He was watching her, oblivious to everyone else in the bar.
“I’d like to dedicate this song to one of the women I’ve been lucky enough to love in this lifetime. I don’t deserve you Harper, but I hope you won’t hold that against me, because I love you with every piece of me.”
The crowd whistled and whooped, but Harper didn’t notice. There was only Luke standing there, telling her he loved her.
She could barely see him through the tears.
He cleared his throat as the first bars of “Angel Eyes” played. The women in the crowd aw-ed. Harper brought her hands to her face. He was her dream come true.
She watched Luke as he sang the words she had longed to hear. Her heart filled until it felt like it would burst. As the last guitar note faded, Luke held out his hand to her. Harper stood, but the crowd was so big, there was no way to get to him. Ty and James solved the problem. They lifted her onto the table and Luke met her on the other side, plucking her off and holding her against him, her feet dangling.
“I love you, Harper, and I’m done hiding. Can you forgive me?”
Words failed her, but she could nod, which she did until she felt like her head would snap off.
Luke grinned up at her. His dimple winking into existence. He let her slide a little lower so his lips could find hers in a salty, sweet promise.
Neither of them noticed the crowd erupting, the lack of dry eyes, or the way that the couples in the audience scooted a little closer to each other. They only had eyes for each other.
***
Luke said he wasn’t ready to let her go for the ride home, so they left her car at Remo’s and a different circle closed.
When they pulled into the driveway, Harper grabbed his arm in a death grip. “Christmas lights!”
The entire front of the house was covered with white lights. Candles burned in the windows. A cheery wreath adorned the front door. Harper’s green garland on the porch’s railing was threaded with more lights. There was a giant inflatable Santa waving at the street from the front yard.
“You put up lights.” Harper couldn’t drag her eyes away from the perfect spectacle.
“I wanted you to have the perfect Christmas. I figured more is definitely more.”
“It’s perfect.” She turned back to him and started to reach for him, but stopped.
He shook his head and pulled her closer. “You don’t have to be scared, Harper. You can touch me, I’m not going to go away again.” His grip tightened on her arms. “And I’m not letting you leave either. I owe you so much, and the biggest apology in the world is just part of it. Come on.”
They got out of the truck and walked up the front porch. “Before we go in, I need to say some things.”
Harper crossed her arms against the cold and nodded. “Okay.”
Luke took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for pushing you away. I’m sorry for hurting you on purpose. I was scared. Down to the bones. I felt things for you that I never thought would be possible to feel again and some things were completely new. I thought that by loving you, I was being unfaithful to Karen. When I lost her, I thought it was my fault that she died. I vowed that I would never forget her and the price she paid for my decisions.”
Harper reached out to him and put her hand over his heart.
He covered her hand with his own. “I thought that meant living my life alone. Never loving again. But it was so easy to love you. I don’t even remember ever not loving you. I think I loved you the second I saw you launch yourself at Glenn. Something in me said ‘she’s finally here.’ You’re what I’ve been waiting for. You’re the light that got me through the dark, and I’m not willing to go back to a life without you.”
He let out a shaky breath. “I know that you don’t owe me anything and that even though I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to you, it still won’t be close to enough. I know all that, but I’m still asking you to please forgive me. I love you. I want you. I need you. And I’m so sorry for hurting you, baby.”
Harper launched herself at him. She pressed her tear-streaked face against his chest and just let herself breathe him in. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry, Harper. I’m an asshole. But I’m an asshole that loves you more than anything in this world.”
“I love you, Luke.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“I did that ages ago.”
He shook his head. “How the hell did I ever get so lucky?”
“You might not think that when I tell you this,” Harper said, pulling back.
