by AJ Matthews
“But there was always one question Zoey wouldn’t answer. She’d take literally any dare not to answer it. It’s a head scratcher.”
“Harper.” Zoey clenched her jaw and gave Harper the hardest look she could muster.
“I’m guessing I don’t want to know?” Wyatt asked his gaze directly on Zoey’s.
Harper gave a sideways smile. “She’d never tell us who she lost her virginity to.”
“I don’t want to know,” Wyatt and Riley said at the same time.
“I hate you,” Zoey dropped back into the couch.
Once Harper stopped laughing she said, “Man, you guys really are too easy.”
After Riley left, Wyatt went to bed leaving Harper and Zoey alone in the living room. He said he liked letting them have girl time even though they all knew he’d rather Zoey go to bed with him.
“Those idiots crack me up,” Harper said taking a huge drink of beer. “No challenge.”
“That’s true. Mention me and anything sexual and Wyatt will tap out even quicker than Riley.”
“Yeah, but at least you know he loves you.”
They grew quiet.
“You like him, don’t you?” Zoey asked.
“He’s your brother. Of course, I like him.”
“That is not what I mean and you know it.” She raised an eyebrow at her friend.
“Zoey. Stop. It was a hookup. I’ve told you this.”
That damn brow stayed arched toward the ceiling.
“You two have been hanging out this summer, though. Now you know each other beyond what you look like naked.” Zoey released a full body shiver at the mention of naked.
“Ok, Zoey. I give. He’s nice. Funny-ish when he’s not being serious. But I’ve thought that every time I’ve been here to visit. It just…isn’t relationship potential.”
“Maybe it could be if you wanted it to be.”
Chapter Five
Holy hell. Harper in that tiny, barely there bikini took his breath away. The blue somehow made her eyes pop and her hair become even redder. He wasn’t a fashion guy but knew that girls knew how to make that shit happen. Thankfully, his sister’s suit covered a bit more. Not much but that was Wyatt’s problem to deal with. Harper kept his attention with the way Harper wiggled out of her cover-up. If it took her much longer he’d have a big problem on his hands. An obvious problem.
For now, he kept it under control.
Harper and Zoey spread towels out next to each other, giggling the same way he’d heard his sister with friends the entire time he lived at home. He might scoff at Zoey whenever possible but that girl knew how to laugh. He never wanted to admit that her getting with Wyatt took a lot of worry off his shoulders. Wyatt would always take care of her.
In the ten minutes they’d been there, six different guys walked by the girls slowly, taking in the view. Harper and Zoey didn’t seem to notice but the more it happened, the more Riley’s skin tightened against his muscles. They were looking at his sister and his…or rather her friend.
“How the fuck do you do it?” Riley asked when Wyatt finally stopped beside him and dropped the cooler at his feet.
“Do what?”
Riley nodded his head in the direction of yet another slow walker passing the girls. But this fucker actually said hello. Zoey shook her head but Harper gave the guy a wave.
“Not beat the shit out of every dude who glances at your girl wearing a small bikini?”
A huge grin broke out across Wyatt’s face.
“Feeling territorial?”
“Fuck you,” Riley said yet didn’t take his eyes off Harper. Was he feeling territorial? Maybe. No. Definitely. But that’s his little sister’s best friend. He should want to protect her. Not to mention he’s protective by nature. As is Wyatt. That’s part of the reason they both enlisted in the first place.
“Seriously. I don’t care who the hell looks at Zoey. As long as all they do is look and they aren’t a fucking creeper about it. She goes home with me and that’s what matters.”
“It’s as simple as that?” Riley gave his friend an expected looked with a half-cocked smile. Wyatt seemed to forget that Riley knew him too well.
“No. Not as simple as that. I want to rip their fucking eyeballs out but I can’t do that now can I?”
Riley laughed loudly bringing the girls’ attention to them.
Eventually, Wyatt and Zoey left Riley and Harper alone. To take a walk, they said but Riley knew his friend better than that. Sure. They were going to be walking but really they wanted privacy. He sighed. Glad they wanted to take that privacy somewhere else, somewhere away from them, somewhere he wouldn’t have to witness it.
“Zoey’s trying to play matchmaker,” Harper mumbled against her arms making it difficult to understand.
Damn, she was beautiful laying there with her blonde hair in a ponytail swept to the side. He wished he could see the sparkle in her eyes but she kept those firmly closed as she basked in the sun.
“What?”
She pushed herself up onto her elbows.
“I said your sister is trying to play matchmaker. Between you and me.”
“Why?”
He flinched at his knee jerk reaction. He didn’t mean it to sound…well he didn’t mean to sound like an asshole. But he also didn’t understand why Zoey would care.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he added.
“I know.” Harper looked up through her lashes and smiled at him as he leaned back against the cooler. “I think she wants to see you happy.”
“What about you?”
“I’d love to see you happy. Maybe not so tortured.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said shaking his head.
“Oh...um…my only guess on that would be she wants me to live closer. She knows I hate where I’m at. Maybe she thinks if I’m with you, I’d live here.”
