Page 26 of A Hurt So Good

“What do you want?” she asks, keeping her tone calm and collected.

“I’m curious,” I tell her as I smile.

“About?”

“You.”

“What about me?”

“Why are you wearing a shirt over your swimsuit?” I ask her. She grins at me before biting her bottom lip between her teeth, and damn, would I like to be the one biting that lip until it bleeds.

“Because I want to.”

“Why? Women only do that to hide something.”

“What do you think I’m hiding, War?” Fuck, the way she says my name has my cock getting hard.

“I don’t know, little bird, but I’m going to find out.”

Arya snorts a laugh and holds her hand out, waiting for her glasses.

“Good luck with that,” she tells me. I hold her glasses just out of reach but she doesn’t even make a move to try and reach for them, just holds her hand out to me. Yeah, I fucking like this girl.

Chapter 12

Harlon

Dinner with the family. Those are always great times, even if they are usually with a different woman. Julie, isn’t that bad. She’s a little stuck up, but she doesn’t seem to be around a whole lot.

War, my dad, Julie, and I make small talk while we wait on Denz. Arya sits there, ignoring everyone at the table, and it makes me wonder why. She keeps glancing at her phone with a strange look on her face as if she’s trying to figure something out. She’s not being rude; she will answer when someone asks her something, but that’s the extent of it. Then she’s right back to her phone.

“Arya, how is the web store doing?” her mom asks her. Arya nearly rolls her eyes before setting her phone on the table next to her plate.

“It’s up and running smoother than before. I don’t know what kind of idiot you had running it before, but they messed up a lot. You’re pulling in ten percent more already from the changes I’ve made.”

“Impressive,” my dad says, smiling at her.

“I know what I’m doing.” Damn, this girl is hard as hell. She doesn’t take compliments well at all.

“Arya,” her mom scolds her. Arya looks to her mom before flashing my dad a smile that could break hearts.

“I’m sorry, Jarrod. That was rude of me.”

“No need to be sorry,” he says, waving his hand dismissively through the air before refocusing on his meal. I hear the door close, and I know Denz is here. He strolls into the dining room, looking around the table until his eyes stop on Arya. Something strange crosses his features before he pulls his gaze away.

“Denz, glad you could make it this time,” dad speaks.

“Me too. It’s been a while since I’ve had a home-cooked meal,” he says, walking around the table and taking his seat in the empty chair next to Arya. She glances over at him briefly before going back to her meal.

“How’s work been?”

“Good. Doing a lot of overtime, but it’s time well spent,” Denz answers, but his gaze keeps drifting back to Arya.

“I’m sorry. You haven’t met Arya yet, have you?” Dad says. Denz shakes his head and turns to face her, but something seems off between the two of them.

“I’m Denz.” He offers his hand to her, and she rolls her eyes before taking it.

“Arya.” Then I see Denz lean in and whisper something in her ear. She jerks away from him, and he smiles back at her. Have they met already?

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