Saving Us (The Billionaire Brothers of NY Duology #1)

28. Harper

CHAPTER 28

Harper

G age looked amazing in his tux. His dark hair and caramel-brown eyes popped against the bright white shirt. And his clothes always seemed as though they were poured onto him, but in the most delicious way. His jacket hugged every line of muscle across his back, along his arms when he moved, yet he never looked constricted.

And I felt beautiful. When the dresses showed up at my apartment, I felt like a princess. Well, maybe at least a little like Pretty Woman in that scene when she goes shopping. And I’d go so far to say that we looked amazing together. Driving over in a limo made everything even more glamorous. It was setting up to be a night that should be special. We would be with his co-workers and his friends. And I knew several of his friends now and liked them. I was even looking forward to seeing some of them, especially Delia and Jared.

Gage brought me flowers. He even brought me my favorite flowers, pink peonies. My boyfriend was the most thoughtful person I’ve had in my life. He was complimentary to a fault. One devouring look from him, as his eyes raked over me from top to bottom, and my confidence went through the roof.

So why did I have a sense of doom hovering over me during the entire drive?

Was I nervous about possibly meeting his ex-wife? That was most likely it, but I didn’t feel nervous when I thought about it.

My hands were shaking, so I kept them wrapped together in a ball in my lap. Could he feel my hand shaking when it was in his? As we pulled up to the hotel where the event was taking place, a heaviness settled in my chest.

Or maybe I was nervous about meeting his colleagues. These people were way out of my league. I was a florist by day and a waitress by night. Wearing a Dior gown and attending an event at the Plaza Hotel in New York City was not in my wheelhouse.

Gage exited the limo ahead of me, turned, and offered his hand to help me from the car. Always the perfect gentleman. As I stood from the door, he pulled me into his arms, a quick embrace, and brought his mouth to my ear.

“I can’t wait to show you off to this entire room tonight. No one will look as beautiful as you,” he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on my temple.

His words should make me feel weightless, as though I were floating from the compliment.

Instead, the dread remained. And was starting to make me feel sick.

Maybe I was truly nervous. He wanted to show me off. That had to be it. Different worlds. We’ve talked about it often, how I feel so disconnected from his environment. Once inside, I would get a glass of water and I’d feel better.

“Are you okay?” Gage asked as we walked inside, firmly holding my hand in his.

He squeezed it when he asked his question. Looking up, I nodded.

“I’m fine, I think I’m just nervous.”

He looked down at his phone and smiled. “Delia is already here and waiting for you.”

That offered a small amount of comfort.

My anxiety about the night dimmed even more as we approached the red-carpeted steps of the entrance to the iconic building.

It was stunning.

Each of the two doors was held open by a bellman as we moved through them, and I knew this was the closest to royalty I would ever feel. Stepping into the foyer of the classic space, we were surrounded by marble columns and flamboyant rugs and tapestries. The crystal chandelier above was a marvel.

But all it made me think about was Home Alone 2 . And I let out a small giggle.

Thankfully, Gage was engrossed with finding our way, and my little outburst went unnoticed.

“Mr. Parker,” a man dressed professionally holding a clipboard said as he came up next to us. “Nice to see you again, sir. And thank you for choosing The Plaza for your event.” He fell in step with us as we moved along toward the elevators. “Your event is in the Rose Club, as was discussed. The guests that have arrived have been escorted to the room. Let me take you there, sir.”

“Thank you, Martin,” Gage said. “May I introduce my girlfriend, Harper Wilson?”

Swapping his clipboard around, he extended a hand. “Ms. Wilson, a pleasure.”

Taking his hand in mine, I realized it was the first time I’d been introduced to a stranger as Gage’s girlfriend.

And it felt nice.

It felt really nice.

“Martin, the room is set up with couches and chairs, as well as tables, correct? I wanted it to have intimate, comfortable areas for people to sit and socialize. Not just tables to sit around.”

The gentleman referenced his papers and pulled one to the top of his pile.

