Breaking Clear (Full Hearts Series Book 3) (22 page)

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m not saying that marriages can’t work out. I’m saying that the promises made at a wedding are bullshit. There is no way to know with one-hundred-per-cent accuracy if a marriage is going to succeed or fail. How the hell can someone who is twenty-five—or forty-five, for that matter—know what they are going to want when they are eighty-five? They can’t. That’s the answer. There is no possible way to know. And you should never make a promise you can’t keep.”

“That’s where the whole trust thing comes in. When two people get married, they’re trusting each other with their very hearts, they’re committing to keep working on it no matter what. They’re promising that they are going to be there for each other for all of it. The good, the bad and the morning breath. Is that really such a bad thing?”

“Yes. It always ends badly. Your best-case scenario is that you get really old together and then one of you dies and the other one lives out the rest of their days broken-hearted. That’s the best you can hope for. More often than not, though, someone gets bored, someone cheats, someone doesn’t treat the other one with enough respect, someone leaves and both people are left broken-hearted. Either way you get crushed. It’s a dumb thing to do.”

“So, we’re not really talking about wedding vows then, are we? We’re back to talking about commitment in general. And apparently, you’re not a fan of that either.”

“Commitment is fine. But there’s no need to be all public or permanent about it. It should be a quiet agreement between two people who understand that they can’t really know what’s coming in life, but they can agree to be together exclusively.”

“How is that any better, you meathead?” she asked, raising her voice. “If you commit to someone and things go along smoothly until you someday grow old together, one of you will be heartbroken when the other one dies. It’s the same friggin’ thing, whether you’ve made a pinky swear like a couple of nine-year-olds or you’ve stood in front of a thousand people making vows.”

“Meathead? That’s a little harsh. Sounds like you’re getting defensive, which makes me wonder if somewhere deep down inside, you do want the ring and the dress and the cake.”

“I’m not . . . No! We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you and your messed-up version of relationships. It’s got nothing to do with me.”

“Messed-up? The way I see it, I’m the only one with a clear view of the whole topic! The problem is everybody else out there who is naive enough to believe that any of that shit is real. They’re the ones with the blinders on.”

“Oh, I had no idea I was in the presence of the all-knowing Evan Donovan, Smartest Man Alive. You should have said something sooner.” Harper was spewing venom now. “Imagine my embarrassment, not knowing I was supposed to be bowing when I entered and left your presence this whole time.”

“Alright. Relax,” he spat out “You asked the question. Don’t blame me if you don’t like the answer.”

“It’s a little more than that!” she exclaimed.

Evan pulled up in front of his house, parking the truck in the driveway. “Yeah, I know it is. You’re pissed because deep down you want the ‘I do’s,’ and now you’re realizing that I really don’t.”

“Really? Is that why I’m mad?! Thank you for telling me! But of course you would know, since you do know everything!” Harper climbed out, slamming the door behind her before realizing she had left her clutch on the seat. She opened the door and snatched it up, getting a second chance to take out her frustration on his truck.

Evan got out, giving her an exasperated look. “Take it easy on the truck. It’s not the one you’re mad at.”

Harper snapped open her purse to get the keys to her dad’s house. “Believe me, I know exactly who I’m mad at. That would be the Dalai Lame-ass standing in front of me.” Finding the keys, she held them up triumphantly before heading down his driveway.

“What are you doing? You’re leaving because we’re having a disagreement?” He watched as she stormed away and then rounded back on him.

“Yes, I am going home. I don’t want to be around someone so high on himself that he thinks every woman he sleeps with must want to marry him!” she scoffed. “What would ever make you think I would even want to get married to you? We’re just having a little fun here, Donovan. That’s it. This means nothing!”

Evan’s head snapped back. “It means nothing?” he asked quietly. “That’s a little cold. I know we aren’t in anything long term, Harper, but it still means something to me.”

He stared at her for a moment before turning toward his house.

