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  nd as it turned out, he was right. She managed to carry plates and refill glasses and make sure everyone at her table had what they needed without one dropped plate or tipped over glass. Even better, the occupants of the table--the professors she most wanted to impress--didn't act as if she were invisible. When she addressed Professor Dobson by name when asking him what he wanted to drink, he took immediate notice and asked if she'd taken one of his classes. She'd had him for Chemistry in her freshman year and told him how much one of his study tips helped her over the last few years. After that several professors made small talk and two actually remembered her in their classes. Best of all, Professor Costa introduced her to his wife....as one of his most promising students.

  She was practically dancing across the room once the time came to clear the dinner plates away.

  "How's it going?" Declan asked as they passed each other in the kitchen.

  "Great!" She grinned and couldn't hold herself back. She flung herself into his chest and laid a smacking kiss on his lips. "You were so right. It's going so well and I've definitely gotten on Professor Costa's radar."

  He dropped his arms to rest loosely around her waist and grinned at her. "Told you so."

  She rolled his eyes and smacked his arm playfully. "Anybody else would keep that to themselves."

  "Maybe, but they'd be thinking it."

  She leaned in and squeezed him tightly wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as possible. The last time she'd been this happy was before her father died and she moved upstate to live with her aunt.

  He squeezed her back and they stood in the kitchen, ignoring the other servers streaming back and forth past them. Her eyes dropped closed and she snuggled her head into his chest. His lips touched the top of her head and she could feel his breath as he inhaled and exhaled. She could feel his heart beating under her cheek. There in the middle of the crowded kitchen, she felt like they were all alone with not another soul in the world. His warmth and his woodsy cologne filled her, and the moment couldn't have been more intimate had they been naked and horizontal.

  "Well, isn't this cozy?"

  The sneering voice made them pull back from each other. Harper looked up to find Declan' gaze directed over her head, eyes narrowed. She glanced over her shoulder to find Drew and two other frat brothers standing behind them in the kitchen. She swung her gaze back up to Declan. He looked pissed.

  "What are you doing here?" Declan’s voice made Harper shiver. Thank goodness that tone wasn't directed her way. But as much as she was enjoying standing there being held by Declan, they didn't need trouble right now. She had too much riding on this.

  She slid out of Declan's arms and turned to face the newcomers.

  "I see you're making use of everything your little friend has to," Drew paused here and his eyes raked up and down Harper's body, "offer."

  Declan growled under his breath and took a step forward, fists clenched at his side.

  Harper stepped sideway to block him from moving forward, but not allowing her eyes to leave Drew and his sneering friends for even a second. She ran a soothing hand up and down Declan's arm. "Don't let him get to you. This is what he wants."

  Declan's eyes darted down to Harper before moving back to the three guys standing across from them. He gave a slight dip of his chin, letting Harper know he heard her and she'd gotten through. When his body relaxed slightly and he crossed his arms over his chest, she gave an internal sigh of relief.

  "I asked you once, Drew, what you're doing here. Don't make me ask you again." Declan's meaning was clear and this time Harper sighed out loud.

  "We just wanted to come see if we could help," Drew said with a snide smile.

  Harper snorted. Enough with the drama already. She straightened her spine and picked up a tray from one of the stainless steel work tables. "From what I understand, Drew, you're not the most popular guy in your house these days. Showing up here when you're not supposed to and when you are definitely not welcome. How do you think all your frat brothers will feel about that?"

  Drew held his hands out in front of him. "Hey, I'm just here to help. I didn't come to start trouble."

  His tone and his smirk said otherwise.

  "I'm going to go check on my table." Harper squeezed Declan's arm and whispered too low for Drew to hear, "Be good, please."

  He nodded and she gave him a small smile before heading back out into the dining room, praying she did the right thing leaving those two alone together.

  It's not like Declan would get into a fight with Drew in the middle of the dining room or something.

