Chapter 18
AURELIA
Ihad been towel-drying my hair when my phone lit up with Harrison’s name. I had answered and my heart started racing as we’d spoken, beating out of my chest when I realized he planned on coming over. Right now.
Less than twenty minutes later, I was buzzing him into my building wearing nothing but a robe.
It wasn’t my finest hosting moment, but to be fair, he’d caught me just as I’d gotten out of the shower after eleven.
I’d raced around my place, making sure there were no panties or dirty dishes lying around.
When I opened the front door to my penthouse, I was still in a state of disbelief about the fact that he was actually here, but he was undeniably real, in front of me all of a sudden.
Dark hair artfully mussed, he was wearing a navy suit with a white shirt, but he’d lost his tie during the evening and there was a faint five-o’-clock shadow on his jaw.
He swept that bluish hazel gaze over me once, taking in my robe, my damp hair, and my bare feet. His eyes flicked up, looking at the space behind me like he wasn’t fazed with my state of undress at all.
“Nice place,” he said, grinning.
I cinched my belt tighter and stepped aside to let him in.
“Thanks. If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve cleaned up a little.” I lived neatly, though. Outside of occasionally shedding my clothes on my way to the shower, hence my need to check for stray panties before he’d arrived, I kept my home tidy.
The foyer opened up into a spacious living and entertainment area, a lounge, bar, and dining room leading out to a large balcony on the first floor. There was a guest room and a bathroom down here too, but the rest of my bedrooms—and the master—were upstairs.
Harrison’s gaze swept across my penthouse just once before he turned to face me, those lips tugging into a lazy grin. “If this is what it looks like when you think you need to clean up, we might have identified our marriage’s first potential problem area.”
I shut my front door, locking it behind me before I strode further in, desperately trying to remain as cool and confident as he was. But it was hard, considering it was the middle of the night, I was naked under my robe, and he was here.
“It won’t be a problem area,” I said easily. “Because I’m not your mother. I won’t be picking up after you. You’re a grownup. You can manage that all by yourself.”
He grimaced, rubbing the side of his neck as he took another look around. “There’s not even a scatter cushion out of place. I’m not sure I’m that much of a grownup.”
“You will be.” I shot him a sweet smile and then gestured dramatically around the space. “Right, so, the grand tour. There’s the living room, the kitchen, and oh, look, I have a view of the bay. Do try to keep up.”
He chuckled. “Bathroom?”
“Down the hall,” I said, inclining my chin toward it. “That’s the only one you need to know about. The others are upstairs, which is where I sleep, so you won’t be getting anywhere near there.”
He pressed a hand to his chest like he was mortally wounded. “I’m going to be your husband and I’m not even allowed to see where you sleep?”
“Nope. You made me pass out on your couch, Westwood. I didn’t even get the courtesy of a real pillow.”
“You had a blanket,” he pointed out as he followed me to the kitchen, hands in his pockets. He looked around like a tourist. “I also gave you red wine. The good stuff. That’s better than a pillow.”
As we walked into my kitchen, his gaze swept across the marble countertops, the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the top of the line appliances. I went directly for the fridge, but he lingered in the doorway, suddenly chuckling.
“Okay, you win.”
“I win what?”
“The honor of being the one to decorate our home when we’re married.
You’re obviously better at it than I am.
” He motioned toward the velvet throws on the backs of my couches, glanced at the artwork on the walls and the arrangement of books and candles on a side table.
“I like what you’ve done with the place. It’s very us.”
I scoffed, but I smiled anyway. “Us? I don’t even know what that means. What do you want to drink?”
“Whatever you’re having, and yeah.” He strolled into the kitchen, those eyes suddenly fixed on me again. “Us.”
“I still don’t know what that means,” I muttered, pulling a bottle of wine I’d had a glass from earlier out of the fridge. “There is no real us. You do realize that, right?”
“Of course, there is,” he countered, watching closely. I plucked two stemless wineglasses from a shelf and filled them. “Very chic. Classy. Elegant. We have money and we like using it to buy nice things. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“God, you’re a snob.” I chuckled under my breath as I handed over his glass. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“No, but few people talk to me the way you do,” he said as if it didn’t mean anything, but the intensity of his eyes said that it did. That it meant everything. “People rarely tell me exactly what they think of me.”
I nodded my understanding, raising my glass in his direction. “Well, then, here’s to not pussy-footing around each other. Cheers.”
“Cheers.” The soft clinking of our glasses chimed in the air. His gaze remained locked on mine as he sipped. “For the record, you’re a snob too. Don’t think I don’t recognize how expensive your taste is.”
I shrugged. “I warned you about that, didn’t I?”
“You did,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just saying that we’re both snobs in our own ways. Yet another reason why we work so well together. I’ll never have to beg you to let me buy you things.”
“Why would anyone have to beg another person to buy them things?” I frowned. “That makes no sense. If someone wants to buy you something with their own money, that’s their choice. They earned it. How they choose to spend it is none of my business.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “My brothers’ wives don’t seem to understand that, though.
Laney thinks that Sterling wanting to spoil her is some kind of kink.
Sadie would rather Jameson donate any money he wants to spend on her to her foundation and Maisie has a hell of a time accepting anything from Callum that isn’t for Brody.
I don’t think she would have wanted him spoiling Brody either if she didn’t feel guilty about keeping that secret for so long. ”
“Oh, yeah,” I murmured, curling my fingers around my glass. “I heard about the secret Westwood. That must’ve been a fun discovery for your family to make.”
