Page 11 of Reckless

But she nodded. It had only been a few days after all. What could be the harm if she was careful? Just a little taste.

Then he brushed his lips over the shell of her ear before he grabbed one of her bags and headed into the hallway before she could respond.

Miles paused at the door so Harlow could get on first. Which gave him a great view, his reaction to he was glad to hide behind sunglasses.

Some part of him had eased in, patient to slowly seduce her. Greedy to know her more. Spend time with her. Here she was in his space for the next few hours.

Poppy waved a hello. “I’m so glad you’re coming along. Once we get moving, I’ve got smoothies and coffee and a bunch of breakfast sandwiches and wraps. Come sit.”

His perfect sister directed Harlow to the spot next to the one Miles had staked out. Miles sent her a discreet nod of thanks.

Within a few more minutes they’d finished stowing the luggage and everyone had loaded in. The bus lumbered out of the city and on to the next one.

Soon enough there was food and coffee and several different conversations. Brian and Omar had bonded over D&D and were talking about the people on the crew who’d be up for a weekly game. Nora pulled out a deck of cards and was in the process of explaining a very complicated set of rules to Poppy and Maddie.

“What was the first song you learned to play?” he asked Harlow.

“One Divine Hammer by The Breeders. You?”

He grinned at her, a scorching blast of heat. “I love that. For me it was Creep.”

“Radiohead. Well played.”

“When my dad came into my life—and the instant he knew about me, he was a consistent presence—part of how we learned each other was through music. He helped me, well, me and Silas, learn the song in the garage of the house I’d grown up in.”

It remained one of his favorite memories of his father.

“You’ve been playing music with Silas a long time.”

Miles looked at his oldest friend. “Yeah. We went to the same elementary school and didn’t really hang out. But in middle school we were both in the jazz band and that’s when we became friends.”

“It was the food. My house was always chaos, but Gillian, that’s Miles’s mom, she always had great food in the house and didn’t care if I slept over three nights a week,” Silas said from his perch across from them.

“Mary, that aunt Maddie and I share, she ran a catering business so she’s the reason our house was always overflowing with food. Mum took care of Mary’s heart and Mary took care of Mum’s health and me,” Miles explained.

“That’s the age Nora and I became friends. I honestly can’t imagine my life without that nosy bitch. She’s my soulmate,” Harlow said.

In the midst of the card game, Nora held up devil horns in agreement before turning her attention back.

“She’s the one who will tell the server if the food is wrong. And she does it without making anyone hate us,” Harlow joked.

“Every friendship needs that person,” he told her. “Why a Breeders song?”

“I love the Pixies and through them I discovered The Breeders. My aunt introduced me to more music than my dad has. She had these binders of CDs and I’d page through, choose something at random and we’d listen. My dad’s the one who helped me learn the chords though.”

“Is he cool with you going into music too?”

Harlow nodded. “He’s very proud of us. Always has been a big support. He and Brian’s aunt produced our current album in his home studio. Wants to see all our contracts just to be sure we aren’t being taken advantage of. Even though his agent is at Jeremy’s agency, and he likes and trusts Jeremy.”

“In a weird way, Jeremy has always been like family,” Miles said of their shared agent—and his aunt’s ex-husband.

“If my dad thought anything but that Jeremy was helping, he’d say so loudly and insistently. He’s very mellow in his personal life but when those lines are crossed, he can go off.” Harlow snorted a laugh. “I know people assume he’s a wild man with the way he is on stage. But that’s a persona. He puts it on like a costume. When he’s not onstage, he’s taking my three-year-old sister to her dance lessons and playing with her in the pool. I just always wanted to be a musician and he always supported that.”

Miles liked the way she spoke of her family. Another connection, he realized.

“Your mom?” he asked.

“Isn’t really in my life.” Flat words closed with a period like a door slam.

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