I nearly fell over backwards into the fountain when Harper kissed me. She pressed her lips lightly over mine, almost a whispered touch and at first I wasn't sure she'd even made contact. While my lips tingled and heart pumped harder, my eyes stayed open because she'd shocked the hell out of me.

"Harper..." I whispered into her lips. "What -"

"Sorry." She pulled back slightly but her fingers softly rubbed over my jaw. "I just -"

"Don't," I interrupted her, then closed the gap between us and covered my mouth over hers.

Warm, soft, and yep, buttery seafood-flavored, Harper's lips felt just as good as I remembered, and I missed how they felt smashed against mine. She jolted at the contact, which bumped her nose against mine and her sharp exhale rushed hot air over my cheek.

"What the fuck am I doing?" She pulled back with a gasp and cupped her hand over her mouth. Her pupils were slightly larger but shock filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I have -"

"The worst sense of denial I've ever met if you think I didn't want that..." If she were anyone else, then I would've asked if that kiss was just for sympathy, but I cupped one arm around Harper so she stayed on my lap, and pulled out my phone with the other.

My thumb flipped through it until I opened my own video evidence, Drake's apology effort he'd sent me after Ethan was expelled. At the time, I hadn't known there was more to the conversation, but Harper's version that she'd played for me yesterday filled in the gaps.

As her voice rang out from my phone, her eyes widened, her hand clamped harder over her mouth, and her fingers depressed into her cheeks.

"There isn't a single fucking thing you can do, not even if you sleep with him, because he's mine. Sure, plenty have had his dick but in mind, soul, and heart, Jake Harrison is mine."

"I am," I growled out quietly as my other hand lifted hers off her mouth, cupped behind her head, and slammed her lips back against mine.

She made a whimper-like sound that vibrated my lips as I molded them with hers, push for push and pull for pull. Her fingers slipped up the back of my neck, threaded up through my hair, and her nails sank into my scalp.

Fuck, I missed that.

"Woah, wait..." she gasped, tugged on my hair, and pulled us apart. "This whole time... You knew!?"

"Sure did." My lips curled up at the corners at the sight of her larger pupils, two black mirrors that reflected my face in them, and pink cheeks. "That's why I waited for you."

I meant every word because, in her own way, Harper had shown that she was in my corner. Even if I wasn't fully aware at the time, or had my own head shoved too far up my ass, now I saw her intentions a lot more clearly.

"But why..." She dipped her head down but kept her hands' grasp on the back of my head. "Why did you do that?"

My thumb and index finger found the tip of her chin and guided her gaze back to mine. With how long I'd waited to say the words to her, I was surprised at how easily they flowed out my mouth, "Because I want more with you, Harper."

"I'm not going to say I don't either..." Uncertainty flooded into her eyes and trembled her lower lip, which drew my hand to her cheek. "But I'm shit at relationships, Jake."

I had absolutely no idea why but her admission relaxed my shoulders and brought a smile to my face.

Maybe it means she's not running away from dealing with her fear anymore.

"So am I." My lips twitched wider as a sparkle of amusement shone through her nerves. "One day at a time until we'll figure it out."

Since she still looking unconvinced, I added gently, "Look, I'm not asking you to marry me, not asking you to move in with me, fuck I'm not even asking to be your boyfriend. I just want a fucking chance to show you that I should be."

If I was truly honest, then I admitted how I wanted her convinced without a doubt that she deserved to be shown unconditional love but held back those words. I'd spent enough time around Hightower to know that while he was the best brother-in-law candidate I could've asked for, Harper and I were nowhere near that stage of our own personal lives.

Which is fine. Right now, I just want... time.

Harper pulled back and her eyes studied mine. Each second ticked by slower and my heart thumped against my chest walls under their scrutiny, like she gauged whether I was serious or not but I just sat silent because I'd never been so fucking serious when it came to her.

"Time and patience, firecracker," I stressed in a tight voice but stroked the pad of my thumb over her lower lip. "That's what I want."

"That's the worst offer I've ever heard." She smirked and slid off my lap, which flushed a cooler sensation over me. I stood up and my hand found hers when she added, "I'll take it."

