That wasn’t fucking happening. Nan’s looks weren’t enough, and I had no doubt August was figuring that out. Tonight she’d played it up big. Sure, she was gorgeous. Nan had always been gorgeous, but it was only her appearance. The moment she opened her spiteful mouth her outward appearance dimmed. It wasn’t enough.
I knew she had misinterpreted the way I looked at her tonight. She was just glad to have my attention. She didn’t understand what I was looking at. She thought she’d stunned me with her looks. I was past that. Nan was a part of my past. She always would be. We had bonded over our absent parents. Nan and I had grown up with absent parents, but I didn’t let that define me. Nan did. She let it poison her. Tonight, I had seen only the bitterness and hate in her when she’d walked into the room. It was all there on her face, and I wondered how I had ever missed that. Was I that blind before . . . before . . .
Harlow?
Damn, I’d been a shallow fuck.
Glancing over at Harlow, I saw her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She was nervous. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth and she was staring straight ahead. Well, shit. I’d ignored her this entire ride and she had been sitting over there, nervous.
I was fucking this night up completely.
I reached over and pulled one of her hands free and slipped my fingers through hers. “Hey,” I said, breaking into her thoughts.
She turned her head to look at me and a forced smile touched her lips. That wasn’t going to work. If she really didn’t want to go to this damn ball then Woods could get over it. I wasn’t making her do this. I thought the fact she had dressed to make every man she passed drool meant she was ready for this. Maybe not.
“You okay?” I asked, squeezing her hand.
She nodded and didn’t say anything.
“If you don’t want to do this we’ll go somewhere else,” I told her, and waited to see what her reaction was. She stiffened. What the hell?
“Talk to me, Harlow,” I said.
Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her head to stare down at her hands, still balled up in her lap. “I think maybe I should just go home. I don’t want to be in the way.”
What?
“Whose way are you worried about being in? Has someone said something to you that I need to fucking handle?”
She didn’t look up at me. She kept staring at her lap. “No. I meant your way. I don’t want you to feel obligated to take me. I don’t mind going home. I’m good with that. Truly, I am.”
She wasn’t making any sense. Had Nan said something to her? I wanted her out of that bitch’s house. We were talking about that later tonight. But right now I had to figure out what was wrong.
“I want you with me. If Nan said something to you . . .”
“Nan didn’t have to say anything. You said it all with your eyes.”
Wait . . . what?
I studied her, trying to figure out what that meant.
Harlow took a deep breath and then finally looked up at me. Her big eyes were so sad and broken, my chest felt like it was going to explode. I had to fix this shit. I didn’t want my girl hurting. I jerked the truck over to the side of the road and threw it into park before reaching over to Harlow and pulling her close to me.
“You need to explain that because I’m not following you, sweetheart,” I demanded.
Harlow kept her eyes fixed on my shoulder. “I saw the way you looked at her. I’m not blind. I know how beautiful she is. I know you were struck speechless. And it was obvious she would have dumped August for you. Who wouldn’t?”
Well, fuck. I hadn’t thought about Harlow thinking anything about me looking at Nan. I hadn’t been impressed; I’d been disgusted with myself.
I slipped my hand under Harlow’s chin and tilted her face up to look at me. She always looked down, and I wanted to see her eyes. I wanted to fix that sadness in them. I didn’t ever want to make her sad.
“What you saw was me looking at Nan and seeing nothing but bitterness and cruelty in her eyes. I wondered how I had missed that for so long. I wasn’t impressed with the way she looked. I had you standing there beside me, looking like an angel. No one can compare to you. You’re not just beautiful outside, you’re also beautiful inside. I see that and I cherish it. I just don’t know why I screwed around with Nan. I guess you saved me.”
Harlow continued to frown at me. “She’s every man’s fantasy.”
I rubbed my thumb over her bottom lip and tried not to think about how sweet that mouth tasted. “She’s every man’s nightmare, sweet girl. Unfortunately, they don’t realize it right away.”
“I can’t compete with her. I don’t want to.”