Being Harrison Bloom’s Girl

They were quiet as he drove up to her house again.

“Want to come in?”

Harrison had told himself that he would consider it. But he found himself shaking his head again.

“No. No, I don’t think so.”

“You’re still in love with her.”

It wasn’t a question. It was more of a wistful observation.

He couldn’t deny it.

“I won’t be forever.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Harrison. It’s not so easy to get love out of the system. Believe me, I tried.”

Harrison turned to Diane.

“Do you still love your husband?”

Diane looked startled, and then looked like she might laugh.

“Oh, for such an intelligent man, you are oblivious and a bit of an idiot, aren’t you? No, the baron and I never loved each other. We suited each other for a while. And then we didn’t. Well, if you’re not coming in, I’ll be going. And…I think I might try Europe again. I find that a few things have changed too much here for me to find my life again.”

Harrison frowned, obviously flummoxed.

“But you barely got here, Diane. Why would you leave before giving it all a chance?”

She smiled gently.

“I did give it all a chance, Harrison. The parts I wanted in my life. But too much has changed. I don’t fit in here anymore. I need to leave. I’ll find my excitement somewhere else. There’s always plenty of it to be found, if you’re willing to look and keep an open mind.”

Harrison smiled, but he was obviously still confused.

“If you say so, of course, Diane. You know yourself better.”

She sighed softly, reaching for the handle. She opened the door just a little before turning back to him, that wistfulness still in her beautiful eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in, Harrison?”

Harrison nodded.

“It’s a weeknight. And…I don’t think I’d better. It was nice to see you, Diane. Nice to be reminded of who I used to be.”

“And who you’re not anymore?”

He had to agree.

“Maybe that, too.”

“Maybe that’s what I need, too. Take care, Harrison. Take care of yourself. Be happy. You’re very special – trust me when I tell you that. I ought to know.”

And just like that, in a flurry of creamy limbs, she was out of the car and walking up the steps to her door. This time, even if she paused before opening the door, she didn’t turn back and wave as he expected her to.

This time, she walked in, and he waited until he saw the lights turn on upstairs before driving off.

He was almost all the way home before he realized that she had been talking about him – and about how she felt about him.

Maybe that was why, this time, he was too engrossed to notice the cameras and the long lens again. He was normally vigilant, but he didn’t notice any of it.

Though maybe there wasn’t much he could’ve done even if he had. It was a free country, after all.

“So, all ready for class?”

Leigh looked at Hana suspiciously.

She had spent about twenty-four hours pretending that the outside world didn’t exist and it was working well, as long as staying in bed all day could be considered as working well.

She had missed Roger’s class. That was probably not going to end well.

Hana’s extremely bright-eyed cheeriness was definitely not a good sign.

“I’m not? I’m in my pajamas?”

“Oh, right, you are. I guess I’ll wait for you to change. And we can walk to class together, how about that?”

Leigh frowned, suspicions beginning to solidify.

“Did Roger Hutton send you to get me to class?”

Hana looked blankly puzzled at the suggestion.

“No, should he have?”

Leigh shook her head.

“No. Nothing, never mind. I’ll be ready in ten. I guess we can go together.”

“Great, I got copies of my notes for you. We’ll walk to class together. You know, Leigh, we haven’t really had any quality time together. Maybe we can do a movie marathon or something.”

Leigh sighed and got out of bed, now sure that something was definitely going on. But she couldn’t seem to muster the energy to actually ask any questions or find out what was going on. What did it matter, anyway?

She grabbed her phone as she went to the bathroom, as she always did, and was squeezing toothpaste when she saw the photo. Apparently, a few very helpful people had sent her that photo. Her inbox seemed to be filled with it – with dozens of images of Harrison apparently dropping a blonde bombshell somewhere. She was leaning over the window of the car, looking in intimately, and the smile on Harrison’s face was so familiar that it hurt.

She clutched at her stomach, trying to keep it from squirming and writhing inside.

She knew that smile.

He looked at her like that when he saw her. At least, he used to. He wouldn’t anymore.

It hadn’t even been a day – not even a day.

Feeling frantic, she checked where the photo was from and saw that it was all over the tabloids.

Billionaire and former playboy Harrison Bloom might be back to his old ways! His recent love, Leigh Wells – who, may we remind you, grew up with him as siblings in many ways – is reportedly doing well in law school. But Harrison looks like he isn’t too inclined to wait for her. The recent arrival in town of Diane Masters, with whom Harrison Bloom was frequently linked before he made his fortune, seems to have complicated that complicated affair a bit more!

Unable to stop herself, she clicked through links, and saw more photos, and more reports.

Some people had pulled up file photos of Harrison and the woman from a long time ago. It suddenly came to Leigh. She remembered the woman. She had been gorgeous, and Harrison had been besotted with her for a while. She had left right after Harrison found real success.

Now she was back.