play games with anyone. She’d seen him, wondered what a fling would be like since she’d never had one, then decided to take charge of her life and seize the moment. She’d been trying to do more living in the moment since Carmen passed.
She’d brought the red bikini with her because her sister had always accused her of being too boring, too vanilla, and Harper had wanted to put herself out there with a bold confidence.
Now look where that landed her.
“You seem calm.”
Harper glanced over her shoulder and collected her thoughts. “Calm? I’m scared to death, I’m stunned, I’m worried how I’ll juggle it all. Getting hysterical won’t change a thing or help me sort out these feelings. So, maybe I am calm, but it’s not because I’m comfortable, it’s because I’m shocked.”
Those piercing eyes usually held so much desire and passion, but now...
Harper turned her attention back to the breathtaking view of the turquoise water and white sand. She didn’t want to witness his worry, his doubts... She had her own to deal with. This was the last thing she wanted to confront him about, but he deserved to know. This temporary fling had now resulted in a lifetime connection to Ethan Michaels. As if she didn’t have enough going on in her life already.
Coming to Mirage had been the first step she’d taken in moving her and her sister’s design business into the next phase. Harper had every intention of making Two Sisters Design the go-to for every business, every home owner, everyone who wanted a change in their office or house or hotel.
Carmen had always had a grand vision of their business. Harper had been reluctant at first when Carmen asked for her help, worried she wouldn’t measure up to her sister’s amazing talents, despite Carmen’s high praise on small projects.
But after her sister was killed in a robbery six months ago, Harper knew she had to step up and take over. It’s what her sister would’ve wanted. Carmen would’ve had faith in Harper. Harper just needed to have faith in herself...which was how she landed at Mirage.
She’d decided to start here because her father owned the adults-only resort. He wanted to do an overhaul and, though she’d first met the man when she was twenty, she was trying to have a relationship with him. Trying...and somewhat succeeding.
Robert Anderson was a man who traveled and worked all over the world. Seemed business was more important to him than family, but what did she expect? He hadn’t even known she’d existed for two decades, so she shouldn’t have expected him to jump into the role of doting daddy. Yet she had expected just that.
Her sister was all she’d truly had in life, and now that she was gone, Harper craved any semblance of family. Her free-spirited mother gallivanting around the globe didn’t count.
Harper wasn’t sure what all her father did for a living, but she knew he was in real estate. And he’d been willing to give her a chance with one of his most prestigious properties. Having Mirage in her portfolio would seriously help boost her business.
And she would carry out her duties to prove to her father, to herself and to her sister that she was capable...despite starting a family much sooner than she’d ever planned.
“What’s going through your mind?”
Ethan’s sincere question filled the room, and she turned to face him. She couldn’t help but laugh as she fiddled with the gold bracelet at her wrist.
“I have no idea,” she told him. “I have so many thoughts, but I do want you to know that I don’t expect anything from you. I won’t make you do anything you’re not ready for. I’m a big girl—I can handle anything thrown at me.”
Wow. Her little speech sounded strong, though she felt anything but. Yet, despite her anxiety, she couldn’t let the fear win, because that’s not what Carmen would’ve wanted. One tragic event after another had made her steely when it came to pain and reactions, but she wasn’t about to let Ethan into her past, into her mind and all the reasons why she wasn’t flipping out right now.
“Listen,” she began, shoving her wayward curls over her shoulders. “This is a lot to think about. We’ll just take some time to process and then talk later. I know we haven’t gotten too personal with our information, but I will be here for at least another month, probably longer. And even then, I’ll be coming and going quite a bit.”
She’d never told him her reason for being here. Their physical relationship left no room for small talk or the get-to-know-you phase. Everything would change now. They’d have to dig into each other’s lives, because now they were bonded forever.
When Ethan continued to stare at her across the room, Harper figured she should go and leave him alone with his thoughts. She wasn’t sure what to say right now. Her purpose for coming to his room had been to tell him the truth, but she hadn’t thought much beyond that.
Harper pulled in a shaky breath and started across the penthouse. The moment she stepped by him, Ethan’s arm snaked out and caught her around the waist, his hand curling around her arm. Sliding his thumb over the inside of her elbow, he stopped her with that one simple, arousing gesture.
Her body responded, just as it always did to his tantalizing touch and heavy-lidded stare. Ethan Michaels was a potent man, and now she had to figure out how to shift from looking at him as a fling to seeing him as the father of her child...which wasn’t going to be easy, considering she didn’t know basic things like his middle name or even where he was from.
“You’re not leaving,” he told her. “We may not figure out all the answers now, but I know one thing for certain.”
Why did his tone sound like a promising threat?
Ethan’s eyes held her as breath caught in her throat. “You’re not doing this alone. I will be part of this baby’s life...and yours.”
Ethan might not know how to handle this situation, but he sure as hell knew he wasn’t about to walk away from responsibility. This was a child...his child. His family life may be uncertain and in shreds, but deep down, at the end of the day, family mattered more to him than anything in this world.
Wasn’t that why he was here to begin with? Every action he’d taken over the past twenty years had led him to this moment, all for the sake of his late mother and her wishes.
No matter what might come of him and Harper, that child was his future, and he would provide and be part of his or her life.
“I don’t want a relationship just because I’m pregnant,” she stated with a defiant tilt of her chin.
Ethan released her arm but didn’t back away. She was quite adamant about this whole casual, uncommitted relationship status, which was perfectly fine with him, but each time it had been mentioned or hinted at, Harper had a flash of hurt in her eyes.
Who had hurt her? What had she gone through to bring her to this point? More importantly, why did he care to make it his business? He’d known about this baby for all of five minutes, and already his mind was playing with him. He had his own past hurts to focus on. Not that he wanted Harper to be in pain—he’d never want that—but he couldn’t afford to get swept into her world and
