Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,327

moment would have tipped her over the edge. Any doubt she had that this was the right choice evaporated at the look of total happiness in his eyes.

With a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a follow-up appointment in six weeks, they left the clinic hand in hand. Harper was still on cloud nine after watching Ethan carefully tuck one of the pictures into his wallet.

“You hungry?” he asked, sliding his sunglasses into place.

“I could eat.”

“Would Thai make you want to throw up?” he asked. “We can go anywhere you want, but the best place in the city is just a couple of blocks from here.”

Pad Thai sounded amazing right now. She smiled and took his hand. “Sounds perfect.” Now she appreciated walking with the blue sky overhead. It suited her mood. This was the beginning of something great; she could feel it in her bones.

And she had not been able to stop smiling in the past thirty minutes.

They’d gone one block when her phone buzzed. When she checked, it was a text from her mother.

Need you at attorney’s office. Very important. Please hurry.

She hadn’t heard from her parents since the night at the restaurant. This sudden need for her presence, without a single word about the recent tabloid headlines, felt off.

“My mother. They want me at the attorney’s office as soon as possible.”

“Do you know why?” Ethan said.

They’d stopped walking and Ethan ushered her from the middle of the sidewalk, his hand on her back and his body between her and the people walking by.

“Not a clue. They’ve never involved me in meetings with their attorney.” Harper blew out a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Seriously, what could they want? “The last time I saw my mom and dad, I made it clear I wasn’t going to pretend my father did nothing wrong anymore.”

“It’s your call, but maybe you should go,” Ethan told her. “See what they have to say and if you don’t like it, tell their attorney to put it on record. They can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. And I’ll be right there with you.”

She pushed up onto her toes and pressed her lips against his. “Thank you.”

“I’m here, Harper. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to take care of you. You just gotta trust that.” He took control of the kiss and by the time he pulled away, she was feeling more than a little hazy.

“I do trust that, Ethan.” And she really did. Which was why she texted her mother back three words. I’ll be there.

Twenty minutes later, Ethan’s driver pulled up to a shiny glass fronted building. Ethan’s hand was at her lower back the entire walk in.

As she gave the receptionist her name, a voice boomed out from behind her.

“What the hell are you doing here, Wentworth?”

They both swung around to see Anderson Scott, one of the partners at the firm, standing there glaring at Ethan.

“He’s with me,” she said. “My mother asked me to come by.”

“And I’m waiting for her until she’s done,” Ethan growled, the menace in his voice clear to anyone else listening in the room. “Got a problem with that?” Ethan lifted one eyebrow, a cocky as hell move that made Scott glare even harder, but he clenched his jaw and glanced around.

Clearly he wasn’t about to make a scene.

“I’ll show you to the office, Ms. Matheson. You,” he pointed at Ethan, “wait here.”

Ethan turned to Harper, ignoring the man waiting. He cupped her jaw and he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. There was steely determination in his eyes and it made her heart thump harder against her ribs. He was there for her and he wasn’t going anywhere. “You need anything, I am right here. Don’t let any of those assholes jerk you around, okay?”

She knew he also meant her parents.

“Okay.” Harper turned and pressed her lips to his hand.

His eyes flamed with desire before he leaned down and took her lips. It wasn’t a quick peck. It was a stake of ownership, a dare to anyone looking not to fuck with her or they’d go through him, and damned if it didn’t give her the courage she needed to walk down the hall behind Scott.

Inside the corner office sat her mother and father. When she met their stares, her mother gave her a pleased smile, and her father looked at her approvingly. Considering the last things she’d said to him, his attitude felt a little off.

“Ms. Matheson,