Chapter 7 – Wes
SEVEN
WES
“It’s not enough,” I say and watch her face screw up in confusion.
Harper is so beautiful, and she doesn’t even know it, but right now, she’s even prettier. Those walls she usually keeps tight cracked for the first time since I’ve met her, letting me see the vulnerability and nerves beneath that put-together facade.
When Leo called and asked if I’d be interested in signing up for an auction benefiting Ava’s charity, I said yes, of course. I figured it would be with some woman with more money than common sense or a gift she bought someone she wants to put a ring on it.
When I was told Harper Abbott won the bid, I was taken back.
And delightfully so.
Now she’s sitting across from me, spilling worries and insecurities I don’t think even her friends know about or, at least, don’t fully understand, and I am even more endeared by her.
“Yes, it is. Trust me. Those paparazzi photos will cross his path, and it will piss him off. It was a small win.”
I shake my head. “Let’s back it up. You need a place to stay?”
She shrugs, a finger making lines in the salt she knocked over distractedly. She pinches a bit of it before tossing it over her shoulder, then nods.
Cute. So fucking cute.
“Do you want to get your ex back?”
Her face blanches, and she shakes her head quickly. “God, no.”
I figured, but I needed confirmation.
I’ve had an idea brewing in my mind to divert attention since Stella and Riggs told us their news, and it seems like the universe may have dropped the most perfect present into my lap.
“So you want to get back at him?”
“I…I can’t. I think I already learned that lesson,” she says with a small smile.
That wasn’t a no.
“But…you want to?” I ask, and she stares at me for long moments before I add on, “Or, you’d like to. If you could guarantee he wouldn’t be able to retaliate?”
She shrugs again, then gives me a small smile.
I take it as a yes and nod, understanding. Slowly, an idea is forming in my mind, one that is absolutely insane but one I like a fuck of a lot.
Too much, if I’m being honest, but that’s neither here nor there.
“If I tell you a secret, you’ll keep it?” I ask. Jaime trusts this girl, so I know I can trust her as well. I look over my shoulder at the waiter, knowing Leo had everyone involved with this dinner sign airtight NDAs as he always does.
She nods despite the confusion taking over her face with the seemingly sudden change of subject. “Of course.”
“The band needs to go on a break.” Her eyes go wide. “It’s for good reasons, but your face tells me you know the band’s history and what happened the last time we went on a break. You know Riggins’s history?”
She cringes then nods. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume and think the worst, I just?—”
I shake my head before cutting her off. “No, it’s fine. It’s his history, our history, and we don’t shy away from it. But that’s where everyone is going to jump to.” A small smile plays on my lips. “Stella’s actually pregnant.”
“Oh my god!” Harper says with a gush, her face lighting up and warmth filling me. I know Ava and her friends have gotten close to Stella, so they probably know she and Riggs have been trying for some time. “Oh, she’s going to be the best mom. She and Ava will have babies around the same time!” Harper claps her hands excitedly.
“Yeah, but she’s high-risk and wants to keep things under wraps for a while. She doesn’t want to have the press hounding her about it. Things just barely settled down for them after everything that happened.”
Harper nods with understanding. “So you need some kind of diversion?” she asks thoughtfully, and I nod. “Something to explain why the band would need to go on a break without the press jumping to the worst-case scenario.”
“Yeah.” My smile shifts into a grin, knowing what I’m about to say will sound absolutely insane but also knowing it could solve a lot of problems. “How do you feel about a quickie wedding?”
Her face slackens, and I fight back a laugh.
“A…a wedding?” she asks, confused. “Who’s getting married?”
“Us, if you say yes.”
“Us?” she squeaks out.
“You said you can’t get back at your ex, but you bid on this date because I’m in his favorite band. From what I remember, the night you, Ava, and Jules came up into the VIP section, that was the reason, too, right?”
She nods. I remember that night perfectly and the way the gorgeous redhead in front of me walked up into the space. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her the entire night.
“Why not up the ante?”
“By marrying you?” she asks incredulously.
