He’d brought this pain on himself by being reckless and impulsive andaddicted– to her laugh, her taste, her warmth. Toher.
Fraser felt like the life had been leached from him as he crossed the road. He forced his legs to walk into the tavern, only to distract himself from the truth stirring like cement in his chest.
She was already gone.
“Where’s Harper?” was the first question his Mum asked when he walked into the Turloch Corner Tavern alone. He huffed and slumped onto the chair opposite her and his sister, shaking his head.
“Oh, crap,” Cam said quietly. “She told you.”
He snapped his head up, ire burning inside him. “Youknew?”
Harper had told his bloody meddling sister before she’d toldhim? They might not have been in a serious relationship, but he sort of thought he’d earned the right to know that the woman he’d been making love to just two nights ago was leaving.
Cam lifted her hands in surrender. “She only told me and Eiley today! She was upset, that was all. We helped talk her—” She paused. “Hang on. Why aren’t you with her instead of us?”
“What do you mean she was upset?” Fraser asked.Whywas she upset? She’d made the choice to leave. She was getting the promotion she’d clearly wanted. She’d been the one to keep this casual, convince him to make the most of each other while they could.
Cam jabbed a thumb into her shoulder. “I asked first. What have you gone and done, you big tube?”
“I didn’t do anything. I said she should go for it because she deserves the success she wants. Then she said she was tired and she wanted to walk home.”
“You utter nincompoop!” She flicked him on the forehead. Hard.
“Ow!” he complained, rubbing away the sharp sting.
“Oh, deary me,” said Mum, shaking her head. “Deary, deary me, Fraser.”
“What? I did the right thing!” His voice rose to a shrill, defensive crescendo. Why were they looking at him like he was the child at preschool who kept licking the fingerpaints?
“You absolutely did,” said Cam.
“Thank you.”
“Not!” she bellowed, slamming her elbows on the table so hard that her pint sloshed in its glass. A sea of eyes turned to their table in surprise, but Cam didn’t seem to care. “You were supposed to ask her how she was feeling, not pack up her suitcase and send her on her merry way!”
Fraser rubbed a hand over his face roughly. He really didn’t need this tonight. “I didn’tneedto ask how she feels,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “We both knew this would come to an end.”
“Oh, Fraser, I despair.” Mum huffed out a long breath and glugged down her white wine. “You were supposed to ask her to stay!”
“Yes!” agreed Cam, but then her brows knitted together. “Wait, no. That wasn’t what he was supposed to do, Mum. You can’t be asking a strong, independent woman to sacrifice her career.”
“Exactly. So I didn’t,” he retorted.
“Oh, that’s very true. So what was he supposed to do?” asked Mum.
“He wassupposedto ask her whatshewanted,” she answered pointedly. “If he had, he might have realised that Harper does notwantto go back to Manchester yet, because she’s obsessed with him and her heart is in writing.”
“Obsessed?” Fraser cut in. “She said that?”
“She didn’t have to, you dolt,” said Cam, “because it’s patently obvious that you are both mad for each other. Now, as I was saying: if you had asked her, you could have figured out a way where you can both get what you want.”
“Oh, yes. That sounds reasonable.” Mum nodded, wiping the wine from her mouth. “You should have done that, Fraser.”
He scoffed, casting his eyes to the heavens. “It must be nice to live in a fantasy world where everything is all butterflies and rainbows! We agreed that there would come a time when Harper would have to leave. This was inevitable. I’m not going to fight for something we already knew we’d have to lose and make things complicated!”
“Yes, because god forbid things get complicated, Fraser.” Cam’s tone verged on something beyond her usual sarcasm. Something cutting.
Fraser flinched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
