Chapter 5
Chapter Five
CHASE
I woke to sunlight streaming across familiar yet unfamiliar territory—my own bedroom but somehow altered.
The sheets clung to my legs, the pillow next to mine bearing the gentle indent of another head.
I took a deep breath with closed eyes. Harper’s scent lingered in the fabric, a mix of coconut shampoo and something distinctly her, making my chest tighten with the memory of her body against mine.
For a moment, I lay still as if any movement might disrupt the delicate evidence that last night had actually happened.
Then reality crashed over me like a rogue wave. Harper Coleridge had been in my bed.
Was no longer in my bed.
I bolted upright, scanning the room. Her clothes from last night weren’t scattered across my polished floor anymore. The bedroom door stood ajar, letting in the faint aroma of… coffee?
Jesus. This was real.
I rubbed a hand over my stubble, memories flooding back with startling clarity. Harper’s unexpected visit to discuss the latest resort renovation plans. The way our attempt to resolve the argument had somehow veered into personal territory. And then…
My stomach dropped as the full implications hit me. I’d slept with my business partner. Not to mention my best friend’s sister.
I’d broken the cardinal rule of my thirty-odd-year friendship with Eli, the half-joking, completely serious pact we’d made in high school that his sisters were permanently off-limits.
But here I was, in the aftermath of making Harper Coleridge very much on-limits.
Part of me wanted to believe that Eli would understand.
He’d grown a lot over the past year and found his own love.
But another part had to wonder if that would only make him more protective than ever.
Crossing my oldest friend felt like standing on a trapdoor, wondering not if, but when the ground would drop out from under me.
Then there was Harper. Even if Eli didn’t kill me, there was no escaping the fallout at work. I’d crossed every professional boundary imaginable with the general manager of my biggest project.
And God help me, I couldn’t bring myself to regret a single second of it. After we stumbled up here, our second time had been almost a reverse of the first. Slow, tender, explorative touches and kisses built into frantic, explosive, gasping surrender. Both times had been all-encompassing.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t. That was the problem.
“You’re overthinking this already, aren’t you?” Harper had whispered against my shoulder sometime in the dark hours, her voice knowing and warm against my skin. “Stop it and just relax for now.”
I’d been transparent even then. She saw right through me.
Forcing myself out of bed, I felt oddly vulnerable in my own space.
The polished surfaces and strategically chosen furniture stared back accusingly.
This house, with its flawless organization and deliberate aesthetic, had been my refuge—a controlled environment where everything had its place.
No messy emotions, no uncertainty. But now Harper had been here and changed the very air, leaving invisible fingerprints on everything.
I pulled on a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt, conscious of choosing something casual, as if dressing for work might somehow make this morning after more awkward than it already promised to be. The bed remained unmade behind me, a rumpled reminder I couldn’t bring myself to erase yet.
My feet carried me down the hallway toward the kitchen, but I paused at my home office doorway.
More evidence of last night’s transformation—blueprints for the Sunset Siesta renovation spread haphazardly across my usually pristine desk, a guest room render on the floor and weighed down by Harper’s sandals.
The sight sent another jolt of memory through me, of her kicking them off in a frenzy.
More papers were strewn across the floor along with my shirt.
After inhaling a huge, long breath, I continued toward the kitchen where the coffee scent grew stronger.
Harper stood with her back to me, dressed in last night’s clothes but barefoot, her chestnut hair pulled into a messy knot at the nape of her neck.
She was frowning at my thrumming espresso machine like it was a puzzle she was determined to solve.
The morning light through the kitchen windows caught the highlights in her hair, the curve of her cheek.
For a second, I watched her, this woman who had somehow wholly untied me. She looked beautiful in a way that made my heart stop and start all at once. Hair unkempt, no makeup, just Harper. A gorgeous woman not trying, or needing, to be anything else.
She must have sensed my presence because she stiffened slightly before turning around, coffee mug clutched in her hands like a shield.
“Hey,” she said, her voice tight with forced casualness.
“Morning,” I replied, aiming for normal and missing by a mile. “I see you figured out the espresso machine.”
She glanced down at the mug as if surprised to find it there. “Sort of. It made some threatening noises at me but eventually surrendered. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” I moved into the kitchen, hyperaware of the careful distance she maintained between us. The air felt charged with all the things we weren’t saying. “I, uh, saw your shoes in my office.”
She blushed. “Right. I should grab those.” She turned back to the espresso machine.
“Do you want one too? Since I’ve already conquered this unnecessarily complicated beast.” She seemed relieved to have something to do with her hands, something to focus on besides me or the elephant-sized awkwardness filling my kitchen.
“That’d be great.” I leaned against the counter at what felt like a safe distance.
Harper nodded and grabbed another mug from the open shelf.
Her movements were methodical as she positioned it under the spout, her brow furrowing in concentration.
A mechanical hum filled the kitchen, a welcome buffer.
