Page 56 of Secret

"I want you, too," I whisper, and he turns his beautiful blue eyes on me with a small smirk.

"Oh, you'll have me," he says in a sexy, gravelly voice as he sits back with a promise in his eyes that I intend to help him keep tonight.

Chapter23

BLAKE

"So what do you think?" I ask Harley as we look at the apartment I’m thinking of buying. It's a second-floor apartment in a new building. Everything is pretty much new and has that unlived-in feel to it. The building has a swimming pool, gym, and good security due to it being a five-minute walk from the university I’ve gotten into.

It's a ten-minute walk to the local shop and park too. It’s a four bedroom apartment, so I can get some roommates to pay the bills with me. Overall, it's nice. I'm standing in the main bedroom, which has one light-blue wall and three white walls. It’s the same throughout the apartment. It's all very clean and white. It has built-in closets in every bedroom, and bathrooms in each one, too.

"I like this one, you should get it. The other two we looked at were rubbish. Is the price all right?"Harley asks, looking out one of the windows.

"Yeah, it's a friend of my mum’s who built the building, so he is going to give me a nice discount,"I comment, taking my hoodie off because of the hot weather we have had.

"That's good,"Harley says as he walks out of the bedroom with me into the long corridor.

"Thanks for your advice," I say. I asked Harley to come with me today because I needed a different viewpoint, and someone older is usually better at seeing things I can't. I would have brought my mum, but she is getting very emotional about the idea of me moving out, and I worried she would be crying by now.

"You’re like a brother to us all, you know that." He grins and pats me on the shoulder. I’m filled with guilt at his comment, but I look away before Harley can see my reaction. We walk back to the estate agent, who waited at the door, and I say I’ll call him later to buy. The poor man looks crazy happy now, enough to make me smile. My phone buzzes as we walk to my car.

Beauty: does your mum want me to bring anything for tea tonight? X

Me: just your beautiful self. How was your exam? X

Beauty: it went really well. Only a few left now. I can't wait to get my results. How's apartment hunting? X

Me: that's really good. Tell you later. I really like you x

Beauty: I really, really like you too. See you later. X

I can't help the massive smile on my face even if I try, and Harley glances at me.

"Who's made you smile like that?" He laughs.

"Like what?” I ask, ignoring his question about who it is as I put my phone away. It's not like I can say ‘oh, it’s your beautiful sister.’

"Like a cat that just caught a canary."He chuckles, shaking his head.

"I don't smile like that." I wave away his comment with my hand.

"You just did, and you’re avoiding the question."He stares me down, clearly wanting the answer now.

I ignore him again and slide into my car while he gets into the passenger seat. "So Elliot hasn't applied for college, but won't say what he is going to do. Are you worried?" I change the subject.

"A little, but Elliot is smart enough to know what he wants. He and his girlfriend have been arguing a lot, and I'm concerned he is paying too much attention to Lily, and not enough to his exams." He frowns and looks out the window before continuing.

"I feel like it’s my fault if things go wrong. We have enough problems with Izzy and the fighting. Adding a woman to the mix isn’t a good idea. Look what’s happened to Seb; he is spiralling out of control most days."

"Is that why you don't date?" I ask, because I’ve never seen him with a long-term girlfriend. I’ve seen him take random girls home sometimes, but not often, and I never see them again.

"I don't have time. Plus, no woman holds my attention for long."He looks out the window with a tight jaw.

"Maybe you just need to meet the right one."I smirk.

"Like you have?” He smirks at me as I don’t answer. “It wouldn't work for me." He looks away from me again, but I have to look back at the road.

"Let's change the subject. How's the gym?"I ask, leading into simpler conversations.

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