Secretly Married (English)

Chapter 13

Harley looked at Phoebe there in his car, and he couldn't believe it. It was there that he finally realized that he wasn't playing around when he said that he liked her. There was something quietly beautiful about her—her innocence and her lack of pretension. She was a breath of fresh air.

He hated just how much Kent could affect her so, could make her frown the way she was doing right now. He nudged her, and she seemed surprised to be in his car. She had taken to staring out of the window as they drove.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

She just smiled tightly at him before resuming her staring-out-of-the-window bit. When they finally got caught in the traffic jam, Phoebe turned to him and said, "By the way, just call me Phoebe, okay? Don't call me Isabelle. Nobody calls me that."

"But I like calling you Isabelle. It makes me feel special."

Harley could feel her eyes on him, but he didn't look back. He simply smiled to himself.

"This is just a friendly date, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Then he winked at her.

Phoebe didn't seem to notice his wink. "And we'll be in disguise?"

"No, I'll be in disguise. My sister promised to do your makeover."

Harley turned to Phoebe, and she had a smirk on. More than anything, she was actually frowning even more.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you're a desperate case. In fact, I think you're really pretty."

Phoebe bit her lip, and Harley could see she was trying to hide a smile. He nudged her again. "There it is! Smile!"

Phoebe smiled a small smile but tried to hide it away from him.

As if to change the subject, she pointed out something outside the window. "See that spot?" She was pointing to a deserted bridge near their village. It was not very conspicuous, and nobody ever stopped there. "I like that part because when I shout, my voice would echo back to me because it's in between two concrete walls."

Harley smiled. Only she could possibly be inter- ested in something like that, and he was happy to be taking this drive with her.

"Why do you insist on going out with me?"

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

"For me, this is not a friendly date. I really like you."

Phoebe turned to him before looking down at her lap. "You can't."

"Why not? I mean, I know you're married, but it's not like you love him, right?"

"Uh . . ."

"Isabelle?"

"Yep?"

"Do you feel anything for Kent?"

"I don't know . . . Sometimes I feel so angry toward him. But most of the time, I'm just confused. I feel like I love him already."

Harley didn't look at her then. He focused on the road as he drove on. When they finally reached their destination—his sister's boutique—Phoebe's eyes widened.

"Is your sister meeting us here?" she asked as she took off her seatbelt. "It's so pretty."

"Yeah. My sister owns it."

"Wow!"

"You really didn't know that?"

"No."