“Was that before or after they threw up on their shoes?” she asked drily.
I chuckled before I could stop myself. Harlow was almost as sarcastic as I was sometimes. “Most of them didn’t have to be drunk to relish being seen with a Montgomery.”
“So is that all you’ve got?” she questioned. “Some one-nighters and short relationships because you dated some of the biggest idiots on the planet?”
“I wasn’t exactly in favor of Hudson’s relationship with Taylor in the very beginning,” I confessed. “I tried to talk him out of taking her home with him.”
“Why?” she asked in a surprised tone.
“Because I knew he felt guilty about what happened because she was there for Montgomery. I thought he was motivated by guilt, and I didn’t want him to get in over his head. I backed off once I realized he actually had feelings for her other than guilt, but I was an asshole. I should have known he wasn’t going to pass her care on to someone else, even during the rescue. It was a long damn hike back to the coast from the rebel camp, and he never once let me carry Taylor. I took both our packs, but he was insistent that he didn’t want her to wake up and not recognize who was carrying her.”
“How bad was it, really?” Harlow asked earnestly.
I wasn’t even going to pretend like I didn’t know what she was asking. “It was bad. I wasn’t even sure she’d live until we got her to the coast. It was a fucking miracle she still had a heartbeat when we got there. I don’t know how you two survived in that little shithole. It was sweltering when we broke in to get to Taylor, and it was the middle of the damn night. Under any circumstance Hudson and I could think of, Taylor was already dead from dehydration, but we had to try. Even if all we could do for her was bring her body home.”
“I knew it was bad,” Harlow said in a tremulous voice. “But Taylor downplayed it as much as possible. Thank you for telling me the truth.”
Oh, hell, maybe I shouldn’t have told her. I hated hearing her upset. “She made it, Harlow. That’s all that really matters. Once we were able to get fluids into her, we knew she was going to make it home.”
“So if they are getting married, I take it you’d approve now,” Harlow said.
“Hell, yes,” I said firmly. “Hudson would be wrecked without her, and Taylor sees him like no other woman ever has before. The two of them belong together.”
“I think you’re right,” Harlow agreed with a sigh.
Okay, so much for trying to get her to see what a dick I could be sometimes.
I wasn’t even sure why I’d felt the need to try in the first place.
Maybe I was trying to get her to alter her opinion about me so I could put a little bit of distance between the two of us.
Ever since she’d broken down and told me why she’d turned me down two years ago, all I could think about was the fact that she’d been attracted to me back then. If it hadn’t been for my crappy reputation, Harlow and I could have started dating two years ago.
I tried not to dwell on something that had never happened. Circumstances had changed, and the last thing Harlow needed from me right now was to alter our friendship in any way.
She needed more time.
She needed to feel normal.
What she didn’t need was anything that was going to throw her off-balance when she was just learning to stand on her own two feet again.
If I really wanted things to be different with Harlow in the future, I was going to have to settle my ass down and be patient.
Problem was, as she became less vulnerable, and more like the vivacious, brilliant woman I’d met two years ago, the waiting got more torturous every single day.
“Jax?” Harlow murmured.
“Yeah?”
Harlow released an audible breath. “You can tell Hudson you’re my advisor now. I’m going to tell Taylor. I think she and I need to talk. I think I’m ready now.”
Thank fuck!
I really needed my older brother’s advice to figure out how I was going to live through another damn day without trying to seduce Harlow.
Harlow
“I’m so happy for you,” I told Taylor as I hugged her tightly.
The big news had been exactly what I’d thought it would be.
Hudson and Taylor were now engaged, and the diamond engagement ring she was sporting on her left hand was absolutely stunning.
The gathering had been a small, informal dinner. Hudson, Jax, Cooper, Taylor, and I had been the only invited guests.
Riley had hauled Taylor and me into the living room after dinner, and told the men to go do something so we could indulge in some girl talk about the wedding.
Seated on the couch beside Taylor, I held onto her a little longer than necessary for a happy hug. Knowing just how close I’d come to losing her, it wasn’t easy to let her go.
“I was ecstatic when I found out,” Riley said from her seat in a comfy recliner near the sofa.
Riley’s comment finally prompted me to let go of my death grip on Taylor so she could breathe.
I’d liked Riley from the moment we’d been introduced. I almost felt like I knew her already since Jax talked about all of his siblings a lot.
I gave Taylor a little space, and picked up the glass of wine Riley had given me.
“So when is the big day?” I asked.
“Sometime next year. Late summer or early fall. We haven’t set an exact date yet,” Taylor answered. “We’re already living together, and we’re both completely committed, so we’ll give ourselves time to get everything together for the wedding. Hudson is so busy, and I’m working and getting ready to start my doctorate. There’s no real reason to rush.”
Riley laughed. “Hudson will be really antsy to tie the knot by then, but I’m glad we have time to plan.”
“Harlow, will you be my maid of honor?” Taylor asked excitedly.
I almost choked on my wine. “Me? What about Riley or one of your friends from Stanford?”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “Do you really have to ask that question after all we’ve been through? I’m not even really in contact with my friends up north anymore. Most of the casual friends I had there have finished their degrees and don’t even live there anymore. And Riley is going to be a bridesmaid. Jax is going to be the best man, and Seth will be standing up for Hudson, too. Cooper already agreed to walk me down the aisle. You’re my closest friend, Harlow.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at Taylor’s sincere expression.