by Carol Ross
“Hey, Kyle, any chance you could do me a favor?” Jay asked a little while later as they all made their way inside.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I’ve got a client who wants to install a top-of-the-line security system. I’ve worked with some companies that do standard systems, but nothing like this guy wants. Mia said you might know about them.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Do you think you could meet him with me and talk it over?”
The two men proceeded to discuss security systems as they all trooped inside to find their seats. Harper felt gratified that Kyle finally seemed to be accepting the love and respect his family had for him. And he seemed comfortable giving it right back. As happy as she was for him, for all of them, it also made her long for more. She couldn’t stop herself from wishing that Kyle loved her, too.
* * *
SEATED BETWEEN LEVI and Mia in a rigid, uncomfortable folding chair, Kyle contentedly watched the dance performance. It helped that from his vantage point he could also watch Harper. She’d spoken with one of the instructors, offered to take photos free of charge and proceeded to score two seats in the front row. Kyle insisted that Josie take the other spot next to Harper.
Harper was crouched in front of her tripod, completely focused on capturing this special moment for each and every parent. He was blown away by her generosity. Extreme wealth ensured that she could have or do anything she wanted. She could literally be in the south of France or lounging on a yacht somewhere. If she wanted, she’d never have to work again. And yet she chose to make her own way in the world. She was here, with him and his family at Delilah’s dance recital in Pacific Cove. Volunteering at Lucky Cats, going to track meets, sharing family meals, taking photos... She’d chosen his family many times. She’d chosen to try and help him fix his relationship with Mia.
Imagining Harper as a ballerina wasn’t difficult. He thought about what her recitals must have been like, with just her dad in the audience. She called her upbringing “nontraditional” and Kyle thought that must be an understatement. As the only child of a brilliant eccentric scientist, he’d told her she couldn’t understand family dynamics. That had been unfair, too. She’d had her own share of difficulties. She’d talked about her childhood a little, the traveling, the lab equipment and microscopes that had been her toys. He remembered the discarded camera, a “friend” that had fueled her love of photography. He knew she’d been lonely. How had she endured it? Kyle had a million questions of his own and he was done denying himself the answers.
An hour into the performance, a pink-and-white-sequin-clad Delilah came prancing out onto the stage. Kyle was grateful for her bright red bun, making her easy to spot and keep track of in a sea of similarly dressed dancers. In a matter of seconds, she saw her big sister–mom Josie in the front row and lit up like a moonbeam. She proceeded to blow kisses to both her and Harper. Mia grabbed his hand and squeezed, and Kyle felt it right in the center of his heart.
Mia had wanted him there when she announced that she was having a baby. Kyle had nearly cried right along with his mom and Laney. His sister was having a baby. He was going to be an uncle to this little one, and he felt nothing but pure joy. And acceptance. More than acceptance. Mia wanted him home for the holidays. There was no way to explain that away or make excuses about not deserving her love. He had it, and now he needed to deliver.
And he had Harper to thank for forcing him to see it. An apology, a thank-you and a baring of his soul in one fell swoop. He was going to need to bring his A game.
That’s when he realized that the answer to Mia’s complicated question about what he wanted was, in fact, extraordinarily simple. He wanted Harper. His heart already belonged to her. He was sure she felt something for him, too. Mia was right; she wouldn’t be doing all this if she didn’t. Then there was that kiss... That kiss had told him everything he needed to know; he just hadn’t been listening.
He’d find a way to make this work. He wished he could just be honest with her. But that was the one thing he couldn’t be. Dahlia’s instructions were clear, and he’d understood them at the time. But he knew Harper now, and there was no way she was involved in anything untoward with or without Owen. If he could just prove Owen’s innocence, then Harper would be cleared, too. And then maybe...? Maybe he didn’t have to choose.
What if Harper never found out about his involvement? Especially if there was nothing to find? He wasn’t sure about those answers. But maybe the more important question was whether he could live with knowing he hadn’t been completely honest with her. If that was the only way forward, then yes. With this assignment complete, he could spend the rest of their life together showing her how much he loved her.
He would spend the rest of his life deserving her trust.
* * *
SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT, Harper could tell. All the way home, Kyle had been quiet. But not angry quiet like he’d been about the photo shoot. And not brooding quiet like he was all day today. He’d been giving her strange glances all evening and staring when he didn’t think she was looking.
Like most evenings, Harper headed into the kitchen where she intended to put a pan of milk on the stove for hot cocoa.
Kyle followed her.
“Hot cocoa?” she asked him, removing a tin from the cupboard.
“Harper, we need to talk.”
“Okay, what’s up?” she said with way more bravado than she felt. Setting the tin aside, she faced him.
“Well, first off, I owe you an apology for the way I acted about the whole family photo thing. I’m sorry. You were right. It was great. And everyone loved it. Including me.”
