She smiled. “Well, now I know why Norcross men are so handsome.”
Ethan grinned. “I like her.”
Easton’s mom bustled out of the kitchen. “Let’s eat. Everyone to the table.”
Easton slid an arm around Harlow. “Okay?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
Chapter Fourteen
Harlow sipped her wine. She’d found dinner relaxing and fun.
Mrs. Norcross had cooked lasagna, and it had been delicious. Easton and his brothers liked giving each other a hard time in a fun, sibling way, with Gia getting in her fair share of digs as well.
Ethan and Clara Norcross were friendly, supportive, loving parents. As Harlow listened to the conversation, she stared at her red wine. She realized that while she loved her family, they didn’t have this type of connection.
Growing up, her father was often busy, or in meetings, and her mother was frequently in bed with a headache. Scarlett was younger than Harlow, and while Harlow adored her sister, they didn’t have loads in common.
“Hey.” Easton touched Harlow’s chin. He had one arm resting along the back of her chair. “Where did you go?”
“Just thinking. You have a great family, Easton.”
“Yes, when they aren’t driving me crazy.” She heard the affection in his voice. Vander called out to him and he turned away.
When she looked up, she found Mrs. Norcross watching her speculatively. Harlow swallowed.
Clara rose, lifting some plates. “Harlow, will you give me a hand in the kitchen?”
Uh-oh. She felt the inevitable interrogation coming on.
Harlow stacked some plates and took them into the bright-white kitchen. It had top-of-the-line appliances, and gorgeous, white-marble countertops.
“Your kitchen is lovely.”
Clara smiled. “Easton renovated it for me a few years back.”
“He loves you.”
“Yes, and he takes good care of those he loves. It’s in his blood. When he joined the Army, I wasn’t surprised. He wanted to serve his country and help other people.”
Harlow nodded.
“But going to war changed him.” The older woman’s dark eyes turned shadowed. “He rarely talks of it.”
“He’s told me a little. I see the darkness sometimes.”
Clara nodded. “He fights it back, but sometimes he’s too hard on himself.”
Harlow smiled. “You mean he’s a workaholic who can’t stop and relax.”
“Yes.”
They shared a smile of understanding.
“My Easton needs someone who brings him sunshine and joy, but who can handle the dark.”
Harlow’s belly churned. All she’d brought him was headaches. “I agree. He needs someone like that.”
Clara arched a brow. “You talk like that isn’t you.”
Harlow pulled in a breath, fighting to keep a hold on her emotions. “We both know it isn’t. Easton deserves the best, and it isn’t me. I’m not bringing him calm and happiness, I’m bringing him stress and problems. I’m not good enough for him.”
Easton stalked into the kitchen, his face angry and his gaze on Harlow. “That’s bullshit.”
She held up her hand. “Easton—”
He grabbed her arms. “I don’t want to hear you talk like that about yourself again. You don’t think you bring me calm and happiness?”
“No! Because of me you got shot at, and had to beat up two guys, and it’s not over yet. You and Vander are spending a fortune to protect me and find my father—”
Easton made an annoyed sound. “I don’t care about any of that. You don’t think when you make an acerbic comment about how rich I am, or how I work too hard, I don’t feel like laughing? You don’t think when you smile, I don’t feel the warmth?”
Her pulse went crazy. Oh, God.
“You don’t think when I’m deep inside you, I don’t feel happy?”
Harlow’s mouth dropped open. His words hit her in her heart, but— “Easton, your mother is standing right there!” Heat flooded her cheeks.
“My mother knows her kids have sex.”
Clara laughed softly. “And she has sex, too.”
Easton’s face froze, then he winced. “Ma, not another word.” He refocused on Harlow and cupped her cheeks. “You don’t think when you sleep pressed against me, I don’t feel fucking everything?”
“Easton, language,” Clara said quietly.
He ignored his mom.
Harlow swallowed, her chest about to burst. “My father—”
“You are not your father. You’re not responsible for his actions, or his mess.” Easton pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re beautiful, smart, hard-working—”
“You should be with someone extraordinary. Some gorgeous woman with four degrees, who speaks French and Italian, who started her own business and turned it into a multimillion-dollar empire with her intelligence, grit, and savvy.”
“I don’t want your imaginary perfect woman, Harlow, I want you.” He nipped her lips. “You see me. You see Easton. You don’t see my bank account, or my position, or my influence. You’re about as easy to give anything to as hugging a hedgehog.”
Harlow sniffed. “Hedgehogs are cute.”
His lips quirked. “You’re mine now.”
She melted against him. She could only put up so much of a fight, and she had no defenses against Easton Norcross.
“And you can always learn French and Italian.”
She elbowed him.
“Wonderful.” Clara clapped her hands together, her face filled with satisfaction. “Now, time for dessert.” She pulled a tray of cannoli out of the fridge.
Harlow met Easton’s gaze and he ran his finger down her nose. Then he tugged her back into the dining room.
She ate until her skirt waistband was digging into her skin.
“Time to go home,” Easton murmured.
Home. Together.
“Harlow,” Gia said. “We’re doing drinks tomorrow. It’s Saturday, and you need to destress.”
“How about we go to Charmaine’s?” Haven suggested.
Oh, Harlow had only been to the funky rooftop bar once, and loved it.
Easton leaned forward. “I want Harlow safe until the issues with her father are sorted. No going out.”
Thinking of her father made Harlow’s contentment from the evening dim.
“Fine,” Gia said, undeterred. “Drinks at Easton’s bar.”
Harlow frowned. “Easton’s bar?”
“He has an entire bar room in that big house of his. There’s a pool table, and the bar is fully-stocked.” Gia reached out and squeezed Harlow’s hand. “We’ll make our own fun.”
“Maybe I have plans,” Easton said.
“Now you have better ones,” his sister countered.
He shook his head.
Finally, they said their goodbyes.
“I’ll call when we have something,” Vander said. “Your dad can’t have gotten far.”
“Thanks, Vander,” Harlow said.
Ethan Norcross hugged her, and for a second, she wanted to hold on to his solid body and absorb as much of his paternal comfort as possible.