"Good," was all I said, although internally I wanted to burst into celebratory fireworks. I pressed my lips gently over hers, then looked back up at the hotel. "Let's get back before we're missed."

The next day, my walk from the hotel's exit door to the exterior altar seemed endless. An ocean breeze picked up the ends of Ellie's dress and her long, dark hair that Harper had curled over Ellie's shoulder.

My heart pounded heavily with each step, steps that shouldn't have been mine but I happily filled in for Ellie's day. Her eyes were glossy like mirrors, she glowed in a simple, strapless white dress, and her hand gripped my upper arm for support.

Under Hightower's choice, I wore a simple, white dress shirt, light gray linen pants, and my feet were as bare as Ellie's as we walked across the cool, damp sand. A single row of five white beach chairs on each side of the aisle and a simple white arch stood where her future husband stared at my little sister like she was his entire world.

The thoughts that ran through my head were slightly different.

Don't step on her feet or dress, Jake.

Tightness closed up my throat and I fixed my eyes ahead, past the wet eyes from Ellie's friends and relatives. Soft gasps, sniffles, and 'aww's' greeted her but I kept my eyes forward because I knew if I glanced down at Ellie then I would've cried like a total sap.

On the other side of the officiant, a short man with black hair and a wide smile, stood Harper. She wore a simple, strapless, light blue dress that made her eyes look piercingly beautiful. A thigh cut exposed one of her long legs as a breeze tugged on the skirt. Her hair hung straight and natural, with just the top strands pulled behind her ears with clips.

I'd seen dresses on Harper before but never like this and, once she grabbed my attention, she had it. Words I'd never have associated with her, like feminine, simple, and delicate, floated through my mind. Softness graced her face as she gazed first at Ellie, then me. Her lips were parted slightly and small tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.

Once she caught me staring, her mouth snapped shut and eyes sparkled. I shot her a small wink to let her know I caught her soft side, which earned me a quiet cough and she glanced away. Part of me welcomed that, I like I was the only one who saw her guard dropped because all eyes were understandably on Ellie and Logan.

Even though today was their day, my heart soared at the chance Harper had agreed to give us a chance. I'm sure if she knew that was my reaction then she pretended that she reconsidered, but she had no idea how fucking serious I was and looked forward to proving how I felt to her.

Something I've never done for... anyone. Shit, I'd better start tonight.

I shook my head of Harper-related thoughts when I realized I needed to hold myself together while I walked Ellie down the aisle. Having never thought any guy deserved my baby sister, Logan proved me wrong. I needed my fist punched in his face and a lot of time before I trusted him, but he'd earned it.

With a stiff nod, I silently offered my approval as we neared the altar, but his eyes were only locked on my sister's face. I glanced down and she wore the same look, like they saw no one else and exchanged a piece of each other without saying a single word.

At the thought, my chest tightened, as did my grip on Ellie's hand. She gently tugged against it, then reached up on her toes and brushed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

She pulled back, smiled brightly up at me, and mouthed, "It's okay."

Both of us knew she really meant, 'Let me go.' Before my movements registered in my brain, my arms hugged her against my chest. She stood in a stiff-back position, wrapped her arms around me, and gently patted my back.

"Jake..." Logan stepped forwards and slapped a hand warmly on my shoulder.

Heat rose into my cheeks when I realized that wasn't part of the ceremony, but both grinned at me when I pulled back from Ellie. Logan shook my hand, then I took my place behind him.

A familiar smirk spread across Harper's face across from the officiant and she mouthed, 'Softie.' I replied with a 'fuck you,' and she pretended that she scratched the side of her forehead with her ocean-side middle finger.

Fuck, I even missed that.

As Logan and Ellie turned towards each other and shared their vows, I caught Harper's looks of awe at them. With loving words and assurances exchanged with their rings, my hands were the first that smacked together in clapping once they were announced as husband and wife.

Harper handed Ellie her bouquet, just a handful of white lilies that I was pretty sure my sister swiped from the hotel lobby, then hooked her arm in my elbow. "Saw that, tough guy," she teased me quietly as we walked down the aisle.

"Like you weren't affected by that," I tossed back.

