by Cameron Hart
“Harper, I—”
“I’m glad you’re okay, and I’m glad you won’t be going to prison, but I don’t think I can look at you right now. It hurts too much.” My voice cracks on the last word as I barely choke it out. I was ready to forgive him when he first showed up, but after my word vomit, I realize he’s done a lot of damage.
I can’t control the sobs as they bubble up from deep inside my chest, taking over my whole body. I can barely breathe. I’m so angry, so hurt, and yet so relieved that he’s really ok. I don’t know what I would have done if he got shot or if my dad got him sent to prison. It all swirls inside of me, making me sick to my stomach.
Like, actually sick. I dash to the disgusting bathroom and empty the contents of my stomach. Levi is on me in a flash, holding my hair away from my face and rubbing calming circles on my back. He wets a washcloth and hands it to me so I can clean up. Then he grabs a toothbrush and loads it with toothpaste before handing me that as well.
Levi doesn’t say anything, he just lets me get myself together. After rinsing my mouth out one more time, he takes my hand and leads me to the bed. He sits down at the foot of the bed and spreads his legs, guiding me to stand in between them as he holds my hands.
I close my eyes and feel Levi’s hand brush against my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear and then gently guiding my face towards his. Opening my eyes, I see him look me up and down.
“Are you okay, sweetheart? Can I get you anything? Water?”
His voice is so tender, and a part of me really loves that he just wants to take care of me, even though I just tore into him for ten minutes.
“No, I’m feeling better.”
Levi turns me slightly and pulls me down into his lap, swinging my legs off to one side and wrapping his arms around me. For some reason, I let him do this. All the fight has drained out of me, so I let him comfort me and say whatever he has to say.
“I don’t even know where to begin, baby. I guess I’ll start with that day.” His voice is smooth and calming. I can feel it vibrating through his body as my cheek rests on his chest. He’s absentmindedly playing with my hair, cradling me in his arms.
“In the office, with your dad…” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head like he’s trying to figure out what to even say. “I was so scared. But not for me, I was thinking about you. When I heard the click of the gun, all I could think about was how I couldn’t be reckless with my life because I needed to get you away from your dad and Tracy.”
I reach up and smooth my hand over his heart. Yeah, I’m pissed, but I still have this need to comfort him. He gathers my hand in his and places a sweet kiss on my palm before returning it to its place over his heart.
“When I found out how fucked up everything was, I figured I could somehow fix it by going back to Chicago. I thought if I kept this all away from you, it couldn’t hurt you. I even blocked your number because I knew if I got a call or a text from you, I’d spill my guts, tell you everything, and let you throw your life away for me. But I was determined to protect you from all of this until it was over. Believe me, sweetheart, I missed you every goddamn second of every day. I knew I loved you before I left, but I didn’t realize just how much until you weren’t by my side.”
My heart flips at his confession of love. I know I’m going to forgive him. I knew it as soon as he pulled me into his lap. His embrace feels like home. My future. My forever.
“Harper, I swear to you, I didn’t know the charges had been cleared. I mean, there wasn’t even an official charge against me, there was just the investigation. And after Dan told me he had my lawyers in his pocket, I of course fired them right away. I was flying blind. It wasn’t until my ex-wife showed up that I knew it was all over. She told me you cleared my name and I took the next available flight straight here.”
I tense at the mention of his ex, feeling a rush of anger and jealousy surge through me. He squeezes me tighter like he's afraid I'm going to bolt.
"Baby, my ex means nothing to me. We got divorced five years ago. We were married for less than a year. She cheated on me the whole time, and she was only after me for my money. She thought she would get half of everything I owned in the divorce, but I had proof that she cheated, so she got nothing. She was the one who initially tipped off the SEC about everything, so I'm guessing she and Dan were working together to bring me down while also getting Dan off the hook. Gabriella is your opposite in every way.”
That certainly doesn’t help put a cap on my jealousy. Now I’m picturing a thin, gorgeous, sophisticated, worldly blonde bombshell.
“Not like that, sweetheart.” Oh, I must have said that last part out loud. “She is cold, conniving, manipulative, and fake. You, my sweet girl, are warm, kind, intelligent, and genuine. You are pure sunshine. Harper, you are so beautiful it actually hurts sometimes. I will always cherish the way you trusted me to take care of you. I only hope I can rebuild that trust, though I know it will take time.”
I’m crying now and clenching Levi’s shirt.
"I know I hurt you. I hurt me too. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm asking for it anyway."
He leans back and nudges me to look up at him. Levi wipes away my tears and presses his forehead into mine.
“Please,” he whispers. I look up at him and see that his eyes are closed, one tear rolling down his handsome face. I brush it away and place a soft kiss on his lips.
His eyes pop open and he cradles my face in the palms of his hands. His brown eyes search mine with a mix of hope and sorrow. “I need to hear you say it, baby.”
“I forgive you, Levi. I missed you so much.”
He wraps me up in his arms again and hugs me to his chest.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Harper. I swear you won’t regret it. Missed you so much, my sweet girl,” he whispers into my hair.