“Here is the floor plan, sir. It is set up beautifully, if I may say so. The furnishings were brought in from a different room to better fit your requested contemporary theme. The gray, black, and pink color scheme looks impeccable.”

They looked over the plan together as the elevator continued to rise. When it signaled our arrival to our floor, Gage made sure to take a hold of me once again.

“Ready?” he asked.

A simple nod was all I could muster up because my nervousness and the feeling of doom returned full force as we exited.

But the room was stunning. Martin and his team had done a fabulous job. We walked into a wood-paneled space that had a huge U-shaped bar with small chatting areas set up around it. Comfy gatherings of three and four chairs with a small table in the center were spread around the perimeter of the bar. Then, through a wide staircase to a lower level was the main sitting area. It was set up with small couches and chairs in the center, arranged in cozy groupings. Several guests were already sitting, eating from served hors d’oeuvres. Then there were several tall tables and regular tables set up around the room.

And the flowers.

They were stunning.

The arrangements were chock full of pink and white roses, peonies, fluffy hydrangeas, begonias, and even some hibiscus. The greenery mixed in was almost tropical in nature, with big green wavy leaves. Fiona would be in heaven.

But I had to wonder where he got them.

“Well done, Gage, this is amazing,” I told him.

Leaning down, he whispered in my ear, “I’ll tell Fiona you approve.” His mischievous grin widened as I looked up at him.

“What?” I asked. “How?”

“That you will have to ask her. All I know is I commissioned the job with her but asked if she could keep it a secret from you, and she apparently did.”

He was looking around the room in admiration as well. “And I can’t take all the credit. Maryellen worked hard on this with Fiona. Many of the ideas were hers.” Looking down at me, he smiled. “I do love that you chose the pink dress, you look amazing in it.”

He plucked a pink rose from a nearby arrangement and placed it in my hand, a memory of what he’d done to me with one flooding my thoughts.

But then I looked around the room again.

“Did you choose this color scheme for me ?”

“It is your favorite color,” he said.

Staring around the room in stunned wonder, I acknowledged all the pink touches. From the pillows on the couches, the napkins on the tables, to the floral arrangements. So many shades of the color mixed in with grays and black. It was simple yet sophisticated.

Everything overwhelmed me.

“What if I hadn’t chosen this dress?” I asked him, turning back his way.

“Well, you would have been just as stunning regardless of the color dress. But it worked out, and you will definitely be the most beautiful woman here tonight.”

His hand went behind my neck, pulling me close as he bent down. Our mouths met and his pillowy soft lips lingered on mine as his fingers gripped the back of my neck.

“Hey you two, enough already!”

We startled at a booming voice right next to us and jumped away from each other. Jared and Delia were by our side, laughing as I blushed.

“Hi, guys!” Delia squealed. “Harper, you look amazing! Oh my god, your dress is to die for, turn around.”

Delia grabbed my hand and spun me on my heels. She pulled on my long curls, admiring my hair as well. “And your curls look perfect.”

She looked gorgeous as well. Her blonde hair pulled tight into a ponytail high on her head. Her classic hourglass body was covered in a skintight black dress and paired with red high heels and a red lip. Perfection.

“Christ, Delia, I wish I had your height and your body to pull off a dress like that. You look like a friggin model,” I told her.

Jared leaned in and kissed my cheek next. “Hi, pretty girl, nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Jared.”

“Okay boys, I’m stealing her, you two can go do whatever business shit you have to do. I think I just saw Chase come in, so go grab him and do what you must. We’ll be over here.” Delia grabbed my hand and started leading me toward one of the sitting areas.

But Gage intervened.

“Harper,” he said, taking a hold of my arm. Pulling me close to him, he whispered, “Will you be okay?”

We were in such a good place lately in our relationship. In the time since returning from Florida, we’ve made sure to talk openly about anything bothering us. Gage, especially, had gotten better at expressing when he felt insecure or hesitant.

“I’ll be fine,” I told him.

“She’ll be fine,” Delia said as she pulled me away from him, laughing as she did it.

The smile on his face as I strutted away told me he was enjoying the view. I made sure to accentuate my sway as I walked.

