"Why the hell did you say that to Donna?"
Andrea jumped, startled by the voice behind her. The glass tumbler she was holding fell from her hand and smashed on the kitchen floor causing the clear liquid to splash against her feet and begin to creep along the cracks of the terracotta tiles. Her top lip curled into an ugly snarl as she spun round on her heels to face him.
"You fucking idiot! That was a piece of Jane's good crystal, you know."
Harvey snorted as crossed his thick arms in front of him. His brown eyes glared at her from across the room. "Don't try and pretend you give a fuck. If you did you'd be drinking out of plastic tumblers like the rest of us. But oh no, that's not good enough for you. You always were a fucking snob."
Andrea placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. Her small nostrils flared as she lifted her chin indignantly. "If you just came here to insult me, you can turn around and leave. I'm not in the mood."
"Trust me, I've got better things to do with my time than waste it on throwing insults at you however pleasurable it may be."
"Then why are you here, Harvey?"
"I told you. I want to know why the hell you upset Donna."
Andrea snorted as she stepped over the broken glass and opened the kitchen display cabinet. She took out another crystal tumbler and carried it across to the chipped wooden table.
"Your little girlfriend has obviously been telling tales."
She picked up a bottle of vodka and began to unscrew the cap.
"Donna never said a word." said Harvey as he watched Andrea pour herself a large drink.
The faint sound of laughter filtered through from the garden and he was glad someone was managing to enjoy their selves. He sure as hell wasn't. Being alone with Andrea wasn't exactly his idea of fun but when Lynn had pulled him aside and told him what she had overheard her say to Donna, he'd been so angry he'd just wanted to rip her damn head off there and then. Of course he hadn't been able to. She'd been permanently attached to Nick's lips for the past hour. Not that he gave a fuck. Nick was more than welcome to her. As far as he was concerned, the pair of them deserved one another and he was well shot of her.
"Then why are you under the impression I upset her?" asked Andrea before sipping at her drink.
Harvey's hands dropped to his sides. He shook his head as he took a couple of steps closer towards her. "Cut the crap and just tell me why you said those things to her."
"Because it's the truth." she spat. "Donna is nothing more than a little gold digger, Harvey. She's only with you because of what she can get from you."
His brown eyes flashed angrily at her as his fists hung, clenched tightly at his sides. "And what the fuck does it matter to you if she is?"
"Because I care about you." replied Andrea. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."
Harvey instantly snorted as his sarcastic laughter filled the room. Andrea shifted her feet uncomfortably as he sneered at her. His brown eyes were cold and hard and the love she had once seen there had been replaced with hatred. Hatred for her and hatred for what she had done.
"What? Like you hurt me by screwing around behind my back?"
"I've told you I was sorry like a million times."
"Sure. You're that sorry you're only going to go and marry the guy."
Andrea placed her glass down on the table. She pressed her lips together as her eyes scanned his handsome face. "I won't if you don't want me to." she said simply.
"What?" Harvey's brown eyes were wide as he stared at her incredulously. She really was a piece of work and swore she enjoyed fucking with his mind. The bitch had cheated on him with his cousin. Did she honestly think he would take her back? Maybe the thought had crossed his mind once upon a time but not now. Not when he was over her. And he was over her. He was.
But Andrea placed her hand on his arm and he looked into her familiar grey eyes, he felt a pang of regret for what they could have had. Once upon a time they had been so good together. He would have given her the world. Suddenly he wasn't so sure what he was feeling.
"I still love you, Harvey." she whispered as she brought her face slowly towards him.
Harvey swallowed thickly as her words rang in his ears. They were the same words she had told him yesterday at the restaurant. They were the same words she had hastily scribbled at the bottom of the note in his wedding invitation. And if he was honest with himself, that note was probably the reason why he had come here. He was sick and tired of it all. It was time to put an end to this game she was playing.
Harvey licked his lips as her mouth moved towards his. He should stop this. He really should. The problem was he wasn't sure if he wanted to. As he breathed in her scent, he closed his eyes and her mouth brushed gently over his. She tasted of alcohol and lip gloss and Andrea felt just the way he remembered. She was warm and comfortable. He couldn't expect the tingle down his spine that he felt when they first got together, like he had felt when he had kissed Donna this afternoon.
