Page 14 of Stopping Short

Ha! I’ve had countless women tell me they don’t know why I'm dating someone like Evan. That I could do so much better than him. That he’s flirted with them, even when he was dating me.

I ignored all of it and I shouldn’t have. I should’ve run in the opposite direction and found a better man… Or told Jackson how I really feel about him.

Jackson…

I’d give anything to have Jackson being the one to say these things to me. To watch Jackson drop down to one knee and take my hands in his. For him to confess his love to me in front of a room full of people. If he were the one proposing, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. Before he even got the entire question out, I’d be nodding my head and wiping happy tears from my cheeks.

“Harper Stone, will you marry me?”

Wait… did he seriously just call me Harper Stone? My last name is Bradley. I’ve never gone by Harper Stone… That was my biological dad’s last name, not mine. Until I was six years old, my last name was Brennan. When Maddox and Mom got married, I took his last name. Why would Evan use the name Stone? I never told him about my biological dad past me never knowing him.

My gaze snaps to Jennifer and she shakes her head. She’s thinking the same thing I am. How can he be dumb enough to get my name wrong? Everything about this is wrong.

“You got my name wrong,” I whisper, shaking my head as he comes back into view and I'm pulled back to the noise of the bar and away from that horrible night he proposed. His eye is already bruising from Jackson and he looks so pathetic.

“What?” His brows furrow as he tries to take a step closer to me, but I hold up my hand to stop him.

“When you proposed… you said Harper Stone, not Harper Bradley. Why would you call me Harper Stone? I’ve never told you my biological dad’s name. It’s not a name I’ve ever gone by. How did you know it?”

“I… I…”

“I don’t really want to hear whatever lie is about to come out of your mouth. I don’t really know why you proposed. We’ve never been serious enough for marriage and you proposed out of nowhere.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying I'm not marrying you! I didn’t even want to marry you when you asked. I only said yes because you proposed in front of a room full of people. Your entire family was there! It was so awkward, Evan! I felt like I didn’t have a choice but to say yes.”

“So, you were going to marry me just to save yourself from one awkward night?” He growls.

“No! I was going to break up with you at the end of the semester. I didn’t know what else to do, so I said yes with the plan of ending our relationship entirely. Because when I figured out what was going on, I realized one thing very quickly… I knew exactly who I wanted to see down on one knee asking me to marry him. And that wasn’t you.”

“Please, Harper! I can be the type of man you want. I can change!”

“Do you hear yourself? You’re willing to change yourself after I just said you aren’t the man I love? I’ve never loved you, Evan. I never will.” I slip the ring off of my finger, happy to feel like I'm free again. Happy to have this weight off of my shoulders.

I place the ring in his palm and exhale deeply, proud of myself for not chucking it at his head. It feels good to end this relationship. To walk away, feeling very little guilt. If he couldn’t be faithful to me a week after we got engaged, he was never serious about us to begin with and I don’t feel bad about what I did.

“Have a great life without me, Evan. I’ll leave a box of your things on my porch.”

I turn my back on him and exit the bar. There’s only one person I want to see. One I need to talk to.

Chapter 10

Jackson

By the time I get a ride to take me back to the hotel, I'm too exhausted to do anything. I didn’t drink a lot, but I drank too much to drive and I know it. I won't put my life or the lives of others into jeopardy just because I wanted to go home. I’ll stay here tonight and leave in the morning. I need to put distance between Harper and me as fast as possible.

It doesn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep. The alcohol definitely helps with that too. I welcome the sleepiness. As long as I'm dead to the world, I don’t need to think about losing her. Or how my life will change over the next few weeks without her in it.

At some point, someone knocks on my door, but I don’t feel like getting out of bed. They can knock all they want. I'm used to sleeping just about anywhere and they won't be able to bother me.

I slip further under my blanket and close my eyes. At least when I'm asleep, I won’t keep replaying the night over and over again in my head.

As soon as I wake up, I toss my things into my bag and zip it shut. The faster I can get home and put this weekend behind me, the better off I’ll be.

I'm almost packed and ready to leave when there’s a knock. I peek through the hole and find Harper standing on the other side. She’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants. She looks so much like the girl I fell in love with. The one I never stop thinking about.

I nibble on my bottom lip, trying to decide if I want to open the door or not. I could pretend I'm not here. She’d leave eventually…