Page 86 of Reckless

“What?” she asked, annoyed.

“I love you.”

Oh. Well.

It would serve him right if she said thank you, or that’s nice. But she was pissed at a choice he’d made, not really him, and withholding love wasn’t the response.

She settled on, “I love you too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.”

“Go.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “We have soundcheck in fifteen and I need to get my shit together.”

“You keep pushing me away.” He frowned.

Harlow made a very heroic effort not to roll her eyes at this gorgeous, spoiled baby.

“This is my job. Though people like to think I have it because of you, I work really hard, and I deserve my success. It’s not pushing you away.It’s not about you at all!”

Miles finallyheardwhat she was saying, and shame washed over him. He’d been flirting and trying to charm his way out of her being mad. But that response told him about something deeper.

Motherfucking whatserface! She’d stirred her pot of toil and trouble to get herself some attention and clicks but had also amplified something that hit Harlow in the confidence.

“I know you work hard, and I apologize for insinuating otherwise. Can I still watch your soundcheck?”

She looked him over carefully, measuring her answer and he wanted so badly for her to say yes that he ruthlessly tamped down his instinct to kiss her or attempt to sway her in any way.

“I need you to understand something.”

He nodded.

“When I set boundaries it’s because they’re important to me. When you bulldoze over them it makes me feel like they don’t matter to you. Frankly? I don’t care if they don’t matter to you. That’s your problem. They matter to me. And that’s the point. There will be plenty of times in our relationship that one of us will set a line we don’t want the other to pass. It’s one thing to blunder over it because we’re human and we care about each other and want to fix things. But I’m not a problem to be solved. Mainly, I want you to respect me and my independence and when I tell you something like,we will hash this out but not until after I’ve finished my performance,I expect you to do that. Whether you want to or not. Whether you like it or not. Whether you agree with my reasons or not. I get that you are bossy and spoiled and very much used to people following your lead. And I get that it’s a heavy thing to be that person everyone looks to in times of trouble. I’m proud of you for that.”

It was that last bit that felled him. She saw him to his soul and got him in ways no one else did. It mattered so much. And it was just another sign that they were meant to be together.

“Thank you,” he said first. “For sharing that and for the compliment.”

“We can talk about the rest later. Yes, you can come to soundcheck.”

He did give in to impulse and kiss her then. Far more briefly than he wanted, but he wanted to show her he heard her and respected her boundaries.

“I’m going now,” he said, heading to the door. “I’ll see you at soundcheck.”

He made himself leave and ended up bumping into Maddie as she came out of their green room.

“Hi there,” he said to her. “Nice to see everyone, huh?”

“It was. My parents brought proof of life for Carl.”

Carl was Maddie’s cat that her parents were sitting while she was on tour.

“He’s gained weight,” Maddie said with a snicker. “My dad spoils animals too much. My mom said he gives Carl brie. Who gives cats expensive cheese? Vaughan Hurley apparently. He’s a big old softie.”

Bits and pieces from home life helped when you were out on the road, Miles had discovered very early on. Even though they were all adults and out on their own, calls from parents or pictures of pets could really help the loneliness.

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