“What do you mean?”
“Do you have regrets when it comes to us?” she asked again, still not looking at him.
“Harper.” He reached up, touching her chin and gently forcing her gaze up. “Why are you asking this?”
“I shouldn’t have run from you. I shouldn’t have left you in May.” Her voice caught on the last word and the pain in her eyes was bleeding into his heart. “I hate that we missed time because of me.” Tears ran down her cheeks when she blinked. She shook her head, closing her eyes.
“Hey,” he whispered. His hand at her hip slid around to the small of her back and he moved in closer. “Look at me,” he demanded firmly, and her eyes opened immediately. “Harper, you can’t play this game. Everyone makes mistakes, honey. Everyone has those moments they want to take back.”
“I know that…I…” She blinked again, more tears falling from her eyes. “I ran because I knew. I knew I was in love with you then and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I told you before…Liam, forty-eight hours in and you had the power to destroy me. I was terrified.”
“I screwed up, too, you know. That night on the balcony…letting you walk away.” He took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “I let my pride get in the way. I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to react, and I messed up. But in the end, no matter all of the mess-ups and mistakes, we were going to end up here anyway.”
“How do you know that?” She wiped at her eyes and sniffled.
“Because there isn’t any other option. Harper, this thing with us, it’s never happened to me before, and I know it will never happen for me again.”
“You know what your sister said?” She gave him a watery smile as she reached up and ran her fingers across his jaw.
Oh great. What had his sister said? “I have no idea. When it comes to Adele there is no telling what will come out of her mouth.”
“She said this was fate. That it was just a matter of time before we crossed paths.”
“Did she now?” He raised his eyebrows now more than interested in what his sister had spouted off.
“Yes. She explained that even if we hadn’t met in that bar, our paths would’ve crossed because of the fact that Abby and Logan are together. So whether it was in Nashville, or at the Stampede party…or wherever, we would’ve found each other.”
“And what else did my brilliant sister say?”
“That pregnant or not, you would’ve wanted to be with me.”
That was a fact. “Yup, Adele is one of the smartest women I know. Don’t tell her I said that, though. She already thinks she’s smarter than Logan and me. She doesn’t need to know it.”
“So you believe in fate?” she asked.
“Not before. Not before you walked into that bar. But there were a number of things I didn’t believe before I met you.”
“Such as?”
“That you can love someone so much it physically hurts. That you can know within an instant that they’re your future. Adele’s right. I would’ve found you sooner or later, and I would’ve wanted you then, too. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
“I wonder if I wouldn’t have run then? If it was later, you know? Because maybe I wouldn’t have been terrified…and I wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“Maybe…” He said the word slowly. “But when it comes right down to it, it doesn’t matter. We were supposed to meet then, Harper. We were supposed to meet in that bar. And you were supposed to come home with me that night. Because if we changed anything, we wouldn’t have this baby.” His palm still covered her belly, his thumb moving across her skin.
“No, we wouldn’t.”
“So I wouldn’t go back…I wouldn’t do anything differently. Not a second. You leaving, as much as it sucked…as much as I hated every moment of it, maybe it needed to happen. Maybe it means no running in the future.”
“You’d know where to find me now if I did. There’s nowhere to run to.”
“You see, that’s the thing.” He shook his head, tipping her chin up even farther as he leaned in, looking down into her eyes. “I’m waiting for the day you realize there’s nothing to run from.”
Her violet eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a shallow gasp, but besides that she made no other sound.
“I want you, Harper. I want all of you.” His hand was at her throat, his thumb holding her chin in place so she couldn’t look away.
“I want all of you, too,” she whispered, more than a little breathless.
“I’m yours.” His lips hovered just above hers, and he couldn’t resist covering them. Kissing her and dipping his tongue inside to taste the perfection that was her mouth. Devouring her as she devoured him right back.
She pulled away, looking up at him as her palms slid down his chest to his abs. “Only mine?” she asked, flexing her hands and causing her nails to bite into his skin.
“Only yours.”
“Good.” One of her hands was wrapping around his cock that had most definitely found its second wind, and she was lining him up with her entrance. “Show me.”
He claimed her mouth as he flexed his hips, pushing into her in one swift move. Being inside of Harper in any capacity was enough to short-circuit his brain, but being inside of her with no barriers…yeah, he still wasn’t quite over how amazing it was.
Who was he kidding? He’d never get over it.
Her legs came around his waist, her feet locking at his lower back and her heels digging into his ass. He grabbed on to her hips, holding her steady so she wouldn’t slide across the counter as he moved in and out of her.
It was only a matter of time before he had her good and truly breathless again, her hands clawing at his back as she rocked against him.
He pulled one of his hands from her hip and palmed the back of her head, his fingers spearing in her hair as he looked down into her eyes.
“And you’re mine.” He entered her in a powerful stroke.
“Yes,” she gasped.
