Searching for Harmony

  Preston and I ate in silence. Standing, he took his plate and mine and brought them into the kitchen. “Let me do the dishes really quick and I’ll take you home if you want.”

  Slowly standing up, I made my way into the kitchen. Preston moved about, filling up the sink with water and soap while I leaned against the counter and watched his every move.

  Turning toward me, Preston leaned against the counter and looked at me. My chest grew tighter as I worked up the nerve to say what I wanted to say.

  Letting out a nervous chuckle, I said, “You’re going to think I’m crazy for saying what I’m about to say.”

  “Try me,” Preston said with a crooked smile that pulled on my heart.

  “Last night was the first night since you stayed with me a few weeks ago that I haven’t had any nightmares. I was relaxed and I felt…” I shook my head and looked away as I whispered, “I felt safe.”

  “What do you mean, ‘safe’?”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I looked back at Preston as our eyes met. “I don’t know if ‘safe’ is the right word. Relaxed, comfortable, at ease, maybe? All I know is I needed you to be there for me to feel that way and I’m afraid to be alone, Preston, and that is not like me. I don’t know what’s happening but—” My voice cracked as the threat of more stupid tears started to build up.

  Preston walked up to me and placed his hands on the sides of my face. “Come home with me for Thanksgiving. I’m leaving today and staying until Friday.”

  My eyes widened and my stomach felt like I had been on a roller coaster. “You mean to your parents’? For Thanksgiving? Can you do that? Can you just bring someone home like that without asking them first?”

  Smiling, he said, “Yes. My mother would love to have you there. She’s been dying to teach someone other than my baby sister all her recipes.”

  Looking down, I thought about it. “Well, Jake invited me over to Sandy’s parents’, but I didn’t want to feel like a third wheel and all.”

  Preston’s thumb moved across my cheek and the trail of fire he was making with each movement was causing something deep down inside my stomach to pull and tug even more than before.

  “Besides, you said you needed me near you to sleep. Country air, me close by you at night, what makes for a better recipe for sleep than that?”

  The look in Preston’s eyes was amazing. He seemed excited at the idea of me spending Thanksgiving with him. My head was telling me no, but my heart and body were screaming ‘hell yes.’

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  Preston smiled and before I knew it, I was in his arms as he spun me around. Setting me down, he turned me away from him and hit my ass as he said, “Now go get dressed because I’m only human and you’re driving me fucking mad wearing my T-shirt.”

  Oh. Oh my. That certainly got my attention.

  Quickly making my way back upstairs, I stripped out of Preston’s T-shirt the moment I walked into his room. Glancing at the bed, I couldn’t help but smile. Placing my hands on my stomach to calm the butterflies, I turned to grab my clothes but then I decided I needed to take a shower. I could hear Preston on the phone downstairs talking to what sounded like his mother. Scooping up my clothes, I headed into the bathroom. Turning the shower on to hot, I removed my bra and panties and stepped inside. The water felt like heaven as it poured over my body.

  Now if only Preston would join me, everything would be perfect. No! Stop thinking that way, Harmony. Shit! Preston Ward is going to be the death of me.

  Looking around, I saw a bottle of men’s soap. Picking it up, I inhaled deeply, letting the smell invade my nose. “Preston,” I said with a smile on my face.

  “Yeah?”

  The moment I heard his voice I froze. What the hell? Is he in the bathroom?

  “Um, are you in here, Preston?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Dropping my mouth open, I stepped as far back in the tub as I could. “W-why are you in here?”

  Laughing, he asked, “Why are you in here?”

  “I’m taking a shower, Preston!”

  “Well, I’m brushing my teeth, Harmony.”

  Not moving an inch, I stood there and listened.

  “Man, you sure are a quiet bather. Are you almost done? I want to jump in.”

  Placing my hand over my stomach, I attempted to calm my breathing down. Is he naked? Does he brush his teeth naked? Damn…that would be nice to see.

  No. No. Focus, Harmony!

  “With me? You want to jump in here with me?”

  Silence.

