Page 24 of Caramel Apple Cupcake

“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. Theydon’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 naïve, 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 theup-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.

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