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For that reason, the guys all looked past her, through her, or when forced to it, with nothing more than respect. “Who’s the roommate?”
    “Sweet Cherry Pie,” Denver rumbled low and with feeling.
    Stack grinned at him.
    Gage totally missed the joke. “What?”
    “Cherry Payton,” Denver said, and damn if he didn’t almost sigh. “Long blond hair, big chocolate-brown eyes, extra fine body...”
    “Another one bites the dust,” Stack said with a laugh.
    “Another one?”
    “Obtuse,” Denver lamented.
    Stack nodded toward Harper. “You being the first, dumbass.”
    “We all expect you to make her feel better about things.”
    Confusion kicked his temper up a notch. “What things? ”
    Slapping a hand over his heart, Stack said, “How you feel.”
    Striking a similar pose, Denver leaned into Stack. “What you want.”
    Heads together, they intoned, “Love.”
    “You’re both morons.” But damn it, he realized that he did love her. Probably had for a long time. How could he not? Priorities could be a bitch and he hated the idea that he’d maybe made Harper unhappy by not understanding his feelings sooner.
    He chewed his upper lip while wondering how to correct things.
    “Honesty,” Stack advised him. “Tell her how the schedule goes, what to expect, and leave the rest up to her.”
    “Harper’s smart,” Denver agreed. “She’ll understand.”
    It irked Gage big-time to have everyone butting into his personal business. “Don’t you guys have something better to do than harass me?”
    “I have some one better to do,” Stack told him, nodding toward one of the women who’d hit on Gage earlier. “Butting in to your business was just my good will gesture of the day.” And with that he sauntered off.
    Denver leaned back on the table of food. “We all like Harper, you know.”
    Gage was starting to think they liked her a little too much. “Yeah, I get that.”
    “So quit dicking around, will you?” He grabbed up another sandwich and he, too, joined a woman.
    Gage stewed for half a minute, turned—and almost ran into Harper.

CHAPTER FOUR
    G AGE CAUGHT HER ARMS , steadying them both. “Why does everyone keep sneaking up on me?”
    She brushed off his hands. “If you hadn’t been ogling the single ladies, maybe you’d be more aware.”
    She absolutely had to know better than to think that, but just in case...”How could I notice any other woman with you around?”
    She eyed him. “Do you notice other women when I’m not around?”
    Damn, he thought, did she really not know how much he cared? Worse, had she been sad while he was away?
    The possibility chewed on his conscience. “No, I don’t.” He drew her up to kiss her sweetly, and then, because this was Harper, not so sweetly.
    To give her back a little, he shared his own complaint. “You spend way too much time horsing around with Armie.”
    Shrugging, she reached for a few chips. “I was trying not to crowd you.”
    “What does that mean?”
    While munching, she gestured around the interior of the rec center. “This is a fight night. You’re hanging with your buds. When I see you guys talking, I don’t want to horn in.”
    Whoa. Those were some serious misconceptions. To help clear things up, he cupped her face. “You can’t.”
    “Can’t what?”
    “Horn in. Ever.”
    Brows pinching in disgruntlement, she shoved away from him. “I just told you I wouldn’t.”
    He hauled her right back. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t, honey, I’m saying you can’t because there’s never a bad time for you to talk to me. Remember that, okay?”
    Astonished, she blinked up at him, and he wanted to declare himself right then. Luckily the first fight on the main card started and everyone went back to their seats, saving him from rushing her.
    This time, Gage had a hard time concentrating. He saw the fight, he cheered, but more of his attention veered to Harper, to how quiet she was now.
    Thinking about him?
    The fight ended in