  “Preston?”

  “Are you inviting me in there with you, Harmony?”

  “No!” I practically screamed. Quickly grabbing the soap, I poured some in my hand and frantically washed my body. My hair would just have to wait.

  Turning off the shower, I stood there. Pulling the shower curtain back some, I peeked out. Preston was leaning against the sink wearing nothing but a towel. Pulling the shower curtain closed again, I sucked in a breath of air.

  Why are you punishing me like this, God? Are you testing me?

  “Um, would you mind stepping out so I can get out of the shower?”

  “How about if I just turn around?”

  That bastard. I could hear the smile in his voice. “If you turn around, Preston, you’ll be looking in the mirror…at me.”

  “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

  Letting out a frustrated moan, I reached for the towel that was hanging up and dried off quickly. Wrapping it around my body, I pushed the shower curtain open. Preston’s smile dropped and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of me in nothing but a towel.

  It was hard as hell holding back my satisfied smile. I had to admit, the way he was looking at me made me feel sexy. Trey never looked at me the way Preston was looking at me that very moment. I felt empowered.

  Tilting my head, I motioned for him to get in the shower as I walked toward the bathroom door. “It’s all yours,” I said with a purr in my voice.

  Pushing off the counter, Preston turned and reached into the shower, turning it back on. Before stepping in, he dropped his towel. I let out a gasp as I looked at his perfectly fit body and tight ass.

  “God help me,” I whispered as I grabbed my clothes and practically ran out of the bathroom.

  Chapter 14

  Taking It Slow

  Preston

  After stopping by Harmony’s place so she could pack a small bag, we headed out of Boston and to my parents’ house.

  “So you grew up out here, huh?” Harmony said as a few curls whipped around her face. She had insisted we drive with the windows down. It was an unusually warm day for November in New England. Sixty-five degrees and Harmony acted like it was a heat wave.

  Sticking her hand out the window, she took everything in. Harmony gave me a sweet smile.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you like growing up in a small town?”

  Letting out a laugh, I nodded. “Yeah. There wasn’t a whole lot to do so we got in trouble a lot.”

  Smiling, she kept her eyes on me as she asked, “What kind of trouble?”

  Taking a quick peek at her, I shook my head. “Oh no. You’ll pump me for information, then my parents will pump you for any dirt that you have on me. This is a no-win situation for me.”

  Laughing, Harmony dropped her head back against the headrest of the car. “I promise not to divulge any stories that you tell me.”

  Reaching my hand over to her, I held out my pinky. “Pinky swear?”

  Giggling, Harmony wrapped her pinky around mine. Shit. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way her touch makes my stomach drop. I’ve never had that happen with any girl I’ve ever dated.

  “I pinky swear.”

  Taking in a deep breath, I slowly blew it out. “Well, once we cut the tail off of a skunk and threw it up under the seats of the school bus.”

  “Gross! That had to have smelled terrible.”

  Smiling, I
nodded. “Yep. It did. It was my brother Weston’s idea. We all got kicked off the bus for the rest of the year. My mother was pissed because she had to take us to school and pick us up after.”

  Shaking her head, Harmony laughed. “Tell me another one.”

  I loved seeing Harmony smile. She seemed so relaxed and carefree. Like an almost twenty-one-year-old should act. Her eyes were beginning to get the light back in them and I was surprised by how much I wanted to make that happen.

  “Let’s see. There was the time I talked my brother Finn into scaling down the wall of an old well.”

  Harmony sat up. “You did not!”

  Laughing, I nodded. “Yep. We tied a rope around him and Wes and I eased him down into the well.”

  “Preston, what if it would have collapsed?”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “I don’t know. I guess we would have dealt with it. It was pretty stupid, thinking back on it.”

  Punching my shoulder, Harmony said, “Ya think? My gosh, your poor mother. You boys must have worried her sick.”

  “Thinking back to all the shit my brothers and I did, we probably were the reason our mother went gray early.”

  Pulling down the driveway to the house, I noticed Harmony had been rubbing her hands up and down her pant legs.

