Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1) Read Online Free

looks down at her legs lying across his lap. He runs his hand up and down her leg slowly. “And when he said that I immediately thought I wouldn’t mind calling him son either.”
    “Who would have thought I’d find a family?”
    Harper’s body stiffens, and her heart races from his words and his touch, just as it always does. “Who would have thought you would be exactly what I was missing?” she says softly.
    “What…you were missing?” he says, smirking slightly.
    Harper blushes and looks down at her twined fingers. “Jamie. I meant for Jamie.” Harper doesn’t hear a response so she looks up at him reluctantly. The expression is on his face again. The one she is so afraid of; the one causing her throat to close and her eyes to blur.
    Dakota doesn’t speak. Leaning over, he brushes the back of his hand over her olive cheek. She sighs deeply, and her eyes flutter.
    “I’m going to go,” Dakota says, getting up from his spot on the sofa. He starts to slip on his sneakers.
    Harper’s mouth turns down slightly. “Okay,” she says, clearly disappointed. “Or you can stay if you’re too tired to drive to your apartment.”
    Dakota looks down at her after he finishes lacing up his shoes. He folds his arms across his chest. “Usually I would but I just don’t think I should. Not tonight.”
    Harper looks down at her lap, nodding gently. “Okay. Is everything okay?” she asks.
    Dakota walks over to the coat rack and grabs his jacket. She leans over the edge of the sofa, laying her head on it, watching him.
    “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he says with a slight smile. Harper sighs softly. “Okay,” she says.
    Dakota looks at her as he starts to put his jacket on, and she stares back at him, a slight smile on her face. He sighs deeply. “Why do you always look at me like that?”
    Harper lifts her head up, a little alarmed. “Like what?”
    “Like you don’t want me to leave,” he says, his voice suddenly serious.
    Harper is taken aback by his change in mood and blinks. “I don’t know,” she says, looking down at the fabric of her sweat pants and picking off a stray piece of lint. “I guess because I just like to have you around…I’m sorry.”
    He walks forward a little bit. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s just…the way you look at me sometimes makes me think that you…” He hangs his head and then looks at her.
    Harper gets up from the sofa and walks over to him. “What, Dakota?” she says softly, concerned at the confliction on his face. He takes one hand out of his pocket and runs his fingers through her hair. Harper makes an intake of breath, but he doesn’t stop; he just wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in to his chest.
    “You make me think you want me to stay…and hold you until we wake in the morning,” he says. “It drives me insane, Harper.” Harper’s eyes are wide, but she doesn’t break their embrace.
    “I-I…” Harper stammers but cannot form any words.
    Dakota lets her go and turns his back on her. “I’m sorry,” he says as he opens the door to leave. “I’ll see you Monday.” He leaves the house.
    Harper stares at the door when it shuts, jumping at the sound, finally connecting with reality. “Oh my god,” she says, looking around the living room as if to confirm that the last few minutes just happened. She plops down on the sofa, rubbing her legs, hoping it will calm her nerves. Her body is quivering all over, and she can’t seem to get the control back. The front door opens, and Harper pops up off the sofa as Dakota comes back through the door.
    “I’m sorry, why did I leave?” he says, throwing his keys on the sofa. “That was stupid.”
    “What?” Harper says, both confused and amused at the same time.
    “Did you want me to leave? Am I crazy? I feel it. I feel you. Don’t you feel it, Harper?”
    Harper looks at him for a second and watches his chest rising and falling just like her own. She presses her lips together, echoing