A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)(54)

I smile into my coffee cup as we sit at the table. “Wow, you said the word! I’m proud. And, sorry, I’m not going to discuss this with you.”

My dad slips off his glasses and sets them on the kitchen table. “You and your sister used to talk to me about everything,” he says. “I don’t know when that changed.” There’s a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Is this really about Harlin?” I ask.

He exhales. “No, not entirely. It’s your sister. I can tell that something is going on with her, but she won’t talk to me about it. I worry that I’ve been too tough on her.” He lowers his eyes. “On both of you.”

“Oh, Dad.” He looks so forlorn that I move to hug him from behind as he sags in the chair. “We know you love us,” I tell him. “Lucy’s going through a phase—a bad breakup. It’s not your fault.”

“All I want is for you girls to be happy.”

“We are happy.” I smile, giving him one more squeeze. “Especially when you let cute boys spend the night.”

“Har, har, Elise,” he says, seemingly at ease. “Can you take Harlin to get his bike after breakfast?” my father asks. “I have to be at church. Have a good time at work.”

My stomach drops when he says it, dread coming over me in a strong wave. I’d forgotten all about Santo’s. And Abe.

* * *

As my father goes to leave, Lucy emerges from her room and asks him for a ride to a café where she’s meeting friends. At “friends” I give her a questioning look and she shrugs, as if to say that the sometimes-boyfriend is out of her life for good. I’m glad.

When Harlin comes back into the living room, his phone is in his hand and he’s wearing his freshly washed clothes with his hair brushed smooth. We have the place all to ourselves. But when he sits next to me on the couch, I’m alarmed by his serious expression.

“What?” I ask.

“I talked with Monroe.”

My heart rate spikes. “And?”

“I didn’t want to tell him too much over the phone. I’m not sure he’d believe me about your past without seeing you for himself. So I told him that I needed his help with a Forgotten. That it had to do with Onika.”

At the sound of her name, my stomach twists. She knows about me now, saw me in her vision. I’m terrified. “Is he coming to Arizona?” I ask.

“First flight out. He wants us to meet him. I told him we’d be at Diner 51 at seven.” Harlin leans forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees. “Monroe’s going to try to make you cross into the light,” he says quietly. “Just like he did last time. But I can’t watch it again. I think it’ll kill me.”

“Harlin,” I whisper, resting my hand on his arm. I understand the impossible position he’s in—leading people to the end of their human form, even if he’s helpless to stop it. I can’t imagine how difficult it is, the burden he has to carry. The grief.

“After you jumped off the bridge,” he says, studying my face, “I had to live without you, among everyone who had forgotten. Everyone but me and Monroe. He tried to help. He eventually sent me to Marceline, the oldest living Seer he could locate, when he found out he was—” Harlin stops himself. “Bottom line, I’m drawn to the Forgotten. Whether I want to be or not,” he says. “And I’ve been so alone, Elise. Until now.” His hazel eyes meet mine. “Until you.”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach as I hold his gaze.

“I can never love anyone else,” Harlin continues. “Not ever. What do you think about that?”

“I think that’s a bit dramatic.” I smile at the way he’s watching me.

Harlin leans in, and my heart races as he puts his palm on my cheek. “What if all I want is for us to grow old together?” he asks.

“I’d say you should have bigger goals.” I let the rest of the world fall away. Everything but Harlin.

“What if you could remember loving me?” he whispers, bringing his mouth close, his lips grazing mine.

His words make me ache, make me yearn. “I’ve already loved you twice,” I murmur.

Harlin’s eyes slide shut and he finally kisses me. His mouth is warm, spicy like cinnamon. I let him lay me back on the couch, my body humming with electricity as the tension builds.

I’ve never been with anyone, not like this. I pull his shirt over his head, breaking our kiss for only a second before he’s there once again, his skin burning hot against mine.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper as he kisses my neck. “Even when I didn’t know you, my soul still missed you.”

CHAPTER 24

My phone vibrates on the coffee table, interrupting us. I pull back from Harlin to answer it and he groans, collapsing next to me on the couch. “By all means,” he mumbles, lying facedown in the cushions. I laugh, but when I check the caller ID, my body stills.

Harlin sits up when he notices my silence. “Who is it?” he asks.

“It’s Abe,” I say, staring at the screen. “He’s probably wondering when I’m coming in to work.”

“You’re not going back there,” Harlin says.

“But if I don’t, he’ll know.”