  “Are you nervous, Harmony?”

  Nodding, she turned to me with the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “I know it’s stupid. I’ve never been over to any other family for their holiday dinner. Well, besides Trey’s family. Before Trey, I usually spent the holidays with Berti.”

  Pulling up and parking behind my father’s truck, I turned to her and asked, “Who’s Berti?”

  “Our maid. She was more like my mother than my own mother.”

  My heart physically hurt for Harmony. “You spent the holidays with the maid?”

  Nodding, she whispered, “Yep.” Then she smiled. “Well, when Jake was still home he would take me somewhere to eat. He had a credit card in my parents’ name so he would take Berti and me out to eat. It was fun. Once he left for college, I was alone. Until I met Trey.” Harmony glanced out the window and stared like she was deep in thought. “Sometimes I wonder if Trey wasn’t just a substitute for Jake. Someone who was there for me when I needed him.” Looking back at me, she gave me a weak smile. “That’s terrible to say, isn’t it?”

  “Did you not love him?”

  Her eyes lost that light and turned dark and sad again as she chewed on her lip. “I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him, if that makes sense. I know he felt the same.” Letting out a gruff laugh, she shook her head. “He cheated on me, so yeah, I’m not even sure he loved me at all.”

  Reaching over, I took Harmony’s hand in mine. “He loved you, Harmony.”

  Smiling weakly, her eyes filled with tears. “We only got married because of TJ. We actually had broken up before I found out I was pregnant. I knew Trey wasn’t the one, and with us going off to college I wanted to start fresh.”

  A tear slowly made its way down her face. “I feel so guilty, Preston.”

  Reaching over, I wiped her tear away. “Why?”

  There was a knock on my window and Harmony and I both jumped. Quickly wiping away her tears, Harmony smiled as she put up her guard to protect herself. She quickly opened the car door.

  Angie was standing there, jumping up and down. The moment Harmony stepped out of the car, Angie was running over to her.

  “Oh my gosh! Another girl! You have no idea how happy I am!”

  Grabbing Harmony’s hand, Angie dragged Harmony into the house. Glancing over her shoulder at me, Harmony gave me a frightened expression as I laughed and shook my head. “I’ll get the bags!” I called out.

  Turning, I saw my mother walking toward me. “Hey, baby boy,” she said as she kissed my cheek. “That looked like a pretty deep conversation your sister busted into.”

  Inhaling a deep breath, I smiled and shrugged. “When are Finn and Wes getting here?”

  Narrowing her eyes at me, my mother smiled. “Smooth change of subject.”

  Reaching into the backseat, I grabbed the bags as I tried to make sense of everything—the emotions running through my mind, the feelings racing through my heart, and the way my body felt whenever Harmony touched it.

  “Harmony’s been through a lot, Mom, and she’s still so young. I’m just trying to be patient with things. Take it slow, but—”

  Kicking the car door shut, I stood in front of my mother.

  “But you want more than friendship and you’re not sure how Harmony feels?”

  My mouth dropped open as I barely shook my head. “How do you do that?”

  Shrugging her shoulders, she gave me a wink. “It’s a gift.”

  She wrapped her arm around my waist, and we made our way toward the house. “Patience is the key, Preston.”

  Nodding, I replied, “I’m trying, Mom. I really am.”

  Stopping before we reached the front door, my mother stood in front of me. “My biggest piece of advice to you, Preston, is to always follow your heart. Sometimes that is harder to do because our mind wants so desperately to lead the way.” Placing her hand on my chest, she smiled sweetly. “Your heart will never lead you down the wrong path, Preston. You just have to learn to listen to it.”

  Leaning over, I kissed my mother on the cheek. “How did you become so wise?”

  “Experience, my dear boy. Experience.”

  —

  Sitting at the kitchen table, I watched as my mother and Harmony peeled potatoes at the sink. Angie stood next to Harmony as she rolled out a piecrust and talked about how amazing the winter formal dance was that she’d gone to that past weekend. Harmony’s laugh moved through my body and filled it with something I had never experienced before. It was a feeling of pure happiness. Almost as if I needed her near me just so I could breathe.

