by Claire Adams
“How did you find this place?” Harper asked.
“I know people,” I said mysteriously.
She laughed and picked up her menu. There weren’t many options, just a few set menus to choose between, but they all sounded delicious.
“This might be the most perfect date I’ve ever been on,” Harper said, and I couldn’t help the surge of pride that went through me.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I said, lightly stroking her knuckles.
As we ate, I noticed her looking around, watching everyone else in the room. But I tried not to feel jealous that I wasn’t the sole focus of her attention. It was probably just the reporter in her. She was constantly looking for a story, just like I was constantly assessing threats.
Suddenly, though, I noticed that there was one person, in particular, that she was watching. Oh, she’d look away and scan the restaurant as though she wasn’t fixated on him, but her eyes would always end up back at his table. I felt a flare of jealousy burst inside of me.
“An old fling?” I asked mildly.
Harper jumped a little, giving me a guilty look. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
“That guy over there,” I said, nodding my head toward their table. “You keep staring at him. Is he an old fling?”
“No!” Harper said, but I could see the way she blushed.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” I said in disgust, dropping my napkin on the table. I wasn’t the kind of guy to storm out, but this wasn’t the way I wanted this night to go.
Harper caught my wrist before I could get up, though. “I thought you’d recognize him,” she said. “His name is Daniel Altham; he works for the local broadcast channel.” She smirked. “You know, the one that you did that terrible interview with.”
I snorted. “Okay,” I said slowly. “But that still doesn’t explain why you keep looking over at him.”
Harper ducked her head. “I’m assuming he’s here doing a story on the place. It’s an interesting idea, the vibe is great, and there are a lot of little local celebrities. So I was trying to figure out where the cameras are. I’m also hoping he doesn’t see me because he’s absolutely the most boring person at all of our journalist awards events in the city, and I’d rather not spoil tonight talking to him.”
I had to stifle a laugh at that. “One tip,” I said. “If you don’t want him to notice you, you probably should stop staring over at him.”
“I know,” Harper sighed. “Isn’t that one of those human instincts, though? Keep your eyes on the enemy and track its movements?”
I laughed. “Where did you learn that, in Kuwait?” I teased.
She grinned and shrugged. “To be honest, I learned a lot of stuff there.” She sobered. “I don’t regret having Ava, but sometimes I wonder what my career could have turned into if I hadn’t had her.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, but fortunately, before I could think of what to say, Harper was shaking her head and smiling.
“This has been really great,” she said, taking my hand again. “Thanks for bringing me here.” I smiled at her.
Our desserts arrived just then, two slices of chocolate cake. Harper groaned. “I was trying to save room for this, but I’m already so full,” she lamented.
I laughed. “Me too,” I admitted. “Why don’t we box one of them up for Maisie, and you and I can split the other one?”
“You trying to score points with Maisie?” Harper asked, sounding amused.
I gave her a serious look. “I like you, Harper,” I said. “And I know Maisie’s important to you, and to Ava. I figure if I’m going to be sticking around, then…” I trailed off, realizing I was getting ahead of myself. “What I mean is—”
“I like that,” Harper interrupted before I could dig the hole even deeper. “The idea of you wanting to stick around, the idea of you wanting to score points with Maisie. I like that.” She said it simply, as though it weren’t some big declaration. As though it was just what she expected.
All I could do was smile back at her. I put a small amount of cake on my fork and held it out to her. Her eyes glittered as closed her lips around the bite. I watched as her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. “God, that’s good,” she said, putting a hand over her mouth.
I grinned. “Good,” I said, taking a bite for myself.
Daniel cornered us as we were getting our coats. “Harper Dawson!” he said in faked surprise. “Are you here covering this place for the Globe?”
“No,” Harper said shortly, shrugging into her coat. “I was just having a nice evening.”
“I see,” Daniel said, giving her a thorough once-over that immediately rankled me. “You look lovely tonight.”
“Thanks,” Harper said, glancing at me out the corner of her eye. I could tell she was just as uncomfortable with the situation as I was.
I put a hand on her lower back. “Unfortunately, we have to get going,” I told Daniel. “I promised the sitter that I’d have Harper back by nine.”
Daniel’s brow furrowed, and I could tell that he wanted to say something else. I hoped Harper wouldn’t be mad that I had used Ava as an excuse. I hoped Daniel already knew that Harper had a daughter. Suddenly, I felt a flicker of guilt. I hadn’t read about Ava in any of Harper’s online bios. What if she didn’t want everyone to know?
But Harper smiled up at me as I steered her quickly out of there. When the elevator doors closed behind us, she burst out laughing. “Did you see his face?” she asked. “He looked like he’d swallowed a whole bag of lemons.”
I snorted. “Well, you all but told him that you were there on a date. I can’t believe he still wanted to bother you.”
Harper shook her head, leaning into me. “Thanks for rescuing me. Like I said, he’s pretty boring.”
I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair. “Thank you,” I said genuinely. “Tonight’s been really fun.”
“I’m not ready for it to end,” Harper said, not meeting my gaze.
