17. Daphne

17

DAPHNE

"Thanks again for inviting me out." I buckled my seatbelt and turned to Nadia as we headed to Southern Comfort.

When I'd gone to return her dress this afternoon, I'd filled her in on my new plans to be in town for the next few weeks, and she'd insisted on me coming out to Girls' Night with her. I'd considered declining, but if I did that, it would mean spending the evening with Aunt Rhonda, which would be fine if she was working at the Moore Moonshine stand on the pier. However, she'd taken the night off because she was still tired from the gala.

At dinner, she mentioned that she thought she heard me coming in early this morning. I told her I went out for a walk, but I quickly changed the subject. If she dug any deeper, I knew I would crack, and since I was going to be living next door to my one-night stand, I wanted to keep the fact that my ‘walk' had been a walk of shame to myself.

"Of course!" Nadia enthused. "I'm so excited that you're staying for a few weeks."

That made one of us. Every second I remained in Firefly Island felt like another nail in the coffin of my independent, urban life. Small-town living had never appealed to me. I'd always likened it to a cult, one that I was determined not to be a member of.

After a little (a lot) of reflection today, I'd come to the conclusion that…drumroll…I was lonely. I had been for a few years now. But what I'd also concluded was that what I was experiencing was merely a temporary state. It would pass. The problem with being here was that Firefly Island gave me a false sense of comfort, of community, of safety, i.e., a warm blanket and hot chocolate after being out in a snowstorm. Add Harlan Mitchell to that scenario, and you have yourself a roaring fire.

That's exactly what he was: a hot, roaring fire.

Last night, I felt more connected to another human being than I had in a long time. Sure, the sex was part of it. I'd missed being touched and kissed, and Harlan Mitchell was very good in those departments. But it was more than that. The time we'd spent talking after we'd had sex for the first time was a deeper conversation than I could ever remember having.

All my life, I'd been guarded. From the time I could remember, I'd had to navigate a world that wasn't safe. But last night, I was in a cocoon of peace where nothing could hurt me. That's what being in Harlan's arms felt like. Not to mention, he'd made me come three times.

For the next three weeks, I was going to be living next door to a man who felt like home, who made me feel equal parts safe and dangerous, who I'd allowed past my walls, who could give me multiple orgasms, and I was going to have to date five other men.

What sort of fucked-up karma was that?

"So, when do you start filming?" Nadia did a drumroll on the steering wheel.

"At the end of this week if we can pull permits that fast." I'd received an email from Ernie, a PA on Dating in the City, and he said he was in contact with someone from city hall. He didn't think there were going to be any issues.

"Well, if you need any more guinea pigs for your show, I'm your gal."

"Thanks." As much as I appreciated Nadia sacrificing herself to the reality dating show gods and would love to take up her offer as tribute, Alexandra had made it very clear that she wanted me in front of the camera.

Her insistence was frustrating on a couple of levels. One, because she was clearly determined to ignore the trajectory she knew I wanted my career to take. Her insistence on me being ‘talent' was her way of keeping me in my place. Two, there were thousands of women who would love to have the opportunity to be the subject of the show. They would make deals with the devil for the chance to have that much airtime.

I would sell an organ to avoid having to do the show.

"Did you know that they might film a movie here?" Nadia mentioned as we passed Abernathy Manor, where I'd been yesterday at this time.

"Really?"

Holy crap.

The gala was only twenty-four hours ago, yet it felt like so much had happened in that time. Time was such a funny thing. The two hours I'd spent with Harlan this morning felt like it had been two days or two weeks. That is before I had a mini-panic attack after I laughed at something he'd said and almost blurted out I love you —which I was blaming on sleep deprivation—and then proceeded to frantically get dressed, claiming I needed to get back to the house before Aunt Rhonda worried.

"Yeah, a true story about Austin James. He grew up here. He was Zoe's husband, AJ's dad."

I remembered AJ calling Harlan Uncle H. "Is AJ Harlan's nephew?".

"Austin and Harlan were best friends, and AJ is Harlan's godson."

"Oh." Were best friends. Was Zoe's husband. Those statements were both in the past tense. "What's the movie about?"

"Austin was a Marine whose squadron was ambushed during a mission that they had bad intel on. He ended up saving forty Iraqi civilians and ten other Marines before he died tragically."

That story sounded familiar to me, like I'd read the script. Then I remembered Kale asking me to read lines with him before an audition about a year ago.

"Do you know if the movie is called Fallen Hero ?"

"I think so, actually." Nadia glanced over at me. "Did Zoe tell you about it?"

"No, um, I think a friend of mine auditioned for it."

"Oh, who?"

"Kale Butler."

She gasped and hit the steering wheel. "You know Kale Butler?!"

Biblically.

I nodded.

"Maybe if Zoe knows he's up for it, she'll change her mind."

"Change her mind?" I questioned.

"Zoe has been trying to stop it from being made. It's painful for her; I don't think she wants it all dredged up. She and Austin were together from the time they were twelve. He died when AJ was two."

"Wow, that's…awful."