  “So, what kind of nurse do you want to be, Harmony?” Angie asked.

  “Neonatal nurse, I think,” Harmony said as she set a peeled potato on the cutting board.

  My mother turned to Harmony and smiled. “My best friend is a neonatal nurse.”

  Harmony’s posture perked up. “Really?”

  With a smile, my mother replied, “Yep, we met in nursing school.”

  Harmony’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a nurse?”

  Laughing, my mom shook her head. “I was a nurse. Operating room.”

  “Oh wow! I didn’t know that.”

  Nodding, my mother turned to me and said, “That was before kids. Once I had my children, they became my everything.”

  Harmony’s face softened. “I bet.” Her voice sounded sad, yet I thought there was a bit of happiness trying to make its way out. Setting the last potato down, Harmony turned to me and smiled.

  “Do you want to take a walk?” I asked.

  “Oh, Harmony, you’ll love it here! Preston, be sure to take her to our secret spot!” Angie said as she dropped the rolling pin and frantically texted someone. My sister’s attention span was short to say the least.

  Harmony pushed off the counter and turned to my mom. “Did you need me to do anything else?”

  Waving her hand, my mother shook her head. “Go have fun, sweetheart.”

  Standing, I motioned for Harmony to go first. As we walked out the back door, Harmony took in a deep breath. “The air is so…clean!”

  Letting out a chuckle, I agreed. “Yeah, it is. I love coming home to Charlton. Something about being out of the city is refreshing.”

  As we walked along, Harmony reached down for my hand and my stomach did about ten flips. Does she even realize how much her touch affects me? Things felt natural with Harmony and I was almost positive she felt the same way.

  “Would you want to live somewhere like this? I mean, you know, when you decide to settle down and raise a family?”

  Smiling, I looked straight ahead. “I couldn’t wait to get out of here when I was younger. Now, all I want to do is come back.” Peeking over at
Harmony, I couldn’t help but notice she was walking with a huge smile on her face. Looking straight ahead again, I continued talking. “So, yeah, I could totally see myself living on a piece of land here, building a house on it, and raising a family.”

  Bumping her shoulder with mine, I asked, “What about you?”

  “Oh yeah. I could totally see myself living in the country. Trey wanted to live in the city. I wanted to move farther out so that TJ could have a place to run and play. I grew up close to Boston, but we still had about seven acres of land. My father had to be close to Boston. I think my mother would have rather been in a four-story row house on Comm Avenue. I loved it, though. I would find myself walking around the gardens for hours just lost in thought.”

  We walked along the trail for a few minutes in silence. “How many acres do your parents have?” Harmony asked.

  “Twenty. My father lucked out and got it for a great price. Built the house for my mother with his brothers and father. My mom says we will have to take her out of the house in a pine box.”

  Laughing, Harmony stopped and looked over toward a large tree house that Finn and Wes had built years ago. “Is that a tree house?” Harmony asked as she made her way over to it.

  My mind was flooded with images of Harmony sitting on a porch in a rocking chair, rocking a baby. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I followed. “Yeah, this is Angie’s secret place she was talking about.”

  Harmony looked at me, confused. “But it’s right here along the path. How is that secret?”

  Blowing out my cheeks, I exhaled and shrugged. “It’s Angie. I don’t question her anymore.”

  Covering her mouth, Harmony giggled. “Is that a swing?” she asked in an excited voice.

  “Sure is.”

  The next thing I knew, Harmony was sitting on the swing motioning for me to push her.

  Walking behind her, I grabbed the chains, pulled back, and let go. Harmony dropped her head back and closed her eyes as she smiled. “I feel like I’m flying.” Laughing, she said, “It’s freeing.”

  Gently pushing her on her back, I asked, “So why did you buy a condo on Comm Avenue if you want to be outside of Boston?”

  Her smile faded slightly as she brought her head up. “Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Closer to school and work and something different.”