Chapter 35
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
JULIAN
Her head is on his shoulder. “We’re friends,” she says as I open the door. The cozy scene I walked into makes me uneasy, but I need to keep my cool. I trust her with my secret. I can trust her with whatever this is, right? “There’s my best buddy,” she says to Noodle. Well, at least she’s talking about the dog and not me. Being her best buddy is not at the top of my list.
“He chased a squirrel, but it didn’t end well.” I try to assess what’s going on between them. In the kitchen, they behaved like siblings, but this is a little more intimate.
She jumps away like a kid getting caught with their hand in the candy jar. I stay poker-faced so she doesn’t freak out about my lack of trust in her. I trust her. I do. But I’d prefer her to tell me where I stand with her.
“Did you chase a squirrel?” She takes his face and rubs her nose against his. “You silly boy.”
“I can’t believe you stole my dog,” Zac says to himself.
“This conversation isn’t over,” she says to Zac. Apparently, I interrupted them. “Are you okay if Noodle and I go on an outing today?”
“Sure, I’m headed to the rink shortly. Back late Tuesday night.” He gives his dog a scratch near his tail, and his entire body wiggles.
“I have a bag each for me and Noodle,” she says to me. “Is that okay?”
“Sure, bring anything you need. Kat’s waiting downstairs.”
“Oh, I’ll hurry.” She hops up and rushes down the hallway.
“No rush,” I yell after her.
Zac turns to me and stares me down like he would during a penalty shot. “Hey man, when you break her heart, can you try to time it when I’m home? It might be above Noodle’s paygrade.” I glance down the hall where she disappeared. Is that what they were talking about?
“Breaking her heart is not on my to do list.” Why does he assume I’ll hurt her? Is that what he’s worried about? If anything, I’m the one at risk of being destroyed.
She appears at the top of the hall with a heavy bag draped over her shoulder. “Here, let me take that.” I reach for her bag, and when I look down, I see her laptop and a hint of black lace tucked in the pocket. I stifle a grin, because it seems I'm not alone in my desire to move forward. My imagination runs wild with possibilities.
“Noodle’s bag is in the kitchen.” I grab it and have both arms filled with everything to have a sleepover. And if we don’t have what we need, I’ll buy it.
Harper takes Noodle’s leash and opens the door. “Stay safe. Let me know if you need anything,” she calls out to Zac.
“I will.”
We head to the elevator, Noodle leading the way.
“He seems excited,” I comment.
“Um, yeah.”
“You seem distracted. Everything okay?”
“Fine, I just,” she lowers her eyes and focuses on Noodle.
“Look, if you don’t want to do this, say so. You don’t have to…”
“No, no.” She fervently shakes her head. “God no. I’m fine. I’ve had more human interaction before nine o’clock than usual.” She sighs, and I relax because she still wants to do this. I worry I’m coming on too strong.
“Got it. Not a morning person. Need more caffeine?”
“Maybe.” She bites her lip, and I can practically see the wheels turning as she processes her next thought. “I’m slow to get moving in the morning. I don’t understand those hop-out-of-bed-to-conquer-the-day-types. So, are you one of those?” Her shy smile tugs at my heartstrings and ties them in knots. I find her blend of bashfulness and boldness endearing. She’s complex and completely unpredictable and I love how she keeps me on my toes.
“Only where you’re involved. I showed restraint this morning, or I would have been here much earlier. So not a morning-orgasm girl. Got it.” I’m not sure if her head shake is in disbelief or disapproval. Either way, she’s adorable as her blush colors her cheeks. I can’t contain my pleasure that I can do that to her.
Downstairs, Kat takes the bags and puts them in the back. Noodle looks up at the SUV with skepticism. Given that he needs a ramp to access the couch, even Noodle knows it’s not possible for him to attempt jumping into the car. With complete resignation, he plops down on the sidewalk. Unlike me, he concedes to an impossibility when he sees one.
Harper leans down to pick him up, and they get in the car. Noodle settles comfortably on her lap, and she absently pets his head. Is her hesitation really that she’s not a morning person or she uncertain about me? Us?
I lean over and give her a quick kiss to test the waters after my orgasm comment.
“I apologize. I haven’t given you a proper good-morning greeting.” The kiss is sweet, gentle, innocent.
An evil grin slowly fills her face. “You call that proper?” She reaches out and puts her arm around my neck and pulls me in, giving me a kiss that is anything but sweet. This kiss feels like a promise of what’s to come. Maybe she’s a morning girl after all.
Noodle’s bark brings a giggle to her lips, and I reluctantly let her go. I meant it when I said I wanted to work on the book. It’s important to me she understands I want more than to get her in my bed. Although, to be fair, I definitely want her in my bed.
We get to my place where Noodle acts like the king of the city, making friends with everyone he meets. Well, almost everyone. You know who doesn’t like Noodle? Digsby. We meet Mrs. Dilworth in the lobby, and she is practically salivating to meet Harper. The introductions are short-lived when Digsby smells Noodle’s noodle. Damn, even dogs deserve consent. After a quick apology, we rush upstairs and double over, laughing when we enter the apartment.
I give Harper time to get settled and comfortable. She puts Noodle’s food and water in the kitchen and feeds him several treats. He’s snoring in his bed before I can even comment.
“He’s had a big day.”