*     *     *

An hour later, Evan sat at his desk, failing miserably in his attempt to concentrate on some paperwork. He heard a small knock at the front door, followed by Boots announcing the guest with a happy bark. Getting up, he made his way over to answer the door. There stood Harper on the steps, now dressed in jeans and a white tank top, her hair dripping wet. She shifted uncomfortably, hooking her thumb into the belt loop of her jeans and biting her lip. Something about seeing her like this tugged at his heart. She wasn’t the picture of sophistication she had been at the wedding. She seemed vulnerable now in a way that made it impossible for him to stay angry.

“Come here,” he said, taking her hands in his and pulling her inside with him. “I’m sorry that I upset you. You were having such a wonderful day, being happy for your friends, and I killed the moment.”

“Slaughtered it. Which was kind of a shitty thing to do. But I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have gotten all personal and insulting. And I definitely shouldn’t have said this means nothing. It was horrible of me and it’s not true. I just got so angry because it felt like you were accusing me of wanting to push you into marriage when really there’s nothing further from my mind.”

“You’re right. I was definitely implying that. But you have to admit, you got very defensive about the whole thing pretty fast, which means I must have touched a nerve.”

Harper pressed her lips together for a second. “I know I did. But that doesn’t mean I want to get married. Couldn’t it just mean that I really disagree with you?”

“I guess it could. But was that really all it was?”

Pulling her hands away, she leaned against the wall to distance herself from him. “I think maybe we should break up. Or whatever you call it when you’re not officially in a relationship with someone but you should definitely stop sleeping together.”

Evan folded his arms across his chest, his jaw set tightly. “Over one argument?”

Harper stared down at her feet. “It’s not that. I think we may have been fooling ourselves about being able to do this without getting too involved. I’ve been thinking about how everyone around us has trouble accepting what we’re doing here. It’s because they might be right. We are heading down a dangerous road, and I think we should stop before it’s too late.”

“No.”

Harper’s head snapped up. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

His voice was crisp as he answered. “I mean no. We tried that when you first came to town. We tried to stay away from each other and it was useless. So, no. We’re not going to stop.” He took a couple of steps to reclaim the space between them, lifting his hands to her face and kissing her mouth. “I know you’re only here for a little while and then you need to go back to your real life, and I won’t try to stop you. But as long as you’re here, I can’t just pretend I don’t want you. And I’m not going to pretend that this doesn’t matter. This matters. Whatever this is. You matter. And I’m going to be with you. I’m going to get you naked and kiss every part of that gorgeous body of yours and feel your legs wrapped around me as often as humanly possible until it’s time for you to go. I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Harper swallowed hard, looking like he’d just shredded the long list of reasons she’d come up with for them to break up. “When you put it that way . . .” she answered, her voice thick with desire.

Evan lowered his mouth over hers again, giving her a long, deep, passionate kiss. Harper’s lips parted, and he accepted the invitation, sliding his tongue in to search for hers. He ran his hands over her neck and shoulders, then down her sides. When he reached her waist, he tugged her shirt up and over her head, tossing it onto the floor. His fingertips skimmed the outline of her lacy ivory bra as he gazed down at her with adoration. Harper frantically unbuttoned his shirt, then ran her hands over his smooth skin as he yanked his shirt off. Evan’s hands were immediately on her back, undoing her bra so she could slide the straps off her arms and let it fall to the floor. His mouth hovered over her left breast, his tongue reaching it first, swirling over her nipple. Pleased at the results he was getting, he moved to the right. She moaned, arching her back against the wall, wishing she had done away with her jeans by now.

As if reading her mind, Evan picked her up by her bottom and carried her over to the pool table, his mouth never leaving hers. He set her down, giving himself access to easily undo her jeans and pull them off, along with her panties. Harper leaned her arms on the table and lifted her hips in cooperation.

“On the pool table?” she asked, surprised. “Won’t this wreck the felt?”

