Pretend You're Mine(70)

But the ache in her chest? Well, that never left her for long.

Not with Luke Garrison seven thousand miles away and one month into his six-month deployment commanding his National Guard unit in Afghanistan.

“Bank’s looking good tonight, Harp.” Sophie winked from her position behind the taps. “What kind of treasure are we spending our hard earned tips on?”

Harper tucked the back of her Remo’s polo back into her denim skirt before hoisting her tray. It was their favorite game to play at work. “Matching unicorn tattoos.”

“Love it!”

Her tray full of beer and her mind full of Luke, Harper spun back into the fray.

A month into it and she was still getting used to being in a very real, very long distance relationship. They had planned to go their separate ways, parting as friends. She had been trying to prepare herself to mourn their relationship while forging a new life alone.

But one word had changed everything.

Stay.

His text had arrived just as the full reality of saying good-bye had hit her. Sitting in his truck sobbing at the thought of a life without Luke. Her hands shook so hard she could barely reply to the text.

What??

I want to come home to you. Stay.

It wasn’t an “I love you,” but it was enough. His text had found its way through her despair and given her hope. He was offering her a life and a future. With him.

They had talked that night before his flight. And a desperate hope had bloomed in her chest.

“I got on that bus and realized that if you weren’t there when I came home I’d go back to the same existence. And I don’t want to just exist anymore. Baby, I know it’s a lot to ask. Six months is a long time to wait, but I want you there,” he told her.

Her eyes swam in tears as she nodded silently. “Luke, if there’s anyone worth waiting six months for, it’s you.”

“Back at you, baby.”

So she stayed. She canceled her interview in Fremont and unpacked her boxes and bags. And her first night alone in his house, she went stark raving mad.

Knowing that it would be six long months before she felt Luke’s hard body raging over her, or caught a quick glimpse of that dimple, fed her desperation to find a distraction.

But what?

Since moving to Benevolence her entire focus had been on Luke. Luke’s incredible body, Luke’s home, Luke’s work. Luke’s really incredible body.

That first night, she lay awake in the center of the bed wearing one of his t-shirts and stared at the ceiling until dawn. For the first time in her life, she had stability, she had a future. She just didn’t know what to do with it.

She did her best to stay busy.

Harper took up knitting. Until she pierced her knuckle with the knitting needle and bled all over the silky ivory yarn that wasn’t looking anything like the pattern anyway. Scrapbooking was next. Until she realized she had nothing to scrapbook. There were only so many silly stickers and borders you could stick to a page without any actual photos.

Finally, Sophie took pity on her and offered up a weekly shift at Remo’s to get Harper out of the house on Friday nights. Sophie bartended while Harper called on her college experience and waited tables. The tips were good, and it was the perfect way to get to know the residents of Benevolence. Sooner or later, everyone showed up at Remo’s for dinner, for drinks, for conversation.

Of course, most of the customers knew her name before they even met her.

Small towns.

Luke was not thrilled when she told him in their first video chat.

“No, Harper. Absolutely not,” he said, his tone clipped.

“Are you using your captain voice on me right now?” she asked him in disbelief.

The look he leveled at her through the computer had her grinning. He took a deep breath and tried another tack. “What I meant to say is I really don’t like the idea of you closing on a Friday night by yourself. It’s too late, and what if there’s trouble? Who’s going to help you?” She could see the frustration on his face.

“Luke, you don’t need to worry about this.”

“I hate not being around to protect you.”

“It’s not your job to protect me.”

“Yes. It is. And I take it very seriously. So if something happens to you I’m going to be fucking pissed.”

“I love you. That’s the reason I’m doing this. I miss you so much it hurts to breathe. Sometimes I can’t fall asleep because all I can do is feel this hole in my heart. This shift will help me keep my mind off of missing you.”

He sighed. “Baby, I miss you, too. Every time I wake up and you’re not in my arms it’s like a knife in the gut. But I need you to be safe. Promise me, Harper, that you’ll take every precaution.”