“Say it,” he demanded, pulling out of her before thrusting back in.
“I-I’m yours.” Her nails bit into his back harder and he’d swear she probably drew blood.
Could not give less of a shit.
“Promise?” he asked.
“I swear.”
There was something about looking down into those violet eyes of hers, so bare and honest and full of love for him, that made him feel like a fucking king.
She was his.
His mouth crashed down on hers, the kiss imitating their bodies. Rough, passionate, naked hunger for each other. Only ever for each other ever again.
He knew her orgasm was coming seconds before it happened. Her back arched, thrusting those magnificent breasts of hers against his chest before her body tightened around his cock.
Her mouth fell away from his. “Oh God. Oh God. Oh Goooooooood.”
And just like that he was gone. Spilling inside of her as his release overtook him.
It was remarkable that he was still standing. Really it was. But the thought of pulling away from her was unbearable. He needed her skin on his. His lips on her shoulder…and her neck. His mouth went to the freckled spot just under her ear, kissing it before going to her cheek, and then moving over to find her mouth again.
The world might be raging around them…but there inside of Harper’s little apartment, all he knew was peace.
They’d finally found each other.
Chapter Eighteen
The Correct Way to Eat an Oreo
Liam was only going to get seven days of settling back into his daily Mirabelle routine with Harper before leaving town again. Though this time Harper would be going with him for a little trip.
Her twenty-seventh birthday was the following week, and after their talk of fate the other night, he kind of had to marvel at the fact that the release of “Forever” was the exact same day. So yeah, they were really going to celebrate and in style.
He was taking her to New York for four days. H
e didn’t have any shows that he needed to perform at while he was there. No interviews. No recording. No meetings. Nothing.
It would be just the two of them lost in the city together.
After that, she would be returning to Mirabelle while he would be leaving for the next leg of the Isaac Hunter tour. This time to Australia…for two and a half weeks.
The fact that he was going to be half a world away from her was not something that made him even remotely happy. Add to that the fact that it would be the longest he’d go without seeing her since they’d reconnected in Jacksonville.
Yeah, he didn’t want to think about it. It made him twitchy. Made his skin itch in the most uncomfortable way because there was no way to scratch it. No way to make it go away.
He was just going to have to get through it, though. They were going to get through it. But like he’d said so many times before: there wasn’t any other choice.
So for now he was just going to focus on the four days before them. He’d gotten a room at The Plaza, a suite that cost more than anything he’d ever paid for in his life.
He was most definitely pulling out all the stops. Doing things he’d never done for a woman he’d been seeing before. But he wasn’t just seeing Harper. He was in love with her, and he wanted the weekend to be beyond special. Something for her to always remember.
On Friday, the actual day of her birthday—and the song release—he made dinner reservations at Le Petit Fromage. The restaurant was booked out to the end of the year, but the owner and head chef was one of Hunter Andrews’s childhood friends.
Liam and Harper toasted the evening with sparkling apple juice over what had to be the most decadent meal he’d ever eaten in his life.
The following night he took her to see a show on Broadway. He’d watched her more than the actual show. But as he was usually hard pressed to pay attention to anything besides her, it wasn’t all that shocking.
And really who could blame him? She was wrapped in a blue sequined dress, the back dipping down in a low-V to just above her ass. It was a feat to be sure that the dress somehow managed to contain her breasts. It had to have been because of the intricate pattern of crisscross straps in the back. And since Adele had designed and made said garment—one of three dresses that were his sister’s birthday gift to Harper—he wasn’t surprised at all.
After the show they headed outside the theater, the crowd of people swarming around them as they waited for the limo he’d rented. Yup, a limo.
Harper’s hand was in his as she leaned against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.
“You tired?” he asked, pressing his lips to her temple.
It was almost eleven at night and they’d been up early to “explore the city” as she’d put it. Something they’d done mostly on foot. Though, she hadn’t been walking around in the skyscraper heels she was currently wearing.
“Yes…and hungry.” She peeked up at him, biting her bottom lip. “Dinner feels like it was ages ago. What are the chances we could get a burger before we go back to the hotel?”
“I’d say they’re pretty high.”
“And French fries…and a milk shake, too.”
“Whatever you want,” he said, knowing that those words applied to pretty much everything.
When the driver showed up they asked him to take them to the best—and fastest—burger place he knew of. He didn’t even hesitate, pulling off into traffic and cutting through the bright lights and tall buildings.
Harper was more than a tad bit desperate to get comfortable. Her shoes reaching the max of what she could handle for the evening. The second they walked into the hotel room she kicked off her heels. Her next stop was the bedroom, the bags of food in her hand. She’d grabbed a blanket from the sofa on her way, spreading it out over the white quilt before she climbed on top.
She was now sitting in the middle of the bed, her legs crossed in front of her as she unpacked the food from the bags and created her own little picnic. She grabbed a French fry and dipped it in the garlic aioli before popping it into her mouth.