We stood in painful silence, the machine rumbling softly in the background like it was mocking our discomfort.
Eventually, she turned around and handed me the mug.
The rich scent rose in the air but didn’t cut the tension.
“Harper—” I started.
“Chase—” she said simultaneously.
We both stopped. I gestured for her to go ahead.
She took a deep breath. “We probably need to talk about last night.”
“That’s what I was going to say.” I spun the mug around, needing something to do with my hands. “Listen, about what happened—”
“It was unexpected,” she cut in gently but firmly as her brown eyes finally met mine.
“And complicated. Incredibly complicated. You’re partnering with my family on a major renovation.
Your best friend is my brother, who, like my other brothers, doesn’t like to admit I’m a fully grown woman.
And most importantly…” She paused. “There’s Finn to consider.
I have to think about what any relationship would mean for him. ”
The word relationship hung in the air between us.
I hadn’t even gotten as far as labeling what this might be.
“I understand,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I did.
The depth of her concerns made me wonder if she was looking for an easy exit.
“But before we go any further down the ‘all the reasons this is a bad idea’ road, I need to tell you something.”
She tilted her head to one side, waiting.
“I don’t regret a single moment of last night.
I-I’ve wanted to be with you for years.” The words tumbled out with none of my usual precision.
I forged on before I could lose my nerve.
“Since college. You probably don’t even remember—you were dating someone, I think—but you argued with me about sustainable architecture being soulless, and I’d never met anyone who challenged me like that.
I was blown away, and at that moment you stopped being Eli’s sister and became a separate woman. A very attractive woman.”
Her eyes widened, lips parting in surprise. “What?”
“I never said anything because of Eli’s ridiculous hands off my sisters rule,” I continued, rubbing my neck.
“And honestly, I figured you wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.
You’ve always been…” I gestured vaguely, searching for words.
“You’re Harper. Everyone loves you. You hold that whole place together.
I’m just a guy who draws buildings and overthinks everything. ”
“Are you serious?” Harper set her mug down with a definitive click.
“You actually thought I would turn you down? Chase, you’re—” She scanned me from head to toe, her expression incredulous.
“Look at you. You’re successful, talented, kind.
Not to mention fall-down-and-faint gorgeous.
Half the women in Dove Key would kill to be standing in my place right now. ”
Heat crept up my neck. “That’s… not been my experience.”
“Then you haven’t been paying attention.
” Her voice had softened, but she quickly shook her head as if clearing it.
“But that’s beside the point. The timing couldn’t be worse.
You’re working with my family. The resort project is getting more complicated by the day.
We’ve already shown this is a pretty stressful time. ”
“I know.” I wanted to add a super-sized, gigantic but. Instead, I kept silent, my tongue tied up.
“And there’s Finn,” she continued. “He’s already so attached to you. If we started something and it didn’t work out…”
I nodded, sagging under the weight of her words.
“I get it. The professional complications alone are enough to make this a terrible idea. I’ve built my career on being reliable, ethical.
Getting involved with a client goes against everything I’ve stood for.
” I set my coffee mug on the counter and sloshed some over the side.
“Except we already crossed that line, didn’t we? ”
A small, shaky smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “Yeah. We sure did.”
I smiled back, helpless to resist. “I need you to know that what happened last night wasn’t typical for me, either. The, uh, jumping into bed part.”
Finally, her smile steadied. “Well, like you said last night. We figured it out.” Her eyes flicked to the clock on my kitchen wall, and resolution washed over her features. “I need to get back to Finn. He had a sleepover at Grandma’s, but I told her I’d pick him up by eight.”
My heart sank, but I nodded. What had I expected? That we’d solve this over coffee?
“I think…” She paused, choosing her words with care. “I think we both need some time to figure out what this means. Where we go from here. If we go anywhere from here.”
Her voice was steady, but fear lurked in her eyes, the same uncertainty that clawed at my insides. She turned to leave, and panic surged through me. I couldn’t let her walk out without knowing one thing.
“Harper, wait.” My voice sounded rough even to my own ears. “Do you regret it? Last night?”
She paused, hand on the kitchen doorframe. When she turned back, her eyes searched mine with a look that made my breath catch. She shook her head. “No. I don’t regret it at all. And I’m glad you said you didn’t either.”
I didn’t hesitate. “It was the best night of my life.”
Another small smile, this one reaching her eyes. “I thought it was incredible too. I’ll get my shoes. And then I really have to go.”
I nodded, then she disappeared down the hallway. Soon after, the front door closed with a quiet click, and I was alone. The scent of her perfume lingered in the air. The memory of her taste haunted my lips.
I leaned against the counter, staring at the empty space where she’d stood.
Desire and dread battled for dominance in my chest. I wanted her, had wanted her for years, but the potential fallout loomed like a storm on the horizon.
My business, my friendship with Eli, her family’s trust, Finn’s well-being… all hanging in the balance.
One night had rewritten the plan, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to read the new design.