Page 37 of Reckless

“She didn’t have to. Tell me and then we’ll circle back to this,” his father said.

“Well, it all started before I kissed her the first time. But once that happened, I couldn’t seem to find any reason not to pursue her. And yes, I get that I am on tour with her band and that if things go bad it could mess things up professionally. Though, I’ll say Above Me isn’t going to do anything outwardly that would hurt this tour or their own trajectory. It’s one of the things I like most about Harlow.”

Once he’d been with her the first time, he’d understood just how much trust she gave him. She was vulnerable when it was just the two of them in a way he never saw outside that. It made him feel ten feet tall that she trusted him with her body and her heart.

“She wants to keep this on the low.” Which, admittedly frustrated him.

“Is she ashamed of it? Is she with someone?” his dad asked.

“No to both. I think, and this is conjecture based on what she’s said andnotsaid that she’s lived her life in the public eye because of who her father is and that she’s trying to navigate in a way that makes her feel she’s earned her success. And that she likes to have her personal life private.”

His father sighed. “You know your mother feels very much the same way about our personal life so I expect you understand her in a way others wouldn’t.”

“That’s true. We have a lot in common with growing up in a spotlight that belonged to someone else. She understands the industry like I do. She knows the bad and the good and she’s determined to make her way through the minefield of the music business. She’s good at what she does. Confident in her skills. It’s very attractive.”

“Doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful,” his dad teased.

“Well, no. But her beauty is something that’s a magical combo of who she is inside and all that pretty on the outside. I…I thought I was in love before, but I didn’t know shit.”

That made Adrian Brown laugh. “Miles, I wish I was there to have this conversation with you face to face. You don’t know what you don’t know. You had that other experience to know precisely what it meant when something real felt very different. A good life is learning from our mistakes. That doesn’t guarantee no new mistakes, god knows, but pain is easier to get past when you can spin it as a positive.”

“You aren’t going to say it’s too early?”

“Do you think it’s too early?” his dad countered.

“No. I…I started falling the moment I saw the footage of her on stage back in April. I’m still getting to know her, and we aren’t getting married tomorrow. But I want to do this right. She and I are going to dinner tonight at her brother’s house. I’m meeting that part of her family and there’s some tension there, so I don’t want to mess anything up. I want her to trust I’ve got her back. She’s stressed about it in a way I haven’t seen from her. There’s just this spot inside me that’s driven to soothe that anxiety. It’s not so much that I want them to like me. I want them to like her.”

His dad was quiet for long moments. “That’s an important distinction. I’m proud you can see that. All you can do is go with her and be at her side. If something happens, you can do your best to protect her. Just remember her feelings count most here. Since you don’t know exactly what the problem is, you need to follow her lead. For what it’s worth, I have faith you’ll do just fine.”

That was exactly what he’d needed to hear.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“It’s my pleasure to be your dad. It always has been. Now, let’s circle back to how I know about you and Harlow.”

CHAPTERTWELVE

“You look so pretty,” Nora said, stepping back from where she’d been pinning the braided bun at the base of Harlow’s head.

She’d chosen black herringbone patterned pants and a pale pink short sleeved sweater. Her, but softened. Harlow wanted to signal to her brothers that she wanted the evening to be soft and calm and hoped they did too.

Her makeup was classic, and she’d gone with a berry-colored lipstick.

“They see me in media where I’m supposed to beon. I just want them to remember I’m more than that. I’m proud of the work we do as well obviously.” It took all her self control not to wring her hands. Nothing else in the universe made her so uncertain in the way dealing with her mother’s side of the family did.

Nora met her gaze in the mirror they stood in front of. “I understand. You look perfect. And you and Miles together are going to look like the ten minutes before a baby gets made.”

Laughing, Harlow turned and hugged her dearest friend. “You always say the perfect thing. I don’t know what I would do without you in my world.”

“That’s good because I’m not going anywhere. I need you to promise me you will get your asses up and out of there if she shows up and it gets bad,” Nora said, her eyes narrowed.

“If it gets to the point where I want to leave, I will.”

“That’s a dodge of what I asked you to promise.”

“No it isn’t.” Harlow held up a hand to stop her friend from speaking. “What I mean is, she probably won’t even be there. I haven’t seen her in person in years. She’s in no hurry to contact me unless it’s one of her phone calls to yell at me about my behavior.” Sadly, Gloria found a reason to leave shitty, judgmental voicemails a few times each year. Not for birthdays or anything important in a positive way. No, just sniping at Harlow from out of the blue to remind her Gloria never believed she was anything more than an easy lay and a failure as a person. She’d done so during their solo tour earlier that year after she’d seen some pictures of Harlow on stage. Called to let Harlow know she looked like a whore and was disgracing the family. There were times she wondered if her mother had some sort of internet alert set up for Harlow’s name so she could find extra things to be upset over.

Harlow took a bracing breath. “She’s got no reason to show up tonight. What I’m hoping is that it’s just me and my brothers and their kids. If it’s just us, it’ll be fine.”

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