I listened to my heart. I really gave it some thought. Keeping my mind—and my pride—out of it, I admitted I was still in love with him. My heart and body had a natural pull toward him, still trusting him, like they had a mind of their own. Like these two vital parts of me weren’t there when he crushed me to pieces.

Well…luckily my heart and body didn’t make decisions for me.

“You should go back to work tomorrow,” I told him, my eyes on the couple dancing on the deck to Frank Sinatra.

“I plan to. Bright and early. I’ll have your double vanilla latte ready.”

I looked at him. “I’m serious August.”

His smirk faded. “I am too Harper, I’m here as long as you are.”

“Why? Why can’t you just let me…”

Heal.

“Move on,” I finished.

“Because I can fix this. If you would just let me.” It was the first time in weeks I heard that sharp edge in his voice again.

My response was soft and resolved. “I’m not letting you.”

He swallowed and waited for a moment. “When you change your mind. I want to be close.”

I pressed my lips together, deciding on a different approach.

Honesty.

“Do you know why I struggled so much with us at the beginning? Why I was so upset in that parking lot after you kissed me?”

“Why?”

“Because I thought you were Troy. And you were stealing my heart again and I liked being with you. I was so angry for letting myself go there again. But when I found out you weren’t him, everything changed. My feelings made sense. The way my stomach fizzed when you were around, the memories of you looking at me like you wanted to say something all those years ago but couldn’t. You weren’t the one who broke my heart, August, so you deserved it. And you had it more than anyone ever could.” Tears pricked and my voice broke. “Until you handed it back to me and turned away.”

“I know, I know, I’m asking you to please—”

“I won’t make that mistake again,” I cut him off. “So please stop wasting your time.”

I turned and walked back to my room, hoping that for the sake of my sanity, when I came down tomorrow—he would be gone.

32. Harper

32

It rained all the next day so all outdoor activities and facilities were closed. I didn’t feel like joining my new friends at the spa, so I bought some pencils and a new sketch book in town and went back to the indoor lounge.

I wanted to ask the office if August had left or if the bar was just closed because of the rain, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask about him.