“Totally worth it,” he said, tugging his pants down and off. Lining himself up with the table, he pulled her to him, bringing their bodies together where they most wanted to connect. Kissing her hard, letting his tongue find hers, he pressed himself into her sex for a deliciously long moment. Giving her a look of greedy anticipation as he pulled away, Evan dropped to his knees in front of her. Parting her legs with his hands, he gently held her thighs as he let his tongue dip into her already wet core. Moaning at the taste, he licked her slowly, over and over, with long drags before plunging his tongue into her. “I love how you taste. I could never get enough of it.”

Harper’s back arched involuntarily, begging him to go deeper. Harder. Faster. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table as she lowered her bottom and lifted her legs over his shoulders. Gliding her hands along her tummy and up to her breasts, she caressed herself as they surrendered to this moment. They were back in their own world again, where no one else existed and time had no meaning. There was no past, no fear of tomorrow. There was only tonight.

Evan slid his hands from her thighs to her centre now, parting her with his thumbs, making room for his tongue to delve in as far as possible. Rubbing, licking, rolling his tongue over and over until he could feel her tense around him and heard her cry out with the pleasure he was giving her. That sound—those moans—had somehow become that which he craved endlessly. When her body finally relaxed and she released him, he stood, skimming his large hands over the silk of her skin. Up from her thighs to her neck, then back down again. He gazed at Harper, her breasts rising and falling as her breathing slowed, her cheeks flushed, her waves of beautiful hair resting on the felt of the table. He revelled in the pleasure of what he saw and what he felt as his fingertips moved over her. She was his and he would let nothing stand in the way of this. She was worth the risk.

Harper reached for him, interlacing her hands in his, pulling him down to her, kissing his lips. He pressed his thick length against her sex as he felt himself throb with pleasure and desire. He needed this. They needed this. He watched her as he lifted his hips toward her, his body tensing with excitement as he moved over her. His eyes met hers and he heard her breath hitch as he gazed back at her with the full intensity of his need. He entered her slowly, ever so slowly, each inch bringing new intensity. He filled her completely, touching every nerve in her body as he pulled her up so that she was sitting, their chests meeting as their mouths joined. Pivoting back and forth, harder and harder each time, he thrust himself into her as if his very life depended on it. He kept his eyes on hers as they became one tangled mess of emotion, longing and passion. And now, clutching each other as they came undone, they were one.

“You outdid yourself, Harper. Seriously.” Megan had forced herself to wait four days to look at the wedding pictures, so that she could do it when both Harper and Luc were there. The three crowded around her computer, scrolling through the shots for the second time. Megan’s hands moved at lightning speed as she selected the best ones, depositing them into a folder of shots to be edited.

“Thank you, Harper. You did a wonderful job,” Luc remarked, leaning toward the screen to examine each photo closely. “I guess it makes sense that you would have an eye for it, but you really seem to know how to work the camera as well. Have you had any formal training?”

“Never any classes or anything. I was a photographer’s assistant for two years while I worked my way up. A couple of the photographers were excellent teachers.”

“Well, you’re quite talented.” Luc said. “That one of Elliott kissing Amelie’s foot is perfection. I want to frame that one.”

Megan glanced up at him. “Definitely. It just captures the spirit of the day. Pure joy.”

“Oh, it was. Elliott was just one big grin all afternoon,” Harper said.

Megan turned to her friend. “Say, you wouldn’t want to do this professionally, would you?”

“You mean like start my own business and try to compete with you?” Harper teased.

“No,” Megan laughed. “I mean like come work with me. You know how I’ve been struggling to keep up since Amelie was born. With your eye for setting up shots and your knack for getting people’s best angles, I think we could do well together. Really well. I mean, look at this one—you captured exactly how Luc and I feel about each other, right there. You chose the perfect moment to take the shot. The lighting, the way you zoomed in and blurred out the background. It’s as good as any photo I’ve ever taken, and I’ve been at this for years.”

Megan was interrupted by Amelie waking from her nap. Luc kissed his new wife on the shoulder. “I’ll go. You two talk business,” he said as he started toward the stairs. “But first, let me say I think it’s a terrific idea. You two would complement each other so well, and with Harper on board, there would be an entirely new way to market your services.”