“Can you tell Harley that I need to see him?” a woman asks as she leans over the counter and smiles at me. She is older than I am, I would guess her in her mid-thirties, and she is stunning with light-blonde hair and a body that shows she uses the gym a lot. She has a small crop top on that her large breasts are nearly falling out of, and I bet they would if she attempted to run on a treadmill.

“He said no one other than family is allowed to interrupt him today, sorry,” I explain, and she narrows her eyes at me. “I can take a note,” I say.

“He will want to see me, don’t worry about it,” she says and then walks off down the corridor towards Harley’s office. I get up and go to follow her, when I suddenly feel sick. Instead of walking any further, I open the door to the bathroom near me and run to the nearest toilet. I don’t know how long I’m puking before I feel a warm hand running on my back and pulling stray bits of hair away from my face.

“Here,” I hear Harley say to me before he passes me some tissue, and I wipe my mouth as I stand up. Harley surprises me by taking my hand and nodding his head towards the bathroom door. He walks us out and straight to his office, before opening it for me. I walk in and look around at the massive, wooden desk and the big chair behind it, there is a bookcase and filing cabinet in the room. This is an impressive office. Harley walks over to the mini fridge on top of the filing cabinet after shutting the office door and gets out a bottle of water for me.

“Here,” he offers it to me, and I nod, accepting the drink as he pulls out the chair by the desk.

“Please sit, Tilly,” he says, and I do, only as I still feel like crap. Harley sits on the end of the desk and watches me closely, his mind no doubt figuring things out as I drink the water slowly.

“I think–”

“Don’t. Please don’t say anything you think you know or say it out loud. I just can’t–” I mutter, interrupting him. I look down at the ground and stay still as silence fills the room.

“Why are you running, Tilly?” he asks me gently.

“Because I don’t want to remember,” I answer quietly, lifting my head to meet his gaze.

“I understand that.”

“How can you? How can you be so scared of your past that you can’t even say the words out loud? That you can’t even think about it without shaking and wanting to run,” I end up snapping out, and he tilts his head to the side as we stare at each other.

“Because my past keeps me up at night, too,” he tells me, shocking me into silence as I see the truth in his eyes.

“Hey, bro,” a voice shouts as the office door is slammed open, and I turn to see a man walking in. This must be Sebastian as he looks so much like Elliot but less wild. Sebastian has a suit on and short-cut hair, and a shaved jaw. He gives us both a cheeky smile.

“And, you must be Tilly. Izzy has been telling me about you and your unexpected arrival,” he says.

“You’re Sebastian, right?” I ask, and he nods.

“The good-looking brother,” he points a finger at his chest, making me laugh.

“The brother who has his own office,” Harley points out, and Sebastian only grins.

“Was I interrupting something?”

“No, but Tilly isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to take her home,” Harley says.

“I’m fine now,” I say, standing up and walking around the desk, but Harley catches my arm, stopping me.

“You sure?” he asks, his thumb rubbing circles on my arm. It is comforting, and I find myself leaning into him a little.

“Certain,” I reply, and he lets go after a second’s pause.

“Nice to meet you, Sebastian,” I say as he opens the door for me and nods. I walk out of the office and go back to my desk. The rest of the day goes quickly, and before I know it, it’s time for us to close up.

“Hey, Tilly, my wife, Maisy, is making dinner, and she invited Harley and you to come. She would love to meet you,” Sebastian says as he comes out of his office, just as I walk down the corridor towards Harley’s office.

“I don’t know . . .,” I say as I watch Harley come out of his office and lock the door.

“Come on, Maisy makes amazing food, and Jake loves to meet new people,” Sebastian says and tilts his head to the side as he looks at Harley and me.

“I guess I can,” I say just as Harley gets to us, his eyes locked on mine.

“How are you feeling?” he asks me straight away.

“I’m good, now,” I tell him.

“Was it just a morning thing?” Harley asks, making my heart pound when I know he is onto what is going on with me. I should just tell him, but I can’t seem to make the words come out of my mouth. Let alone, even think the words to say.

“Yes,” I say, giving him the answer he wants without saying another word, and he nods, his eyes moving down my body. Thankfully, Sebastian starts talking, and I can look away from Harley’s luring, green eyes when they meet mine. The unspoken word just seems to burn between us.

