“To be perfectly honest, we hadn’t planned on making our relationship public knowledge any time soon, but we will now.”
“As long as you two don’t draw it out, I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Thank you. We won’t draw it out,” I promised.
“All right, darlin’. You get that email to me as soon as you can, and you’ll hear from one of us tomorrow.”
I immediately got to work on my tasks. After sending the report, the pictures, and my statement to Phoenix’s email, I also sent the pictures to his phone via text. Then, I sent them to myself via email. To be absolutely certain I could access copies if needed, I backed up my phone to my computer and then backed up my computer to the external hard drive I kept locked in a fireproof safe.
After all was said and done, I felt much better about the entire situation. I didn’t like the fact that Chase was in jail, but I knew he could handle himself. He was so big and intimidating; I doubted anyone would have the balls to mess with him. It was at that moment I realized I had never been afraid of Chase. I had been uncomfortable or nervous around him, but never afraid.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Carbon
I rang the doorbell and waited. I heard paws clicking across the hardwood floors followed by the sound of human footsteps. Seconds later, the door flew open and Harper squealed my name before launching herself into my arms.
I held her there, breathing her in and absorbing as much of her as I could. She felt...right. She filled a hole in my heart that I wasn’t even aware was there. I was coming to realize that I needed her in my life more than I had ever anticipated.
“When did you get out?” she asked.
I walked into the house with her legs wrapped around my waist. “Around lunchtime. Got a hotel room so I could shower and clean up. I picked up some new clothes and shit and came straight here. I hope you’re hungry because I’m starving. Jail food sucks.”
I heard a sniffle, followed by, “I missed you. I was so worried about you.”
I smoothed her hair with my hand and squeezed her a little tighter. “I know, baby. Phoenix told me you called him. I’m glad you did because you single-handedly saved my ass. You know that, right?”
She kept her face buried in my neck and mumbled, “I did what I could to help. I hope you’re not mad that I told Phoenix about us.”
She was worried about that? Hell no, I wasn’t mad that she told Phoenix, for two reasons. One, my ass would have been sent up the river for a long time if she hadn’t. Two, I was ready to move to the next step with her. I had a lot of time to think during my concrete vacation, and most of my thoughts were about her. I was ready to tell everyone that she was mine.
“No, baby, I’m not mad about that. Never was. Told you I was glad you called him.”
We’d been standing in her living room for several minutes, and she’d given me no indication that she wanted to get down. “Baby, as much as I love you being in my arms, I want to see your face.” She slowly dropped her legs to the ground and pulled back, staring up at me. I swear she got more beautiful each time I saw her.
I reached out and cupped her cheeks in my hands. “You’re mine, have been for a while now. I think it’s time we both acknowledge it and stop hiding it from our friends and family.”
“Okay,” she replied simply.
“That means you’re my girl. That means telling your brother and my sister,” I explained. I didn’t want to scare her off, but I needed to make sure she understood what I meant.
“Okay,” she said again.
“Okay? That’s all you have to say about it?”
She grinned and nodded, blinking up at me with her big blue eyes. I pulled her to me and kissed her, slow and sweet. My girl. I broke the kiss before things could get out of hand and smiled at her. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
Over dinner, we talked about how we were going to break the news to Duke. I wasn’t worried about Reese. She would be happy as long as I was happy. Duke, on the other hand, wouldn’t be happy about his sister and I being in a relationship. He would have to get over it though, just like I did when he knocked up my sister behind my back.
We decided it would be best to break the news to our friends and family members in person. We also thought it would be best to do that sooner rather than later, particularly since that’s what she’d more or less promised Phoenix. I needed to get back home anyway, so Harper packed a bag, put Titan in her car, and followed me back to Croftridge.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when we arrived. It was a Friday night, which usually meant a party at the clubhouse, but it was anyone’s guess whether or not Duke and Reese would be there. I called Phoenix before we arrived and let him know our plans. He said Duke and Reese had decided to stay home, so we bypassed the clubhouse and dropped our things off at my condo before heading over to their house to talk to them.
I climbed in the driver’s seat of Harper’s car and called my sister.
“Hey, big scary brother,” she answered.