I’m coming,” I said. I got up from the desk and walked over to the door to unlock and open it for her.
I found her smiling back at me. “May I come in? I think we should talk.”
“Sure, come on in,” I said. “Don’t mind the mess.”
There were papers everywhere, all over my desk, some files on my bed.
“It’s okay,” she said, her eyes darting around the room. “Did I come at a bad time? Are you in the middle of working a case or something?”
“Nah, this is all personal,” I said. “I haven’t had any PI work lately, ever since, well, you know, my own little scandal.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, and from the sound of her voice, I think she actually meant it. Few people believed that I was innocent, especially since my own dad’s scandal was still fresh in their minds. “Like father, like son,” I replied except I was nothing like my dad. The very idea of being like him disgusted me.
But I absolutely despised pity, so I quickly changed the subject.
“So, what do you want to talk about?’ I asked, motioning for her to take a seat. I cleared off an armchair once I realized most every surface had papers or files on it.
She sat and I sat down across from her.