“Apparently,” I chuckle. “How about you, gorgeous? What can I do for you?” I pull her into my arms, liking the way she feels tucked into me. Being with her is as natural as breathing.
With her cheek on my chest, I just stare, she looks so content. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she leans in, shutting her eyes as if savoring the moment. I could stay like this all day.
I give her a quick kiss on the top of her head. “Let’s get some writing done. Then maybe we can go to the park this afternoon.” If I kiss her on the lips, we’ll never get any writing done.
She releases me and looks around. “Where do you usually work? Dining room table? Couch? Counter? Office?”
“All of the above. What’s going to work for you?”
“Normally, I’m a kitchen-counter girl, but I can’t put my back to this gorgeous view.” She walks over to the French doors and opens them to the balcony. The cool fall breeze blows in, giving me chills. Not sure if it’s the cool air or Harper that has my body humming.
While she’s enjoying the view, I move the bar stools to the other side of the counter so she can look outside. Win-win. I slip into my office and grab my laptop, and when I come back to join her, she’s already typing away.
Our morning continues like that. Both of us typing, collaborating, reading, laughing. I make more progress in a few hours than I have in weeks. Harper is a talented writer, and her words flow with ease and elegance. At some point, she migrated to the reading chair and set up a cocoon of pillows and blankets. She’s made it her writing place. We complete several chapters and at this pace, we’ll finish well ahead of the deadline.
“It’s time for the s-e-x chapter,” Harper announces. Her hair is down from the clip, and she’s hiding her gorgeous face behind her curtain of hair.
I kneel next to her and tuck her hair behind her ear. “Are you blushing?” My thumb brushes along her cheek and the pink rises.
“No, I mean, I don’t know.” She shakes her head, her eyes looking anywhere but at me.
“Harper, look at me.” I put my fingers below her chin and lift her eyes to mine. Her doe-eyed shyness is adorable. I like this almost as much as her surprised look. “If at any point I make you uncomfortable, promise you’ll tell me.” She gives me a little nod. “Now here’s what I suggest. Let’s both write this chapter, and we’ll read them and decide which point of view we want to use. How does that sound?”
She bites her bottom lip while she considers my words, and it’s taking every bit of willpower I have not to kiss her, take her to my bedroom, and work out the sex scene in real life. But Harper still isn’t ready for that, and I mean every word I say to her. I want her to always feel comfortable with me.
“Okay.”
Good girl. “Okay. Are you ready to do that now, or do you want to take a break? We can grab some lunch and take Noodle for a walk.” At the mention of his name, he wanders over to us and jumps up, trying to get to Harper.
My phone vibrates, and when I pull it from my pocket, Harper glances at the name. By the look on her face, I imagine she’s picturing me with other women. “I’m going to take this call while you decide what you want to do.” I answer the call on speaker because I want to be transparent. I want her to see me for who I really am, not some playboy.
“Maddie, how are you?”
I’m greeted with a dramatic sigh. “Jet lagged. This press junket is exhausting. I just flew back from London, and man, are my arms tired.” Her laughter gets Harper’s attention.
I roll my eyes. Even though she can’t see me, Harper can. “Your jokes never get better. Hey, while I’m thinking about it, thanks for the restaurant recommendation in SoHo. We loved it.”
Harper looks up at me with that surprised look again. Maddie is Madelyn Reynolds, Hollywood It-Girl. She’s also an old college friend. We dated for a few months before graduation, but we were better friends than lovers and besides, I didn’t want to move to California. We’ve stayed friends all these years, and she’s currently engaged to a reality-TV producer.
“Isn’t it simply divine? I knew you’d love the Old Fashioned. The food was amah-zing.”
Shaking my head at the way she knows my drink of choice and weakness. “I wasn’t aware you ate food anymore. I read you had an eating disorder or something.”
“Gotta watch this girlish figure.” Her teasing lilt fills the room.
“Hell, I thought vampires only drank the blood of virgins.” That gets me another laugh.
“Like I could find one of those in LA. I’d starve.”
Now I laugh. “How’s fiancé Frank?”
“It’s Fredrick, and stop acting like you don’t know his name,” she scolds. “He wants me to ask you to reconsider The Bachelor . He’ll meet all your demands, and you can screen the girls before production.”
“No can do, Mads. Tell Frank I’m flattered, but no with a capital N-fucking-O.”
She sighs. “Fine, I want you to find a nice girl. Chance isn’t a substitute, you know.”
“Don’t worry about me. He’s not my type.” I glance at Harper and catch her watching. She quickly looks down and types franticly. I’m dying to see what she’s writing.
“Fine. Listen, I need four basketball tickets for tonight. Freddie is trying to land some rapper for a new series, and his sources struck out. I told him I might know a guy.” Her giggle makes me shake my head at her lack of subtlety.
“Courtside?”
“You’re the best! Love you J. Come see me soon, K? Bye.” Conversation ended.
It takes one text, and minutes later, I’ve secured four courtside tickets. I send the link to Maddie and get a screen full of kiss emojis.
I stand behind Harper and put my hands on her shoulders, peeking at her mostly blank screen. She still has a search tab open for Madelyn Reynolds, and I can’t help but feel satisfied that she’s jealous. That’s a good sign.
She snaps her laptop closed. “Let’s take a break. I’m starving.”