Harper was relieved to get this out in the open. “I appreciate that, but I understand, or at least I think I do, why you were upset. I don’t regret arranging it, but maybe I shouldn’t have sprung it on you like that. And maybe—”
“Nope,” Kyle interrupted. “You were right to do it that way. If I’d known, I would have bailed, just like you said. More than that, Mia and I had a conversation that cleared a lot of things up, and I owe you a huge thank-you for that.”
“Oh, Kyle, I’m so glad.” A wave of relief flowed through her.
“Me, too. She told me you guys talked and that it was really helpful to her. And now I feel like a jerk for accusing you of getting in my business.”
“You were right to accuse me. I did get in your business, but only because I want you to be happy.” Because I love you, she added silently.
“I know, and I appreciate that. I’m... It’s weird how well you seem to know me. We haven’t known each other that long.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. Her stomach did another nervous dip because he was looking at her funny again. His eyes seemed to be asking a question that she couldn’t decipher much less answer. What was going on here? She attempted to joke, but her voice was a little too wobbly to pull it off, “But add up all the hours we’ve been together. Most married couples don’t spend as much time together as we have in the last few weeks.”
With purposeful steps, he closed the distance between them. “True. But you’re also extraordinarily observant and incredibly kind and...” His eyes traveled over her and lingered on her mouth. Her neck went hot. Now she was nervous for real. Accelerated-heartbeat, rapid-breath, fluttery-butterflies nervous. “Well, um, being observant is who I am. I’d say it’s part of my job, but I think it’s the other way around for me. I turned what I’m already good at into my job.” She stopped babbling when she realized he hadn’t finished his thought. If he was going to pay her another compliment, she kind of wanted to hear it. “And, what? I’m sorry—I think I interrupted you.”
One more step and she could smell his enticing, comforting scent and feel his heat. As if that wasn’t enough, he bent his head so that his lips were practically brushing her ear, sending her pulse racing all over again. “And I was go
ing to say beautiful, but then I changed my mind. Stunning is the word I’m using because beautiful doesn’t quite cut it. You are stunning.” Then he kissed her neck.
She inhaled a little gasp and tipped her neck to make it easier for him to reach. “Kyle, um...” But she couldn’t finish the thought because his mouth was moving, lips brushing softly up the column of her neck and along her jaw and cheek until his mouth met hers. He kissed her and... And then she had no thoughts at all.
“Harper,” he finally said after a good long while that wasn’t nearly long enough.
“What?” she muttered in a smoky movie star voice that would have embarrassed her if her emotions weren’t already in such upheaval.
He smiled against her lips. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know yet. Are you going to tell me this was a mistake?”
“No.”
“Okay, then I’m fine.”
He chuckled. “I do need to tell you something though.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “Are you quitting? Is this my goodbye?”
“No. Harper...”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Open your eyes, please.”
She did.
“It’s not bad news, or at least, I don’t think it is. I’ve been trying to deny my feelings, but I’ve done a lot of thinking the last couple of days. My conversation with you and then my discussion with Mia and something Levi said made me realize a few important things, and I don’t want to push them away anymore. Even though I know this isn’t ideal, logistically speaking, I just... I love you.”
The rush of joy Harper felt at those words was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. It quickly combined with a dose of shock to leave her...stunned. And thrilled. And overjoyed. And shocked. And...
“You, we, I...” She held up one finger in a “just a sec” gesture.
“It is indeed a rare occasion that renders Harper Jansen speechless.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Nope. That’s not what this is. I have all the words. They just keep colliding with my feelings, making it difficult to arrange them in speakable form.”
His eyes danced with humor and his expression was so full of affection that it set her back again. Harper didn’t think it was possible for her heart to feel any fuller than it did at that moment.
She was wrong.
“Okay. Maybe, just start with three little ones, then? If you feel inclined, that is.”
“Kyle.” She gripped his shoulders because that made her a little weak in the knees. “That has got to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said in a moment like this. And I mean anyone ever. Greeks, Romans, love-struck medieval knights, Renaissance poets, I’m counting them all. If I wasn’t already smitten, I would have fallen. Just now. With that one sentence.”
Eyebrows nudging up, he said, “I’m waiting.”
“I love you, too. So. Incredibly. Much.”
He gave her a playful frown. “You couldn’t just stick with the traditional three, could you?”
“What can I say? I’m an overachiever.”
“That you are, and I like that about you, along with about a million other things.” Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, he turned serious. “Listen, I know we’re facing some complications here, with me leaving soon, but I think we can work through them.”
Harper desperately wanted that last part to be true. Nodding, she said, “Before this goes any further, I need you to know something.”
She felt his muscles tense beneath her fingertips, but his voice was calm as he said, “Okay?”
“I was never in love with Owen. I had feelings for him that I recognized later were infatuation. He was charming and smooth-talking and good at putting his best foot forward. Later on, I learned things about him that I didn’t like and ultimately, I realized that I never actually knew him. He only let me see what he wanted me to see. I would never have married him. We broke up, and no matter what he led you to believe, we would have stayed that way. Forever.
