Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Because he loves you and if you love Jensen, then your dad is going to try to make sure Jensen has what he needs to be good for you,” Ruby replied. “Because I think in some ways your dad sees himself as the you.”
Oh, so many tears now. “Mom struggled in the beginning. Because she loved them but didn’t think she was worthy. And he was brave when it was hard for him. He was brave because he knew he wouldn’t ever love anyone the way he loved my mom. I’m not being brave.”
“And that’s okay. You need some time, but don’t shut and lock doors you might need to open later,” Ruby advised. “Your relationship with Niall started out as friendship. I don’t think that’s how it went with Jensen though, right?”
“We pretty much fell in bed the first night, and it was all passion and fighting and fucking.” Ruby’s words were forcing her to examine the situation. She was right. Harlow had been running on adrenaline for hours. She needed to sleep and think. “We didn’t work on a friendship, but that was what was great about the last week. I liked spending time with him. I liked how when I wanted to be alone, they had each other. It felt natural to be with them in a way it didn’t before.”
“So take time before you make decisions. Not with Niall. I think you know what you want with him, and if you only want him if Jensen comes with him, then you need to let him go.”
Harlow shook her head and reached for her cell. “I want him. I love him. No matter what happens with Jensen, I want to be with him if he wants me. Would you mind taking me to his place if he’s there?”
She dialed his number while Ruby said yes and took the car out of park.
“Hello, Harlow,” Niall said. “Are you all right? Are you still at your mom’s?”
Just hearing his voice made the tears fall faster. “I’m so sorry I was cold to you.”
“Princess, you were processing. It’s all right. I love you. I’m waiting for you,” he assured her.
“Then I can come over? I want to talk.”
“You could go to my place but I kind of already broke into yours. I wasn’t letting you sleep alone tonight,” he replied.
She hung up and thanked her friend and ran through the rain for the lobby. Need ran through her. Need to see him, to assure herself he was okay. He would tell her if Jensen was all right.
When the elevator opened on her floor, he was standing there. He opened his arms.
And she was safe again.
* * * *
Jensen stood in the big lobby of the building he was staying in. The Club was part office building, part BDSM club, and part luxury hotel/condos. It was absolutely unlike any place he’d ever been in.
This was Harlow’s world and yet he could still see her laughing and having fun in his rundown childhood home. He could see her sitting by the river with her feet in the water, sipping an iced tea.
This might be her world, the one she grew up in, but she wasn’t some spoiled rotten princess who couldn’t appreciate anything without a designer label. Harlow could be happy in any number of places.
He hoped she could be happy with Niall. He prayed for that.
It had been three days since he’d moved from his hospital room to the gorgeous one bedroom with a balcony and a glorious view of Dallas. It was stunning, but all he could do as he sat out there at night was think about her.
Niall had called and promised she was doing well. Niall told him they were moving between his crappy loft and Harlow’s place while he was getting back into the groove of working. They were planning on going to The Hideout this weekend.
He wished them all the good things in the world.
Maybe one day she would be able to look at him again. Maybe one day they could be friends.
Fuck, he missed her. He missed her and missed Niall and missed the him he might have been if he hadn’t walked out that door. If he’d realized what he wanted before he and Jack had gotten to Dallas.
If…
His brand-spanking-new therapist had told him to write all the if onlys down so they could move on to actual real plans that would work to achieve what Jensen wanted.
But what he wanted was her and he didn’t…
Yep. There it was. That damn intrusive voice that told him he was nothing. He was poor white trash and he wouldn’t come to anything. He was lucky the military had taken him because the only other place people thought he belonged was jail. He let his brother die.
Identify the voice. Listen to it for a moment if you feel the need. And then reply.