Page 78 of The Bodyguard Situation

Her eyes narrow. “Okay, so if I wanted to put myself back out there when we returned to the city and I started dating other people, would th?—”

“Fuck no.” My brows furrow. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“That’s what I thought.” She snickers, amused with herself.

“You have no idea what watching you with that piece of shit did to me.”

I swallow hard, and her face softens.

“I can’t imagine,” she admits, knowing she’s never had to witness me with anyone.

My relationships have always stayed secret. It’s not that I’ve hidden them; it’s just easier without public scrutiny.

“Do you know why I gave him a chance?”

I shake my head.

“Because he acted like he saw me for who I was at my core. In reality, you’re the only man who ever has,” she admits so fucking freely.

“Harp,” I whisper, “I’m so fucking sorry he tricked you.”

“I’m not. While I want him to get what he deserves,” she says with confidence, “his actions made me see what was right in front of me all along, and I will forever be grateful for that.”

A chill runs over me. “You somehow always see the bright side.”

We park on Main Street, and I open the door for her. She steps out onto the sidewalk, wearing a cute pink dress that buttons in the front.

First on our list is getting her another cell phone so she can have contact with the outside world. We step inside the electronics store and buy the smartest phone they have, and the first thing Harper does is sync it to her cloud account.

As her pictures load, she lets out a sigh of relief. “I was so scared that I’d lost everything.”

She holds the device tightly in her grip as we leave.

At the end of the block is a small grocery store. I hook my pinkie with Harper’s, and we walk down the sidewalk toward it. At the front is a line of metal carts, and I grab one.

She waggles her brow at me as I push it around. “Hot.”

“Hush,” I tell her as she randomly eye-fucks me.

Every item that draws her attention, she plucks it off the shelf and tosses it inside the cart. She grabs junk food— snack cakes, bags of chips, popcorn, chocolate—as I mentally plan actual meals and get essentials.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really just a kid with adult money,” she mutters, throwing in a massive bag of extra-cheddar crackers and Oreo cookies.

“As long as you still eat your fruits and veggies, I see no issue,” I tell her with a wink.

“Happy one of us is responsible.” She nudges me with her elbow.

Once the cart is full and we have enough for the week, we go to the front to check out. We don’t get too much because I know we’ll have to return to the city soon. While I want to stay in the cabin with Harper for an eternity, she won’t be able to stay hidden forever. Bellamore needs her, and the public has been highly concerned about her after Micah made it seem like she was a missing person. That will be solved soon though.

As I load everything on the conveyor belt, she snatches up different candy bars, and then her eyes widen. “Shit, I’ll be right back. I forgot one thing.”

A minute later, Harper returns with a box of tampons. “Just in case.”

She plops it down on the belt as our food is packed into the thermal grocery bags I picked up so we could spend more time in town if Harper wanted.

However, I’m leaving what we do for the rest of the day up to her. The last thing I want is for her to be overwhelmed. Being isolated can do that to a person.

My hands are full of the bags, and she tries to take some from me, but I shake my head at her. “I’ve got it.”

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