“Jesus, I told you he’s got it bad for you, girl,” Delia joked as she swiped two champagne flutes from a passing tray. Handing one to me, we walked toward a small sofa. “Let’s go get comfortable. My feet are killing me already.”

Before we sat, I stopped Delia, turning her toward me. “Do you remember when we were at Coney Island?”

She nodded, but looked confused.

“You were saying something similar that day, and that Gage was ‘not typical when it came to girls.’ Do you remember saying that?” I asked. “What did you mean by that?”

She turned me in the direction of the couch I knew she wanted to sit on and kept us walking.

“Well, Gage is a chronic relationship kinda guy. He can’t help it. I know he wishes he wasn’t, but he only wants to be in long-term relationships.” She paused as if she didn’t want to continue, but then turned to face me directly. “When he and Rebecca divorced, he kinda went off the deep end. He took off, left town, and I didn’t really think he was gonna want to be in a relationship again for a while. But you came along.” Her smile grew wide. “You, my dear, have changed his mind. I haven’t ever seen him this happy.”

I don’t think that was what I was expecting to hear from her, but I wasn’t unhappy with what she said.

We made our way to the couch, and once we sat, a few other women joined us. Some Delia knew, and some she didn’t. We made the rounds, introducing ourselves and, had a nice little group conversation going within minutes. It started looking a bit like a high school dance: the guys taking care of business on one side of the room while the girls socialized on the other.

“Hi, Harper! Hi, Delia!” A voice rang out above the chatter around us.

We looked up to see Amanda approaching, which meant Chase had indeed shown up. I knew that would please Gage. He was never sure with his brother. And I was pleased to see another familiar face. We made room for her on our small couch, squeezing in together and giggling like schoolgirls.

“I’m so glad we’re not hanging out with the guys. They’re literally talking shop, like really boring shit, over there,” Amanda said. “When we first got here, I didn’t see you guys and thought I was stuck alone with them all night.”

Amanda didn’t seem to be Chase’s type. But I wasn’t sure anyone knew if Chase had a type.

“We don’t want to be dragged into those conversations, do we?” Delia offered, trying to make Amanda feel welcomed.

A server had come by with some small bites on a tray, and we oohed and aahed over the variety of food offered. From shrimp cocktail to chicken satay, it all looked delicious. Just as I was about to stuff my face with a second piece of shrimp, Amanda grabbed my arm.

“Who is that girl next to Chase over there?”

Following her line of sight, I was pleasantly surprised to see Maryellen standing with him. And she looked absolutely stunning in a red slip dress that hugged her figure. Her blonde hair hung down her back, which I’d never seen before; she always had it pulled up while in the office or when meeting with me. She was with a man I didn’t recognize while speaking with both Chase and Gage. They looked our way, her smiling in my direction.

“That’s Maryellen, Gage’s assistant,” I told her. I was excited to see her. It had been weeks since we’d last talked. As I stood to walk toward her, Chase grabbed Maryellen by the hand and ushered her toward the bar in a hurried walk. The group they were with, including Gage, looked a bit confused as they watched them walk away.

As I sat back down, and tried to avoid looking at Amanda, I caught a glimpse of her looking at her phone, trying to act nonchalant.

But it was obvious she saw what I did.

A quick glance at Delia confirmed she did as well.

But then a pounding on a drum stole our attention across the room.

“The band is starting!” Delia screeched. “They’re supposed to be amazing, let’s go dance.” She grabbed my hand, and we started toward the small space they left open as a dance floor.

Dashing away, we were intentionally trying to leave Amanda behind. Once we knew we were alone, Delia let loose.

“What the hell do you think that was about?”

“I don’t know, do you think it really meant anything?” I asked.

But by the look on both their faces as Chase escorted Maryellen out of the room, it seemed pretty evident it did.

“Well, I’m not going to waste any more time thinking about it,” Delia said. “Let’s dance!”

