On Wednesday, I took Harper out sightseeing. We were in California and were going to make the best of our trip, so help me. I wasn’t going to let the contract details weigh us down and I wanted to distract Harper as much as I could.

I wanted to distract myself, too. Not from the contract—that was a stumbling block, but I wasn’t as freaked out about it as Harper was. I was freaked out by the fact that I had fucked Harper for the second time.

That meant I had broken my number one rule with her. I had gone back for more, something I never did. I never slept with the same girl twice. It was dangerous. Women were clingy and they read too much into physical acts, so that a one-night stand suddenly meant there was chemistry and we belonged together. Which was bullshit because I could fuck anyone that was willing to open her legs and it wouldn’t mean anything. And I knew I sounded like I objectified women, but it wasn’t like I didn’t tell them my intentions from the start.

But every woman believes they’re the exception to the rule. And they never were.

Except for Harper. She was the exception to every damn rule I had. I wanted her every moment of every day, even after I’d had her the first time. Especially after I’d had her the first time. What really got me was that she didn’t seem to mind that I might not be interested in her again after that. After the first time, she had been the one to tell me it wouldn’t happen again.

To have a woman that uninterested in something more was baffling.

And it made her so damn attractive I couldn’t help myself from wanting more.

So, I had taken more and the second time around had been just as satisfying, mind-blowing and unforgettable as the first.

I had slept with a lot of women. When I fucked that often, they all blurred into each other until it was a stream of orgasms with nameless faces. When someone managed to stand out from the rest, it was worth sitting up and taking notice.

Today, after we had fucked a second time, Harper seemed as neutral toward me as always. She wasn’t particularly loving or clingy, she didn’t act like we were suddenly together. We went about our day as if we were colleagues, friends, conspirators and nothing more.

Naturally, that made me hotter than hell for her.

But I wasn’t going to push it, because if there was one thing more distasteful than any clingy woman, it was a clingy man.

“What do you want to do next?” I asked Harper. We had done a few tourist things in and around LA because we were here and had time to kill. We had gone to see the Hollywood sign and we had gone to see the Stars on the Hollywood walk of fame. We had walked along the Santa Monica Pier and we had gone on a hike at Griffith Park.

“I don’t know,” Harper said. “It’s your call.”

“No, no,” I said. “I made all the choices until now. It’s your turn.”

Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re so far from home and all this is new. It’s like we’re in a different country. This could be Mexico, for all I know.”

“Haven’t you been to Mexico?” I asked.

Harper shook her head. “No, I’ve never left Seattle.”

I was surprised. “I didn’t realize I took your travel virginity.”

“Do you feel special?” Harper asked.

I laughed. “Very. You never forget your first.”

We laughed about it before I looked at the time. It was still early enough for an adventure.

“We have to fix it,” I said.

“Fix what?”

“We’re going to Mexico.”

Harper looked surprised. “Just like that?”

“If there’s anything you need to know about me, Princess, it’s that impulse is my strong suit.”

Harper blushed when I called her Princess. I had noticed the first time and I had been doing it since then just to see her reaction. It was my favorite way to make her blush and calling her Princess was a sweet pet name, even though she didn’t resemble a princess type at all. She was more like a warrior, strong and stubborn. But I wasn’t going to call her that. There was nothing sexy and cute about calling someone a warrior.

“It’s only a few hour’s drive to Tijuana,” I said. “We’ll rent a car.”

Harper looked like she wanted to argue with me wanting to rent a car, but she pulled herself up short and I was glad. I didn’t want to talk about the contract and the cash, but in the back of my mind, I figured whatever I spent on her now, I would get back once I received the inheritance.

I arranged a car in no time and we were headed to Tijuana after lunch. Being in a car together for a long trip was great. There was something intimate about being in a closed space and not facing each other. It was easier to talk that way. When Harper had been on my bike with me I had loved the physical closeness but this was different. This was emotional closeness. We talked about a few things and Harper told me what it had been like growing up in Seattle. I liked listening to her speak. Her voice was soothing and the road ahead stretched ahead of us, promising nothing but fun at our destination.

We crossed the border and I drove Harper into Tijuana. I loved being here.

We found a taco stand and we stood in line to order the street food. When we had our food, we sat down on a public bench.

“Oh, my God,” Harper said. “This is amazing.”

I nodded, my mouth full. “These are the best tacos you’ll ever get.”

“I believe you,” she said. “It’s so authentic. I love it.”

