Page 38 of Reckless

Their mother might be viewed differently by her and her brothers, but Harlow loved them and their kids. Even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time with each other growing up, she knew they loved her in their own way.

It needed to be enough, or she would slip out and stay gone. She was working on that part.

“And if she shows?” Nora asked.

“Like a dog with a bone,” Harlow muttered, and Nora flipped her off. “If she shows and she’s unpleasant, and I can’t ignore it by moving away from her or changing the subject, I will make my excuses and say good night. I’m not going over there to be disrespected. I’m not a doormat, Nora.”

“No, you’re not. But…you want her to love you. And she doesn’t. Not in the way you need her to. That hurts you. And I hate it. You deserve so much more. But I also understand you love your brothers and it’s just dinner. But you’re taking yourboyfriendto meet your family. That’s big. And it’s a message to them and to Miles.”

Harlow threw her hands up into the air. “A message?”

“Let’s keep our chill, ma’am.” Nora gave her a look that had Harlow quitting the dramatics. “You know what I’m saying. You’re trusting your brothers with Miles and you’re trusting Miles with that whole side of the family and all that comes with them, including the drama. I’ve seen you with a number of different suitors over the years. He’s my favorite so far.”

Trust Nora to make her laugh and stop taking herself too seriously. “Don’t make me regret telling you the boyfriend thing.”

“That train left the station. I already know his dick is pierced. And anyway, heisyour boyfriend. You have a picture of him in your contacts and it’s all schmoopy. You like him and that’s okay. He’s not going to eat all the groceries and live in your house for three months without ever cleaning or offering to help pay.”

Harlow gaped and then stomped from the room. But it was mainly for show because as usual, Nora was right, and she came right back. “I kicked him out, didn’t I? It was only two months. And that’s alessons learnedrelationship. Everyone needs one of those.”

Nora said, “You wouldn’t be letting Miles be your date tonight if you didn’t know the difference after you kicked him out, now would you?”

He was different and yes, she had let him in further than anyone else. “I can’t take you because you threw a drink in her face the time you met her,” Harlow replied through a fit of giggles.

“She’s lucky I didn’t run her over with my car. Woman shows up at the hospital where her fifteen-year-old daughter is recovering from two surgeries after a car accident and she accuses you of showing too much thigh when the nurse came in to give you medication? She’s a monster. And she only stayed ten minutesanddidn’t come back to see you a single time even though she was in the city visiting theme parks and hanging out for another week. You deserve better than Gloria Martin.”

Harlow heard the knock at the door and looked at herself in the mirror before grabbing her handbag.

“Nora?” she said before opening the door.

Her friend cocked her head.

“Thank you for always being my friend. In the shittiest of times as well as the best of them.”

Nora blew her a kiss. “Right back at you. You’re way easier to love than Gloria has tried to make you believe.”

Heart in her throat, Harlow opened up to admit Miles. He came in looking like a star. Charisma oozed from him. He smelled good and only had eyes for her.

“You look beautiful,” he said, taking her in. “The bracelets.” He grinned and she was extra pleased she’d worn them.

“You look pretty damned good yourself.” His dark sweater was unbelievably soft and seemed to make the greenish brown of his eyes deeper. His pants, simple trousers that leaned away from black and into charcoal. It also said luxury, but given who he was and what he came from, that made sense. Not gold toilet, look-at-me-I’m-rich luxury, but an effortless elegance. And, deep down she couldn’t wait to see what her brothers thought because he looked like any big brother’s most fervent hope, minimalist and yet stylish bar through his septum and all.

“Okay then. See you later,” Harlow told Nora.

“You definitely will let me know how things go,” Nora replied. “You’re amazing, Harlow. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”

Miles was quiet for the first fifteen minutes, wrestling with what he’d overheard as he stood outside her door when he’d come to pick her up. He needed to tell her about the end of his conversation with his father, but she was already tense—and if what he heard Nora say was any indication of how Harlow’s mother had treated her on a regular basis, he understood.

He took her hand, something that felt like second nature to him by that point. It was a way to touch her and connect. Simple and powerful at the same time.

“I haven’t been a hand holder really. I mean dating. In the past. The way past and not now,” he added quickly.

Her features relaxed as she smirked at him.

“I like this.” He squeezed the hand he held in his own.

“I like it too.”

“There are pictures of us on Earthquakes fansites.” He said it in a rush, like pulling a bandage off. Get the pain over quickly.

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