“I love you too, you know,” I mumble into his shirt.
Levi pulls back again and looks me in the eyes.
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
His face breaks out into the most heart-stopping smile. God, he’s somehow even more gorgeous like this.
“Again.”
“I love you.” My smile matches his, and he kisses me all over my face.
“Love you too, baby. So fucking much.”
He claims my lips as his own and starts to devour me. I turn my head and quickly break the kiss.
“What’s wrong? I’m sorry, Harper. We can wait—”
“No, it’s just… I might be sick. I don’t want you to catch something from me.”
His hand cups the back of my neck and turns my head towards him, pulling me close. Levi presses kisses on my forehead, nose, and cheek, before his lips brush against the shell of my ear. “Worth it,” he whispers. I giggle and kiss his nose. “But, you’re right. You might be sick, and I want you to get some rest. That’s the only thing keeping me from ripping your clothes off and worshipping every inch of your body.”
I clench my thighs together, picturing him doing just that.
“I also need to get you out of this dump, sweetheart. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when all of this happened.”
“No more apologies. I forgave you, and I meant it. It’s in the past.”
Levi just stares at me and it's really unnerving. I can't tell what he's thinking. Finally, he says, "You're incredible, Harper. I don't deserve you, but I'm selfish, and I won't let you go. Not ever, you hear me?"
“Good. You better not,” I grin up at him. “Cuz I’m not letting you go either.”
He kisses me on the forehead and then helps me stand up.
“Okay. Now that that’s all settled, we need to get you out of this place ASAP. Let me call and book us a room somewhere nicer, okay?”
“What about Emma? She had to go out of town, but I want her to have a home to come back to.”
Levi gets a weird look in his eyes, but it’s gone in a flash.
“Of
course, love. I would never leave Emma out to dry. I’ll get her set up whenever she gets back to town. She’ll get her own place for however long she needs it.”
“Me too. Emma and I are going to rent a place together.”
“Nope. Sorry, sweetheart. You’re staying with me. I’ll rent a place for us till you finish up your degree and then we can go wherever you want.”
“But…”
“No arguments, please, baby. I can’t stand the thought of another night without you.”
I smile at his sweet words. “I was just going to ask about your business. Isn’t it all in Chicago?”
“If you want to go to Chicago, we can certainly go there. But if you want to go somewhere else, I will gladly sell everything. Or become a silent partner. Or fuck, I’ll give it all away as long as I’m with you. Nothing will come between us again, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I confirm.
For the first time in a month, I feel like I can actually breathe.
Chapter 15
Levi
I got us set up at the Four Seasons and tucked Harper into bed. She’s been asleep now for four hours. Poor girl must’ve been totally exhausted. I’ve ordered room service and they said they’d be up in about twenty minutes.
Crawling onto the bed with Harper, I kiss her forehead, her temple her cheek, and down her neck before resting my head on her shoulder. I can’t believe she forgave me. I can’t believe she gave up her own father for me. I’ll spend the rest of our lives trying to be worthy of her love and trust.
She stirs next to me and finally opens one eye.
“Hey, beautiful.” I kiss her cheek again and she smiles at me.
“Hey yourself,” she says in the most adorable sleepy voice. I can’t wait to wake up next to her every morning.
“Are you hungry? I ordered room service. I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I got a bit of everything.”
“Levi, you really didn’t have to do that. You are already paying for the nicest hotel in Atlanta, you don’t have to buy extravagant food for us too.”
I’m not sure if she’s just bad at accepting gifts or if she really doesn’t know how much money I have.
“Sweetheart, it makes me happy to do nice things for you. Plus, it’s just food. I want to do so much more.”
She eyes me skeptically but finally nods. "Well, we can talk about that later. I'm really in no position to turn down dinner. I'm starving."
“Good. Then it’s settled.” She sits up and I pull her into my arms. “How are you feeling?” I ask while drawing random patterns in the exposed skin of her arm.
“Good. Not sick or anything. I was just really tired. It was hard to get a good night’s sleep in the last place I was in.”
“Yeah, I bet. I’m sor—”
"Nope. I won't hear any more apologies for the last month. Today is a fresh start, okay?"
God. This woman. She’s so perfect.
“I love you so much, Harper.”
She smiles sweetly at me and I swear my heart stops beating for a second. “Love you too, Levi.”
I hold her for a while until room service comes. They set everything up on the table and discretely make their way out. I scoop Harper up in my arms. She giggles as I set her down at the table and push her chair in.
“That’s a service I could get used to,” she teases.
“I’m happy to oblige any time,” I say with a wink.
We pile a bunch of different food on our plates. Just as I’m ready to dig in, Harper shoots up from her chair and runs to the bathroom. I quickly follow her only to find her leaning over the toilet again. I hold her hair away from her face and place a reassuring palm on her back like I did earlier today.
When she’s done, I help her clean up and carry her over to the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Levi. I don’t know what happened. I was feeling fine…”
“Hey, nothing to apologize for. Go back to bed sweetheart.”
