Page 64 of The Beekeeper

“There definitely are, so you should stay, but I’m exhausted.” Mostly emotionally, but that didn’t need to be said.

He didn’t push any harder, but walked with me as I made my rounds through my family, hugging them all goodbye. I braced when we went inside, but it was for nothing because Blaze wasn’t in there either. Probably for the best.

“All right, well it was good seeing you again,” I said as Marc walked me out to my car.

“Was it?”

I gave him a wry smile and confirmed, “Yes, it was.”

“Good.”

“Hopefully you get a chance to talk to Aria before you leave.”

His grin widened, and he glanced over his shoulder. “I’m going to make a point of it.” And then he leaned in and hugged me. “Good night, Harper.”

“Good night.”

I climbed into my car and drove to my house, wishing I could leave the idea of Blaze and Aria as easily as I’d physically left them behind at my aunt’s. But that was the problem with Blaze—there was no outrunning the way I wanted him. And Gigi’s premonition she’d given me was proof.

Wildfire.

Even if I could escape him, there’d still only be destruction left in his wake.

Chapter 14

Blaze

Iscanned everyone for the third time. She wasn’t here; I knew she wasn’t here because my eyes always found her first. And the reason it bothered me even more was because Marc was gone, too.

There was no way she’d…that the two of them would… Fuck. I drove a furious hand through my hair, pulling it taut from my scalp. There was no way I’d ever thought Harper would propose a sex-only agreement. Hell, I couldn’t fucking believe my eyes when she’d shoved that contract in front of my face.

Like a goddamn silver platter of everything I wanted. Sex. No commitments. No consequences. Just her. But there would always be consequences. And now, I wasn’t the only one who’d have to endure them. I couldn’t risk Pais getting caught in the crossfire of a fling with Harper.

I was about to go out front and look for her car when Frankie blocked my path. “Everything okay, Blaze? You look a little peaked.”

No fucking shit. One second, I’d gone inside to get an ice pop for Paisley. That turned into Chandler and Wade asking for my help to grab some chopped firewood from the barn so the kids could roast s’mores, and by the time I made it back, Harper and Marc had vanished.

“Have you seen Harper?” I asked, cursing my weakness.

“Oh.” Frankie frowned. “I think she left, why? Did you need her for some reason?”

Some reason? Try all the wrong reasons.

I gritted my teeth. “I was…just going to let her know that Pais was going to sleep over here with the rest of the kids.” To say I’d been floored when she’d asked to stay at Ailene’s tonight with her cousins was an understatement. I knew she got along well with my extended family’s kids, but she’d never stayed, or wanted to stay, anywhere without me except for my brother’s. And even then, it had taken several weeks of dinners at Wade’s before she was comfortable staying there.

“Oh, that’s not a big deal. I’m sure she’ll figure it out.” Frankie smiled. “I’m surprised she didn’t catch you in her round of goodbyes before they walked out to her car.”

“They?” I couldn’t halt the question any more than I could temper the way it growled out of my chest.

“Her and Marc.”

Her answer blew a hole in my chest. “They left together?”

“Oh, well I’m not sure but I hope so,” she replied with that saucy smile of hers that her twin—my sister-in-law—didn’t possess. “Harper’s been working so much, and I keep trying to set her up with people, so when she told me your photographer friend was flirting with her during the shoot, I told her to get on that. She deserves a man who appreciates her.”

Something horrible started to happen inside my chest. Like an animal had just cracked out of its shell and now clawed at the bars of my ribs. The worst part was I knew what she was doing—goading me—and I let it happen. Couldn’t stop it. Not when it came to Harper. Not after kissing her.

“Marc won’t appreciate her,” I said, barely able to keep my voice steady.