“If you’re not here to take pleasure in my pain, then what are you doing here?”
Harper sighs and smiles. “Closure. I hope you two find happiness, and I wish you the best.”
My girl has more class than most, and I’m in awe of how she can let the past go. These two hurt her more than anyone else ever has, yet she wishes them well.
“I’m going to get our jackets,” I say.
“I have to grab my purse from the table.”
I hand our ticket to the woman at the counter, but Harper hasn’t come out by the time she hands the jackets to me. Heading back into the smelly reception, I find her still at the table, talking to Asher.
“I made a mistake, Harper. Please—”
“You’re married, Asher.”
“I can get divorced. We can—”
“No.”
He sighs, frustration evident. “You can’t love him—”
“Yes, I can. And I do. The only reason I came today was to prove to you and everyone else that I’m done. I’m over this. And I’m over you. You made your choices, and now you have to live with them.”
“You really love him?”
The disbelief in his tone sends my pulse raising. Of course, he doesn’t think Harper could love me. Not like she loved him. Then again, I don’t want the love he had with her. It wasn’t real.
“I really do.”
Shaking his head, Asher looks disgusted. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“Because you tried to change me to fit what you wanted.”
“She doesn’t have to do that anymore,” I say, holding out her jacket for her to slip into. “I fell in love with her for who she is, and I don’t want her to change. She’s perfect just the way she is.”
“Sure. If you say so.”
My fist clenches again, but Harper takes my hand and squeezes it. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah, listen to your woman!” Asher calls after us. “Big, tough guy is whipped. You’re an embarrassment to men everywhere.”
“You just tried to get me to reconcile with you. On your wedding day,” Harper retorts, surprising us all. “I don’t think you understand what it means to be a man, Asher.”
“For the record,” I call out, “I am whipped. Not even a little ashamed.”
She laughs and pulls me out the door. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Chapter 46
Ford
Standing in the shower, I let the warm water cascade over me, a smile spreading across my face. Harper is curled up asleep in my bed, blissfully unaware of how her declaration that we’re together has transformed my world.
She’s moving back home, ready to give us a real shot at happiness. What was supposed to be the worst Christmas of my life has turned into the best, and I can hardly believe my luck. I sigh, grateful to the universe for granting me something I’ve longed for over ten years.
Suddenly, slender hands glide around my torso, fingertips tracing the ridges of my abs before I jump at the sensation of warm, soft lips pressing gentle kisses down each vertebra of my spine. Harper’s delicate hands, still cool from the bedroom air, find their way down my stomach and grasp my cock, strokingwith a perfect rhythm that has me growing harder with each deliberate movement.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispers, her breath hot against my shower-dampened skin.