She grabbed me by my hand and spun me around, both of us laughing out loud. A small group of others had joined us on the wood floor, and we were getting increasingly rowdier. The band was playing music from the late nineties, just my type, and I was losing myself in it. As I tossed my head from side to side, Delia whispered in my ear.

“You have an admirer.”

Following her eyes, I found Gage watching me from a ledge overlooking the dance area. Smiling, I beckoned to him with my finger, swaying my hips to the music to entice him to join me. He shook his head, held up his beer, and continued to watch from where he stood. I knew he wouldn’t join me. He didn’t like to dance, but I thought I’d give it a shot.

But then I felt more hands on me. Turning around, it was Maryellen who joined us to dance.

“Hi!” I screamed to her over the music. Leaning in so she could hear me. “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you. I didn’t know you were going to be here and I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve seen you now that Gage took over the flower account with us.”

A sly smile took over her face as she shook her head a bit, almost in disbelief, and brought her mouth to my ear.

“I almost didn’t come. But Gage made a big deal about me and Simon coming. He wants us to feel like we’re a part of the team, and I appreciate that, so here I am.”

She understood my confusion immediately.

“Simon is Chase’s assistant. That’s who I came with.”

I gave her a nod. She was not with Simon. That made the interaction with Chase more interesting.

“Let’s grab a drink,” I said. I motioned to Delia that we were heading back, but she stayed on the dance floor.

“You look gorgeous, Maryellen.” I gestured to her dress, then mine. “Thank you for the dresses you sent to me. They were such amazing choices, I had a hard time choosing.”

We reached the conversation area and were lucky enough to find a seat. A server offered us champagne, and we both took a glass.

“Cheers,” we said together, each taking a sip.

“You made a fine choice with the pink. Gage said that was the one you would go with,” she said. Her look was conspiratorial as she continued to gaze at me. “I hope you two work out. He seems happier than he’s ever been, ya know.”

Laughing, I looked around, reminded of the décor, knowing Maryellen probably arranged most of it. And then a thought struck me.

Could it be? Looking at Maryellen, the question was all over my face.

Maryellen McEntyre, mastermind matchmaker?

She looked me square in the eyes as she took a long sip of her champagne and smiled as the glass came down from her lips.

“Oh my God, you’re behind this, aren’t you?” I asked her.

At that moment, I saw Gage, still up on the same raised ledge, only now talking with a beautiful blonde. She stood closer to him than I would’ve liked, but I assumed she was a client, so I tried not to let it bother me. The music was loud—everyone had to lean in to talk.

Suddenly, Delia came running up on Maryellen and me.

“Harper!” she yelled. Her eyes bounced from mine to Maryellen, back to mine, then up to the ledge where Gage was still talking to the blonde. “Harper…” Her voice softened as she looked at Maryellen this time.

Delia came to sit with us while confusion set in.

“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

The two women sitting on either side of me shared a look.

“Nothing is wrong,” Maryellen said, as she also looked up at Gage.

When I turned to look, my eyes connected with his. The solemn look on his face spoke volumes. He pointed to me, the blonde now looking our way.

And then I knew.

“It’s okay,” Maryellen said, taking my hand. “You’re okay, Harper.”

I sat as straight as I could while looking up at the man I knew I was falling in love with if I wasn’t already there.

And I watched him have to talk to the woman who destroyed him.

“That’s Rebecca, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes,” Maryellen said.

She looked nervous, as if she was telling me information she wasn’t supposed to.

“And just so you know, he wasn’t sure she was coming,” Maryellen added.

“I know, he told me,” I assured her.

She seemed to relax at that news as she nodded.

My mind wrestled with deciding if I should go to him or not. I didn’t want to look like the jealous girlfriend, but I did want to support him. But as I watched their interaction, it was over before I could determine what to do. I excused myself from Delia and Maryellen.

Almost breaking out in a run to get to him before someone else did, we met at the bottom of a set of stairs. Grabbing him by the hand, I pulled him toward a darkened corner.

“Are you okay?” I asked him once we were tucked away from most of the guests.