Harvey's eyes quickly popped open. Donna. An image of her face popped into his head leaving him confused. He didn't know why he thought about her now of all times but he didn't want to question it. He just knew he couldn't do this. He couldn't kiss Andrea. Not when Donna was on his mind.
As Andrea sucked on his bottom lip, he pulled away breaking the kiss. She frowned at him as he slowly backed away from her embrace. "We can't do this, Andrea."
"But why not? We both want it."
Harvey slowly shook his head. He shoved his big hands in his jeans pockets as his brown eyes looked at her almost apologetically. "Actually, I don't."
Andrea's pretty face turned almost ugly as she snarled viciously at him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Then go running back to your little gold digger, Harvey. But don't come crying to me when she dumps your sorry ass after bleeding you dry."
Harvey stared at Andrea for a second before moving slowly towards her. He stood in front of her menacingly backing her against the table. He removed his hands from his pockets and rested them on the chipped wood on either side of her. He felt nothing but a strong dislike for the woman in front of him and any notion that he still might have cared about her was long gone. Her accusations about Donna had quickly brought him to his senses and had reminded him of what a spiteful bitch she really was.
"You can think what you like. I don't give a damn. But I do give a damn about Donna." He narrowed his eyes as he glared at her, feeling his anger bubble to the surface. "Stay away from her, Andrea."
She snorted at him scrunching up her nose. "You know I don't respond well to threats, Harvey."
"No? Well maybe you'll respond to this." replied Harvey. He gripped the wood tightly as he glowered at her. "Stay away from Donna or I'll tell Nick what happened here."
"It's your word against mine. Who says he would believe you?" said Andrea defiantly.
"Oh he will. Trust me. Especially when I show him that little note you sent me."
Andrea drew in a sharp intake of breath and Harvey felt a sense of smug satisfaction as her face instantly fell. She was screwed and she knew it.
"Harvey? Is everything okay in here?"
He turned his head to see Lynn hovering by the door. He nodded at her and smiled as he stepped away from the table. "Everything's just fine, sis."
"Good." she replied, returning his smile. She glared at Andrea and tried not to feel too pleased with herself when the girl quickly glanced away and picked up her glass.
"I'm just heading back outside." Harvey said, adjusting the baseball cap on his head.
"Good. Then you can rescue Donna."
Harvey furrowed his brow curiously. "Why? What's happened?"
"Jack from next door is what's happened." Lynn informed him. "It seems the neighbours' sixteen year old son has a crush on her and he's currently slobbering over her as we speak."
Harvey chuckled as he placed his hand on his sister's back and guided her towards the hallway. "Then in that case, I'd better do the whole jealous boyfriend thing and beat him up."
"Hey, who broke the glass?" asked Lynn as the shattered crystal caught her attention..
Andrea scowled from across the room as she unscrewed the lid from the vodka bottle. "I did, okay?"
"Then clean it up bitch."
Lynn didn't even wait for her response and left the kitchen. Harvey grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the hallway.
"Well that put her in her place."
"Yeah, well I hope you did as well."
Lynn stopped as they reached the front door and turned to look at her brother. He could see the concerned expression on her face as she removed a tissue from her pocket and reached up to wipe his mouth.
"Lip gloss." she said, frowning. "Andrea's I believe."
"It's not what you're thinking." Harvey replied, sighing softly.
"I hope not."
"Look she kissed me and I stopped it. For some reason Donna entered my head and I realised it was completely wrong."
"Well Donna is your girlfriend, Harvey." Lynn replied as her brow crinkled with her confusion. "I would hope kissing another woman was wrong even if she is your bitch of an ex."
Harvey mentally kicked himself as he realised he had totally slipped up. Just because he was confused about the whole Donna thing, no-one else would be. She was supposed to be his girlfriend and he was meant to be in love with her after all. His sister was too damn sharp for her own good at times. He really had to be more careful.
"Things are over between you and Andrea, aren't they?"