“The secret Westwood.” He chuckled. “I like that, and yeah, it was interesting. It was hard for my parents at first, knowing they had a grandson they were only just starting to build a relationship with. It was tough on Callum too, but it’s all good now.”
I swallowed the sip of wine I’d taken and set my glass down. “That’s nice. I’m really happy for all of you, but did you really come here at this time of night to tell me that I’m a snob, or did you actually have a reason for wanting to come over?”
“That would’ve been a perfectly valid reason, but as it happens, I heard something tonight,” he said with a low, serious edge to his voice that made me stop fidgeting with the belt of my robe. “About our moms.”
My stomach dropped a little. “What did you hear?”
“That they were best friends once upon a time. Back in high school.” His eyes took on a faraway haze, but he blinked it away. “Sterling said they had a huge falling out, but he doesn’t know why.”
I leaned against the counter beside him, turning to face him fully. “That’s it? He didn’t give you any details?”
He shook his head and let out a deep breath through his nostrils. “It didn’t sound like he knew anything else about it, which is weird. Mom usually talks to him about everything. She talks to everyone about everything, actually.”
I looked into his eyes, wondering if he was holding back on me, but deep down, I already knew that he wasn’t. “What about your other brothers?”
“Jameson has met your dad a couple times, but that’s it. I didn’t even bother asking Callum, because if Sterling and Jamie don’t know, he won’t know either. What about you? Has your mom said anything else?”
“Not a word.” I sighed, my gaze acting of its own accord to drink him in again. “Where did you come from? I only just realized you’re in a suit and it’s almost midnight.”
He chuckled. “Wow. You’re extremely observant. Did it really take you this long to realize what I’m wearing? Because I noticed what you were wearing straight away. It just didn’t seem appropriate to mention it.”
My cheeks warmed. “I noticed. I just didn’t ask. Were you on a date or something?”
I didn’t know how I would feel about it if he had been. On the one hand, we were engaged. On the other, it was only a business arrangement. We hadn’t actually spoken about the finer details, like whether he could keep seeing people.
Harrison scoffed, though. Instantly, his expression became hard and he shook his head. “Of course I wasn’t on a fucking date. It was Sterling and Laney’s Christmas party. I would’ve invited you if we were public.”
“Right,” I said, not wanting him to realize how incredibly relieved I was about his reaction. I cleared my throat. “Okay, so, that’s all you learned about our moms?”
It looked like he wanted to say something else, but finally, he just let out a heavy sigh and nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“So we’re still in the dark.” I blew out a deep breath. “That’s just great. Shit, I really thought your brothers might know. I’m not sure how we’re going to find out if not from them.”
He nodded and a silent moment passed between us, both of us trying to come up with a plan, but I knew I came up empty. It seemed like it was the same for him.
Even so, my heart was beating a little faster merely for being in such close proximity to him. Part of me wanted to tell him to stay the night. I could use brainstorming our next steps as an excuse, but the truth was that I just didn’t want him to walk him out of my apartment tonight.
Being near him like this just felt too easy, like he was meant to be in my space, but before I could grow the pair I needed to ask if he wanted to stay, he straightened up.
“We’ll figure it out, but it’ll have to be tomorrow.
I doubt we’re going to get anywhere tonight.
We should meet up again in the morning. Shop talk first, then maybe wedding talk after? ”
Instantly, I froze, the word ricocheting through my brain like an out of control bouncy ball. Wedding.
He’d actually said it out loud, casual as anything, and it made me realize that this was real. He and I were engaged. He’d proposed to me with a ring and everything. A wedding was the next obvious step, but right until this very moment, I hadn’t thought about it realistically at all.
My phone slipped right out of my hand, clattering to the floor between us. I bent to snatch it up, hoping he couldn’t see how hot my cheeks had gotten, but Harrison bent over at the same time I did and our foreheads collided with a sharp thud.
“Ow!” I winced, clapping a hand to my head.
“Damn, sorry,” he said, wincing too, but then he chuckled, the sound warm and easy, wrapping around me like a hug. “We’re a menace together.”
“You’re the menace,” I shot back, rubbing the aching spot on my forehead.
Before I could straighten up, his hand was brushing mine away. His palm cupped the side of my face. His fingers parted as they carefully slid through my damp hair like he was searching for damage. His touch was gentle and tender, as if he was genuinely concerned that he’d actually hurt me.
Suddenly, my lungs weren’t working the way they were supposed to. He was too close. Way, way too close.
I could see every fleck of gold in his hazel eyes, smell the faint spice of his cologne mingling with the sweet scent of my shampoo. My heart was sprinting wildly and recklessly. My lips parted as my eyes hooked on his.
Harrison’s thumb grazed the curve of my temple. He held my gaze for another beat before his eyes flicked to my mouth. It was only for a single, devastating second, but the air thickened between us until it was crackling with so much tension I wasn’t sure I could breathe through it.
And then, he kissed me. It wasn’t hesitant. More like he just wasn’t able to stop himself from doing it. Like he’d been holding back and slipped. His mouth slammed into mine, his lips soft but firm.
My entire body jolted, heat flashing everywhere at once. The press of his mouth against mine made the ground beneath my feet unsteady, like the whole world was flipping upside down, but then, just as quickly as he’d leaned in, he pulled back.
His eyes were wide, like he hadn’t expected that was going to happen either. When he spoke, his voice was rough and throaty, almost strangled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aurelia. Good night.”
Before I’d even begun to remember how to move, he was already backing toward the door, leaving me with my lips tingling and my heart slamming against my ribs. That was not supposed to have happened—and I definitely wasn’t supposed to have liked it as much as I did.