Page 63 of Score to Settle
Harper’s cheeks flush and she gives a shy smile. I lean close and kiss her gently.
“Are you OK?” I ask again.
“There’s not much I can do about it now. I’d better email Tim today and hope he doesn’t fire me.”
“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into the spotlight,” I say.
She shakes her head and swings her leg around to straddle me. “I wish it wasn’t all over the internet, but I’m not sorry and you haven’t dragged me into this either.”
She leans down, pressing her lips to mine and I’m lost in her kiss. My hands find the smooth skin of her thighs then up her body, pushing the jersey higher. I take my time worshipping every inch of her. When I finally slide inside her, it’s pure bliss. Like coming home. The connection between us is fire and heat, but there’s a depth that adds an intensity I’ve never felt before. Like she can see right into the heart of me, the real me.
“Tell me why we’re doing this again?” I ask, scrunching my eyes against the bright sunlight bouncing off the two feet of brilliant white snow that fell in the night. “We could be in bed right now.” The air is cold and fresh and invigorating despite thinking of other things I’d like to be doing.
Harper laughs, thumping my arm as snow crunches under our boots. “We’ve been in bed all morning. We need air and Buck needs a walk. And just look at this place…” She waves a hand to the paddocks, glistening with a blanket of white. Beyond it, the normally brown foothills are covered in fresh white like the distant mountains.
I draw in a deep breath and cold air hits the bottom of my lungs. The ranch is a picture-perfect winter wonderland, which Buck is doing his best to charge and jump through, his yellow fur stark against the white, tail wagging furiously at the delight of the changed landscape.
As we make our way toward the lake, I slip my hand into Harper’s. She seems surprised for a moment, but a second later she’s entwining her fingers with mine. The lake is covered with a layer of frosty ice. The trees around it are heavy with snow, their branches drooping under the weight.
“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?” Harper says as Buck shoves his face in a drift of snow, appearing a moment later with a white nose, making us both laugh. I look down at Harper. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold, her hair beneath the white bobble hat still tousled from being in my bed. Her eyes dance with delight.
“Yes, I have,” I say, wrapping my arms around her.
She laughs, loud and free. “Smooth, Jake. Very smooth.”
I know without a doubt that I’m crazy for this woman. I’m not just falling anymore. I’ve fallen. I’m all the way gone. I want to tell her, shout it into the icy air, but I hold back. This feeling thrumming through my body is still so new. So I pull her tighter against my chest and pour my feelings into our kiss.
THIRTY-TWO
HARPER
Notes for feature: I’M THE GIRL.
I’m the girl.
I’m the one Jake looks for in the crowd. The one who makes him smile like that.
Even though I’m freaking out about what this is going to do for my career and what Tim will say, I can’t stop smiling. My cheeks hurt from it. My lips are sore from all the kissing. My whole body aches because of this man. For this man. I’m supposed to be finishing my latest notes and sending them to Tim. I’m almost done and I’ve opened the latest chapter of my book, pouring my emotions into my characters. Writing is usually the only thing that makes me happy, but now I’m happy and writing for the joy of it, not to escape. I save the latest version and open the email to Tim to tell him Jake and I are dating. To apologize for the unprofessionalism and grovel for my job. Even if there’s a chance my name won’t get connected to Jake on the gossip sites, I want to come clean to Tim. No more lies.
A few weeks ago this would’ve had me spinning out, but it’s as though one of my own walls has come down in the time I’vebeen with Jake. I can see that while I enjoy my job, while it’s important to me, it’s not everything. It’s not the center of the universe. I don’t want to be fired, but if it happens, I know I’ll be OK.
I read through my pleading apology for the tenth time then leave the email unsent, deciding to distract myself by calling Mia instead. She answers on the first ring.
“Please tell me you gave Jake the celebration he deserved after his epic win last night.”
I laugh. “Hello to you, too.”
“Harper.”
“Mia,” I reply.
She cackles. “You know what, don’t tell me. It’s fine. I can hear it in your voice.”
“Hear what?” I grin.
“That husky ‘I’ve had all the sex’ voice.”
I laugh. “I don’t sound like that.”