His cocky smile wasn’t what I was expecting to get in return to my question. As he leaned against the wall, bringing his bourbon to his lips, his smile grew even wider.

“Well?” The insistence in my voice only made him chuckle. But then his hand literally moved to his crotch, his head craning over mine to confirm we were alone.

“Your concern is making me hard, babe,” he said.

Swatting his hand away from his pants, my grunt of disapproval was lost on him as he continued trying to make light of the situation.

“Baby, I appreciate your concern.” His hand came to my face, cradling it the way he always did. “But I’m fine. I’m more concerned about you right now. It couldn’t be easy seeing me with my ex-wife.”

He felt my slight nod in his hand.

“Why on earth would you be concerned about me, Gage?”

His hand retreated completely, sliding into the pocket of his pants. He avoided making eye contact, looking at the crowd around us instead. It was as if a wall came between us, something that had never happened before.

And that dread I was feeling earlier came back with a vengeance.

A shiver went through my body as a cold sweat formed across my temples. That slightly sick feeling returned in the pit of my gut, making me want escape somewhere and be alone in my misery.

Was this what my mind knew was going to happen? She was going to come traipsing back into his life.

Did she still have a claim on his heart I was unaware of?

“Harper,” he said, his voice firm. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, knock it the fuck from your head.” Both his hands gripped my upper arms as he pulled me close, our faces almost touching. “I see it all over your face. Do not let her do this to us. I will not let her come between us.”

Staring up at him, I knew my eyes were watery. He was still holding my arms, so wiping the soon to spill over tears was impossible. I was not an overly emotional person. But the feeling that had been hanging over me since this morning decidedly messed with me.

“Gage,” I started.

“No,” he said, then let go of my arms. His one hand went straight under my chin, keeping my face lifted toward his. “Let me talk.”

But he stalled, appearing to be at a loss for words.

“Listen, I had this vision of what I wanted tonight to be for us, and it didn’t include my ex being here. The fact that she was unprofessional enough to not respond pisses me off. She’s so much more calculated than I ever knew. She probably knows about us, had her plan to come and make a big entrance for all I know. But she means nothing, absolutely nothing to us. Don’t give her another thought. She doesn’t deserve it.”

He was stroking my cheek, that strong thumb of his working its magic. His words were reasonable, but my anxiety was being persistent.

It was his fucking ex-wife.

When I looked up and saw the two of them standing next to one another, her smiling at him, they looked like they belonged together. She’s from this world, it was obvious. She oozed glamour and professionalism.

And I wasn’t expecting her to be so…hot.

“What did she say to you?”

Holding my breath as soon as I asked the question, I watched him closely as he paused before answering. I don’t know why I asked because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Morbid curiosity, I guess.

“Ha,” he said, then kind of laughed to himself. “Well, she started off with an apology for just showing up.” Leaning against the wall, his hands went in his pockets, and he looked uncomfortable. “But then she went right into the rest of her apologies about all the shit she did to me. And I didn’t want to hear them.”

He withdrew a hand, and it came up to play with a long curl hanging against my shoulder, wrapping it around his finger and pulling on it playfully. “I stopped her, told her not to waste her breath. Instead, I pointed you out and informed her that I was happy and not to waste another second thinking about us or what she did.”

And then his hand came back to my face. My cheek nestled into his palm as his thumb stroked my cheek.

“I told her she did me the greatest favor. Otherwise, I never would have met you.”

This man.

My God, he was going to be my undoing. The things he said to me made my heart break wide open and then become whole again with him inside it.

Last week he brought up the idea of us maybe moving in together. Not immediately, but for us to start thinking about it. The amount of time I already spent at his brownstone made it seem as if we were already there, but it’s a major step to make it official.

And I think he knew I wasn’t quite ready yet.

But moments like this got me closer.

“I guess I should thank her as well,” I said.

We both laughed.

He grabbed my hand and led me back toward the party. The room was substantially more crowded with people than before we had retreated to our corner. Looking around, Gage understood who my eyes were seeking.

