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I sigh. “My bodyguard, courtesy of Hayden.”
“God, that man is crazy.” She winks at me. “I mean crazy for you, of course.”
“Oh, he’s definitely a psycho.”
I walk over to put away my purse and then retrieve my apron. The redhead trails me closer than Sebastian would ever dare. “You have a look on your face. I need to know everything,” Harper says, her voice quivering with excitement. “Did he spank you? Tie you up? You know I’m a Shibari expert. If you really want to escape, I can help with that. But why would you? Am I right?”
She waggles her eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes at her. “It’s nothing like that,” I say. Although, I wish it was.
“Then what?” Harper runs her gaze over me in a silent assessment before pinning me with her stare. “Where were you this morning?”
“I was at the doctor’s.”
Her green eyes grow clouded with worry. “Are you sick?”
“No.” I scan the room for Alex and lower my voice. “I got on birth control.”
“Smart move. You don’t want to have little Calista baristas running around. That’d put a stop to your sex life faster than being an extra dick at a porno shoot.”
“Agreed.”
I walk up to the counter and open the till. The bills are all facing different directions, just like I anticipated. I rearrange the money, glad for something to keep my mind occupied until a customer walks in.
Harper bumps me with her hip and leans against the counter, folding her arms. “What’s wrong?”
“Would you ever lie to someone to keep them safe?”
Harper scoffs. “Duh.”
I jerk my head up to look at her. “What about breaking trust?”
“How serious are we talking about? Is it a life-or-death situation?” When I give her a reluctant nod, she shrugs. “Trust doesn’t matter if they’re dead. Personally, I wouldn’t get caught lying in the first place. ButifI did, then I’d take whatever they dish out. It’s hard to stay mad at someone who has your best interests at heart.”
“Unbelievable.”
I close the register and reach for the sanitizer, pumping it like it’s a whack-a-mole. Or Hayden’s face. I rub the liquid all over my hands, and Harper watches me the entire time.
“Your silence scares me,” I mutter. “Say something, or I’ll sic Sebastian on you.”
She looks over at the bodyguard sitting on the far side of the coffee shop and blows him a kiss before turning to look at me. “Don’t threaten me with a good time. His tattoos are sexy as shit.”
“Do you see the one on his neck?” I whisper. “I think it means he’s part of theBratva, the Russian mob.”
Now Harper’s rubbing her hands together like she’s the one using hand sanitizer. “Bring on the big boy. I’d buff that bald head of his until it shines. And the one on his shoulders too.”
I groan. “Please stop.”
“I’ll stop when you tell me what’s wrong with you.” She jabs her chest with her thumb. “Best friend, remember?”
“I know, but I can’t talk about it. At least not until I’ve processed everything, okay?”
She sighs. “Fine. You’ve pretty much told me already with yourhypotheticalquestion. I’ll do my best to wait for the rest of the details.”
“Thank you.”
“Listen,” she says, gripping my shoulders. “Your boyfriend is… unconventional, which means his methods are going to be as well. That man deals in extremes. Hot or cold, life or death, love or hate. If you told me he was on an even keel now that you’re together, I’d say you were full of shit. That man doesn’t know how to be normal. He’s going to give you everything. You just have to decide if you can handle all of him.”
My eyes burn, and I blink rapidly to avoid any tears. “What if I can’t?”
