Jackson
She looks so sad. So destroyed. And it’s breaking my heart.
For someone who claims to love her, Evan sure loves to put her down and make her feel like she isn’t worthy of love.
I'm surprised when Evan leaves without any protest once Harper disappears into her room. I thought I’d have to forcibly remove him from Harper’s home, but I guess he won.
He cut her down and destroyed her confidence.
He made her retreat to her room to cry. He thinks he ruined her night, but I'm not letting that happen.
As soon as the door shuts behind him, I lock it to make sure he can’t get back in. The last thing I need is to deal with him putting her down even more.
I move down the hallway and stop outside of her door. I rest my head against the cool wood and try to figure out how I want to approach this.
I could tell Harper exactly how I feel, but I'm not sure if that’s a good idea. I don’t want her to think I'm doing it to make her feel better. Then she’ll wonder if I'm being serious. I don’t want to be her rebound either.
I suck in a deep breath and knock on the door.
“Harper? Can I come in?”
“Yeah.” Her voice is so soft I almost can’t hear her.
I twist the knob and push the door open. I find Harper lying in the center of her bed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. She’s on her side and her eyes are red.
“Dang, you changed fast.”
“You don’t want to take me out.”
“I don’t know where you got that idea from,” I murmur, lying down on her bed next to her, but she’s facing away from me.
I expect her to move closer and put her head on my chest, but she doesn’t. She’s really hurting.
“You could go out with anyone, Jackson.”
“I don’t know why you’re letting him win.” My brows furrow as I stare at her back. She’s normally such a fighter, I don’t know what’s going on right now.
“How am I letting him win?” She rolls over to face me with a scowl on her face.
“He said all of that to tear you down. He was trying to ruin your night and he succeeded. Instead of being on our way to dinner, you’re in bed.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“I think you should put your dress back on and fix your makeup. We can still make it to our reservations if you hurry. Let’s have a nice night and forget all about that idiot.”
“What’s the point?” She whispers as tears fill her eyes. “I'm sure you could stand in the middle of the street and get fifteen girls to go out for dinner with you.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I'm unsure what that has to do with us though.”
“There is no us.”
“Harper, there’s always been an us. You are the only woman I’ve ever cared about.
And you saying I don’t want to take you out is a bunch of crap.
I moved around my entire weekend just to be here with you.
I had to make some pretty hefty promises to Owen to get him to agree to give me time off.
Are you really going to make that all for nothing?
Forget about Evan and all the crap that came out of his mouth tonight.
He’s a loser. He knows he just let the best thing in his pathetic life slip through his fingers and he doesn’t know what to do. ”
“I didn’t realize it was that difficult for you to get off this weekend… you shouldn’t have done that for me.”
“Please. I’d do just about anything for you and you know it.” I smirk. “I’ll sit on the couch and wait for you to get ready. You have about ten minutes, so hurry up.” I press a soft kiss to her forehead before climbing off the bed and heading into the living room.
I plop down on the couch and pick up a magazine she has sitting on the coffee table.
There’s a picture from last week’s game on the cover.
It’s an image of me and Schmidt. We’re smiling at each other after we just got a homerun and scored two runs for that inning.
That was the only reason we won the game. We got lucky.
I wonder how we’re playing tonight. The game should be almost over and I haven’t checked the score once.
Grabbing my phone, I pull up the game and watch Wheeler catch the ball at second base and tag our opponent out. The game is close. We’re only up by one and that could change so quickly. One bad inning could cost us the entire game.
I glance up when I catch movement to the left. Harper stops next to the couch, looking far too self-conscious. It’s all Evan’s fault and I know it. But I’ll change that if it’s the last thing I do.
Standing up, I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. This woman deserves all the good in the world. Someone like Evan never deserved a second of her attention.
“You’re stunning, Boots. Don’t let him control how you see yourself.”
“This is too much, Jackson,” she whispers as she stares at her present.
“Do you like them?”
“Like them? I love them! But they had to cost a fortune.” She lifts the Louboutin boots out of the box and stares at them.
“You don’t need to worry about how much they cost.” I wave off her concern, more than happy that she likes them.
“Is there anything else I can get you, Mr. McLaren?” The waitress stops at the end of our table with a big smile on her face.
She’s been flirting with me all night, and I’ve been politely ignoring her. I'm not trying to be rude, but why would she think it’s appropriate to flirt when I'm here with a woman?
“Yes. I’d love to get two cannoli and a piece of chocolate cake for my girl.” I glance over at Harper and find a slow smile spreading across her lips. She’s peeking up at me through her lashes, looking more than gorgeous.
I always imagined taking her on a date and getting to spend uninterrupted time with her. I thought she’d be my girlfriend before that happened. Now, I want to make her mine even more.
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” Harper whispers as soon as the waitress leaves our table.
“For what?”
“I don’t know! The dinner? The gift? The delicious dessert? The way you’ve made me feel like the most important person in the world tonight? All of it?”
“I'm just treating you the way you deserve to be treated.” I reach across the table and take her hand in mine.
“No, Jackson. You’re going above and beyond. You’re making me feel like I matter.”
“You do matter, Boots. You’re the most important person in my life.” Lifting her hand to my mouth, I press a soft kiss on her knuckles.