I sighed. “Unfortunately, Stone is probably home at my place. He was in a car accident and is hobbling around on crutches at the moment. And Ava and Maisie are back at your place.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Harper said, although she didn’t seem opposed to the idea either. “I was more thinking, maybe we could go somewhere and just keep talking? If you wanted to.”
“I’d like that,” I said, leading her out to the valet stand and thinking about where we could go.
In the end, we just drove out to a park. At this time of night, the place was dark and deserted. We couldn’t see the stars or anything like that; we were still too close to downtown. But there was something charged about the air. It wasn’t romantic by any stretch, but there was something between us.
I smiled over at Harper. “I’m really glad I ran into you again,” I said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”
“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again either,” Harper said evenly. She smiled. “I’m glad I ran into you, too.” She paused. “Ava seemed to like you, too.”
“Ava seems like the kind of kid who would like everyone,” I pointed out.
Harper laughed. “That’s true,” she agreed. “But I’m still glad she likes you.”
I wanted to ask more questions, to learn about Ava’s dad. Who was he? How long had Harper known him before she’d gotten pregnant? When did he fit in after her return from Kuwait? And most of all, why wasn’t he in the picture anymore?
But I didn’t know if she was ready to answer those questions yet. I wanted her to offer the information, not to feel like she had to give it to me.
“You look really sexy tonight,” I told her instead. “Makes me want to take you out more often.”
Harper shivered noticeably, ducking her head and smiling shyly back at me. “Oh really?” she asked, and I could hear the breathless note already there in her voice. This was almost too easy.
And I liked th
at.
Harper leaned toward me, her face tilted up, and I kissed her hard. She put a hand on my leg to steady herself, and I groaned. I was already half-hard, needing her to touch me. But my truck was too small for us to go all the way, especially with the gearshift in between us and other assorted complications.
Harper pulled back, her breathing ragged. “God, I wish I’d had Ava stay over at my mother’s again,” she groaned.
I laughed and pulled her into another kiss, liking how desperate she sounded. I reached over, my hand sliding up under her skirt, fingers dragging against the damp fabric of her panties. And she whimpered.
I wasn’t sure what I needed more, to continue toying with her or to get a hand on myself. Already, my pants felt too tight, and I was desperate for a little friction. I didn’t want this night to end, but I also wanted to get home and get myself off thinking about her in that sexy dress with the low-cut top, the hint of cleavage spilling out over the top.
I groaned and pulled back, resting my head against the headrest and trying to catch my breath.
“That all you got?” Harper asked teasingly. I gave her a look, and she dissolved into giggles. Finally, she managed to calm herself down. “I know this sounds ridiculously high school, but maybe we could both…” She trailed off, waving vaguely in the air.
“There’s not enough space to have sex in here,” I said. “I already considered that. And if I’d been smart, I would have brought blankets for the bed of the truck, and we could have headed off to someplace outside the city, someplace more private, and done it back there. But I wasn’t thinking ahead.”
“That’s not entirely what I meant,” Harper said. She looked embarrassed, and for a moment, I didn’t think she was going to elaborate.
“What?” I asked, cupping her cheek in my palm. Her breath was hot against my wrist, sending prickles of sensation through me.
“What if we each took care of ourselves?” Harper asked. “We don’t have to. It was just an idea. I’d just kind of like to… watch you.” She made a face. “Ugh, that sounds so bad.”
I gave her a look of disbelief. “No, actually that sounds pretty great,” I told her. I shifted a little in my seat, feeling hot all over.
“Are you sure?” Harper asked uncertainly.
“Go on,” I said. “Show me.”
Harper blushed a little as she lifted her dress up. She locked her eyes on mine as she slid a hand down into her panties. Then, her eyes fluttered shut for a moment before opening again. “Fuck,” she whispered. “That feels really good.”
I felt like all the air had been punched out of my lungs as I watched her play with herself beneath the flimsy fabric of her panties. “Take them off,” I told her. It wasn’t exactly an order, but Harper scrambled to obey, pulling her panties down and over her heels, leaving them somewhere down on the floor.
“Better?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I groaned, watching her fingers lightly stroke her clit.
If I didn’t get a hand on myself soon, I was going to explode.
I hurriedly pulled down my slacks and boxers, revealing my manhood. I was already leaking a noticeable amount of precum, even before I wrapped my hand around my length to give myself a few firm tugs. I hardly paid any attention to what I was doing with my hand, though; instead, my eyes were locked on Harper’s face.
She was watching my hand, and as I dragged out a long stroke, she pushed her fingers inside of her, matching my rhythm. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, her face twisted with pleasure. I teased my fingers across my slit, smearing around the precum before giving myself another few rough pumps. Harper matched me, her fingers playing across her clit before she thrust them back inside of herself.
“Harper,” I said, my voice low and husky. Her eyes immediately locked with mine. That seemed to be the cue that we were both waiting for, our hands speeding up of their own accords, still somehow perfectly in sync. I knew we were both getting close, could feel my whole body tensing with the need to cum, could hear the small noises falling from Harper’s lips as she was overcome with heat.