This time his brows slammed down and his eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean, you hate it.”
“I hate it.” She shrugged. “I don’t have any friends there. My boss is a jerk.” She took a breath. “It isn’t what I wanted in college. Not what I thought it was going to be.”
“Jerk, how?” His focus fell onto the boss. He didn’t understand it but couldn’t deny it either. Why would he care how her boss treated her?
“I’m a girl in a boys’ world. Programming is still very male-centric. He acts like I’m a dumb blonde, which yeah…sometimes, but never with work. Ever. I know what I’m doing. To him, I’m window dressing.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah.” She swallowed hard. “You know he sent me for his coffee once? Right before I came here.”
“What?” His voice roared. “What’d you do?”
Harper tucked a couple of stray strands of hair behind her ear. They’d fallen free of her ponytail holder and he’d been enjoying watching them dance around her cheek.
“I went and got him coffee.”
“Now why they fuck would you do that?” Riley didn’t like the sound of this guy.
“I kind of froze. Taken aback by the request. So I…I just did it.”
Riley sighed then leaned up resting his elbows on his knees.
“Don’t let people treat you like that, Harper. You’re better than that. You went to college to work in your field and that doesn’t include getting some asshole’s coffee.” He swallowed hard. “And you shouldn’t let guys like me use you. You deserve better.”
He expected her to get pissed. Yell. Maybe lecture him on equal rights for men and women to hook up. Harper wasn’t predictable. Instead, she gave him a tiny grin and pushed up onto her knees.
“Is that what you did, Riley. Use me? Because if the answer is yes then I used you right back. It was my idea remember. Is that it? Did we use each other?”
Their gazes locked on each other, a lot being said without words. Harper chewed on her bottom lip while waiting for him to answer. He didn’t know how to handle wha
tever was happening between them.
Harper’s heart hammered against her ribs hard enough he could probably see it. She hadn’t been this nervous since high school when she asked Dakota Sanders to prom. She’d never been the girl that waited for a guy to make a move, this wasn’t new. But it’s not like she’s a magician. She couldn’t make someone like her who didn’t. This would be the moment of truth with Riley.
How he answered this question determined whether she made a play for him for real or stayed the course and remained his friend he hooked up with once.
“No,” he said quietly.
“What’s that?” She asked letting her grin grow wider. She heard him fine but she really wanted him to sound confident about it.
“No, Harper. We didn’t use each other. But you know I haven’t been in a relationship for a really long time.”
She’d already started shaking her head. “And I’m not asking you for one, Riley. Not yet anyway.”
He nodded. Since she’d given him a bit to think about, Harper decided to ask something that had been on her mind.
“That scar on your leg,” she said pointing at his left thigh. “Is that what I think it is?”
Riley swallowed hard and nodded not taking his eyes off her.
“So you were shot?” He nodded again. “Did it hurt?”
“Of course it fucking hurt,” he snapped then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Yeah, it hurt.”
“Can you tell me what happened?” She wanted him to know that she cared, was curious, and to know what happened to him. But also that he had a choice in telling his story. If he didn’t want to, she wouldn’t ask again.
“We were out, there was a sniper, two actually. It happened so fucking fast, I’m not sure who went down first, but three of us were shot before they were taken out. When I saw Wyatt on the ground, not moving, not knowing if he was alive or dead and that fucked me up. I ran over, forgetting the pain but I had to make sure he made it.”
“Wyatt got injured, too?”
He nodded. “Zoey didn’t tell you that?”
Harper shook her head.
“Yeah. I got hit here.” He pointed to the exact spot Harper had seen when she’d been on her knees in front of him. “Wyatt got hit in the shoulder. Neither were serious wounds, we were able to return to our guys after some rehab.”
“Wow,” she didn’t know what else to say.
“Hey, Zoey doesn’t know about mine, please don’t tell her.”
“I won’t.” Harper shrugged. “I can be your keeper of secrets, too, Riley.”
Their conversation ended when the lovebirds joined them again. Zoey raised an eyebrow at her friend, asking a silent question. Harper could only shake her head in response. There really wasn’t much to tell.
Instead of dwelling, Harper decided to actually get in the water. Zoey followed.
“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Zoey asked as they waded into their waists.
“I have to do some work for this week.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Zoey. We don’t all get the entire summer off. I kind of slacked last week and now it’s time to pay the piper.”
“Can’t you find a different job? You hate that one.” She nudged Harper with her elbow. “Maybe one a little closer to…I don’t know…say…me?” Zoey wore a hopeful smile.
Harper tried not to smile. She bit the inside of her cheek to try to stop one from forming.
“I may have two interviews this week.”
Zoey’s face exploded in happiness. A giant smile took over took her and her eyes popped widely.
“Really?”
“Calm down. One seems perfect but I thought this one would be perfect.” Harper shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“I bet Riley would be happy to hear that.”
“Hey now,” Harper stopped walking and grabbed Zoey by the arm. “Don’t get weird about this. I like your brother. Like…really like your brother. You can’t scare him off.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“As much as it scares the shit out of me since I haven’t done an actual relationship since sophomore year, I’m going to use my assets to make him mine. He won’t be able to resist of course.”