"How couldn't I be?" she mused quietly and shifted her eyes to where Ellie and Logan embraced each their moms, then Brody.

Brody was the last guest here, who arrived late last night after the rehearsal dinner ended. Harper managed to turn his entire face red when she hugged him, poked his cheeks with her fingers, and called him Dimples.

Poor kid.

Unfortunately, with Brody's San Francisco setup, he was probably also the first to leave. But I knew by the way Logan and Ellie both embraced him that they were glad he'd made it for the ceremony.

The sight of Mom and Ellie's tight hug swelled a lump in my throat. Harper also trembled next to me. The movement snapped my attention and I wrapped my arm around her bare shoulders, which were covered in goosebumps.

"It's alright," I whispered into her ear and rubbed my fingers over her upper arm. "I'm here."

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment and she exhaled slowly, but nodded. Bright sky-blue greeted me, full of appreciation, and her lips pulled into a shaky smile.

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

"Ellie and Logan had the right idea," Harper offered to me during what they'd organized as the wedding reception.

The twelve of us gathered around a large, beachfront table at the hotel's restaurant, until we shrunk down by two when Logan hauled Ellie over his shoulder and carted her off to their room.

"Are you saying you want to get married someday, Harper?" My hand rested comfortably on Harper's closest thigh, where my fingers had softly stroked over her skin with just as much teasing as her skirt's slit offered when she sat down next to me for dinner. "Figured you were more of a runaway bride."

Instead of the sarcastic insult I'd expected, she just blinked a few times, then shook her head. From across the table, her dad sat up straighter in his seat and, like he'd done for the entire dinner, glanced between us a few times. I couldn't blame him because one of my arms was slung around the back of her chair and the other rested on her leg, although I'd made sure that one was hidden by our tablecloth.

"But I agree on the no big wedding shit," I responded to Harper's earlier comment and stroked my thumb on the warm, soft skin in her inner thigh. "This was a lot nicer than I expected. Nice location, no drama, lameass speeches dismissed, none of my drunk cousins hitting on you..."

"Don't tell me you're drunk and going to start hitting on me," she teased and popped a piece of pineapple into her mouth. "Your pickup lines always were absolute shit."

"I don't need pickup lines." My chest puffed up a little and I grinned at her. "Not with you. You trip and land with my dick in your mouth, remember?"

Before she argued, I trailed my hand higher up her thigh, until both clamped tightly together and surrounded my hand with walls of heat. Without a check, I knew she wasn't wearing any underwear and while my fingers twitched for a check, I wasn't going there when her Dad's eyes were on us from his end of the table.

I can still tease her though.

That was my plan since the wedding ceremony ended. I knew Harper was affected by touch so I'd made sure some part of me was in contact, from my leg pressed against hers to how I nearly draped myself over her side. While I was beyond obvious with my attention, which everyone in the wedding party noticed as their initially confused looks shifted into knowing smiles, I worked patiently even though every cell in my body burned with heat from the close proximity.

After Logan and Ellie left, a few wedding guests lingered, including Harper and me. After Mom wished us goodnight, Harper's Dad and Logan's mom were the next who stood from the table, but they stepped closer to us.

"We're turning in too," Mr. Reynolds offered as his eyes ran up from my shoulder to where my hand rested behind Harper's chair.

"Don't want the details, Dad." Harper rolled her eyes but smiled warmly as Grace hugged her tightly.

"Well, I do," he said pointedly, with slightly narrowed eyes. "You told me about Eddie but not... this?"

My feet planted flat on the floor and I shot up like my seat was an active volcano. "Mr. Reynolds, may I please have a word?"

"Yes, please," he replied in a cool, even tone but concern flashed through his brown eyes by the time we faced each other a few steps away. The nearby tiki torches flickered highlights that reflected off his glasses.

My hands slipped into my pockets and I nodded in Harper's direction. "I just want to tell you how much she means to me and I'm going to do my best to treat her how she deserves."

Mr. Reynolds surprised me with his softly admitted, "She's fiercely stubborn and not an easy person to love, Jake. Her mother and I are to blame for part of that but she's... been making real strides in making some deeper emotional connections and changing for the better."