Her eyes closed instantly and a moan filled the room. “Oh my God. These fries are heaven sent.”
She opened her eyes and grabbed another one, dipping it in the sauce, before she looked up at him. “You going to join me or just stand there and watch me eat?”
A case could be made for just standing there and watching her, because it really was a fascinating sight. Her hair was still piled up on top of her head in that complicated updo thing, and the skirt of her dress pooled in her lap just below her belly, that bump still too small to look for unless someone knew they were looking for it.
For whatever reason, the fact that she was going to eat a burger in that fancy dress had him grinning like a moron.
The woman never ceased to amaze the hell out of him no matter the circumstances.
“What?” she asked before she took a drink of her milk shake.
“God, I’m so in love with you. You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Amazing?” She raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s the qualifier you want to use when I’m about to inhale this burger?”
“Absolutely.” He nodded as he loosened his tie and made his way over to the bed. He dropped the jacket of his suit on the chair before he kicked off his shoes, and then he sat down next to her on the bed.
She dipped another fry in the sauce and held it out for him. “Tell me these aren’t incredible.”
He leaned forward, taking the fry in his mouth along with the very tips of her fingers. “Incredible,” he agreed after he swallowed. “The fries, too.”
“Don’t look at me like that.” She narrowed her eyes as she shook her head.
“Like what?”
“You know exactly what. Here.” She grabbed one of the wrapped burgers and handed it to him. “Eat before it gets cold.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned, sliding up the bed and settling his back against the headboard before unwrapping the burger.
How was it that with everything they’d done during this trip, this was his favorite moment?
* * *
Their last morning in New York came complete with dark gray storm clouds looming low over the city. They were a pretty good indicator for Liam’s mood, too. He had to leave Harper today and he was in no way looking forward to it.
It was taking a great deal of self-control to not let his somber mood take over. He didn’t want there to be any dark spots on their trip this weekend.
But sometimes things were way out of a person’s control.
He’d just been on the phone with the airline for ten minutes confirming their flights, and when he walked back into the bedroom it was to find it in exactly the same state it had been when he walked out.
The bed was covered in Harper’s clothes, her suitcase sitting in the middle and still just as empty. She was standing in the middle of the room staring down at her phone. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she was chewing on her bottom lip. She was so focused on the device in her hands that she hadn’t even heard him come in.
“What’s wrong?”
His voice made her jump, her phone flying into the air before she caught it again. Her head came up, her worried eyes focusing on him. “Sorry. You scared me.”
“I see that. What’s wrong?” he repeated as he set his phone on the nightstand and crossed the room to her.
She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and started chewing on it again. She was waging the debate of whether or not to tell him, deciding if it was important or not. But anything that was upsetting her this much was clearly important.
“The truth, honey. Remember our agreement, no barriers good, bad, or ugly.” He reached up, pulling her bottom lip from her teeth.
“Oh, it’s ugly all right.”
Great. He’d had to share his own bit of ugly news with her last week with the whole Kiki debacle in Louisiana. But he wasn’t keeping anything like that from Harper. That was how things got out of ha
nd.
“Have I ever told you about Bethelda Grimshaw?”
“She a villain from a kid’s book?”
A small laugh escaped Harper’s mouth, but it did nothing to counteract the look in her eyes. “Half of that is correct. She’s a villain all right, but she isn’t fictional. No matter how much I wish that were the case. She’s from Mirabelle and she writes this blog.”
“What kind of blog?”
“Where she drags other people from town through the mud.”
“What do you mean?”
She didn’t say anything, just handed over her phone. And as Liam read, his ears started ringing.
THE GRIM TRUTH
BREAKING UP ISN’T SO HARD TO DO
AND NEITHER IS MOVING ON
It’s only been a handful of months since Voluptuous V.’s fiancé (Human Ken Doll) ran out of town and left her high and dry. As we all know, he had absolutely no desire to walk down the aisle and commit to the woman for the rest of his life.
Completely understandable if you ask me especially as it didn’t take VV any time at all to find another man to fill her bed. And who is this mystery man you ask? Well, as to that I’m still unsure because Scruff McGruff is most definitely not from around here.
I know, I know I’ve been a tad bit outspoken when it comes to others invading our quaint little town. Really, what can I say? I’m a traditionalist. And I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way, either.
But I digress. That is a different rant for a different day. Back to the real topic at hand: who is this man?
I’ve spotted McGruff a handful of times over the last couple of weeks, but not consistently. He blows in and out of town with the wind. But maybe that’s what it takes for VV to keep a man. If he isn’t around her for long periods of time he can handle her/the relationship.
If we can even classify it as a relationship.
This little affair will probably be over soon enough as it is. Once McGruff is finished fooling around, he will blow out of town like the last man in VV’s life.
Unsung Page 24
