Axel hadn’t been calling her from the UK. He’d called from much closer. She knew because he was sitting on Karoline’s front steps, waiting for her.

Tobias had almost told Harper the truth, everything he’d been holding back about his past. He’d come so close. He felt as though he had no choice. Last night had been different between them. Harper had fully embraced the idea of being with him instead of going back to Axel. He could feel it in the way she touched him, the way she made love to him, the way she vocalized how much she enjoyed being with him—and the fact that she was letting him be around her children again later today.

They were falling in love. Both of them. And that made him so high he wasn’t sure it was even safe for him to drive home.

So this is what it feels like, he thought. He’d never been happier—but he still had a huge hurdle in front of him, and he knew it.

He had to tell Harper about his past.

Would it be possible to do it in a way that she might be able to understand and forgive?

He had no answer, no way to guess.

As he drove home, he considered asking Maddox to come over when he gave her the news and act as a character witness for him, or provide moral support or…whatever. Or maybe Uriah would speak up for him.

But he couldn’t rely on others. He had to brave the truth on his own, and he had to trust that Harper knew him well enough by now, even though they’d only met a couple of weeks ago…

He’d look for the right moment. Prepare his words carefully in advance. And maybe he’d finally catch a break.

He’d never asked for much from life, never felt he deserved it. After prison, he’d set his expectations especially low—better that than be disappointed.

But he’d never wanted something quite as badly as he wanted Harper.

Harper knew how her hair looked. Not only had she been rolling around in bed with Tobias, they’d taken a bath together and she hadn’t bothered to dry it properly. She hadn’t been worried about her appearance; she’d thought she was going straight to bed.

This was not how she wanted to confront Axel—or her sister and brother-in-law. But Karoline was awake. Maybe Terrance was up, too. She could see that the light was on in the living room.

She’d pressed her luck too far.

“Axel…” she said as she came up the walk.

“Nice of you to finally come home,” he said.

She winced at the heavy sarcasm. “I had no idea you… I had no idea you’d be here.”