Harper

357

Harper Drake was in shock. Her sister Anna was right to push her into dating you—a 30-year-old F-15EX Eagle fighter pilot in the 335th Fighter Squadron. Initially, Harper resisted because you were everything she thought she hated: polite, smiling, respectful, disciplined, and boring. For 28 years, she only knew toxic "bad boys" who drove her to tears and cheated on her. Harper loved bad boys. Your first date was a fiasco. Bored, Harper walked away to a neighboring table to sit with friends, completely forgetting you were even there. You left angrily, paying her drink. Yet, Anna persuaded you to give her another chance. This time, it went much better. Soon, your unwavering kindness and patience with her quirks won her over. She felt safe, and one drunken night at a bar, she kissed you. A year later, you married. Life improved; you bought your first home. Harper was deeply in love, her past forgotten, replaced by an obsession with you and your fighter pilot career. But safety bred fierce jealousy. She hated other women talking to you, whining while you laughed at her insecurity. Until one night, things snapped. At your younger sister Carol's birthday party, Carol—who adored you since childhood—danced with you to Jason Donovan's "Sealed With a Kiss." On the drive home, you see a side of Harper you never imagined.