Harvey quickly nodded his head, reassuring her. "Of course."
"And you are happy with Donna?"
"Yes, I am." He smiled as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "So you can stop worrying now." he told her as he opened the door and stepped out into the warm sunshine.
"I'm your big sister. It's my job to worry about you, you know."
Harvey grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder again as they walked towards the trees where everyone appeared to be sitting. "You should be worrying about that baby of yours instead. You do know that little thing is probably lying in there loaded right now."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Harvey nudged her playfully with his hip and noticed his mother grin widely as she watched her children walk towards her. "I know you pinched some wine from Donna. She's been warned not to give you any more by the way." he said in a low, warning tone.
"Killjoy." Lynn replied, muttering under her breath.
"There you are. We were wondering where the pair of you had gone."
She flopped down in the grass beside her mother as Harvey glanced over at Donna, smiling in amusement. Her back was turned to him and her hair blew across her shoulders in the light breeze. A pimple faced boy was sitting across from her grinning from ear to ear. He was obviously Jack and judging from the love sick puppy look he wore, he was definitely smitten by Donna.
"I told you." Lynn whispered loudly.
Harvey chuckled as he accepted the bottle of beer his father held out towards him. "Thanks Dad."
"Are you going to need any help sorting him out?" his father asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
Harvey took a sip of his beer and chuckled as his brown eyes ran over Jack's skinny frame. "Nah. A couple of punches should take care of him." He winked at his mother. "I promise to keep the blood shed to a minimum."
"Harvey!" his mother scolded as her eyes crinkled with laughter.
He took another mouthful of beer and stood directly behind Donna who was laughing at something Jack had said. He swallowed his drink and crossing his arms in front of him, he pretended to stare menacingly at the teenager. "Is this guy bothering you, babe?"
He resisted the urge to snort with laughter as Jack's eyes went wide with shock and his mouth hung open. The kid looked like he was about to wet himself.
"I-I think I hear my mom calling me." Jack stammered as he scrambled quickly to his feet.
Harvey burst into laughter as he watched him stumble and sprint across the grass. As he sat down across from Donna, he saw her blue eyes sparkling with her amusement and noticed her cheeks had been lightly coloured by sun. Her soft hair shone with flecks of gold.
"You frightened the life out of that poor boy."
Harvey stretched his legs out in front of him placing his bottle next to the tree and leaning back on his hands. "Poor boy, my ass. If he had his way, you'd be in his bedroom right now and it wouldn't be to look at his Britney Spears posters either."
"Britney Spears?" said Donna laughing, dangling her wine glass in her hand.
"Okay, maybe not Britney but you get my point."
Donna smiled as she took a sip from her wine.
"You do know you are now the object of all his teenage fantasies."
Donna spluttered on her wine and wiped the dribble from her chin.
"Yep. Pimple boy will be whacking himself off to images of you tonight." he said, snickering.
"Harvey Reginald Specter! I heard that."
Harvey rolled his eyes before turning his head to smile sweetly at his mother.
"You're in trouble, huh?" asked Donna grinning.
He nodded his head as he sat up and picked up his beer. "Definitely. She used the full name. That means I am in deep shit."
Donna laughed as he took a drink of beer. His body immediately stiffened as he noticed Andrea and Nick walk hand in hand from the house.
"It's such a lovely evening."
He swallowed his drink and looked at Donna. Her face was tilted towards the sun as she brushed her fingers through her hair. A slow smile crossed his face as he let himself admire her for a moment. She truly was a natural beauty and the sweet thing about her was she had no idea just how beautiful she really was. There was no vanity with her either. Donna didn't appear to be obsessed with her clothes or her makeup. This morning it had taken less than half an hour for her to get showered and ready for breakfast and he had been surprised as well as impressed. With Andrea he would have been kept waiting for hours.
Harvey gave himself a mental shake ending that particular train of thought. He didn't want to think about Andrea any longer and when he noticed her and Nick walk in their direction, he pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand towards Donna.
"Fancy escaping for a bit?"
