glass barrier between us slowly disappears.
Still, she doesn’t say a word. Instead, we continue to stare at each other like morons. I still can’t believe she’s here. Right in front of me. Close enough to touch.
I push my hands in my jeans pockets and balance on the soles of my feet. “What are you doing here, Harper?” It seems too late to greet her after all the staring and non-talking we’ve been doing, but my voice is gentle. The last thing I want to do is scare her off. I was hoping I’d see her again somehow.
After swallowing several times, she clears her throat and looks away. “I need to talk to you.”
Is something going on with her? Why is she acting so strange? Is she in trouble?
“How did you find me?” I’m not hiding or living behind gates in a mansion, even though I could afford something more elaborate than my moderate two-story house. I’m not exactly advertising anywhere online where I live either though.
“I followed you after your swim practice.” Her admission is quiet, and she still doesn’t meet my gaze.
“You’ve been sitting here for an hour?”
She nods, finally looking at me again.
“Why?”
“Because I need to talk to you but had to work up the courage to do so. It took me longer than I thought.”
That doesn’t sound good or reassuring at all. Unease rolls through me like a chilled, dark wave. There’s nothing positive in her expression. No smile or softness to her mouth or eyes. My fear grows, ready to swallow me up belly first.
I point behind me at the house. “Let’s go inside. You look like I might need to sit down for this conversation.”
Harper grimaces and nods. “You’re probably right.”
Well, crap.
She pushes the button on the door to close the window before grabbing her purse from the passenger seat and stepping outside. She’s wearing leggings and a long blouse. Very different from the black dress she wore when I met her but not any less sexy.
After locking the car, she falls into step beside me as we make our way to the house. Zane stands when we enter. I’d totally forgotten he’s still lurking around.
Naturally, he doesn’t catch the tension and grins at Harper with a warm smile. “Hey, I’m Zane, Ryan’s brother.”
Harper shakes his outstretched hand and returns the smile. It’s not as beaming as his, but it’s a smile nonetheless. “Harper. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” His gaze flickers to me, and I wordlessly tip my head in the direction of the door. He squints his eyes at me for a second, and I repeat the motion until he finally nods. “Right. I have to get back to campus. I hope to see you again soon, Harper. Ry, I’ll call you.”
He grabs his jacket from the back of the couch and a bag from the floor that looks like it might explode from all the food he’s shoved into it. No clue when he packed that, but it’s pretty much the norm every time he drops by. Visiting me is like a built-in grocery-store trip for him. I can’t complain though, he’s a good kid.
Harper and I stare quietly at the door after it closes behind Zane. The atmosphere is slightly awkward. I have no clue why she’s here, and she’s not doing a good job of hiding her discomfort either. If she’s even trying to.
“Well.” I clap my hands together, and inwardly shake my head. We didn’t have an uncomfortable moment between us the last time we spent time together, and now we seem to be stuck in one gigantic one. I point at the couch my brother vacated. “Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll get us a drink. What do you want?”
“Some water would be nice, thank you.” She walks to the couch while I head to the kitchen.
My head’s going a mile a minute, trying desperately to figure out what’s going on. I head back with our drinks and sit in the chair adjacent to the couch.
She takes the bottle I hand her and gulps down half of it.
Then we engage in our next staring match, and I feel like this is a game I don’t know the rules of.
After what seems like an eternity, she opens her mouth. The corner of her lips stick together, and her tongue darts out to wet them.
“Harper, not that I’m not happy to see you, but you—”
“I’m pregnant.” Her eyes go wide as she slaps a hand over her mouth.
I blink