Zoey snorted. “Hasn’t he already seen your assets?”
Harper scooped up a large wave of water with her arm and sent it right to her friend. “I wasn’t talking about that. But those assets help, too.”
“Let me know if you need any help.”
“I don’t think your brother appreciates your assets.”
“Ew.” Her face scrunched up in disgust. “Gross. Not what I meant.”
The group came to the beach together which meant they went home together. Wyatt drove and held Zoey’s hand the entire way. Riley and Harper sat together in the backseat.
Harper used the time to take in Riley’s beauty. His dark blonde hair had recently been cut. Still getting used to being a civilian, Harper thought, because he kept it short, maybe a little longer in the front. She’d love to see his brown eyes but they were closed as he rested his head on his hand propped against the window. He wasn’t asleep. She could tell by his breathing. It wasn’t steady and soft yet.
Riley put a shirt on before they’d left the parking lot, but she already knew exactly what she was missing. Strong muscles covered every inch of that man. The more she looked the more her fingers itched to touch him again.
His eyes popped open, tiny slits to peer through. The movement taking her by surprise and she inhaled sharply. Yup. She’d been caught gawking and there wasn’t anything she could do to hide it. Instead, she owned it. A slight raise of one eyebrow and what she hoped was a sexy smirk but more than likely turned out nerdy and weird. Just because she exuded confidence on the outside didn’t mean she always felt it on the inside.
Riley grabbed up the bag he’d taken to the beach and left as soon as they got back to the apartment. Wyatt and Zoey went upstairs right away but Harper stood at the end of the driveway watching Riley drive away until she couldn’t see his taillights any longer.
Man, she had it bad.
“So, what do you think?” The late thirties, brown haired woman asked. Maria ran the second interview Harper scheduled. The first had been a disaster. A small startup company that wouldn’t come close to paying her what she needed. But this one…they could. “Like I said, we’re totally flexible. If you need to work from home one day, it’s not a big deal. You’d let me know. All we care is that the work gets done.”
“And I don’t have to secure the jobs?” That would be a stickler. Harper loved the coding—the programming. She didn’t want to have to hustle for work.
“No. We have a group whose only job is to secure contracts. You have to do the work. You might have some tight deadlines but if one of the contracts doesn’t work for you, we have others that it probably would. I mean some of these guys work out of their mom’s basements and do nothing but program and game. They’re great guys but sometimes a little too focused and they get a rush from beating the clock. You can go as intense or laid back as you like as long as you’re putting in your hours.”
Harper really liked the sound of that.
“I’ll need some time.”
“Obviously. We can give you a few days to decide. Is that enough?”
“Yes.” Though Harper already had an idea of what the answer would be. “Then I have to give notice.”
“Of course.” Maria stood and stretched out her hand. “I look forward to hearing from you in a few days.”
“Thank you,” Harper said and took the offered hand.
As she left, Harper had no doubt that this job would be the dream job she thought about in college. And it was more money than she made already since the firm focused on government contracts. Plus, she’d get to move closer to Zoey. Huge bonus. Though a drawback could be that she’d be closer to Riley as well. It all depended on how things ended up between the two of them.
; Only time would tell.
Chapter Six
“Please, Riley,” Zoey whined from behind him as he hovered over the engine of a vintage Nova. “I told Wyatt I’d go into the city with him before Harper’s car broke down. Can you please take her to get it?”
“Taking her isn’t a problem. I’m curious why she didn’t have it brought here.”
“Her insurance said they could only tow it to the closest shop and they didn’t have the stupid part so she couldn’t get it back until today. But you’ll take her?” Zoey’s blonde hair bobbed as she started to dance on her toes. She’d been acting weird this last week since the beach.
“I’ll take her. I’m done in an hour. I’ll shower real quick and pick her up at your place.”
“Thank you,” she shrieked and threw her arms around his neck squeezing tightly.
“It’s a ride, Zoey. I’m not saving her from Caribbean pirates here.” He chuckled but hugged her back anyway.
Zoey pulled back with a laugh and turned to walk away. “You might want to once you hear how much they charged her.”
“How much?” He called after her. She giggled louder and waved her fingers over her shoulder. “Zoey, how much.”
Too late. Zoey left the building without answering. Fuck. Harper should’ve brought it to him.
An hour and a half later, Riley sat waiting in his car in front of Zoey’s apartment having sent Harper a text that he’d arrived. Harper saying she could be his keeper of secrets that day at the beach fucked with his head. It broke through his “hard candy coating” as Zoey called it. For the first time in a long time, he thought about someone in a more permanent way. He could possibly see himself with her.
A minute later that beautiful redhead burst through the bottom door. Her shorts were barely shy of being inappropriate and the tank top she wore hugged every single curve the girl had to offer while her ponytail bobbed behind her. Thank god for summer, Riley thought.
“Thanks for doing this,” she said, her voice light and airy like the smell of cotton candy that filled his car. Whatever perfume she wore, smelled good enough to eat.