My thoughts blur as my heart pounds in my chest. For a moment in time, I’m captivated by the look in his eyes—one that says he could be the one to really heal me, to piece the remnants of my shattered past back together, giving me a chance to be whole again.

I’m not dumb enough to dream he can fix the past, but he makes me want to believe he can.

I look down, needing a reprieve from the intensity of his caring eyes to breathe again. “I think . . .”

“I think we should get that taken care of before the party begins.”

“The party—oh shoot.” I start to turn back, but he takes my hand. Warmth flows through, the feeling of calm settling my racing heart.

“I’ll vouch for your absence if necessary.” He nods toward the stairs. “I have a kit upstairs.”

“Don’t get hurt.” This would be a fantastic time to heed his warning from earlier this afternoon.

Slipping my hand from his, I stay on the bottom step. “I—”

“I’ll be careful with you.”

Maybe it’s the way he’s looking at me with something more than how most guys ogle me. Or maybe it’s the way he’s dressed as the devil, but his voice is pure heaven when he says, “I promise.”

What the hell do I have to lose? Anyway, I always was a sucker for a bad boy with a good heart. Let’s hope my intuition is right when it comes to Harbor.

I follow him up the stairs. When I see the corridor at the top, disbelief drops my jaw. “This is a really big house.”

He chuckles. “It really is too big.”

Other than his friend’s car and the cashier calling him a rich kid, I wouldn’t have guessed he came from The Pointe Estates. I wouldn’t say he’s a perfect fit into the luxury of these surroundings, but he definitely doesn’t look out of place either.

When we reach the bathroom, he says, “Hop up.”

I lift myself onto the counter, facing him. I’m still not at eye level with him, but I don’t mind the view from here. “Am I going to live, doctor?” I ask, teasing . . . Fine. I’m flirting because he’s not just attractive. He’s charming as well.

Especially when he cocks his eyebrow and his smile spreads slowly across his face. “I can’t have you dying on my watch.” And he might just be what my dad warned me about.

If we keep running into each other like this, I might not live to tell the tale. “Only time will tell.”

“You don’t sound very optimistic. Should I be concerned?” His touch is kind, but his skin feels like fire against mine when he taps my chin just shy of where it’s pulsing.

Attempting to clear my mind of Harbor and get solid footing back in the land of reality, I shake my head, but that makes things worse, and I get dizzy. “I feel faint, but it has nothing to do with my chin.”