"Sure." Donna smiled as she reached up and took his hand. She gripped her wine glass firmly as he pulled her to her feet and as he released her, she smoothed down her skirt and swatted at a fly that settled on her arm. "Where will we go?"
"There's a river that run down by the back of the house. We used to go there when we were kids. I thought we could take a walk along there."
"Sounds good to me. Let me get rid of this first."
Donna tipped the glass back and finished off the wine. She smiled and placed the glass in Harvey's father's outstretched hand.
"Don't let Lynn near that Pop. She'll want the dregs."
"Shut up Harvey."
Harvey chuckled as he picked up the phone that lay beside his mother's purse. He checked it and placed it in his pocket before holding out his hand to Donna. "You ready?"
She nodded her head and took his hand. She waved at his family before setting off across the grass. After a couple of steps she puffed loudly, rubbing her full and bloated stomach.
"God, I've eaten too much today. I'm stuffed. I'm going to have to walk for miles to work this lot off."
She smiled at Harvey gratefully as he held open the small gate for her. She stepped out into the country road and a bus rumbled past them as he took her hand again.
"I could always go for a run tomorrow before breakfast."
"You run?"
Donna nodded her head and smiled softly to herself as she felt Harvey lace their fingers together. His hand felt warm and clammy and really nice.
"How far do you run? To the store and back?" he asked, snickering.
Donna stopped in her tracks as her hand reached out and slapped his arm. She pretended to glare at him and she pressed her lips tightly together in an attempt not to smile back. His grin was infectious not to mention extremely sexy.
"I'll have you know I run five miles at least every second day."
Harvey raised his brow in surprise. "Now I am impressed. How long have you been running for?" he asked as they continued to walk.
"I probably started about four years ago." Donna pushed her hair back from her shoulders and followed Harvey across the deserted road. "I love it. It's so exhilarating. Plus it's my chance to escape from everything and just clear my head. My life is so busy at times. It's like I don't have time to stop and take a breath, you know."
"Oh trust me, I know." Harvey sighed and kicked at a stone in his path.
Donna frowned as her blue pools observed him carefully. "And I bet this is probably the first vacation you've taken in months."
He lifted his head to look at her and absently noticed her nose was pink and burned with the sun. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she walked and Harvey smiled, feeling totally relaxed in her company.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you strike me as the workaholic type."
"I do?"
"Uh huh."
Donna lifted her head and smiled as their arms lightly swung together.
"Any time I've called you, day or night, you've always been in the office. Now, either you're having an illicit affair with your secretary or you're just hopelessly devoted to your work."
"Hmmm. Well my secretary is sixty and has been happily married for thirty eight years." he grinned as he playfully bumped his hip against hers. "But that doesn't mean I'm a workaholic, you know."
Donna's lips upturned into a knowing smile. "Really? We've been here two days, Harvey. How many times have you called the office?"
Harvey lifted his shoulder in a shrug as he turned into the small path that led them down to the river. "I haven't."
"Liar!" Donna tugged on his hand stopped him in his tracks. He watched with amusement as she reached behind him into his back pocket to pull out his phone. She was so close he could smell her vanilla body lotion and he could also feel her chest pressed up against him. Harvey's lips curved up gently as Donna stepped away and held up his cell phone in front of her.
"I can always just check your phone if you won't tell me the truth."
"Okay, okay." he said, holding his hands up in defence. "I called the office once."
Donna raised her brow in disbelief and shook her head, showing she didn't believe him.
"Maybe twice." replied Harvey chuckling and rested his hands on her hips like it was the most natural thing in the world. Donna felt a rush of heat through her body at the contact and swallowed thickly as her chest fluttered. Somehow her fingers calmly pressed the buttons on the phone.
"I take it you don't believe me?"
Donna shook her head as she continued to search his numbers. "You're lying, Specter." she told him and bit back a smile as she saw her own name on his list of contacts.
"If I admitted that I called the office five times yesterday but only twice today would you believe me then?"
Her eyes peered at him over the lit up display on the phone. "That sounds a little more like it."
"It's the truth, I swear."
"I believe you."
