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“I thought…”
“What?” I pushed. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I thought you’d chosen him over me. I know it’s silly, but I thought—”
I kissed her. Softer this time, sliding my mouth over her lips and swallowing her whimpers. Harper looped her arms around my neck, anchoring us together. It was hard to believe that I’d almost talked myself out of this, her.
I’d been so set on keeping her at arm’s length, denying myself the connection between us, that I didn’t see what was right in front of me.
Connor and Noah were right.
Fuck, they were right.
“You, Harper. I choose you.”
She blinked up at me, her long black lashes brushing my cheeks. “Y-you do?”
“Yeah, blondie, I do. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“But my dad… I don’t want to ruin anything for you.”
“You won’t. Come here.” I wrapped her into my arms again, loving the way she felt pressed up against me.
“Can I ask you something?” I inquired.
“Anything.”
“When he turned up at TPB, you said something to him. You said, ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ What did you mean?”
I had my suspicions, but I needed to hear her say it.
Indecision flickered in her eyes, and I really fucking hoped it was because she didn’t know if she could trust me with the truth, and not because she wanted to protect her old man.
“My father is an alcoholic.” She got up, pacing in front of the boards. “Has been most of my life. He cycles through sobriety and relapses more than a yo-yo.”
“Shit, Harper, I’m sorry.”
“So that’s not what you suspected?” She arched a brow.
“I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But it doesn’t change the fact it sucks.”
“Yeah.” She let out a weary sigh. “It hasn’t been easy on me or Mom, Mom mostly. But she says she took vows to love him through thick and thin… so here we are.”
She tried to glance away, but I refused to let her. Going to her, I gently gripped her chin between my fingers. “You deserve better.”
“Yeah, but I’ll never know better.” She gave me a sad smile that hit me dead in the chest. “I’m such a cliché.”
“What do you mean?”
“What did you think of me when you first met me, Mason?”
Her question threw me for a loop, and I hesitated over my reply.
“It’s okay,” she added. “You can tell me.”
“I thought you were just another bunny, using your father’s name to get close to the team. But that’s not who you are.”
“No, it isn’t. But I am too much. I get that. When you’ve had to fight your entire life for even the smallest scraps of attention from a parent, I think you either default to shutting everyone out or trying to pull everyone in.