His eyes flipped back to Grace and his expression softened. "We both are. All I hope is that she moves forwards, this hasn't been an easy year for her."

"No." My stomach dropped at my contribution towards that. "She hasn't. But I want to move forward too... with her."

His eyes studied me for a long time, probably looked for my intentions but I just silently held my ground until he relented, "I probably see more than Harper realizes and I've always taken a backseat to her... relationships. But even I know that she's always been fond of you, in her own way."

My heart flipped at his admission.

"Just be a bit more careful in the privacy department, Jacob," he ended in a dry tone.

"Yes, Sir," I mumbled and shifted my eyes back to Harper's seat. With zero subtlety, she sat with her chin cupped in her hand and a curious gaze fixed on us.

"And good luck for next year." His hand extended, which I shook tightly. "Hope to see you around."

Mr. Reynolds nodded again, then raised a hand at Harper. His arm wrapped around Grace's shoulders, who patted his chest silently then walked out of the restaurant patio area.

"Do I even want to know?" Harper teased when I resumed my seat next to her and slipped my hands back in place.

"Told him my intentions," I offered with a sly grin and gently rubbed her leg. "And before you turn that dirty, my real intentions. You and me, what I should've done the first time I saw you in LA."

Her eyes widened slightly when I tensed my fingers into the skin on her inner thigh. As I kneaded soft circles, her lips rolled inward for a moment. "Why the sex buddies offer then?"

"Because I was fucking selfish at first," I admitted with a sigh. "I knew you could make me feel good and give me the release I needed during the season. But the longer we went, the more I... wanted more."

Her voice softened and eyes filled with guilt. "Even after what I did, you still feel that way?"

"Fuck, if I'm honest... I don't think that's ever changed." My hand on her thigh lifted and cupped her warm cheek. "I was just too fucking stupid or in denial to notice."

Her lips pulled back into a shaky smile, then she tipped her glass of wine up to me. "I'm going to need to finish this if you're going there."

"And I think that's enough." My hand wrapped around hers in a blanket of warmth over the cool glass, which I slid out of her hand. "I need you at least partially conscious for what I want to do with you tonight."

"I'm pretty sure I can still insult you just as much if I'm drunk." Her lips curled up and a sparkle appeared in her eyes.

"You always were my favorite person to insult me." I matched her smirk with my own and looked straight into her eyes because fuck, she was my favorite insulter.

Not sure what that says about me but I did always appreciate the thought she put into them.

Like her own... wait a minute.

My chest tightened as I looked down at her and all of her 'I hate you' accusations replayed through my mind. There were a lot, probably hundreds over the past seven years. Some of them I'd deserved, like when I'd teased her choice of hair color or acted like an ass when another guy hit on her in high school, but the most recent ones slowly pulled a smile across my face.

In my mind, I saw her face wrenched in anxiety, fists tight, and tears in her eyes because her words were deeper rooted in emotion...

Fuck, 'hate' is not what she actually meant.

I wasn't sure if Harper herself was even aware of that but right now, her at my side was enough.

In the spirit of full honesty, in my bed would actually be -

"Someone needs to call you out on your bullshit, Harrison." She waved a hand that gestured at all of me, dragged from my head down and knocked her fist onto my knee. "Because you're completely full of it."

"Yeah but we both know you secretly like it." My grin widened and I leaned over and pressed my lips into the top of her head. Her hair smelled faintly of vanilla, which I breathed in but fuck, the rest of her smelled like pineapple.

How much has she eaten? Oh, fuck, that means...

My mouth dried slightly at that unfinished thought.

"Like the size of your dick..." Harper held up one hand with her thumb and index finger two inches apart. "Just a teeny, tiny bit."

"Harper..." I leaned further forwards and her breaths shortened as my lips brushed against her ear because, if anything, she made it swell bigger. "Hitting below the belt, huh?"

"If you think that I have any interest below your belt..." She dragged her eyes down my chest, right to my crotch. Thankfully, my linen pants had a lot of extra fabric, so she couldn't see the semi I sported under them. "Then you are sorely mistaken."

