Leakage: A Friends-to-Lovers Romance

by Harley, Karen

  "Shit." Her hand was released, then examined. "Sorry. Is it okay?"

  "Yes." She picked up the box like it might explode, opened it, eyed the modest garnet and gold band, closed it and looked at him. "A month?" she choked.

  "I knew," he said, "what I wanted. In my mind, you were mine before you were anything else. I've thought of tossing it, but who ever knows what's going to happen?"

  "Fast," she breathed.

  He laughed softly. "Two years, sweetheart. Not fast for me. Agonizingly slow. Is it too fast for you?" He took her hand, this time gently.

  "Maybe." She swallowed, then gave an angry laugh. "This always happens. You get me so far and I think I'm pushed to the limits of what I can do, and then you go and—"

  "I know, sweetheart. It's all right."

  "No, it's not. You'll be hurt."

  His mouth twitched. "Only if I don't wear you down eventually."

  "Fuck, Matt." That felt oddly good to say. "Fuck, fuck."

  Matt laughed.

  "Some places they'd be hanging us for even thinking about it, you know. Do you have any idea what my dad went through when he married my mom? Her family didn't talk to her for ages. "

  "Mm-hm." His tone said whatever. Not impressed.

  "We've never talked about it," she persisted. "Even in Seattle, race can be an issue."

  "Uh-huh. Remind me why I care about other people's issues, Jas."

  But she was on a roll. "Where would we live? How do we even get a place when we're both jobless?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Even if I was ready, which I'm not, I don't have a ring for you."

  His eyebrows rose.

  "You do need a ring," she emphasized.

  "Right."

  "But I'm not. Ready."

  "Yeah, Jas."

  "This is real life," she went on. "It takes months or years to know for sure."

  "Mm."

  "I love you." She said it with fury.

  Fury at him for putting her in this position without even a moment to enjoy their new comfort zone.

  "I love you," he returned politely. "Are you done yet?"

  "What?"

  "Talking yourself into saying yes."

  "Not yet!"

  He jumped on her, his eyes gleaming. Then her hands were splayed out and he was kissing her behind her ear. "Jasmine," he said. "I'm going to make you so fucking happy. Say you'll marry me. Let's get started on life now. Not wait another second. Yeah, there's shit that'll happen. We know some of it going in. That gives us an edge, not a disadvantage. Just say to fuck with it. Waiting is its own risk. Marry me."

  Waiting. The same risks as not waiting.

  Horrible pain.

  Loneliness.

  Regrets.

  Mistakes.

  Nothing saved you from it.

  "All right," she said.

  "All right?"

  "Yes. All right." She took a deep breath. "Let's just get this over with."

  He rolled with her until she was on top of him. Held her face and looked at her as if he couldn't believe what she'd said.

  "Jas." He smiled slowly. "Yeah. Let's get it over with."

  And he kissed her mouth.

  It was different. Sweet and natural and almost innocent. Happy.

  As for Jasmine, she felt light-bodied, like she'd jumped off a cliff expecting to fall and was floating on thermal winds instead.

  When their mouths separated, she said, "Let's tell Sara and Harrison right now."

  He blinked. "No." He rolled her off of him, stretched his whole body. The moment was over. "We reek. Not up to a game of musical chairs to see who gets the bathroom first."

  "First? Matt, you really think Sara and Harrison are…do you think they…."

  "Oh, yeah, they. They, they, they."

  "How do you know?"

  "She's into him. It's why she proposed the Challenge."

  "And how do you know that?"

  "I have no fucking idea." He reached out and pulled her to him, yawning. Now he was winding down. "Sleep, baby. You wore me out."

  She withdrew. "I'm too happy to sleep now. I'm going to take a shower, then go knock on the door. Sara's sad about my leaving. It's wrong to keep her in suspense."

  He groaned, then sighed. With exaggerated effort, he rolled off the bed and went to his computer, sat down and started typing. She let her bra fall from her hand, strolled to the desk and read over his shoulder:

  From: Matt Berne

  To: Sara Brogan, Harrison Thomasson

  Subject: Because Jasmine Refuses to Wait Till Morning

  She's marrying me.

  Sara, I owe you one.

  -M

  "Permission to send?" he said.

  "Okay," she said. "Hey, look at the time."

  The computer's digital clock switched right then.

  It was midnight on the dot.

  To Mom and Dad

  who taught me about risks

  Other Books by Karen Harley

  Unfriended: A Geek and Stud Romance (as Deana Farrady)

  His Vengeance (a dark romance as Deana Farrady)

  Subscribe to Karen Harley's mailing list for updates on new releases

  Connect with Karen on Facebook

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to an amazing group of beta readers, with a special thank you to Nicole, Rayann, Maia, Toni, Philip, and Danielle. You made it so much better.

  Thanks to Art of Noise for making Moments in Love, the inspiration for Matt's song.

  Thanks to my husband and my kid for putting up with my nonsense.

  About Karen Harley

  Karen Harley has lived all over the United States and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her family and a very loud parrot.

  Thank you so much for reading!