  Declan watched Harper leave the kitchen and turned back to Drew. "Leave."

  "I want to help."

  "We don't need your kind of help. You need to go." All Declan could think about was how important this night was to Harper. Hell, just two minutes ago she'd thrown herself into his arms because she was so excited. Things had definitely been going well between them, but up until then, she'd held onto a little of her reserve, a little of her wariness. That was the first time when he'd got even the smallest taste of full-on, unbridled Harper.

  And that one tiny taste left him wanting more.

  So it went without saying he'd have been less than happy with any of the brothers who came in and interrupted things at just that moment. But the fact that it was Drew made his head feel like it was about to explode off the top of his head. There was no reason for him to be there except to stir up shit.

  "Now, Declan, what do you think PRESIDENT OF FRAT HOUSE would say about your nasty attitude?" Drew's condescending tone set Declan's teeth on edge.

  "I'm pretty sure he'd wonder what you were doing here, too. You're not exactly known for volunteering your time out of the goodness of your heart," Declan said.

  Drew shook his head. "That's not very nice. I just thought I could help you out with the pledges. You know, bury the hatchet after everything that happened.

  "Not going to happen, Drew." Declan decided it was time to cut this short and walked back out into the dining room.

  "Yeah, I can see that," Drew said with a snort, following right on Declan's heels. "Looks like you were thinking of burying something, too. Right in that hot piece of--"

  Drew's words were cut off by Declan's fist. He didn't even make the decision to do it. Something inside him twisted into a cold rage and he needed to stop the words coming from Drew's mouth.

  Drew flew back and tripped over a serving cart. He landed flat on his back...in the middle of Professor Costa's table.

  Fuck.

  His gaze moved from the mess he'd made of the formal dinner to the movement in the entryway. Of course Harper hadn't missed the action. Her hand flew to her mouth, her blue eyes, wide and dark in her pale face, were glued to Drew. Until they slid over to where Declan stood shaking his hand, his knuckles already starting to swell. He ground his teeth together and worked to regain a hold on his temper. He'd never been so torn in his life. Every instinct in his body shouted at him to keep going after Drew. To keep pummelling him until the other man learned never to open his mouth to trash talk Harper.

  But he just barely managed to contain himself, stopped cold by the look on Harper's face. That look on Harper's face slammed into him. It was worse than the night in the basement two years ago when he'd ignored her and let her walk away. This time he'd fucked up her dream. The one thing she'd wanted since she was twelve years old.

  The earlier scene in the kitchen came back, playing like a movie in his mind. It was like his version of death, the way the most important moments of your life play themselves over again in your head. The look on Harper's face told him he was as good as dead to her. And all he wanted to do was rewind to three minutes ago when he held her in the kitchen and nothing had ever felt as good. As right. He'd have given his life for five more minutes of just that.

  But as he watched, tears welled in Harper's eyes. Before he could make himself move forward, take so much as a step, she spun around and broke into a fl
at out run.

  His gut clenched. She was gone. And there's no way he would charm his way out of this one. She'd never forgive him. And God, could he blame her?

  "Mr. Cooper?"

  Professor Costa's steely voice came from behind Declan.

  Fuck.

  Chapter 11

  "Professor, I'm sorry," Declan said, shaking his head.

  Drew pulled himself off the table while the pledges avoided looking at him. It was obvious not one of them wanted to step in and help the douchebag. Declan swallowed hard to keep from saying all the things he wanted to say to Drew. He needed to fix this. For Harper.

  "Normally, Mr. Cooper, I'd bring you up before the university's disciplinary committee for your actions."

  Shit. Fuck. Declan stared at Professor Costa, his mouth dry as he tried to imagine losing Harper and having to explain all this shit to his father all in the same night.

  "However," Professor Costa went on, "I happened to overhear what your friend was saying about Miss Warden. And while I don't condone your actions, I can't fault you for defending the young woman."

