The Man Ban

by Nicola Marsh

  “So what happened last year to push you over the edge?”

  “You know I consult at the local beauty salon every now and then?”

  Harper nodded.

  “An opportunity came up for me to help with a bridal party. Hair, makeup, the works, but it meant traveling to Albury for the weekend. Turns out I’d done one of the bridesmaid’s hair and she was opening her own beauty salon and wanted me on board for hair. But when I told your father, he said that was the weekend his partner was hosting the hardware store owners, and we had to be there otherwise his business would suffer.”

  Lydia huffed out a breath. “Once again, his business came first. I’d felt neglected for years because of his bloody business, and that was the last straw.”

  Alec rested his hand on Lydia’s knee. “I’m so sorry.”

  Lydia flashed a grateful smile. “We’ve been over this, Alec. Let me tell Harper the rest.

  “You know what triggered me the most? Your father never really saw me. He didn’t see how excited I was about the opportunity. He didn’t see my devastation when he told me about his event. It was like I’d become invisible over the years, and that hurt the most, after I’d devoted my life to making his easier.” Lydia shrugged. “I’d finally had enough. When I initially kicked him out, I wanted to give him a wake-up call, to show him how he’d been taking me for granted.”

  “It worked,” Alec muttered, shaking his head. “I was such an idiot.”

  “But a funny thing happened when I had the house to myself,” Lydia said. “I liked it. I began to do the things I wanted to do, things I never had a chance to when your father was around, like playing loud rock music and eating in front of the TV and staying up till two a.m. I felt . . . free.”

  “While I was bloody miserable.” Alec bumped Lydia with his shoulder. “I used to sit out the front sometimes, hearing you blast that music, and imagine you were partying with some bastard two decades my junior.”

  Harper bit back a smile. “Stalker much, Dad?”

  “Your father never stopped caring.”

  The speed with which Lydia defended Alec showed Harper more than words could say. They were definitely a team again.

  “So what changed? What led to this?” Harper gestured at the two of them, sitting close, shoulders touching.

  “Those blasted gift baskets,” Lydia said, shooting Alec a fond glance. “Your father wrote me a letter and tucked it into the last one. It was the first time he didn’t beg for forgiveness or ask to come home. But he listed every reason he thought why our marriage had floundered and asked for another chance to make it better.” She rested her head against his shoulder, utterly besotted. “He showed insight I wasn’t sure he was capable of and made me realize what we had was worth fighting for after thirty-five years. So we both want to do better.”

  Lydia straightened and pointed to her face. “I’m going to stop putting on a front all the time, trying to live up to an idea of perfection that’s in my own head.”

  “And I’m going to semi-retire,” Alec said. “Cut back to twenty hours a week so I can devote the rest of the time to working on our marriage and putting your mother first so she never feels second-best again.”

  “Wow.” Harper pressed her hands to her chest, where love for these two amazing people swelled. “I’m incredibly happy for you both.”

  “Thanks, love, we’re happy too.” Alec slipped an arm around Lydia’s shoulders. “And if you don’t mind, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “Are you kicking me out? What about lunch?”

  “We’ll take you out for a Happy Meal sometime next week,” Alec deadpanned, and they all laughed, remembering it was their go-to bribe when she was little.

  “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Harper stood and moved around the table to kiss her mom and dad. “I love you both so much.”

  “Right back at you, kid,” her dad said, while her mom squeezed her hand.

  As she left the house and headed for her car, Harper realized she hadn’t told them about Manny. She’d planned on filling in her mom on her new relationship status and telling her dad at a later date.

  But it didn’t matter; she’d tell them another time. Seeing her parents reunited reinforced her belief in love again.

  And maybe, just maybe, she could have a happily ever after of her own.

  50

  Manny had slept poorly last night. He’d been physically and mentally exhausted when he’d gotten home from Izzy’s and had barely mustered the energy to text Harper before falling into bed. But it took a long time for slumber to come, considering Izzy’s diagnosis and her fatalistic approach reverberated around his head.

  He’d tried to take the emotion out of it and analyze it from a purely medical perspective. It didn’t help, because if Izzy were any other patient and not his grandmother, the prognosis would still be the same.

  Not good.

  Her age, combined with the length of time the endocarditis had gone undiagnosed, meant the risk of complications was high. Even if she survived the surgery, she could be in danger.

  His grandmother could die, and there wasn’t one damn thing he could do about it.

  He’d only felt this helpless once before, when his mom had died in his arms. Back then, he’d been consumed by guilt and uselessness.

  This time would be different.

  He could give his grandmother the one thing she wanted so badly.

  He had it all planned out.

  He just hoped Harper didn’t think he’d lost his mind.

  Knocking on her front door, he knew what he was about to do was madness. He rarely made impulsive decisions. His analytical brain wasn’t wired that way. But the way he saw it, this wasn’t so impulsive. He felt more for Harper in the short time he’d known her than any other woman. She made him laugh, she challenged him, and she made him feel at peace, something he could do with a lot more of.