"Call me mistaken then." I slid my seat closer, until my knees caged her seat. I kept my face close to her ear and breathed a few times until goosebumps lifted on the side of her neck. "But we both know you'll be screaming out my name tonight."

"Ugh, are you drunk?" She playfully shoved my shoulder and tried to put some distance between us but the trail of goosebumps down the curve of her neck and over her shoulder said otherwise. "You of all guys should know cheesy pick up lines don't work on me."

"Fair enough..." My eyebrows lifted and I accepted her challenge, "I don't know what you think of me but it'd better be dirty and X-rated."

"My hands feel cold..." She looked up at me under her eyelashes and fuck, that look sent a flush of warmth through me. "Can I put them in your pants to warm up?"

Even though she teased, my cock couldn't have cared less.

"If I told you that I loved your body." I raked my eyes raked over her shamelessly, from the faint pink tint in her chest to the slight peek of cleavage her dress offered from an above angle. The enticing valley practically screamed that I buried my nose in between for a full-coverage view. "Would you let me pin it under mine?"

"Pfft, weak." Harper rolled her eyes and clamped her hand onto my thigh. "Are you a candle? Because I could blow you."

"Do you have a bandage?" I pushed out with a low chuckle because the way her hand now crept upward drew in a sharp breath. "Because I'm going to fall down onto my knees for you."

I should do that tonight, see if she really does taste like -

She reached over and gently ran her fingers under the hem of my shirt, and smiled when I bristled slightly at the strokes she tickled over my lower abdomen. Her eyes shot me a heated gaze as she dragged along the waistline of my pants and my gut clenched. "Your pants look really tight. I can loosen them if you want."

"Harper..." My voice came out an octave lower than normal, like a warning. But then I added, "I'm wasted but the condom in my pocket doesn't have to be."

I really wasn't, both wasted and carrying a condom. Half of my single beer, which I'd held up during Logan's 'we're not doing speeches' speech, remained untouched in the bottom of the bottle next to my half-eaten steak.

"You can do better than that, Jake." Her left eye fluttered closed in a wink. "Are you a burger patty? Because you can be the meat between my buns."

"If you wear a road sign, then you'd read dangerous curves ahead." I dragged one hand under her arm, trailed the tips of my fingers over her ribs, and followed the side direction of her dress' fabric around the curve of her waist. Her chest pitched and sharp inhale hit my ears as I grazed my fingers gently over the side of her breast, then pulled back and smiled because it was no accidental, inadvertent contact.

Her eyes burned with a deeper fire than the torches that lit the outdoor space around us, her pupils black and round over the backdrop of light blue. They dropped down to my lap, which now sported a hard-on I wouldn't have hidden from her anyways, and her lips rolled inward as she wet them.

"Are you my homework?" she rushed out in a shaky voice. "You seem hard and ready to be done on my desk."

And there's my in.

"Yep." I grabbed my hand and yanked her up to standing. Her feet trailed behind me and I waved goodnight to Ellie and Logan's leftover friends.

With long, determined steps, I dragged Harper behind me, my hand clamped onto her wrist. She didn't protest, just stepped behind me and curled her fingers in between mine, but her feet stopped when mine reached the stairs.

In a quick turn, my arms caged around her and I smashed my lips hard against hers. She was ready and pushed back in a desperate clash of lips, teeth, and groans. My hands cupped her waist and she sank her fingers into my shoulders. The sweet, acidic taste of her tongue met mine as I pushed mine between the seam of her hips and stroked hard, desperate for a taste.

My skin burned the longer we kissed, the more she melted against me and my groans increased in volume and frequency. Friction rubbed at our contact points but the thin fabric of her skirt and my pants was still too much of a barrier. My cock swelled up painfully hard and throbbed aches through my pelvis.

"Tell me you want this." I pulled off and pressed my lips hard at the junction of where her ear met her jawline. "I want you so fucking much but -"

"Stop." Both her hands cupped my cheeks and when her eyes met mine, her lips were pink, swollen, and parted from her uneven breaths. They curled up at the corners and her eyes shot me a look that rushed ache straight down into my balls.

"Right." I stepped back with a ragged breath. "Sorry."

"Jake..." Her head tipped away from the stairs. "I meant, my room is that way."