  "Harper had nothing to do with this," Declan blurted. He'd love to save his own ass, but not at the cost of ruining everything she'd worked so hard for. "Drew and I have had problems before and Harper told me to let it go. The responsibility for all this is all on me."

  Professor Costa raised an eyebrow and then nodded in Drew's direction. "I wouldn't say this was all your fault. Seems like you had some help. Was this one of the young men helping with service tonight?"

  "No, sir. He's one of my fraternity brothers, but he had no reason to be here tonight. Except to stir up—.”

  Declan bit off the rest of what he wanted to say. Pointing fingers wasn't his style. And Drew might have come to dig under Declan's skin, but Declan was the one who let him.

  Professor Costa nodded. "I think I have a clear picture of what went on here."

  Two of the faculty members walked over with Drew held between them. Declan almost grinned when he saw the black eye already starting to form. Then he remembered Harper's horrified face. The pleasure he got from driving his fist into Drew's face wasn't worth losing her over.

  Professor Costa and his colleagues talked for a second and debated calling security or the police. Declan's heart seized and then began beating again at a gallop. If they called the cops it would end up in the crime log of the local paper. There's no way some member of the paparazzi, hell even of the reporters from a major media outlet, wouldn't pick up on the story. The last thing he needed was a headline screaming that XXXX Cooper's one and only son was following in his father's hot-tempered footsteps.

  He shoulders dropped. He'd royally fucked things up. How could he fix this?

  "I don't think we need to get the police involved."

  Declan picked his head up to stare at Professor Costa. Was it possible this man was offering him another get out of jail free cards?

  "Normally, I'd call campus security and let them deal with this matter. Mr Cooper," Professor Costa's steely gaze landed on Declan, "engaging in a physical altercation with another student is grounds for disciplinary action."

  Declan nodded and swallowed hard. It would suck almost as much as watching Harper walk...no, run away from him if he had to tell his father he was being expelled from school. But he wouldn't blame Professor Costa for following school policies. Declan was the dick that decided to solve things with his fists, even after Harper asked him not to make a scene here. He'd kick his own ass if he could.

  "I think this time around, if my colleagues agree, we can forgo the disciplinary committee hearing. I happened to overhear what Mr...." Professor Costa looked pointedly at Drew.

  "Johnson," Drew said.

  "I heard what Mr. Johnson said about Miss Warden. Warren College has very strict rules about speaking to or about women in this manner. It's important to the administration and faculty that our students feel safe on campus at all times. So while you may not have felt very safe while Mr. Cooper's fist was hitting your face," Professor Costa said, "I have a feeling that you made Miss Warden feel equally unsafe by referring to her in the manner you chose to, Mr. Johnson."

  Declan's jaw slackened. Was this man for real?

  Drew scowled at Professor Warden. "So what it boils down to is that the famous guy’s son is going to get away with doing as he damn well pleases. Again."

  "This has nothing to do with who his father is, I assure you Mr. Johnson. And might I suggest if you continually find yourself on the receiving end of someone's fists, you consider your words more carefully before you speak."

  "Whatever," Drew said.

  "Thank you, Professor Costa. And again, please know, Harper had nothing to do with this. A couple of fake rumors got started about her when she first started here. Since then she's been fair game for a lot of people. I would hate to think my actions changed her standings in your class or hurt her chances..." Declan bit off his words. Harper might not want Professor Costa to be so blatantly clued in on her plans to get on his good side.

  Professor Costa stared at him a long moment, an odd look on his face, before he looked back at the table where Drew had landed after Declan knocked him off his feet. The pledges had been busy and everything had been cleaned up and cleared away. The only evidence anything out of the ordinary happened was the shiner blooming around Drew's left eye. At the sight of it, Declan offered Drew a smirking grin.

  The grin faded as he realized he'd managed to stay out of fights for his entire life up until a few weeks ago. And twice now he's been driven to using his fists. Because of Harper. Shit, maybe he should have gone with his first instinct and left her alone.

