Heat rushes to her cheeks as she bites down on her bottom lip. She lowers her gaze as if she’s embarrassed.
“Harp. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Screw that Shayla chick and—”
“It’s not that.” She swallows hard and finally meets my eyes. I wait for her to elaborate, but when she doesn’t, I take a step closer and cup her cheek.
“Close your eyes,” I whisper.
When she obliges, I slowly brush my lips against hers. She leans in, and her breath hitches as we move in sync. Her little whimpers encourage me to deepen the kiss, and when she parts her soft lips, I swipe my tongue between them.
Harper tastes sweet and salty as if she’s been eating her favorite snack—peanut M&Ms mixed with buttery popcorn. The warmth of her breath brushes against my cheek as I move my mouth to her ear.
“Better?” I whisper. My heart beats erratically. By her heavy breathing, she’s having a similar reaction. She was so uptight, I needed to do something to distract her so she’d calm down.
She nods, keeping her eyes closed.
“I don’t know why I’m so jittery about this,” she says, finally looking at me. “But I’ll feel a million times better after it’s over, and I won’t have to face Shayla again.”
“It’ll be here and done with before we know it,” I say, though I secretly don’t want it to be. Right now is the only time I’ll ever be allowed to kiss her. “Oh, before we go, I have a surprise for you.”
Putting unwanted space between us, I pull the velvet box from my pocket and hold it out for her.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“Hadleigh suggested it. We’ll need this to be believable, so I got you a ring.”
I open it, and Harper’s eyes immediately widen in shock. “Oh my gosh. That’s the most beautiful fake engagement ring I’ve ever seen.”
She slowly slides it over her left ring finger. “It’s so sparkly.”
Hadleigh reappears from the hallway and eyes Harper’s hand. “You actually got one?” she states as if she’s impressed I listened. “Let me see.”
Harper shows it off, which is what she’ll be expected to do at the event.
“That’s some rock, Romeo,” she mocks.
“Don’t the diamonds look real?” Harper asks.
Hadleigh furrows her brows and tugs on Harper’s hand. She then shoots her gaze at me.
“Yeah…they do,” Hadleigh states suspiciously, eyeing me as if she’s waiting for a confirmation.
“It is,” I finally confess. I don’t want to deceive Harper, so I’d rather tell her now.
“I knew it,” Hadleigh blurts out at the same time as Harper gasps.
“What? You weren’t supposed to get a real ring,” she scolds. “Why would you—?”
“We can’t go to that event with a bubble gum ring. Either it’d blow the whole thing, or everyone would think I’m a cheap-ass fiancé. So I figured I’d buy one now and just return it later. No big deal.” I shrug, shoving the box into my pocket.
“Ethan, you need to return this right away.” She takes it off and holds it toward me. “What if I lose it? Or break it or—”
I take her hand and slide it back on her finger. “It’s fine. I trust you.”
“Ethan.” She frowns.
“C’mon, we gotta go before we lose sunlight.” I flash her a wink and lead her to the door.
“I’m no pro, but I think these will be some amazing engagement pictures,” Hadleigh says as she scrolls through her camera.
She’s put us in every cliché couple pose she found on Pinterest, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious to see them.
“Alright, just a few more. The sun is level with the hills behind y’all, so these are going to look so romantic.” Hadleigh approaches us and shows us which position to get into next. “Kiss her forehead as she places her left hand on your chest. I’ll zoom in on the ring, and with the sunset in the background, it’ll be perfect.”
It’s been almost an hour of this, but luckily, Harper’s relaxed, and all of her nervous energy has dissipated. The touching, kissing, gazing into each other’s eyes—it’s the most intimate thing I’ve ever experienced.
And I hate that I can’t just confess how right it feels to be with her like this. Especially when she needs me as a friend right now.
“Gorgeous! Love it. So good.” Hadleigh clicks a few more times, then tells us one more kissing photo. “The sunset between you two is almost orgasmic.”
Harper bursts out laughing and scolds Hadleigh with a sharp glare. “You’re terrible.”
“Ready? Get into position.”
Though we’ve already kissed a dozen times tonight, it’s the way Harper’s currently looking at me that makes the blood rush down my body. She slowly licks her lips and waits for me to close the gap. Unable to help myself, I cup her face with one hand and lower the other down her back. She places her left hand on my chest but fists my shirt in her right, keeping us pressed together. Palming her ass, I know my erection’s digging into her stomach. There’s no way she can’t feel it, but neither of us moves.