“Sometimes I think I should travel all over the world, staying in different places to get to know the culture and the food to bring back to the restaurant,” I said.

Harper nodded. “I can see how you could pull that off. You’re the adventuring type. I don’t think I could do that.”

“Why not? You’re adventurous.”

Harper pulled up her shoulders and studied her taco to plan her next bite. “I wouldn’t call it that. I think it’s more that I’m unsure of what I want so I fall around. It’s the flipside. But I wouldn’t want to leave Seattle. I like it there.”

“I like it there, too,” I said. “And now that the restaurant is there I will always wind up back in Seattle. I’m not the kind of owner that manages from a distance. I prefer being hands-on.”

“I noticed,” Harper said with a smile, and I saw what she was doing. I grinned.

“What would you do with all the money once you have it?” Harper asked. It was the first time since yesterday afternoon that we had spoken about the money again. I had tried to avoid the topic for her sake. She seemed so relaxed about it now like it was just another topic.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t really thought it through.”

“You’re about to inherit a billion dollars and you haven’t thought about what you’re going to do with the money? Not even buy yourself a crazy expensive bike or something?”

I laughed. “No. I’ve never really cared about material things. Experience is more my thing.”

“Then you can pay for experiences,” Harper suggested. “Travel, get to know other cultures like you just said.”

I shrugged and finished my taco. “I don’t know. Like I said, I haven’t thought about it. I want to put some money into the restaurant and build it up. I wanted to expand, hire more staff, that kind of thing.”

“It won’t take all the money, though,” Harper pointed out. “You’ll still be left with millions once you’re done.”

She was right, but I really hadn’t thought about it. Harper had offered to help me out shortly after I had learned about the money, and I’d been more focused on her since then. I didn’t want to tell her that I’d been thinking about her more than the money, but that was the truth. The money had almost been an afterthought.

Experiences and people had always meant more to me, anyway. I hadn’t wanted to go out on my own in order to make more money than I could make working for someone else. It was the freedom I’d been after. And that was something money could never buy.

“You can do anything with that kind of money,” Harper said.

I nodded. “I know. For now, all I want is to put a bit of it into my restaurant. What would you do?”

Harper laughed. “That’s not fair. You can’t turn it back on me, it isn’t my money. But honestly, I don’t know.”

I laughed. “The truth comes out.”

Harper shook her head. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she said, and pointed to public toilets. I nodded and watched her walk away, her hips rolling and her ass swinging side to side. She was a pleasure to watch. As she walked I noticed two men watching her. They stopped their conversation and watched her until she stepped through the door. When they started talking again I was willing to bet my entire inheritance that they were talking about her.

I didn’t like it. Harper wasn’t my girl, but I felt protective of her. Especially when two scummy men were staring at her like she was a piece of meat.

When Harper came out of the bathroom again, I watched the men. They nudged each other and followed her when she walked toward me.

“Senorita,” one of them called and Harper looked over her shoulder. When she realized they were talking to her, she stopped. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a dump like this?” one of them asked in a heavy Mexican accent.

“Why don’t you come with us? We’ll show you the good side of Mexico.”

Harper shook her head. “I’m flattered, but no thank you.”

She started walking again, but one of the men stepped in front of her.

“Come on, give us a chance. We don’t have a lot of pretty girls like you around here. You can’t blame us for having good taste.”

“I’m really not interested,” Harper said.

By then I’d had enough. I had no right to step in and act like she was mine, but these men were pissing me off.

“Excuse me,” I said. “That’s my wife you’re talking to.” I walked to Harper and put my arm around her. “Come on, honey,” I said. “We need to get going.”

The men both looked down at Harper’s hand. She was wearing the pawn shop ring I had bought her and I was glad. It looked like we were married already.

“You are a lucky man,” one of them grumbled and they sauntered off to look for trouble with someone else.

“Thank you,” Harper said, when they were gone. “They didn’t look like they were going to leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?”

“For calling you my wife. I guess I could have said you were my girlfriend or even just my friend.” The label might have been a bit much.

“Don’t be sorry,” Harper said. “You got them to leave me alone. If you said I was your friend they might have wanted to challenge you or something.”

I nodded, pretending it was about that and not about me laying a claim and wanting Harper to be mine. I hadn’t liked the way they’d looked at her. She was beautiful, of course, she would get attention. But I didn’t like it.

Harper was here with me. Even if it wasn’t real. At least for now, I could pretend it was.