We climaxed at the same time, my seed spurting out over my hand as she fell back against the door of the truck. For a moment, we were frozen like that, both caught up in the strength of our pleasure. Then, Harper started to giggle.
I grinned and shook my head, wiping my hand off on a tissue before fixing my pants, as she pulled her panties back on. “That’s a first for me,” I admitted.
“Me too,” Harper said, grinning right back at me. “And I’d much rather have sex with you, or at least be the one in charge of getting you off, but I kind of liked that, too.”
I snorted and shook my head, glancing at my watch. “I guess I should get you home,” I sighed.
“Probably,” Harper agreed. As I put the car in reverse, she reached over and held my hand.
I drove slower than I normally would on the way back to her house. Not grandma speeds or anything like that, but I wanted to prolong this evening for as long as I could.
“I wish I could invite you up for a drink or something, but Maisie’s still in there, and Ava’s probably already gone to bed,” Harper fretted as we pulled up in front of her place.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, and I really did feel relaxed about the whole thing. “Just don’t forget Maisie’s cake.”
“I’ll make sure and tell her it was your idea,” Harper said, smiling at me.
I kissed her again, soft and sweet. “So when do I get to see you again?” I asked quietly as we pulled apart. “I do get to see you again, right?”
“I have to figure out my schedule for the rest of the week, but I’ll call you.”
“Sounds great,” I told her. I whistled to myself the whole drive home.
23
Harper
The whole night with Ace was so perfect. Absolutely perfect. The kind of date that you only dreamed about. And I’d been so happy. Until we started driving home. Until I started thinking about Ava, waiting for me back in our apartment. Until I started thinking about the fact that I still hadn’t told Ace that he was her father.
And by this point, I was sure that I had waited too long, that the opportunity to tell him had come and gone. If I told him now, it was like I’d been lying to him this whole time.
I swallowed hard as I walked slowly up the stairs to my apartment. It seemed like such a long way, even though I did this every day. I felt exhausted.
It was clear from tonight’s date that we were no longer taking things slow. Oh, it hadn’t ended up with sex. But from the time Ace showed up at the apartment with flowers to the time that I returned, now, with a slice of cake for Maisie because Ace planned on sticking around and wanted to get into her good books, the entire game had changed.
And I’d enjoyed every minute of the date. But there was no way I could tell him about Ava now.
I pushed open the front door and closed it slowly and quietly behind me. Maisie had the TV on in the other room, and I could hear it faintly, meaning she probably hadn’t heard me come in. I fell back against the door, my head thudding against the hard wood, my heart thudding inside my chest.
I slowly slid down to the floor, putting the box of cake to the side and hugging my knees to my chest, willing myself not to cry.
I knew this wasn’t going to work out. I knew that right from the start. It was Ace, after all. He might have changed, but he didn’t want a family and children.
Tonight had been sweet and almost perfect, but the whole dinner just felt like a precursor to getting off. We were still just together because we were attracted to each other, not because he wanted some sort of deeper connection to me. I had to face facts. I had to realize this wasn’t going to be everything I’d always wanted it to be.
Maisie came into the hall, a frown on her face. “I thought I heard you come in.” She paused, staring down at me. I knew what I must look like. I could feel the tears in my eyes. “Oh, honey.” She slid down next to me on the f
loor and put her arm around my shoulders. “What did that asshole do to you?”
“It’s me!” I told her. “I’m the asshole.” I lowered my voice, reminding myself that Ava was somewhere in the apartment, too, hopefully asleep. “I still haven’t told him.”
Maisie hummed in response. “But you’re going to, aren’t you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I need to stop seeing him,” I said. “I have to. It’s getting to be too much. And soon I’m going to crack, and I’m going to tell him the truth about Ava, because I know I have to. But then he’s going to hate me, and he’s never going to want to see me again.”
“Do you really believe that?” Maisie asked. “I saw the way he was looking at you earlier. And he brought you flowers.”
“I know,” I moaned. “And we had a great date. But isn’t it going to seem like, at this point, that I’ve been lying to him the whole time? I’ve been lying to him for years now.”
Maisie was quiet, and I knew there was no way she could respond to that one.
I sighed and shook my head, brushing away tears. “If I’m going to lose him, it’s better to cut it off early, right? Before my heart gets too involved?”
Maisie sighed. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I think that at this point, it’s already probably too late to get out with your heart intact.”
I made a face and nodded. “I know,” I said quietly.
The problem was, I couldn’t seem to help falling for him. I didn’t know what it was that drew me to him. He was undeniably attractive, but there was way more to it than that. There always had been.
I’d arrived in Kuwait knowing that things were going to be difficult. That I was going to have to be flexible and adjust to a life I hadn’t been trained for in a way the SEALs had been. My six months of briefings had nothing on their years and years of hard military training. But I’d been driven to succeed, and everyone had been so incredibly welcoming.
None more so than Ace. From our walks around camp to our interviews, he’d just always made sure that I had a friend over there. Falling into his bed had been a mistake, though. A total lapse of professional judgment.