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He was totally wrong about that. I needed him like crazy. But because I’d learned long ago never to rely on anyone but myself, that was actually pretty unsettling.
Chapter 6
The next morning, it was strange to watch Harper dancing around my apartment. Talk about a contrast. He was sunny and vibrant, while everything around him was beige and bland. He was also a morning person, while I was basically a slug who oozed out of bed and sat in a lifeless heap until the coffee kicked in.
Actually, it wasn’t true that he was a morning person. He was just always on, from the moment he woke up until he went to bed.
Once we’d eaten some cereal and I’d finished a third cup of coffee, I stood at the sink washing the dishes, and he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “It’s a gorgeous day,” he said. “You know what we should do? Go get one of my convertibles and drive up the coast.” One of my convertibles. He said that like it was perfectly normal.
“As wonderful as that sounds, I have to work today.”
“Want me to call your boss and ask for the day off? Oh wait, that’s me. Request approved.” I could hear the amusement in his voice.
“We’re leaving tomorrow for a week in Hawaii. I have a ton of stuff to do before that, so I really can’t take the day off.” I put the last dish in the drainer, then dried my hands on a towel as I turned to face him. “Did you finish making the arrangements for our trip, including ground transportation when we land in Kauai?”
“It’s all taken care of. I rented an SUV, and it’ll be waiting for us at the airport. I also contacted the family that takes care of the yardwork and housekeeping for the place I bought. They used to work for the previous owner, and I hired them when I bought the house. Anyway, I sent them a list and they were nice enough to do some shopping for us. We should be arriving to a fully stocked kitchen.”
“Good job. It sounds like you thought of everything.”
He beamed at me, and then he said, “You know what? You should pack your stuff for our trip and bring it with you today. Then you can spend the night with me, and we’ll be all set to take off right after my interview tomorrow morning. I think the journalist is coming to the house at eleven.”
“Ten. That’s a good idea, though. I’ll probably be working late.”
He grinned and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s why it’s a good idea, so you can work late. Not so we can spend the night together and fuck like bunnies.”
I grinned too and went to grab my laundry. Fortunately, I’d remembered to switch it to the dryer first thing that morning. I took it to the bedroom and tossed it onto the mattress, and Harper followed me and asked, “Where do you keep your swim trunks? You’ll definitely need some of those.”
“I’m not sure,” I said, as I pulled my suitcase from the closet and put it next to the pile of clothes on the bed. “I only have one, and I haven’t used it in a long time. Maybe it’s in my underwear drawer.”
Harper moved to the dresser and started rifling through the top drawer. Whenever he found a pair of briefs he liked, he threw them onto the bed. I was glad I had a few that actually passed inspection. Eventually, he announced, “No swim trunks here.”
I joined him at the dresser and checked the drawer that held my workout clothes. The trunks were buried at the back, and I grabbed them along with some of my running gear. Harper pulled a pair of black jock straps from the drawer and said, “These are definitely coming with us to Hawaii.”
I took them from him and started to pack the suitcase. After a pause, he asked, “Would you let me take you shopping? I’d love it if you let me dress you up.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a grown man, and I can buy my own clothes.”
“I know that, but it’d be fun,” he said. “And it wouldn’t be one-sided, either. You could pick out anything you wanted for me, and I’d buy it and wear it proudly.” The part about him buying it felt a little insulting, even though I knew he didn’t intend it that way.
How did people do this? How did they date someone who made exponentially more than they did? I earned a comfortable living as a PA, but Harper made millions per picture. There was never going to be any sort of balance between what he could do for me and what I could do in return, and I really didn’t know how I felt about that.