  But the image of her throwing herself into his arms and smiling happily up at him replayed. Having that was worth any amount of trouble being in a relationship with her might bring.

  At that, he was consumed with the that he needed to get to her and somehow make this right. He'd grovel if he had to.

  "Professor Costa, do you need me for anything else?"

  A small smile played over the professor's mouth. "No, you can go, Mr. Cooper."

  "Thanks." Declan dashed over to two of the pledges and tasked them with overseeing the rest of the evening and the clean up.

  Hell, not like they needed his supervision. Without him, the night would have gone a lot more smoothly. They'd even managed to clean up his mess behind him. He had more important things to do.

  He sped out to the parking lot, hoping beyond hope that Harper would be there. Maybe she didn't leave. Maybe she just ran out to get away from the drama.

  A quick glance around the lot told another story, though. Her car was most definitely gone. He ran to his truck and headed towards her apartment, cursing himself as he went. He'd let her yell at him. She could even hit him if it would make her feel better.

  He didn't care what she did, but whatever it was, he knew one thing--he wasn't leaving until he'd convinced her to stay with him.

  Harper slammed the apartment door behind her and flicked away the remnants of tears from her cheeks. She threw her coat over the hook in the entryway and headed into the living room, coming to an abrupt stop when she caught sight of Jamie and her friend, Beth, watching a movie there. Just what she needed, an audience. She bit back a sigh.

  Jamie turned and started to wave, but sat up completely after one look at Harper. She picked up the remote and paused the movie, causing Beth to whip her head around to stare at Harper, too.

  Shit, she should have taken the time to wipe her face off before she came upstairs. She bit her lip, wanting nothing more than to escape into her room and not have to face down a Jamie interrogation.

  Jamie stared at her a long moment before raising an eyebrow. "So, what now?"

  Harper took half a step backwards, shocked at the sarcasm dripping from Jamie's words. Not that Jamie didn't have her snarky moments, but seriously? Harper walks in crying and Jamie gets a nasty attitude? And in front of someone Harper barely knew, n
o less. Yeah, no way Harper was putting up with that crap.

  "What?" she bit out.

  "Let me guess," Jamie said, "you and Declan are fighting. Again." She rolled her eyes at Beth and Harper lost it.

  "Oh no, James," Harper said with every ounce of snarkiness she could dredge up, "let me guess. Instead of offering a shoulder to cry on, you're going to take this opportunity to enlighten me about every one of Declan's bad qualities and say I told you so. Again."

  Jamie's eyes widened. "Excuse me if I don't like seeing my FRIEND crying over a guy every five minutes. But you're right. Why bother giving you advice if you're going to keep on going and making bad decisions anyway?"

  Harper opened her mouth, but before she could get a single word out, someone knocked on the front door.

  "Gee, wonder who that could be?" Jamie sneered toward the front door.

  Harper's heart jumped into her throat. She didn't want to talk to Declan. She didn't want to see him. She wanted to go to her room and hide under the covers for the foreseeable future.

  She looked at Jamie's scowling face. No help to be had there. It's not like after the exchange they'd just had that she could ask Jamie to answer the door for her and make up some excuse to send Declan on his way.

  Another knock. Shit.

  Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to let your boyfriend in, Harper? Or were you going to ask me to help you deal with him? Again."

  Shit, damn, fuck. Harper felt like throwing something at her best friend. Preferably something hard and sharp.

  She settled for a nasty look in her direction before she headed to the door to deal with Declan. She paused right before she threw the door open wide, and instead took a second to put the chain on the door.

  I will not cave and let him in. I will not cave and let him in. She took a deep breath and opened the door only as wide as the chain would allow--enough to see Declan slouched in her doorway, arms braced on either side of the door. He'd rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up, leaving his forearms bare. With his arm only inches from her face, Harper's eyes lingered on the prominent veins.