“Don’t make it seem like some kind of horrible jail sentence,” I say with a laugh and a shake of my head. I knew suggesting this would fluster Harper, but also, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I’ve been waiting for the moment when I could try to get closer to Harper, intrigued by her since I first met her, and this is the perfect opportunity.
“I’m sorry, it’s not. God, it’s definitely not a terrible thing. I mean, just look at you.” A blush burns over her cheeks, and she shakes her head frantically, copper locks shifting as she does. “You know what I mean?—”
“I don’t think I do. Please, feel free to elaborate,” I say, sitting back with a smile and crossing my arms on my chest. The blush on her cheeks burns brighter, but she glares at me and rolls her eyes.
Right then, I think I could like this, bantering with Harper, the back and forth of it, her poking at me and me poking back. I could like it a lot.
“I just mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it?”
I shrug, trying to play it off. It’s not the most sane proposition, but I won’t be telling her that.
“We could benefit from each other, and it’s a common-sense pairing. We have similar friends, live in the same town, the whole nine. We need a distraction, and a wedding and a whirlwind relationship would help with that. You want to make it so that ass can’t touch you? I can help with that,” I say, leaning forward.
I want her to say yes to this.
I can’t think of something I’ve wanted more in a long, long time.
I’ve spent two years watching Harper, becoming friends with her and hating that she was with a man who didn’t value the beauty, kindness, and intelligence that she has.
This is my chance, and I’m going to take it.
“Isn’t that…kind of crazy?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“No. It’s fun. Plus, then you can say that the ten thousand dollars you spent on this date really did go to your wedding.” She smiles at that, and I think with that alone, I might be getting through to her.
“I…that’s crazy, though.”
“It’s spontaneous, maybe, but I wouldn’t call it crazy.”
“Spontaneous,” she says, then sits there, her eyes off somewhere else like the single word reminded her of… something. “I could be spontaneous.” It’s almost a whisper, her eyes still far off. Then something in her shifts and changes, her chin tipping up and her shoulders going back before she looks at me and smiles. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll marry you,” she finally says.
“Yeah?” I ask. I fully expected to have to convince her more, to push and prod until she agreed, but…
“I mean, as long as the terms make sense. Like...how long are we going to be married? And what kind of press will I need to be doing? What happens if my stuff starts to blow back and?—”
“It won’t,” I say decidedly because I won’t let that happen. Her face goes somehow both soft and disapproving.
“Wes, you can’t?—”
“I can. Leo is the best in the entire industry. Your ex and his new girl might have contacts, but they don’t have even close to what Leo has. The man knows the deepest, darkest secrets you’d ever imagine about nearly everyone, and if he doesn’t, he finds it. I don't know how he does it, but it’s insane.” Her face scrunches up like that’s of concern to her, and I smile. “Don’t worry. He only uses his powers for good. We’ll figure everything out later,” I say, then put a hand out to her. “But if you’re in, I’m in, Harper.”
She stares at my hand for long moments before eventually she sighs. “Fine. I’m in,” she says, then shifts back as if she’s shocking even herself by agreeing to this. Still, she reaches over and grabs my hand, shaking on our makeshift pact with a wide smile.
I return it, taking in how good her small, soft hand feels in mine.
“All right. Now that that's covered, are you ready to get some real food?” My chair scrapes back as I stand, then I use my grip on hers to pull her up. She’s standing right in front of me now, close enough to feel her body heat, our hands held together between us.
“What?” she asks, adorably confused.
“I’m not going to let my soon-to-be wife starve,” I say, tipping my chin to her plate filled with uneaten food. I don’t know if it was the nerves or the overly fancy cuisine, but neither of us really ate our meals, and I’m starving.
“What?” she repeats, and I change my question.
“Do you like burgers?”
“I love french fries,” she says low.
I let out a chuckle before I use my free hand to tug her closer, our chests touching, my arm wrapped around her lower back, her head tipped back to look at me. I lift a hand, letting my thumb graze over her jaw as she stares at me, wide-eyed and dazed.
I want to kiss her.
Badly.
I’ve wanted to for months.
But something tells me I’m going to have to tread carefully with Harper and do things on her terms, or else I could scare her off for good.
“Then let’s get you some fries, little wife,” I say, and when she smiles wide, I know I made the right choice.