In Love with Lewis Prescott by Sarah Smith

Author:Sarah Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2022-12-16T15:29:36+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Lewis

My hands are shaking. I don’t realize it until Harper and I break our embrace.

Shit.

I wring them out slightly. Harper frowns. “Are you okay?”

I mutter that I’m fine, but she doesn’t buy it. She immediately reaches out and scoops my right hand in both of hers.

“You’re shaking,” she says softly. Worry creases her brow, and it feels like my heart shatters right there, inside my chest.

She’s worried about me. She cares about me.

It’s been so long since I’ve felt that.

“I guess I am.”

It’s all I can say, because I don’t want to admit to her that this is a sign of just how messed up I am.

This only ever happens when I talk about my parents, which isn’t often. I never even opened up about it with my ex or anyone I’ve dated in the past. Natalia wasn’t exactly the type who cared about family. All she wanted to do when we weren’t in the bedroom was go out to clubs and restaurants so we could be photographed together, with the end goal of guest starring on my old show. She wasn’t interested in anything meaningful or deep. I doubt she’d even notice my shaky hands if she were standing right here, right now, looking straight at me.

But Harper noticed. She saw the physical change instantly. And as exposed and vulnerable as I feel in this moment, as terrified as I am that she might think I’m weird and weak, I’m heartened that she cares enough to notice this about me. To really see me in a way that no one else seems to.

It’s why I told her about my parents in the first place. She’s the first person I felt comfortable opening up to about that part of my life, but because it’s been so long since I’ve talked about them, I forgot that I sometimes have a physical reaction to how distraught the whole situation makes me feel.

The touch of her hands, soft and warm, sends a wave of emotion through me. I have to close my eyes for a few seconds, it’s so overwhelming.

“Are you okay?” she asks again, her voice soft and patient, like before. “Just tell me what you need. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

When I swallow, I ache from the inside out. It’s almost too much, her care, her concern. But I love it. So much.

“I just need a second,” I say after a moment.

“Oh. Okay.”

When her grip starts to loosen, I realize I’ve given her the wrong idea. I squeeze my hand around hers, then I open my eyes and hope my gaze conveys just how much I need her next to me.

“No, I... Please stay.”

“I’m right here.”

Harper’s grip turns firm against my hand, which eases the shaking slightly. For two full minutes, she stands there holding my hand, looking at me, breathing with me. When my hands finally go still, I give her a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

She doesn’t let go or even try to leave. She doesn’t say a word, but her expression conveys everything.

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