Chapter 2

2

GRIFFIN

H arper. Harper. Harper.

Her name echoes in my mind as we drive toward the edge of Old Hemlock Valley. I'm not sure if she notices that I keep sneaking peeks at her out of the corner of my eye.

Her long black hair is held back in a neat braid, accenting her luminous dark blue eyes. Her figure is a little hard to make out underneath her baggy jeans and thick hoodie, but I can tell she's curvy where it counts. Everything about Harper is delicate, womanly, and fills me with an inexplicable urge to memorize every inch of her pale skin. She has the classically beautiful sort of face that I would be happy to look at every day for the rest of my life.

Her left hand drifts to her mouth, although she stops herself just before she bites her nail. I hope that doesn't mean I'm making her nervous.

For the past year or so, I've been joking…half-joking…with anyone who will listen that they need to send more women to our town. If that was a call to the universe, begging for someone special, I think the universe has answered.

I can already tell that Harper is incredibly special. She's not merely looking at the trees out the window, she's studying them. I can already picture her holding a stack of books and wonder if she wears reading glasses.

"So, you ladies are up here for the summer, or…?" I begin.

"We're not sure how long we're staying." My stomach tightens when she smiles at me so sweetly. "We rented the house for a month, but if our studies are going well, we might stay a bit longer."

"What are you studying?"

She looks at me through her long lashes. "Don’t get mad, but we're not allowed to tell anyone."

I stick out my bottom lip in an enormous pout that makes her laugh. "Don't I get points for saving the beautiful damsel in distress?"

Her delicate cheeks flush with the slightest tinge of pink.

"I'll take your car to the shop, then I can run you home in a more comfortable vehicle. This old beast can yank a tractor out of a foot of mud, but it's not the most comfortable ride." As if on cue, the truck hits a pothole, shaking us both.

"I don't mind. I'm just glad that we weren't stuck there."

"As soon as we park, I'll put the Old Hemlock Valley hotline in your phone in case you ever have an emergency."

"Ha! Barrett already did that. It sounds like a great system." Harper smiles, then bites her bottom lip for a second. "Although I hope we never have to use it."

I'm glad that Barrett found the girls, and not one of the opportunistic single guys around town. Yes, that makes me selfish. I don't give a damn.

When we pull into Valley Automotive, my brothers are both still here. I park the tow truck around the back, then carefully help Harper down. We stand face to face for a moment, just staring at each other. Does she feel this same warmth between us? This pull?

I keep holding her hand, looking deeply into her dreamy blue eyes. "Do you have to get home right away?"

Her adorable gasp of surprise tells me that she's not used to men hitting on her. Good . "Um, yeah. Jocelyn and Nikki need me to get this week's work straightened out."

"You're the one in charge?" I bow slightly. "Am I speaking with the big boss lady?"

Damn, I love the way she laughs. "No, I'm just more…um…particular with the details. I guess you'd say I'm...." She hesitates. "The super organized type, let’s call it that."

Harper looks at me as if she has just announced she has the plague. Little does she know that I love the idea of a woman who takes charge. Has a plan. Plus, she's quirky and sweet – that's a fabulous bonus.

My grin is so wide it feels like it's stretching my face. "Okay. We won't let them get started without you. I'll just be a minute."

I escort her to my Jeep, then pop my head into the back of the shop. "Just picked up a dead car from the Maple Trail lot. Gonna run the driver home, then we can take a look."

Walker, my oldest brother, stands up from where he's bent over a half-rebuilt engine. "Carson, you wanna roll it in so we can take a look right now?"

My middle brother tosses back the last of his coffee. "On it."

I hurry out to the back lot so that we're pulling out before my brothers see that I'm driving a girl home. Of course they'll find out soon enough, but I want to get to know her a bit first before trying to field any questions that need answering.

My hopes are already ludicrously high considering we've just met, but I have a great feeling about her. It's not just the wave of heat that enveloped us when I helped her out of the truck, either.

The Jeep is a lot quieter, so we can talk more easily. "So, seriously, what kind of work are you doing here?"

Harper gives me a shifty side eye. "I really can't talk about it."

"Let me guess. You're spies." My hands drum on the steering wheel as I take a long, slow corner. "It's always the shy, pretty ones. You'll be pulling some sort of torture device from your purse and demanding that I turn over the secret maps any second. Right?"

She giggles sweetly. "We're interning for a professor, not doing any spy stuff. Sorry to disappoint you."

My hand reaches out and squeezes hers for a second. "Trust me, beautiful, I am not the least bit disappointed." The way she blushes so sweetly makes me wonder just how innocent she might be. "So, you're in university?"

"Yeah. I'm technically finished my course, but I'm considering taking another year in the fall."

"You're not sick of the dorms yet? I've heard they're usually awful."

