Chapter 20 Harper
HARPER
The couch creaked as I shifted, still tucked under Cameron's arm. He had been quiet for an awfully long time, but I knew he had a lot to think about. And honestly, I did too.
It was so late. When I put my phone down, it was nearing three in the morning. I was getting so tired. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave him. My stomach was tight, not from hunger, but from everything else—stress, money, fear, the pressure of holding everything together.
But my heart felt so full. Even though nothing went further than kissing, we all worked so well together.
My mind went back and forth between the two men I spent my night with and the fact that I still had to pay for my house to be fixed.
Thirty thousand dollars. Well, now twenty-five thousand after I wired the money to Tuck while they were outside.
I’d done the math at least a dozen times in my head.
Even if I cashed out my savings and maybe begged my way into a low-interest loan, I’d still come up short.
I’m worried that a payment plan may be a good option now, but what if in six months, I can’t afford a payment?
I’d worked so hard on that house. I was proud of it—maybe the only thing I’d ever fully claimed for myself.
And now it was slipping. It was the last piece of my dad that I had. As angry as I was with him, I needed to keep this house.
My eyes fluttered closed, and I rested my head against him. My chest felt heavy and wrung out from crying. But then the quietness shifted, and I remembered something else.
I was alone in this house. With him.
The man who, not even two weeks ago, had touched me like I was something holy. Who had laid between my thighs like he needed to worship me. Who just made out with me, and the man who was going to fix my house. Who just kissed my forehead like he knew how easily I could fall apart.
And now he was holding me as we both tried to figure our shit out.
My thighs pressed together instinctively, the ache low and impossible to ignore. The kind of ache that didn’t belong in this moment—didn’t belong when I should’ve still been crying about money or panicking about my future—but it was there anyway.
The man was still shirtless. I opened an eye and glanced down. Dude was all muscle. Like the gods had sculpted him straight from stone.
My breath caught.
He smelled addicting—clean and woodsy, like cedar and something warm, almost sweet, like vanilla or amber. The kind of scent that made you want to bury your face in his neck and never leave.
I closed my eyes, thinking of the way his freckles looked like they were dancing from one side of his face to the other. He had the prettiest blue eyes; it was as if I were staring at a cloudless summer sky.
He softly cleared his throat and spoke a little above a whisper. “You, okay?”
I blinked open my eyes and tilted my head toward him to meet his gaze. Before I could answer, he said, “I have a plan.”
That pulled me out of any thoughts I was having. I moved away from him so that I could see his face properly. My eyes scanned his face—serious, steady, that quiet resolve I only ever saw when he had something important to say.
“Okay,” I breathed. “I’m listening.”
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, voice even, careful. “I can do this if you let me.”
My face scrunched in confusion.
He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “What I am trying to say is, I want to pay for your house.”
My eyes opened so wide I thought they were going to pop right out of my head. I stared at him, mouth parted, heartbeat skipping like it missed the memo.
Cam kept going before I could think to interject.
“If you need to think about it, you are welcome to, but I know if I cut Tucker a check, he will take my money before he takes more of yours. My intention is for you to keep whatever money you have left of your inheritance. I know that house means everything to you, but it wasn’t just about having a roof over your head.
It was about having something that’s yours.
Something you created. A place you poured your heart into.
Plus, I know you’d never admit it, but it is the last physical piece of your dad you have left, Harp. ”
My eyes shut tight, and I let out a shaky breath. He was right. I slowly opened my eyes again. Could I really let him pay for all of this? What would he want in return?
It’s like he could read my mind because he added.
“I need you to know I am not doing this with the hope of anything in return. You mean a lot to me, and you have for a very long time.”
His voice dropped lower. “I want to take care of you. Please let me.” He paused, jaw tight, something flickering behind his eyes. “I—” He caught himself, cleared his throat, and looked away for half a second.
“Anyway, my mind is made up. So, get comfortable with the idea, because I’m not sure I’m going to leave you another option.”
I blinked fast, like I could keep the tears in by sheer willpower. But it was no use. They fell hot and heavy, pouring down my cheeks without warning.
“Cam…” I whispered.
He shook his head clearly not wanting to argue. “It’s done, Harper. You don’t have to say anything.”
But I did. I felt like I needed to do something.
I threw myself at him, full-body, without thinking. My arms wrapped around his neck as I buried my face against him, and the force of it knocked him backward onto the couch.
He let out a startled laugh, deep and real, as his arms came around me instinctively. We landed in a heap, his body under mine, and he was still laughing when I pulled back to look at him.
I straddled his hips, hair starting to fall out of my bun and falling around my face since my headband had come off long ago. He just stared up at me with this wide, stupidly perfect grin—like I’d knocked the breath out of him in the best way.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen that smile before. Not on him. It was unguarded. It was bright. Alive.
And I couldn’t help myself, not that I wanted to. I leaned down and kissed him. Soft, at first—just a brush of my lips over his. Then again, but this time it was slower and more intense.
His hands slid to my waist as though he’d been waiting for me to do exactly that, and I felt it in every part of me—the shift.
He was doing this for me. Because he cared. Because maybe he loved me, and this was his way of showing me.