Chapter 13
They sipped their drinks as they waited for their appetizers to arrive. Anders was enjoying a fifteen-year scotch, while Harper enjoyed a lemon martini. It said so much about their personalities with such a simple difference.
Since weekends were always insane at Callahan’s, they went out on a Wednesday night instead. All in all, it was perfect. The restaurant wasn’t too crowded. It was easy to get reservations. And the service was wonderful.
Anders jumped right into the topic that had been on his mind for the past few days. “Harper. I need to talk to you about Tristan Lucarelli. I don’t think it’s a good thing for you to be around him.”
“Why?” She already knew what he found, but waited to see what he had to say about it. She wasn’t trying to act secretive. However, from her ongoing conversations with Camille during the past week, as well as the precautions she had been informed of, Harper clearly understood the situation.
She thought she would feel differently about going to Providence, but she didn’t.
Anders looked at her with those ocean blue eyes. His gaze never wavered. It was as if he could read all the secrets hidden beneath her skin. He grabbed up his glass and took a gulp. “Motherfucker. You already know. Don’t you?” He shook his head at her.
“Anders, I’m not sure what—”
“You’re a lawyer, Harper. What the fuck?” his voice raised a notch. At her widened eyes, he pulled back. He was pissed, and he would not hide how he felt about the situation.
“Don’t you fucking yell at me, Anders. You don’t know what it’s like to find someone who accepts you as you are. They don’t care about your background. Or that your father kept you away from your family for years. Or that…” She paused. Harper was about to tell him what was going on with her family, but stopped. This was neither the time nor the place to get into that conversation.
She took a sip of her drink and looked away from him. If she started up again, she would probably cuss his ass out.
He sighed deeply and leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “Look at me, sweetheart.” She refused to turn toward him. “Harper, look at me. I need you to see my eyes when I say this.”
She slowly faced him. Her lips turned up in a way that let him know she was not about to listen to any of his bullshit. Nor would she be changing her mind about getting to know Camille and Tristan more. What Tristan did for a living had nothing to do with her. She lived all the way in Virginia. He lived in Rhode Island. Plus, she was only going to deal with him as family. Nothing more.
“I’m looking at you,” she said.
“I know you think the world is only black and white. Good and evil. Family is the core of everything, and friends can be kept at a distance. But there are so many shades of gray, it’s not funny. Your new cousin-in-law has a reach that goes far beyond Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He had connections all the way from California to Florida to Sicily. This man your cousin has married is the head of—”
“Don’t say it, Anders.” She knew who Tristan was. Or at least had a good idea. To have Anders say it out loud would be too much. “I don’t know much about that life, but what I do know is that you should never talk about the family business that way. I learned that from my father. Did you know his cousin is Camille’s father?” She wanted to understand just how far he had dug into the lives of her family.
He sighed, then leaned back. Anders raised his glass and took a sip of his drink. “Yes, I know. I found more than I expected.”
They both went silent after that revelation. Harper was no fool. She may seem na?ve, but she had an idea why her father never took them back to Rhode Island. Her family was caught up in shady shit that would make some people turn and run. Is that what was happening now? Was Anders no longer willing to be with her because of who her family was?
“So, what does that mean? You’ve looked into Tristan. You’ve looked into Camille’s family. You found whatever you needed to form an opinion about them. What now?”
Just then, the waiter walked to their table with their appetizers. “Ma’am. Sir. Here you go. Please let me know if you need anything else.” He waited for a moment to see if they needed anything more.
“Thank you,” Anders growled.
“Thank you,” Harper said, looking up at him with a slight smile.
The server sensed the tension and rushed away. Whatever it was, it did not seem like something he wanted to overhear.
Never one to waste food, Harper took the serving spoon and grabbed a stuffed mushroom.
“Harper, you have to understand. These are not people you want to get mixed up with.”
She swallowed the bite of food. “How did you find out? Was it public record?”
And this is when Anders began to squirm. It wasn’t public record at all. He had reached out to his friend Parker to ask for help. When he made the request, he left out that Harper was connected. But his friend was smart. He had to know that Anders would only ask for this type of information if he was involved. His own methods of getting information weren’t on the up-and-up. Even illegal. But at least they weren’t killing people in the middle of the street.
Then he paused. Actually, he had done exactly that during his time in the military. To protect others. To rid the streets of those who would harm others. There were times he had to become his field nickname—The Boogeyman—just to complete the mission.
He glanced over at Harper and could tell she was upset by the conversation. He didn’t intend to hurt her, but to protect her. Couldn’t she see that?
Having an epiphany, Anders knew he had to explain why he looked into her family. “Harper, you mean more to me than I can explain. I’m a man of few words, but I know when something, or someone, is important to me. Since the first night I met you, something drew me in. I don’t know if it was your smile, your laugh, the sadness in your eyes, or the way you ignored everything and everyone to read. But you have done something to me.” He sighed. His large frame leaned back in his chair.
“If you care about me so much, why not let me have this? Let me spend this time with Camille without you digging up all the skeletons in my family’s closet. Give me that one visit to make my own choice about how I want to have her in my life. Tristan may not even be around.” She said this knowing it was a whole damn lie. Every time she and Camille were on the phone, she was giggling about something Tristan did to her. Sometimes, she could even hear him whispering things in her cousin’s ear. Shortly after, Camille would remember she forgot to do something and get off the phone.
No, her husband was obsessed with her.
Which is what Harper wanted for herself.
And the man she had her eye on for the job was pissing her off.
“Anders. I need to go to Boston. I need it for myself. For the woman I need to be. My cousin is younger than me, and she has her entire life figured out. What do I have?”
After a few beats of silence, Anders spoke up. “You have me.”
