Impulsion (Station 32 #1)(59)

Harley sat in awe of it. It’s not like she had been to a lot of business meetings, but she had overheard the ones her father had at her family home, she had watched Collin on conference calls with his father’s business, seen her mother organize charity events.

In those instances, there was one person calling the shots; if the others spoke up, it was almost done to outshine another. Collaboration was stiff, always had an underlying agenda. That wasn’t the case here. Everyone’s input was needed; they were all leaders. They did challenge one another, but it was done so in a way to help, not hold back. That was impressive, simply because Willowhaven Farms was more or less a corporation in its own right. It most definitely was not a backyard hobby.

Harley could only imagine how much more successful those she knew at home could be if they worked like this, if they had this much passion for what they did.

The Dorans just seemed to have more soul. For them, it was all about bringing others up with them, not conquering others. The money was just icing on the cake.

After dinner, as everyone moved to settle in for the night, Wyatt’s stare caught hers. She gave him a shy smile, then made her way upstairs.

That one glance was asking if she was going to meet him, and that one smile told him she would in just a while.

As she was undressing to get in the shower, her phone started to ring. It was Collin.

She answered, saying, “Jury’s out. He may or may not still be pissed.”

Collin hesitated, then laughed. “I’m betting not. You sound happy.”

“Another good day.”

“As opposed to yesterday, when you didn’t mention his name.”

Harley sat down on the edge of her bed. “I think the tension got to us today. We had a moment. I’m going to meet him later.”

“A moment? That deal where you don’t talk, but you do?”

Collin knew everything there was to know about Wyatt. At one time he thought if Harley talked about it, she could move past it, but that only made it worse.

“Yeah…”

Harley heard Quinn’s voice in the background, asking what he wanted to drink with dinner. “You’re still in Wellington?” The plan was for him to be home days ago. Harley didn’t even think to ask him how his flight was; that was how hung up in her own thoughts she was.

“No…I’m home.”

Harley furrowed her brow, trying to read his tone. It sounded amused, but concerned at the same time.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, I’m supposed to tell you I’m having an affair, and we are supposed to figure us out before our mothers come back, before your dad’s party.”

“Collin…” Harley said slowly.

She wanted this masquerade over with, for his benefit more than hers. He and Quinn were serious, and being at Willowhaven, in this universe, made her not give a damn what upset it would cause, at least until she thought of her father, admitting to him that she had lied to him for years about Collin. At the same time, she didn’t want Collin to catch hell for any of it. Right now, she had a sinking feeling that had just happened.

“Dad stopped by, wanted to take me to dinner. Quinn answered the door…in my shirt, and nothing else.”

“Holy shit,” Harley breathed. Conrad Grant was every bit as intimidating as Garrison Tatum. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t have a chance to say much. He pulled me outside, said I needed to figure out what I wanted. That if I planned to be with you, that meant that there would be no more flings on the side. That you didn’t do that to a girl like you. Whether I wanted you or not, I needed to confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. Oh, and that Garrison Tatum was his closest friend and if I forced that man to die hating him, he would seize my trust.”

“What is he? Hypocritical? How many affairs has he had? He doesn’t even try to hide it,” Harley said in Collin’s defense. He never took anything anyone said personally, often found it humorous. Harley only took it personally when it was about him or her father. As far as she was concerned, the others deserved what was said about them. You reap what you sow.

It was burning Harley that his father thought Collin was just like him. Collin was one of the most faithful men she had met in her life. He was loyal to his friends, his family, and whoever he was with. That was more than rare on the playing field they were raised on.

Collin laughed. “Oh, but you see, he said I could not cheat on a girl like you. He’s said more than once you were your father’s daughter, that you were a threat to this world because you did not care about what others thought.”

“Obviously, I do, though. My fake boyfriend just got busted for cheating on me, and I’m doing my best to figure out how to get you out of it.”

“I’m not in anything.”

“This is stupid, Collin. You just need to tell him.”

Harley heard him open a sliding glass door, close it, then the distant sounds of the city, the wind blowing by his phone.

“Dad was coming by for more than one reason. Apparently, our mothers are fighting over your ring.”

“Ring?”

“Right, family jewels. My mother wants you to wear my grandmother’s ring. Yours wants me to ask your father for his mother’s ring.”

“Yeah, only so she can kill me and steal it,” Harley spat back. “They are awful certain you need a ring, aren’t they?”