Page 8 of Secret of His Soulmate

I stand at the sink while Miles gathers his things and makes his way out to his truck. I wait until I hear him drive off before I move. Slumping into one of the seats at the kitchen table, I place my head in my hands. What have we done? Kissing my best friend has always been the one line I wouldn’t cross and after less than a day of playing house, there I am with my legs wrapped around his waist and his tongue down my throat. That’s why I can’t stay here.

Chapter 8

Miles

Driving awayfrom my house and Harper didn’t feel like the right thing to do, but she wasn’t giving me a choice. She wouldn’t even turn around and look me in the eyes.

It takes less than ten minutes to get to Harper’s house from my place, but I need to talk to someone about what just happened. Usually, I would call my sister, Clara, but I have no idea what time it is wherever she’s traveling with her boyfriend, Ethan. My brothers would probably have good advice too, at least Wilder and Knox would, but since Ivy was the one that suggested I go for it with Harper, I call her.

The phone rings through the truck speakers and I hear my niece’s babble before I hear Ivy. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Miles. Is it not a good time? The little princess sounds like she’s being kind of demanding.”

Ivy laughs and so does my niece, Jovie. “She’s always a little demanding, but we were just playing on the floor. I can talk as long as you don’t mind her listening in.”

“I think I can trust her to keep this between the three of us,” I laugh. “I need help or advice… something.”

“Is this about Harper?”

“Of course.” I haven’t seriously looked at another woman since I met Harper. “We kissed.”

Ivy lets out a whoop that is imitated by the baby and we all three laugh. “But that’s not all.”

“Did you have sex?” Ivy shouts.

“No, Ivy. We kissed and then she shut down and wouldn’t even look at me. We were interrupted by a phone call and she went from totally into it —in fact, she kissed me first— and then just turned away.” My confession is met with silence. “Ivy?”

“I’m here, just thinking. So, she kissed you?”

“Yeah, we had breakfast and were talking about her staying at my house while hers is being renovated. She was overwhelmed and I hugged her like I’ve done hundreds of times before, but it was different.”

“Different how?”

“I can’t explain it. It just felt different, and I asked if I could kiss her. I thought she told me no and I was trying to back away when she kissed me.”

“So, you misunderstood her. Maybe you’re misunderstanding her now?”

“I guess.” I’ve made it to Harper’s house and I’m just sitting in my truck in front. Several of the crew are giving me odd looks that I just wave off. “What should I do?”

“You have to talk to her and find out how she feels about what happened.”

“I know. I think I was just hoping you’d have some secret girl knowledge.”

Ivy laughs. “Nope, you just have to communicate, and you have to be honest about what you want. Don’t discount your feelings.”

“I won’t. Thanks, Ivy.”

We hang up and I get out of the truck. Ivy’s right that Harper and I need to have a conversation about what happened, butright now I need to focus on her house. That’s what I can do to help her and ease her burden.

After a quick walk-through, I know that there will be no quick way to fix Harper’s house. The damage to her walls is extreme and a lot of her furniture was ruined too. The water had to have started running first thing in the morning after she left her house.

Harper still hasn’t shown up, so I call to see where she is.

“Hey,” she quietly answers.

“Hi, Harps. I’m at your house. Are you coming soon or…”

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon. Don’t feel like you need to wait for me.”

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