I strode around the front of the car and knocked on the hood to get her attention. She seemed shocked at my arrival, and that was exactly the emotion I was going for. Her gorgeous, surprised face looked up at me and grinned. Fuck, that hit me right in the heart.

Of course, I also felt shocked at my arrival. The easy way would have been for Vivienne to meet me at the restaurant when she called and announced her miraculous recovery. But something inside me wanted to check on Harper and apologize for acting like the world’s biggest jerk.

Did I have time for this shit? No. What I should have done was drive straight to the hospital and had my head examined. All of this would give her the wrong impression—I realized that much. So why was I doing it? Fuck if I knew. Devil for punishment, I guess.

After shutting my door, I glanced up and smiled. “Your girls are watching. You might want to acknowledge them.” I motioned toward the office. Vivienne and Audrey smiled and waved at the windows like lunatics. Harper breathed in her surprise, then scowled at them all while forcing a polite wave as we drove away from the office. She was funny.

“Didn’t you say that you brought a lunch? We could just eat in the parking lot or at the office,” Harper said and peered at me like she was having second thoughts.

“In the restaurant business, we know and appreciate that the ambiance during a meal is just as important as the food,” I said, then looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you agree?”

“I don’t know, Jack. I can pretty much eat anywhere. Not a lot of thought goes into where I decide to wolf down a sandwich,” she said and stared aimlessly out the window.

“Wolf down a sandwich?” I said, then hit my chest with a fist. “You’re killing me, baby. Food is not to be ‘wolfed down.’ It’s to be enjoyed and savored. Like making love. You don’t rush through that. You take your time and enjoy.” I found her hand and grasped it before pulling it up to my mouth. Fuck, her skin is soft, I thought as I kissed the inside of her wrist.

“Yeah, unless you’re my ex and there’s a rerun of a comedy show on that you’ve only seen a thousand times. Then you rush. Or if there’s a game on. Any kind of game—baseball, hockey, basketball, golf, cricket, croquet. Doesn’t matter. Or if there’s pretty much anything at all on TV,” she huffed, taking an unexpected jaunt down memory lane again. That guy did a number on her. What kind of a man would rather watch TV than make love to this gorgeous woman?

“Hmm, this is all starting to make more and more sense,” I said and squeezed her hand. Gambling, TV, video games—all of those things were more important to her ex-husband than actually being with his wife. Crazy fuck. And he charged up all of the credit cards, without telling her?

No wonder she ran away this morning. I’m sure my temper tantrum helped matters.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be so bitchy. It was a long time ago. I need to drop it already.”

“Honey, you are free to talk about him at any time with me. I don’t mind. In fact, I find it helpful. Can I ask you one question? Just one. How long were you together?” I asked, curious to know their timeline.

“Well, we were together for a year, then married for another year,” she said as she played with her purse, obviously uncomfortable with my question.

“Fuck,” I said and lightly hit the steering wheel with the palm of my hand. That ass stole years of her life, and he’s still doing it.

We drove for a few more minutes in companionable silence before I took an off-road exit. The road wasn’t terrible, but not exactly smooth going either.

I spoke up and said, “Just another minute.”

One minute later, we parked in front of a stand of trees. This was the north part of Airdale Park, halfway between work and home. I got out first and opened the trunk, which was in the front of the car, then slammed it. Next I opened her door, blanket and picnic basket in hand. Harper seemed surprised and a bit hesitant.

“Come on, our spot’s just through those trees.” I grabbed her hand as she exited the car. She was going to need some help walking on this path in those heels.

Her sweet body leaned on me for support in the more uneven parts. It was a nice path, though. Green trees and beautiful purple, pink, and yellow wildflowers were scattered everywhere. The air was warm, and a gentle breeze blew. Finally, I stopped when we got to the perfect spot. We were completely alone, if you didn’t count the birds and a group of butterflies chasing each other. I always found that watching the rolling waves on the lake was relaxing and serene.

After I let go of her hand and dumped the basket, I proceeded to spread the blue and white blanket onto the ground. Harper took her heels off, then stepped onto the blanket and kneeled. My eyes kept track of her every movement as I opened the wicker basket and pulled out the food.

“Here, try this.” I handed her one of the delicate lettuce leaves. She took it, touching her tiny, warm fingers to mine.

“This is awesome. Oh yum, what is it?” she asked as I took another off the plate. Even I had to admit the contrasting flavors were phenomenal. The meat tasted like moist chicken, but different, more succulent. And the juicy grapes and crunch from the apple made the perfect contrast in textures and taste.

“Duck confit in endive leaves. It’s like a fancy chicken salad,” I said, then grinned and continued opening more things. “Try this, too. Avocado, prosciutto, and cheese in focaccia bread.” I handed her a small triangle of crusty bread, and took one for myself.

“Oh, so good, Jack,” she said and took another delicious bite. “But you didn’t have to go through this much trouble. I mean, I appreciate it, but it wasn’t necessary.” It was a lot of work, but she was right—this tasted fantastic. I chomped my slice down in no time.

Swallowing quickly, I said, “I love to cook, honey. It wasn’t any trouble at all.” Next up were the chocolate covered strawberries.

“Can I have one? Please?” she asked with hopeful eyes. The way she said “please” made my cock wake up and take notice.

I lifted my hand and stroked the side of her face, and she instinctively leaned into it. “I had a lot of fun with you last night,” I said as I fed her the strawberry from my hand. Her luscious mouth opened for me and took a sexy bite. Juice dripped down her lips.

