Chapter 20
“I’m adding mowing the lawn to my fitness routine.” ~ Kai
Kai
“T hese are the absolute best earplugs you have?” I ask the salesperson.
She rolls her eyes. “For the hundredth time, yes.”
“I want to be sure.”
Harper has a hard enough life. She needs to be able to sleep when she has time. Not lie awake listening to her dad snore.
“I’ll take them.”
“Finally,” she mutters before ringing up the purchase.
My phone rings as I’m walking out of the store.
“Hey, Zane,” I answer.
“Where are you?”
“I’m on my way home from the mainland.”
“Do not pass go. Do not go home. Proceed directly to Smuggler’s Cove. ”
“Did we agree to have dinner tonight?”
“Miles is out. You’re in. ”
I switch on my engine to begin the drive back to Smuggler’s Hideaway. “What are you talking about?” I ask once the Bluetooth connects.
“Miles has plans. I need a wingman.”
“Dude, I am not playing wingman for you.”
I have no interest in spending any time at a bar or restaurant while Zane hits on women. I love my brother but he is a player. Women are interchangeable to him as long as they smell good and are pretty to look at.
“Why not?” he whines. “You were more fun before you fell for Harper.”
I don’t deny my feelings for Harper. It would be a lie. Besides, I don’t want to deny my feelings. I want the world to know how special Harper is. How honored I am, she’s with me. Even though she’s still fighting it.
“You literally tied me to a chair last week at our monthly poker game because you couldn’t – and I quote here – handle another prank from me.”
“I need my brother.”
“There are six Raider brothers. Pick another one. I’m out.”
I hang up. When he rings back, I ignore it. There’s no use speaking to him since he can’t convince me to go out with him anyway.
I park in front of Harper’s house thirty minutes later. She’s not here but I don’t need her for what I’m doing this afternoon.
“Thank goodness,” Carl says when he opens the door. “I need to run to the store. If Henry doesn’t get his Fruit Loops, he’s a madman. ”
“I can go for you,” I offer but he’s already hurrying down the steps.
“The door isn’t a revolving one,” Henry warns. “Close it!”
“Hey, Henry,” I greet when I sit down across from him.
“What are you doing here? Harper’s working.”
“Maybe I came to see you.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Awful early to ask for her hand in marriage. She won’t acknowledge you as her boyfriend yet.”
I chuckle. “The operative word being yet.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you, boy?”
“Nah. I just know Harper’s worth it.”
“Damn straight she is.”
“What are you watching?” I ask.
“Television is crap during the day. All reruns or news. Who wants to watch the news twenty-four hours a day? The world is going to the shitter. The details don’t matter.”
“What about a streaming service?”
“Streaming what?”
“May I?” I nod to the remote control and he hands it to me. I flip through the channels but there aren’t any streaming services. I spend a few minutes hooking the television up to the streaming services I use and adding my passwords so Harper and her dad can use my accounts.
“There,” I say and hand the remote control back to Henry. “You can watch pretty much anything now.”
His eyes light up. “I can? Do they have any of those detective shows? Harper hates detective shows. She claims she always figures out who did it in the first five minutes, so what’s the sense in finishing the show? Her mom was the same way.”
I help him find some shows I think he’ll enjoy. He chooses one to watch and promptly ignores me. As long as he’s happy, I don’t mind. Besides, I have work to do.
“I’ll be mowing the lawn. Holler if you need anything.”
Henry nods but I don’t think he heard what I said. He’s obviously fine.
I make my way to the garage and find the lawnmower. I check the gas is full before rolling the machine to the backyard and getting to work. It isn’t long before I’m sweating up a storm. I remove my shirt and throw it on a table on the patio.
I finish up the backyard and switch to the front. I could use a drink, but I want to get this lawn mowed before I stop.
I mow around a tree and then aim for the next tree, only to find Harper standing in my way. I switch off the lawnmower.
“Hey, Slugger. What are you doing home?”
“Preventing a riot.”
“Preventing a riot? I told your dad I would be mowing.”
“Dad doesn’t care since he’s absorbed in some BBC police detective show only available on a streaming service.”
“You can’t be mad.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I can’t?”
“It doesn’t cost me a dime to share my subscription with another household.”
Her nose wrinkles. “It doesn’t? ”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Fine.”
I grin. “I think the word you’re searching for is thank you.”
She sighs. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, manly god of my dreams.”
“Don’t push it. It’s bad enough I had to come home from work to stop a riot.”
This isn’t the first time she mentioned a riot. “What are you talking about?”