Harper smiles. "I've been living in a tiny apartment that is barely the size of a shoebox. But I think I have an amazing place almost lined up for the fall."

"Have you seen much of town here? Do you have any favorite spots yet?" I ask.

"Well, Corina's Coffee is amazing. And the food at Fran's Diner is incredible."

"Do you like pizza?"

Her beautiful, full lips pull into a smile. "Who doesn't?"

"Well, you obviously don't know this yet, since you're new in town. But there's a law that on Monday nights, women aren't allowed into the pizza shop unless they're escorted by a local man."

Her lips press firmly together in a mild scowl. "Really. That sounds like an odd rule."

"Well, it's an odd town." I turn off the road onto the long driveway toward the house. "So, may I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

It's nearly dark now, but I catch the flash in her eyes by the dim porch light. "Because it's the law, and you need me to try your wild mountain pizza?"

"Partly that, yes. Maybe I'm also the one-man welcoming committee around here." I park, then turn to face her as we slip our seatbelts off, my fingers slowly gliding through hers. She doesn't pull away from me, instead leaning closer, and squeezing my hand back.

"And maybe I've never seen a girl as pretty as you before, and I need to find some way to make you like me fast before some manure-covered farmer or splinter-filled lumberjack wins your heart."

Her mouth falls open as her eyes grow wide. Leaning in, my lips brush the shell of her ear as I whisper, "I'm just teasing. All the guys around here are pretty decent. Which means I'm going to have to make you fall for me before you meet any of them."

It's killing me not to kiss her, but I resist. Instead, I race around to her side and help her out, then walk her to the door. "I'll need your number, please." She watches as I enter it into my phone as Harper Lovely&Sweet . "Thanks. I'll text you tomorrow once we know what's up with your car."

"Oh. Yeah. About that." She bites her lip and I can't stand that she looks uncomfortable for even one second.

"What is it?"

"If it's going to be something expensive, can you please tell me first? I don't have a lot of money. So, um, I'd have to see if we can scrape something together."

I'm already shaking my head. "Not to worry. I'm sure it's something small." Whatever it is, I'll take care of it.

Her smile is tentative, and the faraway look in her eyes makes me melt. Standing in front of an incredible girl who simply appeared out of nowhere, I wonder if there's any truth to all that manifestation stuff. Did I wish so hard for her to appear that she actually did? I wouldn't have thought that a dude who was infatuated with cars had that kind of power.

My step forward is barely a shuffle. "Should I let you go inside, or can you stay another minute so I can tell you something really important?"

Her delicate porcelain cheeks almost dimple as she smiles. "Well, I'm still learning about this town, so I guess you're going to have to tell me everything."

My hand presses to her lower back, bringing us slowly together. "Out here in the forest, sometimes when we need to do uncivilized things we blame it on all of this wilderness and nature."

Harper leans closer, her hand resting on my arm. "Uncivilized in what way?"

"Oh, you know. Things like kissing the most beautiful woman I've ever seen when I don't even know her last name."

"Johnson."

"Is that your way of giving me permission?"

Her lips tip up, then her eyes drift to the east. Following her gaze, we both inhale sharply in awe at the radiant, almost full moon clearing the trees. When I turn back to her, Harper has stepped forward, her lips barely an inch from mine.

"Blame it on the moonlight?" I whisper hopefully.

"Good idea."

Our lips meet softly, in a tentative, sweet kiss. Then we relax, our bodies pressing together, mouths opening as the moment overtakes us. My entire body feels energized as I hold this delicate woman in my arms.

She makes the smallest sound – nearly a moan, a whispered, "Mmm-hmm."

The kiss burns through me, her soft, luscious mouth awakening everything I've kept suppressed for years, but I force myself to pull back, murmuring faintly against her lips, "Damn, gorgeous. I've waited so long to find you."

It takes her a few seconds to open her eyes all the way. "What? Are you joking?"

"Not at all." There's some shuffling inside the house, and I assume the other girls are peeking through a window. "I won't keep you from your secret spy work any longer. Go plan global domination, or whatever you're up to."

Harper laughs lightly. "Thanks, Griffin." She stretches up on her toes to whisper in my ear, "You might be a Dirty boy, but you're also a really nice man."

I clutch my heart as if I've been stabbed and address the sky. "Nice? She thinks I'm nice? Ugh ."

Staggering to the Jeep, I mutter sadly, "Nice guys finish last. They don't get a second date. They're not the hot dudes that chicks dream about. I'm going to have to go home and rethink my entire life."

Flashing a wink at her over my shoulder, I notice Harper is holding a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Then she goes inside.

As I drive away, I realize what an incredible first encounter this was. Yes, I kissed her way too soon, but I just couldn't wait. Now I'm going to have to make sure that our date is amazing.

Not to mention, hopefully figure out what her work is about so that I can help her.