The rest of the ride, Nadia filled me in on Zoe and Austin's love story.

According to her, they were the definition of soul mates, twin flames, once-in-a-lifetime loves.

I couldn't imagine what losing someone like that would feel like.

"Oh, I wonder if her ears were burning!" Nadia exclaimed as we pulled into the parking lot and next to a truck where Zoe was seated typing on her phone.

We all got out at the same time and greeted each other with hugs and compliments on how gorgeous the other looked.

Thankfully, I've always been an overpacker, so when my luggage showed up today, I had enough basics to last me through my stay in Firefly Island and I knew that with the wardrobe Davina was bringing, I should be fine for a few weeks.

Tonight, my hair was in beach waves, and I was wearing jeans and a red halter top that showed just enough cleavage without looking like I was trying too hard. I had to admit, when I got ready, I'd hoped that I might see Harlan on the walk from the porch to Nadia's car, but he hadn't been out front.

This morning while we were lying in each other's arms talking, he'd mentioned that he tried to go to bed by nine because he got up at four. I couldn't believe how much I'd thought about him today. I honestly didn't think five minutes had gone by that he hadn't popped into my head. It was borderline obsessive.

"Is Ashley coming?" Nadia asked as we all headed toward the entrance of the bar.

"Yep. She just texted. She's on her way," Zoe explained.

Nadia reached for the handle on the ornate wooden door, when it opened, I was sure that I was seeing things. Harlan Mitchell appeared in the doorway. Scruff peppered his strong jaw, and the gray T-shirt he wore clung in all the right places, highlighting his chiseled chest and muscled biceps. He looked…yummy.

My mouth watered at the sight.

"Hey!" Zoe hugged the man who had just caused Niagara Falls to spring up in my mouth. "What are you doing out past your bedtime?"

"Wing-manning for Weston." Harlan was answering Zoe's question, but his eyes were on me. It looked like he had seen a ghost. "I was just heading home."

My heart sank at his statement, but at the same time, I was relieved. I'd lived in enough small towns to know that if anyone sniffed out that something had happened between me and Harlan, the news would spread like wildfire. And there was no way I could keep what I was feeling for Harlan from being broadcast on my face for an entire evening.

"Thanks again for going to AJ's game." Zoe patted his chest.

The chest that I'd laid my head on mere hours before. I could feel my cheeks flaming at the memory. See, it was already happening. My face was giving me away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Nadia put her arm around me. "I convinced her to come out for a girls' night!"

"No, I mean, in town? Why are you still in town?"

"Oh, um. So, change of plans. I'm actually going to be staying for a few weeks to shoot an episode of Dating in the Country."

"Dating in the Country?" he repeated, his voice deeper and, from the sound if it, not happy.

"Yeah, I, um, I basically date five guys and then fans vote on who I go on a second date with," I sheepishly explained.

When I did, Harlan's nostrils flared, and his jaw ticked. He looked like a bull ready to charge.

"But it's not real," I rushed to amend. "The show isn't real. I have done five segments for Pulse. Not of Dating in the Country . They were Dating in the City because you know, I was in L.A. So, it's the same format, but it's here, so it's not a city." I could hear myself babbling and told myself to shut up.

I could feel Nadia and Zoe's eyes bounce between Harlan and me, like they were watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.

"Okay, kids, this is fun, but we need to go see a man about a drink. You two be good!" Nadia exclaimed before she grabbed Zoe's arm, and they headed inside.

"That was subtle," Harlan said beneath his breath when the door closed.

"I didn't tell them anything," I quickly clarified.

Harlan just stared at me.

"They just…wait, did you tell them?" I asked, as a feeling I hadn't experienced in fifteen years surfaced. It was like I was at a new school again. Every time I'd move to a new town, if any of the popular boys showed me interest, it would get around the school, and the popular girls typically didn't take it well.

Harlan had said that Nadia was his first kiss. Maybe she was territorial. But she had left us alone. Maybe I was doing what I always did and was overthinking this.

"No." He shook his head.

"Oh good. I mean, not good. Because it's just, I don't really, what we did…that's not something I do. I know everyone says that, but it's really true in my case. I just don't want my aunt to be…or you know…I have my crew coming out, and I don't want them to…"

"Don't worry." Harlan leaned down and whispered against my ear. "I don't kiss and tell, andI certainly don't fuck and tell."

Hearing the word fuck in his raspy tone sent my hormones into overdrive. My arousal levels were shooting through the roof as I tried to swallow over the rushing rapids that were my watering mouth.

"Have a good night," he gritted out and then started to walk away.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

Part of me wanted him to stay. Just being in his presence again made me feel…safe. But also aroused and dangerous. Another part of me knew it was best if I kept my distance from him. Clearly, I couldn't be trusted in his presence (see: me stripping my t-shirt off and asking him to fuck me).

He stilled and looked over his shoulder. "I have to get up early."

As I watched him walk away, the part of me that wanted him to stay was screaming: Come back. I didn't listen to that part. I turned and walked inside the bar. This was for the best. Distance from Harlan Mitchell was for the best.