Crack.

“Ah!” Harper screams, spinning quickly to face me.

I hold my hands up, trying to calm her. “Sorry. It’s just me.”

“Oh my God.” Harper presses her palm into her chest. “I think I just lost a few years of my life. I didn’t hear your truck.”

“Griffin dropped me off.” I bend at the waist and pick up the old soup can I accidentally knocked over. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s okay.” She comes up to me and pulls me into a big hug. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. Both of us are wearing the navy-blue Syracuse University sweatshirts my parents got us for our graduation parties, the same ones we had to take multiple pictures in together. “Tonight was fun but also weird, having to say goodbye to everyone.”

Parties for the Knightlys are never small gatherings. They always involve the whole town; if you leave out the wrong person, you’re bound to have someone mad at you and making your life a living hell the next day. On the plus side, we both got a lot of cards full of cash. I mentally told myself I would stuff it away so I could save it for future dates with Harper.

The only other time I’ve been to New York was when I was visiting Syracuse, so I’ve never really explored. I plan on it during my off times, and there is only one person I want to explore with.

Standing on her toes, Harper plants a kiss on my chin. “I have everything set up next to the fireplace—come on.” She guides me into the grand ballroom and pulls me down onto the blanket we’ve spent many nights on. But this time, there seems to be more of a cushion underneath it.

Fuck, I really think tonight is the night.

We both lie down and face each other, our hands clasped together in front of us. “I’m sad,” she whispers.

Okay, not what I was expecting.

“Sad? Why?”

She looks around, her beautiful eyes lit up by the battery-operated lantern above us casting a faint orange glow. “I don’t know. I thought that by now we would have figured out who wrote those letters. We had some good leads, but they’ve gone nowhere. The yearbooks failed us.”

“I know.” I sigh. “I wish we could have figured it out too. Who knows? When we’re back here for the summer, we could try to solve the mystery.”

“You’re coming back for the summer?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I push a strand of hair off her face.

She shrugs. “Not sure. Will you have to stay with summer training and all that?”

“Not the whole summer. I do get some sort of a break. I’ll have to go back early like I’m going out early this time.”

“Yeah, I wish I could go with you.”

I tilt her chin up and give her a soft kiss. “It’s a few weeks. Nothing to worry about. When you come down, I’ll already know my way around campus, so I can be your personal tour guide.”

“Is that right?”

I nod, pulling her in by the hip. “You’re going to have to tip me, but yeah, I’ll be your tour guide.”

“And what kind of tips do you take?”

I kiss her again, this time parting her lips with my tongue. “You know . . . the sexy kind.” My hand slips under her sweatshirt to the small of her back. I hold her in place while I explore her mouth, letting my tongue do all the work.

Settling in, I get ready for a long night of making out with promises of more when Harper pulls away and presses her hand to my chest. Worry flashes through her eyes as she bites her bottom lip.

I know that look. She’s fixated on something, and there’s no way we’re going to be able to move on with tonight until she gets it off her mind.

“What’s wrong, Harp?”

She looks off to the side. “You know, sometimes I’m afraid we won’t make it. Most high school couples break up in college, so what makes us any different? We love each other now, but what if that changes?”

I shake my head, 100 percent sure. “We’re solid, Harp. You’re it for me, and nothing is going to stop me from making you mine for the rest of my life.”

“I know that, Rogan. And you’re it for me too. But I still have my insecure moments, you know?”

“You have no need to feel insecure, Harp.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I should be stronger for you, but I already lost my mom. I don’t think I could stand losing you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, so you have nothing to worry about. I don’t think you realize how much I rely on you. I don’t just love you; I need you. This is a new chapter in our life. And even if we don’t end up in Port Snow, we’ll always be able to make a home and a family together.”

Smiling now, a small tear in her eye, she brings her forehead to mine. “I love you, Rogan.”

“I love you too.”

She lowers her lips to mine, and I part my mouth for her. Our tongues fuse, dancing against each other as our hands start to explore. I move my palm up her sweatshirt, across her abdomen and along the ridges of her ribs until I reach her bare breasts. I groan into her mouth, taking a small mound into my palm.

I flick my thumb over her nipple a few times before rolling it between my fingers. She gasps into my mouth and pulls away. Fuck, did she not like that? When I open my eyes, I’m met with a dark, heady look from Harper.

Okay . . . maybe she liked it.

Keeping her eyes trained on me, she licks her lips and lowers her hand to the bulge in my jeans. Her fingers run along the length and then slip inside. A hiss escapes me as my head drops to the floor, my will slipping. Please let tonight be the night. I don’t think I can take one more dry-humping session. Even though they’re hot as fuck, I need more. I need to show this girl how much she means to me, how without a doubt I’ll never leave her.

Ever.

“Harper—”

“Shh.” She presses her finger to my mouth right before she reaches for the hem of her sweatshirt and pulls it over her head, revealing perfect tits, round and high with little rose-colored nipples. Hell, if I wasn’t already hard, I would be now.

My chest rises and falls as I reach up and bring one of her tits into my palm. So goddamn perfect.

I sit up and slowly maneuver her onto the ground. I reach behind me and pull my sweatshirt over my head, toss it into a pile with hers. Both naked up top, I position my body over hers and lower my mouth to her breasts, sucking on one of her puckered nipples. Her hands tangle in my hair as she thrusts her chest up.

“God, I love you,” she mutters and spreads her legs, letting me fall between them. I take that opportunity to move farther down her torso until I reach the waistband of her jeans.

I glance up at her. “I want you tonight, Harper. All of you.”

“I want you too, Rogan.”

“I’ll go slow, I promise.”

“I trust you.” She pauses. “I trust you with my whole heart.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HARPER

“The fucking nerve of that man,” I mutter, walking down the sidewalk to the Lobster Landing.

“Are you still mad about the other day?” Eve asks, keeping up with my quick pace.

Hands stuffed in my pockets, head ducked into my scarf, I try to avoid the whip of the freezing wind off the ocean. “Yes, I’m still mad. He yelled at me, even though his brother called me over. Do you really think I would go up to him on purpose? Yeah, no thank you. Not after the whole bar scene.”

“God, I wish I’d been there. I would have loved to see the look on your face.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She pats my shoulder before tucking her hand back in her pocket. “I mean that with love.”

“If my dad wasn’t so keen on having some godforsaken fudge for his birthday, there’s no way I’d be on this end of Main Street, but the man asked for one thing and one thing only: Lobster Landing fudge. What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Pray that you don’t run into Rogan. Which I’m sure you won’t. The man has better things to do than sit around his family’s shop. You know, he’s really made a name for himself around here.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that before . . . asshole.” Eve snorts, and we breeze across the last few feet of sidewalk and barrel into the Lobster Landing, instantly greeted by the sweet smell of the fudge confectionary and bakery. Tourists from all around flock to Port Snow just to come here and indulge. To say the Knightlys have kept the town at the forefront of tourism is an understatement. And they are more than gracious with their business success, constantly donating and giving back to the community, making sure everyone has their hand in the pot.