I’d never been a big talker. In fact hearing the words “we need to talk” ranked right up there with standing with my feet spread wide while the Rockettes’ took turns kicking my crotch. So the fact that I’d uttered those very words to Harmony was almost the same as if I’d asked my mom for Grandma Burke’s ring for her. I was still reeling from my own declaration when she’d taken the reins and headed in a completely opposite direction.
This wasn’t the talk I wanted to have, but from the look in Harmony’s vivid green gaze it was the one we were going to have.
“Coop asked me about the animals because of the project that I’ve…that we’ve…been working on.”
Her perfectly arched left brow rose a quarter of an inch. “We’ve been working on?”
“Yep. You, because you’re bound by law, and me because it’s my baby.”
The corners of her cat eyes pinched and her head tilted to the right as she repeated slowly. “Your baby?”
“About four years ago I got an idea. It started because of a couple of kids that I became attached to after a bust that their parents were involved in, were put in the foster care system. I checked in on them regularly and during one of my visits they told me they wanted to go to camp. When I spoke to their foster parents, they explained they couldn’t afford to send all six of the kids that they have. So I took care of it.”
“You sent all six kids?” Harmony’s question was filled with awe and hero worship that made me as uncomfortable as a nun in a strip club.
I nodded. “They all went to camp that summer, and I saw what a difference it made in their lives. They still talk about that summer, and it was four years ago.”
Harmony held her hand up. “Wait. How do you know these kids?”
“I met Patrick and Liana my first week on the job. They were malnourished and neglected. I’ve kept tabs on them. Their foster parents are great people; they have four biological children and took in Liana and Patrick so that they wouldn’t be separated. With six kids they just can’t afford things like camp, or sports, or extracurricular activities. I help out when I can.
“But that’s just two kids. I wanted to do more. I wanted to start a camp where underprivileged, at-risk kids could go, free of charge. That idea has changed over the years. What started as a goal to host a camp once a year, turned into owning my own property with six weeks of camp over the entire summer. A few months ago I put the down payment on the place up at Emerald Cove and since then things have moved quickly.”
“You’re funding this alone?” Her question didn’t surprise me. I made a decent living, but it wasn’t like I was going to be making the Forbes list in my lifetime.
“So far, yes.” I hadn’t talked to anyone about what I was about to say, not even my parents. “But there is an offer on the table from someone who wants to make a large, an obscenely large, donation. And if I accept it, it’ll be game changing.”
A silence hung in the air.
“Okaaaaay…so, that’s good, right?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. That was the million-dollar, or in this case five-million-dollar question. “Maybe.”
“You don’t know if it’s a good thing or not?”
“No.”
“Wow.” Harmony sighed and blinked slowly. “You really are bad at this.”
I wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but whatever it was, she was most likely right. Around her, it felt like I was bad at everything. Especially keeping my mind on things that didn’t involve stripping her naked, exploring every inch of her sweet curves, and driving myself into her.
An X-rated slideshow was playing in my mind when I heard a whoosh of air before a slap landed on my arm.
“What the…?” I reached up to touch the spot where her palm had just touched.
“You can’t ignore me when I’m sitting in your truck and we’re having a conversation!” she screeched.
My jaw clenched as the desire to show her just how much I wasn’t ignoring her shot arousal through me. That reaction was exactly why I knew that my new plan of action was the right one to take. Even though it was killing me that now wasn’t the time to implement it.
“Believe me, I’m not ignoring you.” The huskiness in my tone was a byproduct of the need raging through me. I hoped Harmony wouldn’t pick up on it before I got it under control.
“Oh.” Harmony’s lips made a perfect circle and her eyes widened.
Too late.
The air surrounding us crackled. It was so thick with undeniable chemistry, pent-up desire, and combustible attraction you could cut it with a knife.
“What am I bad at?” My only shot at getting out of this unscathed was to answer her and do my best to extinguish the heat being generated between us. If not, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from touching the flame.
A moment of confusion crossed her delicate features before a knowing look replaced it. “Oh, right. Talking. You’re bad at having a conversation. Getting information out of you is like pulling teeth.”
That wasn’t the first time I’d heard that, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.