Page 23 of Improper Proposal
“Why are you still single?” I blurt out, but I guess I already know the answer to that. He doesn’t trust that a woman could like him for him, and not what he can give her.
“I guess I can ask the same of you,” he says.
I frown and look down. “I think we’re a lot more alike than we realize.”
“Yeah.”
I sink farther into my pillow and stare at the ceiling. “When I was growing up, my mom had a lot of what I called, ‘uncles.’”
“Ah, I see,” he says. He puts his arms behind his head, and I steal a quick glance at him as he stares at the ceiling, too.
“We had nothing, and mom would latch on to these men, and they’d buy her things, pay for things until they got tired of it. One day they’re there, the next they’re not. I learned early on not to count on anyone but myself.”
There’s a softness in his eyes, a gentle understanding when I catch his glance. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I say, and swallow down the things I’m feeling.
Don’t fall for him, Harper.
He brushes my hair back. “So you closed yourself off. That’s why you aren’t here looking for love.”
I smile and want to make light of things, but my stupid voice comes out strangled. “That’s me, a pessimistic, passive-aggressive, emotionally detached lawyer whose motto is: if it can go wrong, it will. Who’d ever want a girl like that, anyway?”
When he doesn’t respond, unease moves through me. What did I expect him to say? That he wanted a girl like that? Oh God, I did. Why would I ever set myself up for that? I am such an idiot. I never should have let my stupid heart get involved. For Christ’s sake, I know better than that! Trying to lighten the mood, I add, “Look at this adventure. Everything that could go wrong, did.”
He rolls on top of me, and when I raise my eyes to find him staring down at me, he drops a soft kiss onto my mouth, a kiss so intimate and so full of passion my heart hammers in my chest. As need swamps me, the need for so much more than a roll between the sheets with this man, tears prick my eyes and I blink them back.
Get it together, Harper.
“I wouldn’t say everything,” he murmurs and presses his mouth to mine.
I swallow hard. I was worried I was going to hurt his family when I walk away, but now I’m 100 percent certain my heart is the one that’s going to be breaking.
Chapter Seven
Will
When I first met Harper, I was hell-bent on proving she wanted something from my family, and it’s true she does. I shift in my chair and smile at her as she laughs with Bronwyn, relaying to the crowd seated around the large dining room table how my cousin fell while carrying a roll of burlap yesterday. Bronwyn teases her in return about falling off Buttercup. She’s still pretending to be George’s surprise, and I get it. What she wanted from my family was nothing but camaraderie, friendship, maybe even love, because she never had a real family of her own.
I fucking hate that she grew up alone, men constantly coming and going from her life. No little girl should ever have to face that, and Harper deserves so much more. She deserves everything.
Goddammit, I want to be the guy to give it to her—if only she’d let me.
Whoa, where the hell had that come from?
My hands fist as I think about her lonely upbringing. I’m not a violent guy, but the vision of a sad and probably frightened Harper pisses me off. If I weren’t currently surrounded by family, I’d punch something.
Harper might think she’s bold, detached, and distant. But she’s not. She is so open to this family, so wanting to be a part of it all. I have no idea what’s going to happen when the truth comes out. What I do know is I’ll never let them hate her. She needs to tell them, but I have to let her do it on her own terms.
While I want to get her alone again, want to get my mouth back on her, no way will I take this from her. When we head back to the States, she’ll have no family, so the least I can do is share mine for the next little bit.
Her laugh curls through me, and my heart pumps faster, the sweet sound fueling my need to fuck her again, to show her how I feel about her, and that she’s worthy of love. She said she wasn’t looking for love or a relationship. I said the same. But why can’t we keep seeing each other when we return home?
Oh, because for her this is just an epic adventure about sex and she’s not looking for more.
I take a bite of my pot roast, unable to take my eyes off Harper. I smile when she smiles, laugh when she does, and when she sneaks a look my way, my cock thickens. I grab my glass of wine and take a big swallow. This is so not the time to be sporting the hard-on of all hard-ons.
I finish my food, having remained relatively quiet during the meal, and soon enough the others around me empty their plates. Dessert and coffee are served, and Harper helps Claire in the kitchen, the two getting along so well.
