Take a Chance (Chance, #1; Rosemary Beach #7)(55)

Nan’s car was gone when I pulled up to the house, and I breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. Maybe she was gone on one of her trips. I headed inside and stopped by the kitchen to get myself a bottle of water before going up to my room.

My room was just like I left it. Nan must have told the house cleaner not to go into my room. Not that I cared. I didn’t have a messy room, just an unmade bed. I set my water down on the table and sat down.

Mase answered his phone on the second ring.

“About damn time I got a call from you,” he grumbled into the phone.

“Sorry. I’ve been busy,” I replied.

“Don’t need to know. I already got an idea of the busy you’ve been.”

My cheeks turned red. I hated thinking about what he’d heard on the plane.

“How are things?” I asked him.

“Working my ass off. With Jim down, I’m having to take up all his work. The man works hard. I wake up early and fall into bed late.”

“How much longer will he be in a cast?”

“Six weeks. I can handle it. Hard work never hurt me.”

The idea of Kiro’s only son working hard on a ranch in Texas wasn’t what the world would imagine.

“What about you? Nan eat you up yet?” he asked.

“No. I’m too tough for her. You know that.”

“Bullshit. She sees you with Grant and she’s going apeshit on your ass. He better be ready to make sure you come out without a scratch.”

“She knows, and he handled her. I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

“Good. Maybe she’ll stay gone.”

I hadn’t called him to talk about Nan. I needed guy advice. “Do you think it would be stupid for me to have feelings for Grant?”

He didn’t reply right away. I was worried he was about to say what I already feared. “I was under the impression that, for you to do what I heard on that plane, you’d already have feelings for him.”

“Well, yeah, I already had feelings for him, but I mean . . . you know, feelings feelings.”

Mase chuckled. “Are you trying to ask me if it’s smart for you to fall in love with Grant Carter?”

Well, yeah. “I guess,” I replied.

“No. It’s probably the dumbest thing you could do. But it’s done. You were in love with him when you decided to sleep with him. That’s who you are, Harlow. So you’ve done it. You need to be worrying about what you’re gonna do when this ends. How will you handle it?”

I sat there staring at the mirror in front of me. He was right. I had been in love with Grant for months. I didn’t want to admit it because it was pathetic. You didn’t fall in love in two weeks. But I had done just that. Then he’d left.

“I don’t know,” I said.

Mase grunted, and I could tell he was moving something heavy. “You pack your shit and come to Texas. I’ll handle the rest. That’s what we’ll do.”

I realized talking to Mase about this was pointless. I wasn’t moving to Texas and I wasn’t letting him seek revenge. “Never mind. I’ll figure this out. Thanks for listening.”

“I’m here, Sis. Anytime. Just call me.”

“I know. Love you.”

“You, too,” he replied.

I hung up and dropped the phone beside me. Where did I go from here?

I was in love with Grant. Full-fledged in love with him. I wanted him forever. I wanted to see his smile every morning. I wanted to know what it was like to be in his arms every day. What had I done?

Grant

It was after nine when I rolled back into Rosemary. I had tried calling Harlow twice and she hadn’t answered. If Rush hadn’t told me that Nan was in New York with Georgianna, I would be panicking. But I knew Harlow was home alone. I kept telling myself she was asleep or left her phone upstairs.

By the time I pulled into Nan’s driveway I was jumping out of the truck and running to the door. She was gonna have to start answering her phone when I was gone from now on. We’d talk about that. First, I just needed to see her face and know she was okay.

The door was locked. Good girl. I rang the bell and waited. I was about to ring it again when the door opened and a sleepy-looking Harlow answered. A smile touched her lips and she ran her hand through her hair. “Hey,” she said sweetly.

I walked inside and closed the door behind me, then covered her mouth with mine. It was so soft and plump, free of lip gloss, and I wanted a taste. It was all I’d thought about on my drive home.

She slipped her hands up my arms and held on. The little blue polka-dotted boxers and matching tank top she was wearing shouldn’t have been so damn sexy. But on her, they were that and more.

When I pulled back to look at her I smiled. “Hey.”

She giggled and laid her head on my chest. “Sorry, I fell asleep on the couch watching season one of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.”

I wasn’t sure what the hell that was but I nodded anyway. “Where’s your phone?”

She frowned. “I think upstairs.”

I pulled her closer. “Next time I’m gone, keep it with you. I broke every damn speed limit out there trying to get back because you wouldn’t answer.”

She leaned into me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it. People don’t normally call me.”