“I might be part of that problem,” I confess.
“What do you mean?”
“I never told her I left you back then.”
Harper closes her eyes. “So she hates me because she thinks I walked out on you? Of course she does.”
“Look.” I cup her cheek and wipe away the lingering tears. “It was another mistake in a long line of mistakes I made back then. I was so caught up in my own grief that I never bothered telling the truth.”
Harper smiles at me. “I’m not mad. But at least I understand why she hates me so much.”
I waggle my finger at her to scoot closer to me, and she slides up my chest. I capture her lips in a warm kiss. It’s not heated, but it’s perfect. Exactly what I need right now.
“I’ll figure something out,” I whisper against her lips.
Harper shakes her head. “We can do it together.”
“Yeah?”
“You might have been alone before, Marcus, but you’re not anymore. It’s not just you. It’s you and me.”
“Don’t ever leave us again,” I tell her.
“Never. I’m here for you. Always.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Well, you must have done something right for us to be back here.”
I breathe Harper and her sweet scent in. Her words do more to heal every part of my broken soul than anything else these last few years.
“I love you, Harper. Probably more than I’ll ever be able to tell you.”
Harper seals her mouth over mine.
“You want to know something?” She traces a finger down the scruff on my jaw. Scruff that I haven’t bothered keeping cleaned up because I’ve been too distraught.
“Tell me,” I say.
Harper rests her head on my chest over my heart. “Remember our vows?”
I smile, running my fingers through Harper’s hair. “I remember every second of our wedding.”
“I never told you, but that night, when I went back to my hotel room, I wrote out what I wanted to say instead of the vows we actually said.”
“What, traditional wasn’t good enough for you?” I laugh.
“Just didn’t really convey everything I felt for you then.”
“Then?” I ask.
“Now too.”
“So what would you say?” I continue running my fingers through her silky hair. It’s calming.
“That I love you with every cell in my body. Every fiber of my being. That there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you because of how much I love you. There will never be another person who knows me the way you do. Who loves and cares for me the way you do. How safe I feel when I’m in your arms. And how all I want is to go to bed next to you every night and wake up next to you every morning. If that’s all I have in life, I’ll have all I need.”
“Harper.”
