Will had given Susan and Bob a merry ride, pushed their limits, tested their boundaries. After his dad, he hadn’t trusted anyone without proof that they were worth it. Susan and Bob had passed with flying colors in the end, and he’d do anything for them.
But Susan saw right to Will’s core—so deep that there was no point in even trying to deny what he was feeling. Not any of it.
“I think I’ve been in love with her from the first moment I saw her standing outside my hangar with her brother, so protective, so beautiful, so strong.” And then so free and passionate during their first fast ride. His heart brimmed over with all that he felt for Harper. “I admire everything about her. But if she knew about me—”
“You were a child, Will. Your father made you do those things for him.” Susan, God love her, made excuses for everyone, even him.
“I kept doing them even when I got older. After he went to prison.”
“It was all you knew. All you had to go on. But then you learned what was wrong, you learned what was right, and you never mixed up the two again.”
“I learned those things from you,” he said softly, remembering her never-ending patience. And loving her for it.
“Does it matter where or how or from whom you learned it? You made yourself into the man you are. That’s why I’ve always said you don’t need to wear that tattoo as some sort of reminder about your father and the life he forced you to be a part of. You’re your own man, not the least bit tainted by him in any way. And I’m so proud of you, honey.”
He could hear the tears in her voice. Susan rarely cried when she was upset. She cried when she was happy. “If you reveal who you are, I know she’ll love you as much as I do. How could she not?”
But unlike Susan and Bob and the rest of the Mavericks, Harper hadn’t lived not knowing where her next meal would come from and had no idea of the depths to which people could sink. She hadn’t known men like Will’s father. She’d never stolen or lied simply because someone ordered her to.
What if she didn’t understand that sometimes you became exactly like the very person you hated because that reflection in the mirror was the only thing you knew how to see?
“I can’t tell her, Susan.”
“Listen to me—I’m proud of you because I know what you went through. Because you rose above it. I’ve never known better men than any of my boys. And that most definitely includes you.”
Her words humbled him.
“Tell me something, Will. Do you think Harper is worthy of love? And happiness?”
“Of course she is. The biggest love. The most happiness.”
“Is she worthy of your trust?”
“Without a doubt. She’d never lie or cheat or steal.” Not like me.
“Neither would you. Not now. Not ever.”
Again, it was as though Susan was right there inside his head, hearing all the voices that had never gone away. The ones that said he didn’t deserve any of this. Not the success. Not the money. Definitely not love. And certainly not Harper.
But three days ago he hadn’t told Harper the whole story about the day he’d met the Mavericks. Despite the sun and the pool, he’d kept his T-shirt on to hide the Road Warrior tattoo. And he hadn’t told her the full truth about those bullies who had gone after Matt. Nor had he told her anything about that terrible day when he was sixteen...and he’d made the worst mistake of his life.
“If you truly trust her, then let her decide whether you’re worthy. Don’t choose for her.” Susan paused. “Trust her to realize that you’re a man of your word, not a product of your father.”
That was the question, the one he couldn’t see a straight answer for, not anymore. Was he his father’s son?
Or was he a man worthy of Harper’s love?
“She needs to know how you feel. Trust her with your secrets, Will.”
“And if she walks away?”
“Believe me, honey, if you refuse to let her in, she’ll leave anyway.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“You got tickets to Wicked?” Harper looked up with surprise into the face of the most beautiful man on the planet. A man who was giving her one of those slow, sexy smiles that always made her dizzy with desire.
“Friday night. Dinner in San Francisco. Then a private box for the show.”
It was a lovely Wednesday evening, the air cooling down after the heat of the day. Once Memorial Day was over, summer hit with temperatures that baked concrete. She and Will were taking a leisurely stroll through her modest Palo Alto neighborhood while Jeremy stayed home building a Lego kit. It wasn’t just putting blocks together anymore. There were complicated instructions, and Miss Richards felt the toy would stretch his capabilities.