Silence Reveals Hidden Answers’ by Michael Anderson novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Jennifer Marie.

When I wake up, Harvey isn’t there.

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I’m curled in his big t-shirt, buried in his pillows with the whole room smelling like him and last night. I squint at the clock. 10 a.m. Oh, shoot. For a moment, I don’t move. I just lie there and replay it all. The storm, the lightning…and straddling Harvey.

Me saying yes to him right before I fell asleep.

Yes to being his girlfriend. Yes to him being my boyfriend.

Wait. I was… kind of loud last night. Please, please tell me David and Nate didn’t hear any of that. The thunder was insane, though. It had to have drowned us out. It had to.

I slip out of bed and pad to the door. Has he gone to work already? God, I really hope I don’t run into Nate on the way out and have to explain why I’m swimming in Harvey’s shirt. He probably wouldn’t ask, but still.

The marble staircase is cool under my feet as I get off. The main floor is empty as I scan it with sharp eyes, like I’m on a mission. But then I stop at the bottom stair, because the air is filled with the most delicious smell of breakfast.

Instead of bolting for the door, I follow it.

And there he is.

Harvey. Cooking breakfast.

And he’s doing it without a shirt.

He’s at the stove and he just casually flips a pancake. The muscles in his shoulders and back shift under golden skin and shiny tattoos. He glances over his shoulder and catches me staring with my mouth probably hanging

open.

“Hungry?” He smiles.

My brain officially gives up. I’ve made peace with the facts: I like the boy I used to call my best friend. I really like having sex with him. And as of last night, I’m his girlfriend. Tinka is going to have a field day with this information.

“Yeah.” I gather my hair and drift closer to the kitchen island. Harvey leaves the pancake and comes around to pull out a stool for me. I sit, and bump my head into his chest.

“Hope I wasn’t too rough last night as I thrusted.”

The words, so casually dropped, make my face combust! I look around quickly, making sure no one else

heard that.

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Chapter 34

“No. No, of course not.”

“How brown do you like yours?” He’s back at the stove.

“Um, not too brown. Where is everyone else?”

“At the club.”

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Hmm. A wave of relief and sudden freedom drops over me. That’s when I see a gorgeous bouquet of roses, tulips, and little sunshine-y flowers I don’t know the name of, sitting right beside me. How did I miss that? My name is on a small envelope tucked in the leaves.

Harvey’s smile softens as he watches me notice it.

With slightly fumbling fingers, I pull out the card and it says.

Good morning, girlfriend.

A tiny, happy gasp escapes me. Under the flowers is a black velvet box. I flip the lid open and inside, on a bed of white silk, is a bracelet. A thin chain with a single charm made of pink stone that catches the morning light and throws little rainbows onto my wrist.

I look up at him, completely speechless.

“You gonna put it on, or do I have to? Plus, get used to it.” Harvey slides a plate of perfect pancakes in front of me, then licks a dot of cream from his thumb. His thumb. I clear my throat, suddenly hyper-aware of the counter between us, of him being shirtless, of all the things he could do right here if he wanted to.

I clear my throat again.

“Okay, now… I have a question.”

He looks up.

“Since we got to Italy, I don’t think we’ve had a chance to speak deeply.”

“Well, I’ve been deep in your panties…” Harvey winks at me as he drizzles syrup over his pancake.

Heat floods my cheeks instantly. “Shut up, Harvey!” I swat at his arm, but he catches my wrist easily. It’s impossible to stay serious around him.

“Anyway…” I continue. “You got me flowers. A gift. I’m now your girlfriend, and we have food in front of us, and this is your house…”

“I get it. I get it. So it’s practically a date.”

He comes to sit on the stool next to me. The defined muscles of his arm is so close I could lean into them. Now that I look at it, I’d fit perfectly sitting in his lap, with those armis gathered around me.

“Four years ago.” I bring back the question that needs to be answered.

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Chapter 34

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“I disappeared four years ago because Baxter pulled a stunt on me.” I focus completely on him as he speaks, the world narrowing to his voice.

“After our graduation night, he invited me to the Prescott estate where his friends were. I didn’t wanna go, but I’d been away from the family. My mom told me it was smart to go. Said I needed to go to college anyway, and I needed to ‘have the talk’ with my father.”

He stabs a piece of pancake, puts it between his lips. His jaw works as he chews.

“My drink was spiked. By Baxter. Then someone… someone mentioned my mom. In a very disrespectful way. I lost it. I punched him to smithereens. It was raining. Whatever they put in my drink was making me erratic, seeing red. The cops were called when the parents saw their son whom I beat up. We were interrogated, and the boys put the drugs on me. It was found in my pockets by the cops.”

My own fork clatters against the plate. I don’t even notice I’ve dropped it.

“I was supposed to be sent to jail for a long time. But my grandma told my mom she would clear up the mess… if my mom let go of me. If my mom made me stay in the Prescott household, since I’d been living away from them for the longest.” He looks down at his hands, now curled into loose fists on the counter. “I couldn’t face my mom. I still can’t. They didn’t let me say goodbye.”

“Harvey.” I whisper his name. I can’t believe it. This happened to my best friend, and I was nowhere. I wasn’t there to say sorry, or even just be there. All this time, he thought I was with Baxter… so I must have destroyed him.

“So I went to the army. Two years. Got stronger. When I got back, the casino was given to me, and I needed to learn how to operate it. Spent one year in Italy and there, I met people. Dangerous men. Got the name ‘Enforcer.’ It’s a grimy world, but I needed it to run a casino. Built my own club…” His thumb traces a circle on the back of my hand.

“Life was too dark. I wanted to find you again. And I have you now.”

He says that last part, and my heart doesn’t just leap…it soars. I put my hand on his cheek, and he turns his head to kiss my palm, his lips soft is against my skin. Then he leans in and kisses me.

When we part, I rest my forehead against his.

“A few more days to the wedding. I wonder what life is going to look like for us when we leave Italy.” I muse.

“I could move into your apartment. You know, so you get a healthy daily dose of… you know what.”

“Harvey, ew!” I cover my mouth, but I’m a liar. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. Wanting. Is this it? You have sex once and you crave it forever?

“All our classmates are gonna be talking. Tinka, I haven’t even told her half of what we’re doing. What we’ve done. Oh my God, it’s gonna be crazy.”

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