“This might be difficult to believe considering my romantic track record, parts of which I clumsily and embarrassingly divulged to you at Rhys’s, but I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never loved anyone like I do you. I wanted to be in love, which I realize sounds a bit silly, but I don’t think is all that unusual. But more than that, I trust you. And that is so huge for me. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to say that to another man again.”
“I trust you, too.”
Harper felt something unfurl inside of her, comforting her right at her core. She hadn’t considered that aspect before, how it would feel to have Kyle trust her, too. But it was what prompted her to tell him everything.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE RELIEF KYLE felt at Harper’s assertion caught him off guard. He’d assumed that her grief had faded, but to know that her feelings for Owen were never as strong as he’d believed them to be was even better. Truthfully, he was elated.
“I’m sorry that things didn’t end well between you two, but I’ll admit that makes it easier for me, knowing that I’m not competing with the memory of my best friend. He would be a tough act to follow.”
Silently, Harper took his hand and led him to the sofa. She sat, urging him down next to her. Shifting her body, she tucked one leg under the other, so she was facing him. “I hope you mean that because I’m going to tell you what happened between me and Owen and why I ultimately came to despise your best friend.”
Despise? A tingle of dread slid up his spine and traveled across the back of his neck. How could anyone despise Owen?
“Owen had a side business in Africa. He was a broker, dealing in the wildlife trade.”
“What do you mean, like ivory and rhino horn?”
“Yes. At least, he told me he’d dealt in some ivory when he first started, but it was becoming much more troublesome. The laws are strict regarding the sale and trade of ivory, but there are loopholes. Loopholes everywhere. But he said there were plenty of other highly profitable items from all over the world that are perfectly legal to buy and sell, if you know how. He certainly seemed to know the laws inside and out.
“Those details didn’t matter to me though because it was all unethical, what he was doing. And I didn’t want any part of it.”
Kyle knew he should say something, but his brain couldn’t seem to make sense of what Harper was describing. There had to be an explanation that didn’t include Owen buying and selling endangered animal products.
“I hope you believe me.”
“I do. I believe what you’re saying, it’s just...so hard to believe of Owen. It goes against everything we stood for. Or, I stand for.”
“I’m glad. There’s more...” By the time Harper was done describing what she knew, Kyle’s skin was crawling. He asked the questions he knew Dahlia would want him to ask.
Harper answered, revealing her suspicions and the reasons behind them. Confusion and disgust warred with doubt inside of him. “But I don’t understand why he would do this? Take this kind of risk...?”
“It’s a multibillion-dollar industry. The profits are outrageous. If you knew him like I think you did, then you know money was very important to Owen. It was his number one priority. From what I could see, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to get it. This was another area where we disagreed. He wanted to use my father’s jet to transport some of this stuff. Again, he told me it was all perfectly legal, but it felt like smuggling to me. Why would he keep it a secret? Why wouldn’t he arrange transport himself? It felt wrong and his reaction to my hesitation only heightened my concerns. He wouldn’t answer my questions about what he was shipping. I...” Harper trailed off and looked thoughtfully out the window toward the ocean.
Facing Kyle again, she inhaled a deep breath, and went on, “We fought. I wouldn’t budge. He was very, very angry. He threatened me a
nd said if I didn’t help, he’d leak it to the media that I was already involved. As it turned out, I had inadvertently introduced him to one of his best suppliers, a man named Dale Freeman. He was a businessman I met, along with his wife, in Singapore on a trip with Dad on BEST business. Owen flew in for a day and the five of us spent an evening together. I never saw Dale again but that’s how Owen met him. And once before that, I had allowed Owen to ship some cargo on my dad’s jet.”
“Like what?” Kyle asked.
“Wood products and furniture—responsible, sustainable items. I think now that he’d probably accepted them as payment and resold the stuff in the States. Because I trusted him, I hadn’t documented it like I should have. I was terrified of how he could make it look, but I called his bluff. He told me I was a selfish, rich b—” She cut the word off. “That part doesn’t matter. I was already done. That was the end for me.”
Kyle didn’t like that, the words or the way she said them. The idea of anyone, Owen included, attempting to manipulate her, calling her names, mistreating her made him want to lose his own temper.
“I left Africa the next day. But first, I went to Owen’s supervisor, Drew Louis, and told him what I suspected.”
Kyle nodded, trying to absorb this information. Harper added, “It’s an extremely dangerous business. I’ve wondered if it’s what got him killed.”
Now Kyle wondered, too. Undoubtedly, so did Dahlia. “What did Drew say?”
“Not much, to be honest. He pretty much ignored me. I also emailed Travis Shupe, the CEO, but I never heard back.”
“What did you tell Drew?”
“That I had concerns about Owen’s business dealings. That I suspected involvement in the wildlife trade. I suggested it might not look great for them if one of their employees was found to be connected to something like this. He didn’t ask me any questions or if I had proof or anything else for that matter. I was frustrated by his reaction. But I’ll admit that I was also relieved that it seemed to blow over after Owen’s death. I was really worried about all of it harming my dad’s reputation in some way.”