Invisible to My First Love (Harper and Maddox) novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Maddox

I stood by Harper’s front porch, counting every second that was building up to her opening the door for me. I couldn’t wait to see the reaction on her face upon seeing my white shirt. It was the one with diamonds. She thought I’d never get it back to its original color after how much of her makeup had smudged on it in London.

When she finally opened the door, her eyes went wide with pleasant surprise as she looked at my shirt.

“Wow! It’s so…”

“White?” I bragged as I finished for her.

“I really didn’t think it was possible.” She took a step forward, placing the palm of her hand in front of her like she wanted to feel the fabric. But she balled it into a fist, like she didn’t want to leave any marks on it.

Part of me wished she had done it so I could just feel her touch my chest.

Squinting her eyes and leaning forward for a closer inspection, she placed her hands on her knees. She must have hoped to spot even the tiniest stain.

I looked down at her and the more her gaze trailed all over my chest, the more I clenched my fist so I wouldn’t reach for her hair tied in a bun and claim her as my own.

“Well, it’s as good as new.” She looked up at me and fuck, it had been a while since I’d seen her gorgeous eyes from that angle, which made me want to do things to her.

“Yup, that means you can stain it as many times as you want and I’ll get it back to its original state,” I bragged, blocking out the dirty thoughts in my head since we had to get to my place.

She chuckled dismissively as she straightened up. “I don’t think that will ever happen again. What happened in London was just…”

Her voice cracked as she trailed off and the brightness from her face faded. She must’ve started thinking about how she’d been robbed of finally reuniting with Anna. At that moment, I began to feel like it was a mistake to show up in that shirt. How stupid of me that I didn’t think that far. I didn’t want to see her get hurt again.

“We can always get to my place while I’m shirtless,” I suggested with a smirk.

Her lips curved into a smile. “I’ll be fine. It just hurts me that each time I see Tiffany, not only did she take that reunion away from me, but she knows everything about my sister while I know nothing. But you don’t have to punish yourself by not wearing this shirt. I know how much you want to show it off, so go for it.”

Her assurance that she was okay with it was what put me at ease and I grinned, staring into her eyes a bit too long. My shirt would always be a reminder and yet she wanted me to proudly wear it even when around her, because she knew how much it meant to me. I didn’t know what exactly, but I had to do something for her.

During the ride to my place, I didn’t let the silence carry on for too long. I didn’t want her thinking about how much Tiffany had hurt her.

“If my estimation is correct, he should arrive ten minutes after we get there,” I said.

“Cool.” She drummed her fingertips on her jeans.

“I know I told you that he can be a bit serious sometimes, but you really have nothing to worry about.”

“Thanks, but I’m still nervous to meet him. The set up is different because we’re not at your birthday party. It’s just going to be the three of us.”

I nodded in agreement. “In that case, here are a few things you can expect.”

We might’ve been pretending to be in a relationship, but she still wanted to make a good impression.

“You always make it sound like you two are best friends,” she said, “and that’s because you share a unique relationship. I already don’t expect him to be that way with me. That’s why I’ll be ready for anything.”

I confidently raised the corner of my mouth. “Trust me, he’s the best.”

“I don’t doubt that.” She sighed.

I let the silence linger for a while before I spoke again.

“Those three security guards have been fired.”

“What?” Her eyes shot open as she jerked her head in my direction. “I know that when I told you earlier, you wanted to get them fired right away, but we spoke about this and I asked you to let it go.”

“I did. It wasn’t me. It was the store manager. She personally called to inform me. Believe me, I tried to get their jobs back because I know that’s what you would have wanted, but she didn’t change her mind at all. She wanted to set them as an example to everyone who would treat a customer like that ever again. There were clips all over social media and others were even talking about never going to that store again. That’s not good for business.”

“Well…” she trailed off, rubbing her temples.

“It’s not your fault at all,” I assured her. “Blame it all on Kate.”

“Yeah, but-”

Tim had already been with a tray to the bedroom I was waiting in and I’d accepted a glass of juice just to keep my hand busy.

I was on a soft couch facing the bed, one leg crossed over the other as I swirled the juice and ice in my glass.

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