“But what about all the food?”
“We have a fridge, I’ll just box it up for later.”
“I don’t know what came over me.”
“Shh, baby. Just get some rest. Want to order a movie? I’ll join you in a minute, okay?”
She nods and starts browsing through the movies. I join her after having a few bites of food and boxing it all up. She picked some chick flick with Reese Witherspoon that would normally annoy me, but I’d watch every single one of Reese Witherspoon’s movies if it meant I got to hold Harper in my arms.
Soon enough, she drifts off to sleep. I shut the movie off and join her, feeling complete for the first time in a month.
✽✽✽
Something startles me awake. I look at the clock on the side table. It reads seven in the morning. I look over to check on Harper, only she isn’t in bed. Then I hear it again – Harper throwing up in the bathroom.
I hop out of bed and check on her. By the time I get to the bathroom, she’s already brushing her teeth.
“Sorry I woke you up. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.”
It hits me like a ton of bricks. I have a feeling I know exactly what’s happening, but I need to be sure.
“Nothing to feel bad about, sweetheart. Are you feeling up for something to eat? Maybe some toast? I can call down for someone to get us some toast and maybe some Pepto Bismol or Dramamine?” I don’t tell her that I’ll also have them pick up a pregnancy test, but there’s no need to freak her out right now.
“Oh, I can go out and get those things.”
“Trust me, they have people who will do that. There’s a reason these rooms are as pricey as they are.”
She nods and crawls back into bed.
Twenty minutes later, our stuff is dropped off.
“Hey, baby,” I gently shake her awake. “I have some anti-nausea meds here. But I have something else that might help us figure out why you’re feeling so sick.”
“Okaaaay…” She gives me a weird look that is of course, adorable.
I pull out the pregnancy test and watch as her eyes go wide.
“Oh my god. I mean, there’s no way, right? I mean…shit!”
It still shocks me to hear her swear, though she's been a little more comfortable to speak her mind since I came back. Emma told me her dad and Tracy said it isn't ladylike to curse. Yeah, fuck that.
“When was the last time you got your period?”
“Levi!” She hisses as her cheeks turn bright red.
“Baby, look at me. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We’re going to talk about everything, and that includes stuff like this, okay?”
She nods and then thinks about it for a minute.
“Ummm…I’m late.” Harper looks down at her hands, which are fiddling in her lap. “Like, a few weeks late.”
I resist the urge to fist pump the air. The thought of Harper and I having a kid together makes me so fucking happy. But I need to contain my thoughts for now. At least until we confirm my suspicions.
“Let’s take the test, alright? Whatever happens, I’m right here. We’re in this together, yeah?”
She nods again and gets out of bed. I follow her into the bathroom, but she gives me a stern look. “Uh, no way are you watching me pee on a stick.”
I relent, even though I want to be with her every step of the way. I hear her flush the toilet and then wash her hands. It’s taking for fucking ever.
Finally, she opens the door and I see tears in her eyes.
“Hey, hey, sweet girl. Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I feel so stupid, I mean we never used protection! It’s like the first rule of having sex!” She practically yells. “What if I’m pregnant?”
I smile and draw her into my arms before placing a kiss on top of her head.
“First of all, baby, there are no rules for having sex as long as it’s between two consenting adults. We can discuss that another time, but know that I am very, very interested in exploring all of the way
s I can pleasure you.” I feel a shiver run through her body and it makes my cock twitch. “Second of all, if you’re not pregnant, I plan on getting you in bed as soon as possible and filling you up with so much of my seed that you’ll be pregnant by the end of the week.”
Harper gasps and looks up at me.
“For real?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. For real. I want you to have all of my babies, but I’m sorry this first one might be a bit sooner than you had planned for. No matter what, I will always take care of you and our children, whenever we have them.”
More tears fill her eyes, but I can tell they are happy tears. I kiss them away and hold her until the timer on her phone goes off.
“Ready, love?” I ask.
She nods into my chest and we walk into the bathroom hand in hand.
Chapter 16
Harper
“I’m pregnant?” I say in a shocked tone, still unable to handle the news.
At the same time, Levi excitedly shouts, “You’re pregnant!”
My knees feel a little weak, and I’m thankful for Levi’s arm around my waist, holding me up. He scoops me up in his arms and carries me over to the bed, gently laying me down. Levi crawls on top of me and kisses my forehead, nose, and lips, and then works his way down my body, blazing a trail of kisses until he gets to my stomach. Then he flips my nightgown up and kisses my bare skin before resting his forehead there.
I run my fingers through his hair and tug a bit so he has to look up at me.
“Are you really happy? No second thoughts?”
He pushes himself up and leans down so his hands are on either side of my head and he’s looking down at me.
“Harper. You have made me the happiest man on the whole fucking planet. I love you so much and I can’t believe we are going to be having a kid together.” He leans down and kisses me, slow and sweet and passionate, proving his words. “I don’t know how I got so lucky,” he says before diving back into my mouth with more intensity this time. “You’re so beautiful, baby. So goddamn gorgeous.”