“I’m pretty sure she left already. But if not, I don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to her. She won’t bother you. She doesn’t have many friends left in this office. I’m shocked she showed up at all.” He swung around and pulled me against him, his arms around my waist. “You’re hanging out with two of the girls who hate her the most around here.”

My eyes wandered back to the couch to see Maryellen and Delia still chatting it up together. Their occasional glances in our direction made it obvious they were talking about us.

“Head back over to them. I have some business to go tend to. Have fun, but FYI, we aren’t staying much longer,” he said as his hands wandered to my ass. His lips were against my ear and his words a warm whisper. “As much as I love you in this dress, all I can do is envision you out of it.”

His teeth nipped at my earlobe, causing my entire body to quiver in his hands.

“Yep, I want to make you shake just like that, but under me, Harper. And while I’m inside you.”

Lesson learned: not wearing underwear when your boyfriend turns you on is problematic.

I was drenched between my legs. Literally drenched. With nothing to soak it up.

“Can we leave now?” I asked, smiling up at him.

He pulled at a long curl as he walked away, his wink as he went telling me he knew exactly what he’d done.

“Give me thirty minutes,” he said, and disappeared into the crowd.

With my flushed face, I didn’t want to go back to the girls. And I really did need a minute alone. Looking around the expansive space, I saw the sign for the ladies’ room across the way and went in that direction.

You know you’re in a special place when the counter of the restroom has a basket filled to the brim with any type of necessity you might need while out, including pairs of flip flops for your tired high-heeled feet. I contemplated grabbing them for a moment but resisted. Instead, I took a soft towel and blotted at my sweaty face, hoping to keep my makeup intact.

As the towel covered my face, the door to the restroom swung open. Quickly pulling it away, my anxiety returned tenfold.

Standing next to me, looking at her reflection in the mirror, was Rebecca.

And our eyes connected.

The lipstick she’d taken out of her bag remained motionless in her hands as we stared at each other in the mirror.

“You’re Harper, right?” she finally said.

“I am.”

In my mind were a million one-line zingers I should be throwing at her.

He’s better off now, with me.

Thank you for not being able to keep your pants on.

Your loss is my gain.

What a fucking moron you must be for messing up a perfect life with him.

And if Victoria were here, she would have even better ones.

But as I looked closely at her, I could see that she was hurting. For some reason, I knew she wasn’t going to sling any attitude in my direction, so I remained quiet. And waited.

“Gage looks happy,” she said. And she smiled.

She was a very pretty woman. It made me a little insecure. Only a little, but it did.

“He deserves to be happy. He’s a good guy that had a shitty thing done to him,” she continued.

My gaze didn’t waver. And eventually she couldn’t maintain the cold stare I had for her as she chose to look down at the counter.

“He didn’t deserve what you did to him. No one would deserve that,” I told her.

The flinch was slight, and she tried to hide it, but I saw.

Her face lifted as well as her shoulders, an attempt to gain some confidence.

“You’re right,” she said, turning to face me. “I’m glad we ran into each other. Gage wouldn’t have introduced us, I don’t think.”

I don’t know why but hearing her say his name made my skin crawl. Even seeing her next to him and us standing this close didn’t do to me what hearing her say his name did.

“But I can tell you’re good for him. So, I’m happy to have the chance to tell you that.”

Placing the towel on the counter, I picked up my bag. My attempt at not being the jealous girlfriend was slowly fading. As I stood next to her, the green monster chipped away at my confidence and a strong desire to lash out at her overcame me. But the more I thought about the situation, the more annoyed I got.

She lived in London. You don’t come to New York willy nilly without knowing. It takes a plan. At least booking a flight the day before kind of plan. She knew she was coming and chose not to tell Gage. Why, we won’t know. But I didn’t like that move on her part.

And I knew I should turn around and walk out.

But I couldn’t. I didn’t.

“Rebecca, I could sit here and bad mouth you because of what you did to him. But to be honest, you’re not worth my time to do that. And yes, while I am good for him, your opinion has no bearing on our relationship one bit.” Walking around her, I grabbed the door to exit. “Have a nice life, Rebecca.”