  Do you love her?

  He’d pondered that at length last night too. A difficult question to answer for someone who’d never fallen in love. But if love made him do crazy things, like volunteer to be her foodie assistant, extend his leave to be with her, and almost ravish her in a public place beside a lake, yeah, he loved her.

  Now he had to prove it.

  She opened the door, smiling, and just like that he knew everything would be okay. “Hey, handsome.”

  “Hey yourself.”

  She stepped forward and into his arms, like it was the only place she wanted to be. Overcome with emotion, he crushed her to him, craving her warmth, wanting her with a ferocity that shook him to his core.

  But this couldn’t be about sex. Not now. Time enough to celebrate later.

  When he released her, she stepped back and studied him, a tiny frown between her brows. “You okay?”

  He had to be, otherwise she’d know there was something wrong, and he didn’t want to tell her everything until he had her answer.

  “Yeah, still tired from that massive shift yesterday.”

  “My man, the hero.” She brushed her lips across his. “You do amazing work. It must be so satisfying.”

  “It has its moments.”

  He didn’t want to stand around talking about his job. He wanted to ensure everything went smoothly tonight, starting now. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure.” She must’ve heard something in his tone because she continued to study his face as she closed the door. “I’m intrigued by this surprise you have planned.”

  “It’s going to blow your mind.”

  He was still trying to get his head around it.

  As he opened the passenger door and she slid inside, she glanced up at him. “There’s something different about you today, and I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “In a good way, I hope.”

  Her expression softened, and
she got that look in her eyes, the one that made him feel like a superhero. “Everything about you is good.”

  “You’ll give me a big head.”

  “Too late. I don’t know how you fit through most doorways as it is.”

  He laughed and ducked down to kiss her before straightening, closing her door, and moving around to the driver’s side. This is exactly what he needed, for her to make him laugh and take his mind off the momentous move he was about to make.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “I like this man of mystery thing you’ve got going on. It’s very sexy.”

  “Speaking of sexy . . .”

  Grateful they’d stopped at a traffic signal, he glanced across at her. “You look gorgeous and I’m sorry it took me this long to say it, but having you in my arms earlier made me lose my mind as usual.”

  “Thanks,” she said, her gaze warm, her smile wide. “You say the nicest things.”

  “All true.”

  The lights changed and he refocused on the road, glad they didn’t have to go far. Because with every passing second, he started to doubt his grand plan.

  Was he seriously going to do this?

  “Hey, I’ve got some good news,” she said.

  “Yeah?”

  “My parents reunited.”

  “That’s great. How long were they apart again?”

  “Almost fifteen months.”

  “That’s really good news. You must be thrilled.”

  “I am. It’s restored my faith in love again. I always thought they were the perfect couple, and if they couldn’t make it . . .” She trailed off, sounding pensive. “It shook me up when they separated, then Colin dumped me two months later, hence my man ban. I didn’t want to believe in love anymore.”

  “And now?”

  He held his breath, waiting for her answer, hoping it would be the right one.

  “Now a fast-talking charmer who’s easy on the eyes has swept me off my feet and I couldn’t be happier.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “What about you?”

  “You’re about to discover exactly how you’ve captivated me.”

  “Tease,” she said, resting her hand on his thigh, sending a surge about five inches higher. “You’re definitely up to something. You’ve had this funny expression ever since you picked me up.”

  “From charming to looking funny. Nice.”

  She squeezed his thigh. “Are we there yet?”

  He laughed, the first time he’d felt like it in the last forty-eight hours. Not every patient had survived that multicar pileup, and closely followed by Izzy’s devastating news, he’d felt like crap since.

  “We’re about two minutes away.”

  It was the longest one hundred and twenty seconds of his life as her hand started to move along his thigh, lightly stroking, driving him wild.

  When he finally pulled into the golf course, he wanted to drag her behind the nearest tree and bury himself inside her.

  “We’re playing night golf?”

  He shook his head and killed the engine. “No. But one of my old patients owns this course, and there’s something I want to show you down by the lake.”

  “Let me guess. It’s balls.”

  He laughed again, reinforcing he was doing the right thing. If she could make him feel like this when sadness clouded him, she was definitely a keeper.

  “You’ll get to see mine, along with my number one driver, later if you’re lucky.”

  She groaned and punched him in the arm. “Lame. Very, very lame.”

  “You’re the one who mentioned balls.”

  “But you had to take it that one step further.” Smiling, she shook her head. “Come on, let’s see this surprise.”

  As they strolled toward the lake, hand in hand, Manny hoped Harper couldn’t feel his palm slick with sweat. Nerves made his heart pound, and a strange buzzing filled his ears.

  He was about to do this.

  About to change his life in a way he’d never thought possible.

  She caught sight of the table first. “Wow. Did you do that?”

