Chapter Nine
Harper
I press the phone hard against my ear, like somehow that will stop the tears from spilling down my cheeks, but it’s pointless. The stupid tears have been falling for a week now, ever since I fled London and returned home. I have no right to cry. The mess was all mine. I should have hightailed it out of the Winston castle as soon as I found out I was on the wrong adventure.
On the other end of the line, Piper is trying to console me, but I can’t keep my thoughts on her when all they want to do is travel to Will and his family. I’d hurt them, and that was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
“Harper, are you still there?”
“I’m here,” I say and push off the sofa. I walk to the window and look at the cars on the street below. As I stare into the distance, I hear a child’s giggle come through the phone. Must be Maddie, the little girl Piper was supposed to babysit but fell in love with instead. “Tell me more about Lucas and Maddie,” I say, wanting the conversation off me and onto her. My heart wobbles a little to know Piper found the love of her life in Greece and now has a small family of her own.
“No, this is about you,” Piper says.
“How could I have been so stupid?” I ask. “Putting our names in a hat was a ridiculous idea.”
“Not really,” she says. “We all found love. Even you.”
I snort as two cars pull up in front of my building. Dropping the curtain, I walk through my condo. I used to enjoy the quiet, the solitude of the place, but now, after spending time in a castle full of people, the place feels lonely. My heart thumps, and I fight not to throw myself on my bed and curl up into a ball of self-pity.
“Tell me again about the adventure I was supposed to go on,” I say to Piper, even though she’s already told me. Apparently, I was supposed to go to 52 Yorkshire Lane. Piper hadn’t screwed anything up. I was the one who’d accidently given the driver the wrong number.
Which, in the end, turned out to be the right number, because what I found at 25 Yorkshire Lane changed me in so many ways, and was much better than a haunted castle/murder mystery adventure for singles.
“Call him, Harper. Tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t do that. It’s been a week. If he wanted to talk to me, he would have reached out.”
“Maybe he’s saying the same about you.”
Was that possible? Did I dare hope that he might want more and was waiting for me to make the first move?
What if I did make the first move, only for Will and his family to reject me? I don’t think I could go through that pain and humiliation again. Better to just set my sights on the future, one without any of them in it.
Since when did you become such a chickenshit, Harper?
“Do it, Harper. Go after what you want. I bet Will is hurting as much as you are. Go after him. Show him what a great woman you are. He’ll welcome you with open arms. I’m sure of it.”
While I’d like to do just that, Will only asked for a week of sex, and I told him I wanted the same. I’m not going to go after something that wasn’t mine. I wasn’t supposed to let my emotions get involved or fall for his family. God, the disappointed looks on everyone’s faces when George said I wasn’t his surprise still haunt me. How could I ever look at any of them again, when they all likely hate me? If I am wise, I’ll forget the adventure ever happened.
I grab my laptop and open Instagram. Will hasn’t posted anything. Is he home, as miserable as I am, or has he moved on? My intercom chimes, but I ignore it—I’m in no shape for visitors—as I run my finger over his picture and my heart thumps.
I love him.