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“Sorry, I only heard the tail end of the conversation,” I said. Lifting my glass I added, “I was just getting a refill. You want something?”
“Sure,” she said with a sweet smile.
Truth be told, I had been wanting to get Harper alone for some time. I wanted to talk to her.
I poured us both some orange juice before turning to the bar and adding a little vodka to mine. I needed the courage.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” I took a seat in a chair near the window and patted the spot next to me. She joined me.
“Yes?”
I took a big swig of my drink.
“You and me. Where do you see this heading?”
“Excuse me?” she chuckled nervously. “What do you mean, exactly?”
“Well… I see the way you keep checking me out, and I can’t help but do the same to you. But it goes deeper than that, Harper. I like you, a lot.”
“I like you a lot too, Jackson, but I thought it was clear that nothing serious could happen between us.”
“Why not?” I took another swig of my drink.
“For one thing, I’ve been with your brothers too. I like all of you pretty equally, and that seems like a recipe for drama.”
I shrugged. “They’ll be fine.”
“Will they though?” She raised an eyebrow at me, and I had to admit, she might have some reason to be concerned, but I had no doubt we could figure it out as we went along. She quickly added, “Besides, you hardly know me, Jackson.”
“I’ve known you since you were a little girl, Harper.”
“I’m not that girl anymore.”
“I realize that, and it’s one reason I’m absolutely crazy about you. You’re confident, strong-willed, ambitious, smart… I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I’m really impressed with the woman you’ve grown into.”
“Thank you,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “And I’m impressed with the man you’ve grown into as well, but truth be told, you really don’t know me as well as you think.”
“Nonsense. You’re amazing.” I finished my drink. I noticed Harper looking at my glass with concern etched on her face, so I didn’t hurry to refill it.
“Again, you don’t really know me, Jackson.”
“I know enough.”
She opened her mouth to say something but then clamped her lips shut and stared down at her orange juice.
“What?”
“It’s just…” she stammered. “Well, after what happened with your dad—”
“My dad?”
“Yeah, I mean, after all the drama and the scandal and what it did to your family, I…”
I stood up and walked over to the bar, refilling my glass. The mere mention of my father caused me to clench my jaw and tense up all over. I needed something to take the edge off.
“Jackson, I’m worried about you. Your drinking—”
“My drinking isn’t an issue.” My voice came out louder than intended and I slammed my glass down on the table a bit too hard, shattering it. Orange juice splashed everywhere. Harper hopped up and grabbed some napkins, rushing over to me and placing them on the cuts on my hand but I held her back. “Leave it. Just… leave me alone.”
