Page 6 of Stopping Short

“I won't. I promise.” I stand from my chair, but pause to appreciate having the best boss in the world. “Thank you, Owen.”

“You’re welcome. But don’t expect this to happen every year. Those girls might be making me soft, but I can still be a bosshole when I need to be.”

Chapter 5

Harper

One Week Later

“Who are you looking for?” Jennifer looks around the crowded bar like she can spot the mystery person. She has no clue who I'm looking for and I don’t want to tell her.

Not yet.

Not when I'm not sure if he’ll even come.

The last thing I want is to tell her I'm looking for Jackson, and then he never shows up. I’d feel like such a loser then.

“No one,” I murmur, standing on my tippy toes to scan the area again.

“You’re such a liar!” She laughs and swats at my arm. “If I offered to let you climb onto my shoulders so you could get up higher, you’d jump at the chance!”

“Are you offering?” A slow smirk spreads across my face and I arch a brow.

“Absolutely not! Do you know how long it took me to pick the perfect outfit out? The last thing I want is for you to mess it all up by climbing on me.” Jennifer holds a hand out in front of her to stop me from coming any closer.

“You’re the worst friend ever.”

“I am not!” She laughs again.

“Are you looking for someone special?” A deep voice rumbles in my ear.

It’s a voice I know all too well. One I miss more than anything in the entire world. I whip around and come face to face with the man I can’t live without. My best friend and partner in crime.

“Jackson!” I squeal as I leap into the air and launch myself into his body. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

“I missed you, Harp,” he murmurs, holding me tightly against him.

And that quickly, my life feels perfect again. I just needed to be in his arms and have him whispering things for only me to hear. His hugs feel like home and I don’t want it to stop.

“I missed you, too!” I bury my face in his neck, refusing to let go of him. He chuckles, but he does nothing to get me off of him.

Knowing Jackson, he’d carry me around like this all night if I wanted him to. Honestly, I’d let him. I want to feel safe and warm in his embrace.

“Hey, I’m Jackson.” He shifts so he’s holding me with one arm and shakes Jennifer’s hand.

“I'm Jennifer, Harper’s best friend.” I can hear her practically swooning, but I ignore it. Jackson won't give her even a bit of attention, he always keeps his focus on me.

“Eh, that’s not true. I'm her best friend. Sorry.” He lifts his shoulder in a shrug, but he doesn’t sound sorry at all.

“Oh, really? And how long have you known Harper?” I'm sure Jennifer has her arms folded across her chest and a scowl pulling her brows together. She doesn’t like anyone acting like they know me better than she does.

Except Jackson does.

“Well, I’d say around… eighteen years. Right, Boots?”

I pull back to meet his gaze and find a big grin covering his handsome face. He started calling me Boots soon after we met. I was four or five and he was eleven. Even though we had a pretty big age gap, we became best friends. It didn’t matter who else was around, we’d hang out together.

My mom is really good friends with his stepdad. They worked together in the operating room and hung out with a big group of friends all the time. We almost always ended up at the same parties or events.