Ethan studied her profile, trying to capture the proper words to describe
the beauty she radiated.
“I don’t know what to think,” she murmured.
The gentle waves filled the silence, and he waited.
“Did you have my father arrested?”
Ethan pulled in a breath. “No, I didn’t.”
Harper’s gaze shifted to his, her brows rising. “Why? That’s all you’ve wanted.”
“That used to be all I wanted,” he corrected.
Unable to be this close and not touch her, he took a chance and reached for her hand, the one she clutched her skirt with.
The material fell down around her ankles as he raked his thumb over her knuckles.
She trembled.
“After my mother died, I shut down,” he started. “Ask Dane. I even closed off from my own twin. I didn’t want to feel anything for anyone. I wanted to crawl inside myself and never get hurt again.”
Harper’s chin quivered, but he kept going. He had her attention—this was the opening and the chance he’d been waiting on...he’d been praying for.
“Then Robert took the main part of my mother’s legacy, and I didn’t know what to do,” he stated. “I know I was too young to run the place myself, but I would’ve listened to her managers. I would’ve done anything to make sure nothing severed that bond between my mother and me.”
He drew in another shaky breath and squeezed her hand. “You know that I’ve been wanting revenge on my stepfather, and he deserves to have everything taken from him. But that all changed the second I realized you were his daughter.”
“I don’t know the man like you do,” she supplied. “I met him when I was twenty, and we’ve had a handful of interactions since then. I believe you about the kind of man he is. What hurts is the fact you didn’t tell me the moment you knew.”
Ethan nodded in agreement. “I know I hurt you. Harper, you have to believe me. The second I found out, I started trying to find a way to make sure you were not involved in this backlash. I wanted to shield you and our baby from everything ugly about this. I know I should’ve come to you, but I wanted to handle it myself.”
Emotion clogged his throat, and he swallowed back the lump as his eyes began to burn.
“I wasn’t able to protect my mother,” he choked out. “You’re the only other woman I’ve ever loved, and I needed to make sure you—”
“What did you say?”
Ethan stopped and blinked. “What?”
“You said you loved me,” she stated, tears swimming in her eyes.
A swell of warmth spread through him. He hadn’t even realized he’d said the word, but now that it was out, he realized that’s the exact word he’d been searching for to describe how he felt about Harper.
“Did you mean it?” she asked.
Ethan smiled for the first time in what felt like days. “Yeah, I did. I love you, Harper.”
Tears spilled from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. He released her hand and framed her face, swiping at the moisture with the pads of his thumbs.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “People are probably looking.”
“Of course they are. Who wouldn’t, at the most beautiful woman in the world.” Ethan took a step closer until his chest brushed hers. “And who cares? Don’t be afraid to show who you are.”
“I don’t know who I am,” she said. “I wanted to be the reckless woman having a heated affair with this hot stranger. Then I wanted to be the woman who was strong and could be a great mother. Then I thought maybe, just maybe, you and I could grow together and perhaps fall in love and raise our child as a family.”
“You’re all of those women,” he told her.