Harper’s mouth spread into a wide smile—the action sent a sucker punch right to his gut. How the hell did a grin have his breath catching in his throat? She’d flashed a saucy smile at him before, but nothing like this. She genuinely beamed.
“Because I have a vision and it’s all in my head,” she explained. “Every aspect of what I want to do with this place is like a living piece, and there’s no way I’ll forget a single one of them.”
“But...you do have everything documented. Right?”
Harper rolled her eyes and laughed. “My sister would come back and haunt me if I didn’t have everything documented and backed up.”
“Did you work long with your sister before she passed?”
Damn it. He hadn’t meant to ask. That was too personal, and a question that would only lead to exposing vulnerability.
“Not long enough,” she murmured, her smile instantly fading. “I believe everything happens for a reason, but I just can’t fathom why she was taken at such a young age. I mean, surely there was so much more for her to accomplish. You just don’t realize how fragile life is until someone intimately close to you is gone. That sounds clichéd, but it’s true.”
Ethan had experienced those very same thoughts for so long after his mother passed. He knew that pain, knew that aching void that nothing or no one could ever fill.
Ultimately, that’s how he ended up living a reckless life, stumbling into owning and operating a string of profitable nightclubs and making billions. Yeah, everything happened for a reason, but he’d give it all back to have his mother.
“Then accomplish it for her,” he finally stated.
Harper chewed her bottom lip for just a moment. Some women did that as a coy way to flirt, but he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t playing some cutesy little game. Her thoughts were on her sister, on their business. Her loyalty and commitment were admirable traits, and as much as this whole baby news was still a shock, Harper had qualities he’d want his child to possess.
“I plan on doing just that,” she confirmed. “Every job I take will be done in her honor. I won’t fail, because I refuse to even allow the thought to enter my mind.”
“Spoken like a true businesswoman.”
Harper laughed and came to her feet. “I don’t know about that. I never had my heart set on business, but I am creative and enjoy using my mind for work. I sort of just stumbled into the business part.”
“That’s how the best companies get started,” he explained. “I never thought about going into business, either. Yet here I am.”
Harper tipped her head to the side as her dark brows drew in. “And what are you, exactly? Jet-setting playboy tycoon?”
Ouch. That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. Clearly he hadn’t made the best impression. Even though her description was dead on, he still didn’t like the words coming out of her mouth.
Now he had to show the mother of his child—and prove to himself—that he was so much more. Because he was, damn it.
It was time for him to step up his game...and maybe open up that bank of emotions he’d kept on lockdown for nearly two decades.
Five
Maybe she shouldn’t have thrown out such a label. From the pained expression on his face, she wasn’t sure if he was reeling from the insult or trying to figure a way to defend himself.
“Ethan, I—”
“No.” He held up a hand. “I’d say you’re accurate. I work hard, I play hard. I won’t apologize for the man I am. But at the same time, I’m not heartless and I’m not a bastard. I enjoy all aspects of my life, and sometimes I use coping mechanisms.”
Sex. He used sex to cope...but what pain was he masking? Who had hurt him?
“Back to business,” he said, circling around. “Because that’s something where we can relate. I stumbled into my area as well, but after ten years, I’m damn good at what I do, and I couldn’t imagine anything else.”
“Nice dodge on your personal issues,” she half joked.
With a mock nod, he smiled, and that gleaming grin had her nerves curling low in her belly. She had to remember even though he used sex as a line of defense, he still used it. She couldn’t fall for his charms simply because he was irresistible and she carried his baby.
She’d done her fair share of using when it came to this fling...which was all the more reason to keep mentally reminding herself what this was and what it wasn’t.
“So what is it that you do?” she prodded when he said nothing.
“I own nightclubs on both the East and the West Coasts. I’m acquiring a bistro in France, and I’ve been sniffing around a couple of pubs in Sco