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Beside me, Harper goes stiff, and I take a moment to consider what Jeremy said about the two of us. Had he set this up? Normally I wouldn’t care, would play up to the camera for my fans, but Harper isn’t okay with this, and I guess I don’t blame her. She’s a single mom doing her best to raise her son. She didn’t sign on for having her face splashed in the papers with mine.
“Not a good time,” I say, and he shoves a microphone in my face. I’m about one second from grabbing it and smashing it, but stop when Harper’s hand lands on my back.
“You go ahead, Liam. Your fans will want this and it’s good for your career. I’ll get Gavin into the car. We’ll wait for you.”
While I appreciate her thoughtfulness, I don’t want to put this guy and his interview before her and Gavin. Then again, I have no doubt Jeremy set this up for the exact purpose of cleaning up my image with this wholesome woman and her son. She backs up, takes Gavin’s hand, and they both climb into my truck.
“What do you want to know?”
“Who’s the new lady and boy in your life?” he asks, as he holds the microphone inches from my mouth.
I snort. “Friends, and I’m sure you already know who they are.” This is the media; they would have done their researc
h.
“What’s the cake for? You going to a party?”
“Yes, and I have to go. If you want an interview to talk about hockey, check with the team’s publicist.”
I don’t like the grin on his face as he backs away, and I slide into the driver’s seat and note the tightness in Harper’s shoulders. I glance in the rearview mirror as the guy climbs back in his van.
“You okay?” I ask and put my hand on her arm.
“I really don’t want my face in the paper with yours, Liam,” she says, and I try not to react like she just kicked me in the nuts. But I get it. I have a reputation, and she doesn’t want to get mixed up with me—outside the bedroom anyway.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t behind that.”
“I didn’t think you were. I just…I can’t be photographed with you.” She bites her lip, and stares straight ahead and I get the sense that she wants to say more on the subject, but then she glances at the dashboard clock and says, “We should get going.”
My stomach is tight, uneasy as I drive to her friends’ place and wait in the car as she runs in to get Holden. On one hand, I can’t blame her for not wanting to be seen in public with me, coming from my house in a situation that could be deemed intimate, but on the other hand, it rips a goddamn hole in my gut.
In the back seat, Gavin talks endlessly about the video games they’re going to play tonight, and I glance around the cute neighborhood. It’s mostly small bungalows, with basketball and hockey nets, and toys left in the driveway for another day’s play. I find myself smiling because it reminds me of the way I grew up. I bet Mom and Dad and all my annoying sisters would love Harper and Gavin. Mom’s been after me to come home for a Sunday dinner, and I guess I should make a point to do that before August and I’m gone.
I shake off the troubled feeling coursing through me as Holden comes running to the car, and he stops at the driver’s side door. I’ve yet to meet him, and I wonder if he’s going to tell me Alek is his favorite. I open my door. “Hey buddy,” I say, and he just stands there and smiles at me. I gesture to the back seat. “Hop in, Gavin has something for you.”
Harper sets his booster seat into the back and he’s talking nonstop as he jumps in and the look on his face when Gavin hands him the hat is priceless.
Harper slides into the passenger seat. “I think he likes it.”
“No kidding.”
I drive them the short distance to Harper’s place and she jumps out with the boys to meet the sitter. A few minutes later, she’s back in the car with me, and I lean into her, catching her by surprise, and press my lips to hers.
“What was that for?” she asks.
“That was just a warm up of things to come.” She frowns. “What?”
“Tera just told me she’s not going to be able to spend the night with the boys, so I’ll have to come back here after the party.”
I shrug. “I’m not seeing a problem here.”
“I’m sure you’ll want to go home and sleep in your own bed. My little bungalow is so small, squishy even.”
“Are you that sure of me, Harper?” I ask, thinking after the last couple of weeks she might know me better than that. She eyes me and I give her another kiss. “I want to be in whatever bed you’re in, and I don’t care if it’s my house or yours, okay?”
“Okay,” she says with a soft sigh, her lips still poised, ready for more kisses. I brush my thumb over her plump bottom lip. Her eyes slowly open and she adds, “I’m going to be the designated driver tonight, because when we come back here to sleep, I have to be on high alert, in case one of the boys wake or gets sick or needs anything.”
“No, you’re not,” I tell her, not needing alcohol as long as I have her by my side, and that is one messed up situation, because I only have her for a little while longer. She certainly made sure I knew that earlier. Why the hell does that bother me so much?