“Tilly said she is coming to dinner with us. I’m sure you won’t disagree with that,” Sebastian pats Harley’s arm and walks off.

“Meet you two there,” Sebastian adds over his shoulder, and neither I nor Harley move. I don’t know what to say to him, or how to say anything. I feel like any chance of him liking me just went flying out the window, and I’m expecting to see a Harley-sized hole in the front door.

“Come on,” he sighs after a second of me overthinking everything and shocks me again when he slides his hand into mine as he leads us out of the gym.

“Why are you holding my hand?” I ask him.

“Why are you not letting go?” he responds, and I choose not to answer that as I look away. I wait for him to lock the doors, and then we get into his car after he unlocks it. The drive out of town is quiet, and I don’t feel like saying anything as I just watch him drive. How can someone drive so sexily? Just watching the way he turns the wheel and the way his muscles in his arms flex as he changes gears is beyond hot. I’ve never noticed that about anyone before, but here I am, staring at a man driving. I’ve never had anyone walk into my life, and I feel safe around them, but I do feel that way around him. He makes me feel safe, he makes me feel like my past can’t haunt me. We eventually pull into a driveway not far out of town, and a barn conversion house appears at the end. The barn is lit by little solar lights under the windows, and there are two cars parked at the side, which Harley parks his next to. I get out of my side at the same time as Harley, who seems to just be watching me for something. I almost like that he doesn’t demand an answer from me.

“Har-har,” is shouted from the door by a wriggling, little boy in the arms of Sebastian. The little boy has wavy, black hair and a cute, little face, he is dressed in jeans and a white top with a car on it. He is so sweet and loud. How can someone so small be shouting so loud?

“Hey, Jake,” Harley says as he picks Jake up off Sebastian, and Jake wraps his little arms around Harley’s neck and hugs him. Jake rests his head on the side and looks at me, making me smile, and I stick my tongue out at him, which makes him giggle.

“How old is he?” I ask Sebastian.

“Ten months,” he tells me and waves a hand inside the house. “Come in, it’s cold out here.” I walk in and slide my heels off as Harley takes his shoes off.

“This way,” Sebastian says, and I follow him through the house. There’s a small, cosy-looking lounge, and then a dining room before we get to the kitchen where a girl my age is pulling something out of the oven. She places the tray of what looks like enchiladas down and puts the stove mitts down as she turns to smile at me.

“You must be Tilly,” she says, walking over and pulling me into a hug. I’m a little shocked at her friendly introduction, but I don’t mind a hug, so I return it. When she leans back, I can’t help but think how unfair it is that she has had a baby and is pregnant again, and looks amazing. Her long, black hair is up in a messy bun, and she has on casual clothes that show off the tiny, little bump she has.

“I have to say, you look amazing for someone who is pregnant and has a little one already,” I say.

“Oh, I don’t, but thank you,” she laughs as Sebastian wraps an arm around her and kisses the side of her head.

“You’re crazy, beautiful,” he tells her, making her blush a little.

“Why don’t you two take Jake to the lounge to play toys while I help Maisy serve up dinner?” Sebastian says.

“Sounds good,” Harley replies, and Jake tightens his hands around Harley’s neck as he hugs him again. It’s clear that Jake loves Harley.

“Here, go and sit with him and I will get some toys out,” Harley says and hands me the toddler.

“Err, sure, I mean, yes. I just have never held a little one before.”

“You might need the experience one day,” he tells me gently as I accept Jake. I manage to place him on my hip, and he reaches up, taking my glasses off and tries to put them into his mouth.

“Nope, these aren’t food,” I chuckle, and he gives me a toothy grin as I take the glasses off him.

“Har-har,” he says, pointing at the door Harley just left through.

“I know, you love Har-har,” I say as I hold Jake and am surprised how heavy he is. I walk over to the rug in the room and sit down with Jake in my lap. Jake starts trying to crawl away the moment I try to sit him down, and I have to pick him up again. It’s only a few minutes of trying to keep his attention before Harley comes in with two trucks in his arms. He puts the trucks in front of Jake, and he crawls over and starts pushing them around the rug.

“Do you like children?” I ask Harley, watching how he looks at Jake.

“Yes, you?” he replies.

“No idea, well, not yet.”

“I think you will be a natural,” he tells me gently but doesn’t say anything as he watches me play with Jake. I hope Harley is right.