  “Yeah. Once the place closed for the day, I ducked down here. Turns out the guy who owns this place is a closet romantic, and he didn’t mind me bringing you here for a surprise.”

  He’d ringed the long rectangular table in tea lights, the flames flickering gently in the barest of breezes. The surprise he’d arranged lay under white napkins, and as they neared the table, he almost balked.

  This was crazy. The worst impulse he’d ever had, when he never had any usually.

  But the image of Izzy’s expression taut with worry flickered into his mind, and he knew he had to do this.

  They stopped in front of the table and he clasped her hands, turning to face her.

  “What I’m about to do may seem crazy, and in a way it is. But I’m a decisive man. I’ve made smart choices my entire life. And falling for you is definitely one of them.”

  Her eyes shone in the candlelight, and the corners of her mouth curved up. “Eloquent and gorgeous. No wonder I fell for you too.”

  “I want you to know I don’t do this lightly either. It means something. It’s scary but exciting, and I couldn’t imagine changing my life this much with anyone but you.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise as he released her hands so he could remove the napkins.

  “I’m hoping you’ll think this is romantic rather than corny.”

  He whipped off the napkins one by one, revealing one word at a time.

  will. you. marry. me?

  Spelled out in slices of kiwi fruit.

  Harper stared at the table in openmouthed shock, before looking back at him.

  “I . . . what . . . wow.”

  He smiled and tipped up her chin. “I wanted to do a bit of food styling of my own. And of course I chose kiwi fruit to do it, considering we got together in New Zealand. So what do you think?”

  She gave a little shake of her head as if coming out of a trance. “You’re asking me to marry you?”

  “Yeah. And I know it doesn’t make any sense because we haven’t known each other long and we’ve been dating for less, but I know this is right. In here.” He thumped a fist to his heart. “If I don’t know what I want by forty, I’ll never know, so this is definitely right.”

  He clasped her face in his hands. “You’re the one for me, Harper. What do you say?”

  She kissed him in response, but she didn’t speak, and considering the indecision in her eyes, he braced for an answer he wouldn’t like.

  51

  Those four words kept shimmering before Harper’s eyes.

  Will you marry me?

  She’d alternated between shock and elation when she’d first read them, soon followed by Are you freaking serious?

  In what crazy world would she accept a proposal from a guy she barely knew? A guy she’d fallen for way too quickly, but . . . marriage?

  Ironic, she’d always craved the fairy tale—wedding, kids, the works—but with someone she’d known for more than five seconds. Though that was harsh. She may not have known Manny for long in terms of months, but in her heart she knew him better than Colin, and she’d been with him for over a year.

  “It’s the kiwi fruit, isn’t it? Too much?”

  She laughed, something she’d been doing a lot of since this wonderful man had swept her off her feet. Even now, when he must be feeling gauche and uncomfortable because of her prolonged hesitation, he was trying to make this easier on her.

  “The kiwi fruit is a cute touch. I’m more shocked by the proposal.”

  “It’s crazy and spontaneous and out of the blue and too soon, but I had to ask.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve
fallen for you.” His beautiful gray gaze bored into her, making her a believer. “It defies logic, I know, and I’m all about logic. Facts based in science are what I believe. My whole life revolves around it. But you and me?”

  He released her hands to run his up and down her bare arms, pebbling her skin. “We’re not logical or well-thought-out or planned. This is you and me. We’re whipped cream and banter and fun.”

  His caresses slowed, almost hypnotic. “But we’re also tenderness and strength and serenity. We fit, and it’s easy and comfortable, with a constant undercurrent that blows my mind.”

  Manny’s honesty broke her.

  He spoke from the heart, stripping back her defenses, laying her bare.

  His declaration wasn’t eloquent, but it was real, and that’s what she’d always wanted. A real relationship, stability, for the long haul. And here was this incredible guy offering it to her.

  What was she waiting for?

  “Yes,” she murmured, waiting for the dread and regret and worry to fill her, to make her second-guess her decision, to reinforce she’d lost her mind.

  But it didn’t come. Instead, as he let out a jubilant yell, picked her up, and spun her around, all she felt was joyous elation.

  “Hey, I’m dizzy,” she said, slapping his shoulders. “Put me down.”

  “Anything you say, fiancée.”

  He lowered her gently, slowly, their bodies in full frontal contact, inch by delicious inch. “Damn, I like the sound of that.”

  “Me too,” she said. “Even though I still think we’re both officially nuts. I mean, I haven’t met your gran yet, and you haven’t met my parents. What are they going to think?”

  An odd expression flickered over his face. “Gran will be ecstatic, and I’ll do my best to win over your folks.”

  Harper wasn’t worried about her parents. Lydia and Alec would be too wrapped up in themselves to be concerned about her impulsive decision. They wanted her to be happy, and Manny made a hell of an impression on anyone.

  A small part of her wondered if agreeing to his proposal stemmed from her happiness for them. Was she so swept up in the romance of her parents reuniting that she wanted the fairy tale for herself?