On natural instinct, I bent in toward her and licked the tiny drops of red berry from her equally juicy lips before turning it into a gentle kiss. It was a soft kiss, meant to be sweet, not leading to any hanky-panky, but my body heated up and asked for more. My hands caressed her neck, and she pulled me closer as I crushed my lips to hers. Acting on its own free will, my tongue searched out hers until it found gold. I moaned deeply into her mouth. God, she tasted good. Her hands moved down my back, but sense returned, and I pulled back, breathing heavy and leaning my forehead onto hers.

“You drive me crazy, but I need to feed you and get you back to work. Preferably before Dean cancels my account because I’m making out with his employee instead of bringing her back to work on time,” I said in a playful tone, wishing I could have more time with her.

Harper cleared her throat and helped herself to more food. “It’s beautiful here. I didn’t even know this place existed.”

“My mom used to take us here sometimes. I’m glad you like it,” I said and pushed the food closer to her.

“Do your parents live here?” she asked in between bites.

“Yep, they live here. How about yours?”

“Yeah, they both still live in my childhood home. I go over for family suppers a couple times a month, weekly if Mom gets her way.” She brushed the crumbs from her skirt. “They are crazy, and up in our business as much as possible, but they love us to death.”

“Us? How many siblings do you have?” I asked, genuinely interested.

“One sister, Charlie. That’s short for Charlotte. Nobody ever calls her Charlotte, though. She’s a few years younger than me with red hair and a tiny figure. She’s an English professor at the university. Her husband’s name is Pete. They’ve been together forever. One of those annoying couples who are still sickly in love after years and years.”

“Sounds like you get along with your sister. That’s nice. Do they have any children? Do you?” I asked, almost hesitantly but wanting to know the answer. No, needing to know the answer.

Apparently, she wasn’t prepared for my question at all and started choking on a strawberry. “Shit, here. I brought some sparkling water.” I yanked a bottle from the basket and opened it. She took a few big sips and calmed down, clearing her throat. “Are you okay?”

“Oh God, sorry. You just surprised me. No. No, neither of us has any kids. Good Lord, no.” She shook her head and took another mouthful of the clear, clean, bubbly water.

“I shouldn’t have asked. I apologize. It wouldn’t matter to me, even if you did. I was just curious,” I stated, looking her right in the eyes.

“You can ask. Don’t worry. I didn’t mean to freak out. Again. I told you I was married, so that’s more than a reasonable assumption that there may be kids. But no, we never even discussed it. He was too busy gambling, drinking, watching TV, or buying shit we didn’t need to think about starting a family. Oh, and then there were also the other women. Well, one woman for sure, but if there’s one, there’s more. I’m not completely stupid.”

“So, you don’t want kids?” I asked nonchalantly as I rolled up the sleeves on my shirt.

“Oh God, no. I couldn’t even stay married, let alone look after a child.” She cleared her throat. “It hadn’t been an option in our marriage. Our crappy apartment wasn’t exactly somewhere I dreamed about raising a family. Not to mention our awful marriage.” She scoffed. “What about you? Do you want kids?” She took another look into the picnic basket.

“Yeah, honey. I want kids,” I said, feeling a bit deflated.

She grabbed another sandwich and said, “Really? How many?”

I smiled down at my strawberry and took a big breath. “I guess as many as I can sneak in,” I said and aimed a sexy grin at her, hoping to change her mind.

Her face turned a beautiful pink and she fanned her blouse. I affected her.

“Are you done? Or do you want more?” I said and looked out at the lake, not in any hurry to leave this place or this woman.

“I’m good. I should probably get back to work anyway.”

Packing up the leftover food helped keep my mind focused and off thinking about life’s twists and turns. Once everything was in the basket, Harper started to put her shoes on, but I quickly snatched her hand.

“Let’s just sit for a minute, okay? I don’t get much quiet in my day, and I enjoy being quiet with you,” I said and pulled her so she sat right beside me. Our legs touched, and I could feel the heat from her body against mine. She leaned against my arm and I lowered my head and kissed her shining locks. Fuck, she smelled good.

“Why did you bring me here, Jack?”

“Why?” I asked and looked at her like she was crazy. “Because you’re you. You’re smart and funny, you care about your friends and the people you work with, you’re beautiful, and you have legs that go on for fucking days,” I said and lightly brushed my fingertips down her bare leg. The resulting gasp and goosebumps told me she liked what I did. “And you buy little boys silly putty, even though you know you’ll catch hell from their mom.” I smiled down at her.

“Pfft,” she said and rolled her eyes. “Audrey gives everyone hell. That woman acts all tough, but she’s a big softie with those boys. So is Murray. My mom never cared about kid-mess. She let Charlie and me get as dirty as we wanted and never complained. She always said, ‘Kids need to be kids.’”

I turned and touched my lips to hers, and again it heated me everywhere. She adjusted her body and grabbed onto my shoulder, trying to press as much of her body against mine as possible. I put my hand on her back and lowered us to the blanket, the whole time attacking her delicious mouth like I was on a mission to devour it. Her delicate hands moved down my back, then lower to grab onto my ass. That made me break the kiss and I groaned. She reached her hand back up my neck and pulled me toward her awaiting mouth. We kissed and touched like that until it was way past hot and heavy and to the point of no return.

“If we don’t stop now, you aren’t going to make it back to work, Harper. I want to take it slow, but you make it difficult,” I whispered and kissed her one more time before standing up. She took my offered hand and I pulled her up. “Put your shoes on, gorgeous.”