Harper stared at Anders, her heart pounding. She wanted to believe him, but a lifetime of disappointments had taught her to be cautious.
“Do I?” she asked. “Do I really have you, Anders?”
He leaned in closer, his piercing blue eyes never leaving hers. “Yes,” he said firmly. “You’ve had me from the moment we met. I know I’m not good at showing it, but I care about you. So fucking much.”
She searched his face, looking for any sign of insincerity, but found none. He meant what he said.
“I didn’t look into your family to hurt you,” he continued. “I did it because the thought of you being around someone dangerous makes me sick. I had to know you’d be safe. If something happened to you, I don’t know what I would do. I’m not from that world, but for those I love, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
Harper felt her resistance melting away. “Do you mean it?”
“With every fiber of my being,” he said, not taking his eyes off her.
Anders was a man of few words, but she realized his actions spoke so much louder. The way he protected her, the nights he held her while she cried over the hurt from her family, the little gestures day after day that showed her she mattered to him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right, I do have you. And you have me. I know this thing between us moved fast, but I’m all in. I-I love you, too.” Anders smiled, and her panties melted.
“I’m glad to hear that, sweetheart. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Good thing you’ll never have to find out,” she said and smiled.
The subject was done for a while as their dinner orders were placed on the table. Just as she was cutting her steak, cooked medium with a hot pink center, she heard a voice call out to her. She froze in shock. This could not be happening right now.
“Harper,” her mother said her name in a way that left no doubt she was disappointed in everything her wayward child had done up to this point in her life.
She placed her utensils on the table and wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin before responding. “Mother.” Just then, her father stepped up behind his wife. His eyes widened when he saw Harper. His gaze flitted between her and Anders. He must have gathered his bearings because he held out his hand to Anders.
“Good evening. Rodney Bryan, Sr. I’m Harper’s… father.”
Her eyes swung to him, harsh words on the tip of her tongue. She heard the pause. Did Anders? He stood from his seat. At six-four, he stood a few inches taller than her father.
“Anders Callahan. Nice to meet you,” he said before sitting back down.
“Callahan? I know that name. Is that the bar over on Piccadilly that opened a few years ago? You have an excellent reputation.”
“Thanks.” One thing Anders noted was that Harper’s father still had not greeted her. He found that odd, but waited a bit longer to see what happened.
“Um, what are you doing here?” her mother asked.
She motioned toward the table. “Eating dinner. How are you, mother?”
“I’d be better if my child actually picked up my calls.”
Harper sighed. “Mom, you really shouldn’t do this here.” Luckily, they were in a section at the back of the restaurant.
“How can you treat your own mother this way?” She even managed to squeeze out a tear. Harper went to stand when her father spoke up.
“Athena, I’m not sure why you’re bothering with this. The girl acts like we didn’t raise her. She’s never been grateful for anything in her life.”
And that’s when Anders lost his shit. He threw his napkin on the table and stood up. “Apologize,” he growled out. He would not hit an old man, but that old man had better fucking apologize before shit got real embarrassing. “You’re her father. Yet, you speak to her as if she means nothing. What the hell is wrong with you?” With every word spoken, the volume increased.
“How dare you speak to us this way? Harper, are you going to let this person speak to your parents that way?”
Harper was frozen in shock. She couldn’t believe that her parents had come up to her, being nasty in public. Weren’t they the ones always focused on their public reputation? She was taught from a young age to never raise her voice in public. Don’t embarrass them. Don’t act out. Make sure she was always on her best behavior. Yet, they do this in a restaurant in the middle of Bluestone Ridge? She had no idea what the hell was going on.
To make matters worse, Anders was going toe-to-toe with her father. She had to do something. Yes, the man was an ass, but he was the only father she knew. There was no way she could let Anders speak to him that way. “Anders, you need to calm down. Don’t talk to my parents that way.”
The way he turned toward her made her step back. Not that she was afraid, but the look on his face was one she hadn’t seen before.
“I won’t let them speak to you like that. We need to leave. Grab your stuff.”
“How dare you talk to my daughter that way? You are not her husband. We are her parents. We will not allow you to boss our daughter around this way,” Athena spoke up. “Tell him, Rodney.”
But he didn’t. Her father was too busy shooting daggers at Anders as the two men faced off. Harper was done with all of them. “Screw this. I’m leaving on my own. But first, let me say this. Anders, you don’t ever get to speak to my parents the way you did tonight. Doesn’t matter what happened before, that is a non-starter. And if you don’t get your shit together, I’m going to Boston without you.”
“Boston?” her father yelled. “I told you not to go up there. Those people are thugs and hoodlums. Why would you surround yourself with those type of people? This is how I know you’re no daughter of mine.”
The words caused a ripple of shock to go through her body. Everything around her slowed down. Anders slowly turned to look at her. The secret she’d been holding inside was revealed in one careless sentence. Her mother’s gasp was loud in the silence, but maybe it was because she felt as if she were underwater. Everything was heightened. She needed to get out of here. This was too much.
“And there you have it. The truth. You no longer have to worry about what I’m doing or who I’m hanging around with.” Her mother was crying actual tears now. It was the first time Harper had seen her this way. “Mom. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to hide this secret your entire life. I’m sorry you’re married to a man who will never let you move past something that happened so long ago. But most of all, I’m sorry you’re stuck with a man who can’t see beyond his own pride and love the little girl who only wanted his approval.”
She gave one last glance to the group, threw up the deuces, and made her way out of the back area. Before she turned the corner to exit the front door, she looked at Anders. “Don’t bother coming after me. I’m going home. Alone.”
Harper was fully capable of getting a car service home. All of them had pissed her off, and she really needed some time to herself.