She motions to the sidewalk and I glance over there to discover a row of women sitting on lawn chairs while sipping on wine.
Jade, her neighbor and my real estate agent, lifts her glass in a salute. “Best show I’ve seen in ages.”
“I vote for him to change into shorts. I bet those legs are as muscular as his chest,” Chloe – one of Paisley’s good friends – says.
Jade glares at her. “You’re married to a sexy cop. You don’t get a vote.”
“There aren’t any rules about looking.”
“You don’t mind it when your husband ogles women on the beach?”
Chloe’s nose wrinkles. “I’m not ogling.”
Jade taps the corner of her mouth. “You’re literally drooling.”
“Drooling isn’t ogling.”
I return my attention to Harper. “This doesn’t appear to be a riot.”
She fists her hands on her hips. “And you have experience with riots, do you? ”
Shit. I walked straight into that one. “It wasn’t my fault. I never expected Plank to fly above the crowd making siren sounds.”
“Do I want to know why Plank was free?”
“It’s tradition to steal the mascots. In fact, I distinctly remember you suggesting we steal a Smuggler’s Hideaway mascot on our first date.”
“I did no such thing. I merely assumed we’d be stealing a mascot.”
“I believe this is what your father would refer to as ‘splitting hairs’.”
Harper narrows her eyes at me. “I don’t know if you being friends with Dad is such a good thing.”
“Are you afraid I’m a bad influence on him? No need to worry. Until his arm is healed, he can’t pull any pranks anyway.”
She buries her face in her hands. “I’ve created a monster.”
“A sexy monster.” I motion to the women on the sidewalk. “I have proof.”
“I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?”
I step closer to her and pull her hands away from her face. “Are you embarrassed by how sexy I am? Should I apologize for not having a dad bod?”
“You’re not a dad, so you can’t have a dad bod.”
“Trust me.” I wink. “It’s possible.”
“I need to get back to work.”
“Hold on. I have something for you.”
“Is this some corny pick-up line?”
I chuckle. “No, but thanks for the idea. ”
She groans and I release her to jog to my SUV. The women on the sidewalk clap as I pass them.
“Sorry, ladies. I’m unavailable. I only have eyes for one woman.”
“I can still look,” Chloe says.
“I am not messaging you the next time he mows the lawn,” Jade complains.
“No worries.” She points to the woman on the other side of her. “She’ll message.”
I grab the package with Harper’s present from the front seat before jogging back to Harper. I tag her hand and lead her to the garage.
“Boo!” the women scream.
I ignore them and shut the door behind us.
“This is for you.” I try to hand the bag to Harper but she holds up her hands.
“No more expensive presents.”
“This isn’t an expensive present,” I lie. I’m betting on her never finding out how much these earplugs cost.
Her eyes narrow on the package. “What is it?”
I shove it into her hands. “Open it up and find out.”
“Fine. But if it’s expensive, I’m giving it back to you.”
Her words are grumpy but the twinkle in her eyes gives her away. She’s excited to receive a gift. How often does she receive gifts? I doubt her dad buys her birthday and Christmas presents. That shit stops now. I plan to spoil Harper.
She rips the package open. “Earplugs? ”
“To help you sleep when your dad is snoring.” I remove them from the box. “They’re supposed to be comfortable. And they’re Bluetooth enabled. You can listen to music or a podcast while you fall asleep.”
“This isn’t fair.”
“What? You don’t like them? I can return them. I kept the receipt.”
She slaps me with the giftbag. “Not what I meant.”
I run a hand through my hair and her gaze drops to my chest. She licks her lips and my cock twitches. It wants to feel her tongue on it. I grit my teeth before I get hard. Not the time.
“What did you mean?”
She drags her gaze from my chest back to my face. Her eyes are blazing. I groan. I can resist a lot of things. But Harper staring at me like she can’t wait to touch me? I can’t resist her.
I meld my lips to hers. She sighs and I thrust my tongue into her mouth. Vanilla and beer. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work but does. It more than works. It’s addicting.
Her hands latch onto my shoulders and her fingers dig into my skin. I growl as I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her near. Her body collides with mine. I can feel the pinpoints of her breasts poking me. I draw my hand up the side of her body to the underside of her breast before—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I wrench my lips from Harper’s to glare at the door.
“Sorry, boyfriend. Just wanted to let you know the entire neighborhood can see you.” Jade points to the window in the garage door .
I lean my forehead against Harper’s. “How mad would you get if I bought you a new garage door?”
She bursts into laughter. It’s the most beautiful sound in the world. I’d do anything to make her happy.