Read Online If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) by Mary J. Williams - Free Book Online
Authors: Mary J. Williams
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smell a hint of tantalizing cologne.
Twice before, she had caught that fragrance. On the bridge and in the café.
Breathing deeply. Combined with the fresh, river air, she knew without a doubt
it was a scent she would never forget.
“I could report you to the police.”
Like that was going to happen, Tyler thought with a
little smile.
“You think that’s funny? The Harper Falls police
department takes trespassing very seriously.”
“If you were going to rat me out, you would have done
it before you followed me.”
Tyler widened her smile. She wasn’t very experienced at
flirting; she wasn’t very experienced at all. No boy had ever interested her
enough to bother with more than a few experimental, fumbling kisses.
She once read that women were born knowing how to attract
the opposite sex. They called it an innate instinct. It seemed like a
ridiculous idea. She and her friends laughed aloud while reading the article.
How could you just know what to do? And what if you were gay? Did it work the
same way?
Suddenly, as Drew came closer, Tyler understood what the
writer was talking about. Her body naturally swayed towards his. Her eyelids
lowered, her chin dipped until she was glancing under her lashes. She licked
her lips, noticing how the movement centered his attention on her mouth.
Instinctual? Maybe. Or maybe it just took the right boy and girl. The right
combination.
“Are you going to turn me in?” Where had that
voice come from, Tyler wondered. Lower, almost raspy. She knew it had never
come from her before now.
“Maybe.” Drew let the words linger, as though he
was actually considering the idea.
Tyler was at a loss. Batting her eyes was one thing, now
what? She had no moves, no practiced banter. If this went any farther, it would
be up to Drew. He was only a year older, yet something told her he was miles
ahead of her when it came to this kind of thing.
Maybe he sensed her predicament, maybe he was working on
instinct too. The teasing light dropped from Drew’s eyes. He lifted a hand, his
fingers coming within a whisper of brushing her cheek before he pulled them
back. Bad idea. This had already gone too far. They both knew it. Stop now and
no one would get in trouble, no one would get hurt.
“I should go.”
Tyler went to move past him but found his body blocking her
way. She raised her eyes to his, a question in them.
“You can go. I won’t stop you if…”
“If?”
Tyler swallowed. Did he want what she thought? Was he going
to ask? She wanted him to, wanted to be right. She sighed with relief when she
was.
“If you kiss me.”
HARPER FALLS HAD been founded as a playground for the rich. It
was a getaway destination long before that term became chic.
Russell Harper founded the town with the idea of attracting
his wealthy friends and building a place of which America’s elite would clamor to
be a part. It had worked. Mansions sprung up to the north of town. Houses too
big to be practical. Only millionaires need apply.
The town of Harper Falls became an offshoot of that. If you
had big, expensive houses, you needed people to care for them and their
residents. Maids, housekeepers, butlers. Some lived in. The others, those who
took care of maintaining the grounds and the upkeep of the homes, they needed
places to live.
Inexpensive housing was built, families moved in. The little
blip on the map of Eastern Washington grew. North of Spokane, it would never be
a city. That was never the goal. In a perfect world, Harper Falls would have
stayed filled with workers who served. One hundred years later, through wars,
economic ups and downs, deaths, births, the town survived, even flourished. But
it was no longer the town the founding father had conceived.
More than any event, the end of World War II gave Harper
Falls a new, and some would say, welcome influx of business people who were not
there to cater to the rich. They had bigger dreams.
Twice before, she had caught that fragrance. On the bridge and in the café.
Breathing deeply. Combined with the fresh, river air, she knew without a doubt
it was a scent she would never forget.
“I could report you to the police.”
Like that was going to happen, Tyler thought with a
little smile.
“You think that’s funny? The Harper Falls police
department takes trespassing very seriously.”
“If you were going to rat me out, you would have done
it before you followed me.”
Tyler widened her smile. She wasn’t very experienced at
flirting; she wasn’t very experienced at all. No boy had ever interested her
enough to bother with more than a few experimental, fumbling kisses.
She once read that women were born knowing how to attract
the opposite sex. They called it an innate instinct. It seemed like a
ridiculous idea. She and her friends laughed aloud while reading the article.
How could you just know what to do? And what if you were gay? Did it work the
same way?
Suddenly, as Drew came closer, Tyler understood what the
writer was talking about. Her body naturally swayed towards his. Her eyelids
lowered, her chin dipped until she was glancing under her lashes. She licked
her lips, noticing how the movement centered his attention on her mouth.
Instinctual? Maybe. Or maybe it just took the right boy and girl. The right
combination.
“Are you going to turn me in?” Where had that
voice come from, Tyler wondered. Lower, almost raspy. She knew it had never
come from her before now.
“Maybe.” Drew let the words linger, as though he
was actually considering the idea.
Tyler was at a loss. Batting her eyes was one thing, now
what? She had no moves, no practiced banter. If this went any farther, it would
be up to Drew. He was only a year older, yet something told her he was miles
ahead of her when it came to this kind of thing.
Maybe he sensed her predicament, maybe he was working on
instinct too. The teasing light dropped from Drew’s eyes. He lifted a hand, his
fingers coming within a whisper of brushing her cheek before he pulled them
back. Bad idea. This had already gone too far. They both knew it. Stop now and
no one would get in trouble, no one would get hurt.
“I should go.”
Tyler went to move past him but found his body blocking her
way. She raised her eyes to his, a question in them.
“You can go. I won’t stop you if…”
“If?”
Tyler swallowed. Did he want what she thought? Was he going
to ask? She wanted him to, wanted to be right. She sighed with relief when she
was.
“If you kiss me.”
HARPER FALLS HAD been founded as a playground for the rich. It
was a getaway destination long before that term became chic.
Russell Harper founded the town with the idea of attracting
his wealthy friends and building a place of which America’s elite would clamor to
be a part. It had worked. Mansions sprung up to the north of town. Houses too
big to be practical. Only millionaires need apply.
The town of Harper Falls became an offshoot of that. If you
had big, expensive houses, you needed people to care for them and their
residents. Maids, housekeepers, butlers. Some lived in. The others, those who
took care of maintaining the grounds and the upkeep of the homes, they needed
places to live.
Inexpensive housing was built, families moved in. The little
blip on the map of Eastern Washington grew. North of Spokane, it would never be
a city. That was never the goal. In a perfect world, Harper Falls would have
stayed filled with workers who served. One hundred years later, through wars,
economic ups and downs, deaths, births, the town survived, even flourished. But
it was no longer the town the founding father had conceived.
More than any event, the end of World War II gave Harper
Falls a new, and some would say, welcome influx of business people who were not
there to cater to the rich. They had bigger dreams.
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