Smiling, Donna placed the phone back in his pocket and tried not to think about his hands which still rested on her hips. God, he was so close she could smell the mixture of alcohol and mint on his breath and the faint spicy scent of his cologne. She placed her palms against his chest and struggled to breathe in their proximity.
"I knew you were calling. A guy like you just can't switch off." she continued, biting down on her lip shyly as her eyes scanned his face. "I guess that's why you're so successful. You can't afford to switch off not when there is all that money involved not to mention your reputation on the line."
Harvey was silent for a moment as he just looked at her. Donna swallowed thickly and felt her body temperature rise as his thumb rubbed small circles against her back. It was the slightest of movements yet it made her body tingle with pleasure. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Nobody in the world had ever affected her like this before. Her senses felt like they were on total overload.
"Do you know you're probably the only person I know that gets that about me?" said Harvey.
Donna licked her lips before pressing them together in a smile. "That may be but I'm not a concerned mother who is worried about her son or a lonely girlfriend who misses you at nights."
"Is that you making excuses for Andrea screwing around on me?"
His brown eyes twinkled back at her and Donna's teeth pulled on the corner of her lip, ducking her head and feeling slightly awkward. Despite Harvey's playful tone, she wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with discussing Andrea. Not today. Not when she was still smarting from their earlier conversation although she had enjoyed sticking it to the bitch on several occasions over the course of the afternoon. Playing ball with Harvey certainly had a lot of advantages. Deciding to reward him with a kiss for every point he scored was just one of them. Another had been sitting on his lap afterwards as they all sat together in the garden. Andrea had been practically spitting venom from her eyes, a fact that had made her incredibly happy at the time.
"I'm sorry. I've made you uncomfortable."
Donna glanced up at Harvey and slowly shook her head. "No, you haven't. Honestly."
"Yes, I have." Harvey paused for a second, smiling gently. "You're chewing on your bottom lip. You always do that when you're feeling nervous or uneasy."
Donna's mouth lifted into an amused smile. "I do?"
"Yes, you do. It's a cute little habit of yours. Just like the one where your nose wrinkles when you laugh."
Donna snorted and blushing immediately, she covered her nose with her hand.
Smirking, Harvey grabbed her wrist pulling it away from her face. "Stop trying to hide it, Donna."
She giggled as she tried to wriggle free from his grip. His fingers were hot and felt delicious against her skin.
"Then stop trying to embarrass me."
"I'm not trying to embarrass you. I'm just being observant." he replied, pushing her hand and holding it to her side.
"And are you always so damn observant about the people you do business with?"
"Usually only the pretty ones like you." he replied, winking.
Donna felt another rush of colour to her cheeks as she caught her breath and gazed into his brown eyes. They sparkled brightly at her and she could feel her head swimming as he released her wrist and brought his hand up to lightly brush her face. His face softened as he smiled at her.
"But if I'm honest, pretty doesn't even do you justice."
Donna let out a slow, calming breath as she tried to remain composed. Her head was still giddy and the blood was pounding in her ears. She didn't know if it was Harvey or the alcohol flowing in her bloodstream. Her heart raced in her chest as his soft hand trailed across the back of her neck bringing her face slowly towards him. God, he was going to kiss her and Donna licked her lips in anticipation. Her breath caught in her throat as he gently nuzzled her cheek.
"You're so beautiful." he breathed into her ear.
Donna swore her heart stopped as Harvey pushed her hair back from her shoulder and lightly began to nibble her earlobe. Her mouth felt so dry and her whole body was throbbing. A soft whimper escaped from her lips as he trailed soft kisses along her jaw line. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She wanted this so badly she felt she was about to burst.
Donna's stomach coiled with her desire as their noses rubbed together. In the distance she could hear an aeroplane as it flew above them.
"I'm not sure I can keep things just business between us, Donna."
Her heart raced in her chest as his hand moved from her neck to cup her face. His brown eyes were dark and intense as his thumb lightly grazed her cheek. His face was moving closer towards her and she could feel his hot breath against her lips.
"I want to kiss you." he whispered.
"I want you to kiss me too." she murmured into his mouth as it finally found hers and their lips brushed together in a slow, sweet kiss.
