“Indeed!And a well-earned nickname, that.To think the poor sod thought I didn’t know he was responsible for impregnating Gunhild!What a catastrophe.The two of them rutting like pigs in the barn while I attempted to block out their very exuberant dalliance, only for him to deny fathering the child.Your father hunted Gunner down like a beast in the wild and forced him to step up to the plate.Harvey, if we can say nothing else about Thor, we can at least give him credit for doing the right thing.”
Harvey sighed.“I’m not saying he wasn’t a fair ruler, MC.I’m saying he’s a lazy one.You don’t leave a powerful tool such as yourself with just anyone, and Gunner comes about as close to ‘just anyone’ as…well…asanyone.”
Dom fought a smile.MC’s loyalty to Thor was deep, and she admired him for trying to point it out to Harvey every chance he could take.“So I guess this means we can’t hope your father will somehow reappear and take back his duties?”
There was always hope, right?It wasn’t that she wouldn’t fight this battle, if necessary.She was getting stronger every day, but she’d really rather let Thor have his job back—because this was exhausting.
“There’s always hope,” Harvey muttered.Then he tucked the blanket around her again.“Now what happened to no talk of Fraggle Rock tonight?”
Dom rolled her eyes.“That’s a lovely notion, but I’m not sure I can forget the giants want the world to end.It’s sort of like forgetting Christmas or your birthday, or, or…I dunno, really important stuff.”
“Again, a heavy burden, no doubt.
Then, for clarity, she asked once more, “Remind me again, why do the jerky giantswantthe world to end?”
Harvey’s lips thinned.“They want the world’s energy.They feed off it.It sustains them.Without it, they’ll eventually become extinct.”
Right.Bunch o’ leeches.
Tucking the blanket under her chin, Dom decided she liked the warm glow of sitting with Harvey on the couch and watching movies much more than she did talk of the end of the world.
“Okay.No more talk of giants and energy hogs or whatever.What’s next on our list of Marvel movies?”
Harvey looked at the list on his cell that Nina had sent him of the order of the Marvel movies.“I think we’re on Ant Man.”
She clapped her hands together.“Oh, yippee!I love Paul Rudd.”
Harvey dropped more popcorn into his mouth.“Now on Paul, I can agree.”
Dom put a hand on his.“Just one more thing before we close discussions on Fraggle Rock.”
Harvey wrapped her fingers in his big hand.“One more thing, and then we watch.Paul awaits.”
It was a question she’d been longing to ask, but afraid to mention.Yet, she had to know.“How long do we keep you from your life before we decide the giants are dicks who are just wasting our time?Youdohave a business to run, Harvey.I feel like we’re all standing still.Me, the ladies, and most of allyou.”
He stared at her, his gaze thoughtful, his eyes capturing hers.“I do have a business to run, but I also have some very trusted employees who are handling everything just fine without me.There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.”
She wasn’t usually very aggressive when it came to much, unless it meant fighting for her papa, or as it were lately, her life…but most especially not with men.
However, she liked Harvey.She liked him in her life.She liked having coffee with him every morning.She wanted to know if he liked her, too.
Nowhergaze was thoughtful as she held his hand, feeling all the things.“What’s happening between us, Harvey?Where is all this headed?The hand-holding, dancing in the moonlight to ‘Moon River,’ coffee in the wee hours of the morning before everyone at the castle wakes up?”
Turning to her, Harvey cupped her chin with his warm hand.“Close your eyes, MC,” he ordered, then smiled at her.“I don’t know.But there’s one thing Idoknow.”
“And that is?”she whispered, her throat tight.
“I do know, I’d like to get to know you better.I’d like to take you to dinner without the threat of a serpent ruining it.I’d like to watch more movies with you.I’d like to have an argument with you?—”
“An argument?”
He nodded.“Well, yeah.Because if we argue, we’ll learn how to make up—we’ll find the best way for us to come to a satisfying conclusion.I’m a firm believer that every couple should experience the lows as much as the highs, so they can learn to navigate together with similar views for the outcome.Situations that involve compromise, stress, conflict, communication.”
Man, he was sexy.“I agree.I think it’s important to understand where the other person comes from, how they were raised is sometimes an indicator of things to come.”
He popped his lips.“I’d like to think, despite my father’s behavior, my mother and her second marriage have taught me how to do all of the above.”
“Oh, I’m not holding your father against you.I just mean, my grandparents, my mother…I had a pretty great childhood.It was stable and loving and above all, happy.There was always music and laughter.I forget sometimes that other people didn’t always have that.Despite all your mother and stepfather did to show you a healthy relationship, you have scars, Harvey.”
