“You coming or what, big guy?”
I basically fly to join him in the car, feeling like forever isn’t that far away now.
Colby’s beachhouse belongs in architecture magazines. The place is stunning. Not as stunning as the man hopping out of my car, annoyance written all over his face, but it’s close. Harper slams the door behind him, probably hoping to rile me up. But it’s fruitless because Harper’s brand of riling me up usually ends up turning me on. I watch as he pushes into the house without a backward glance, Honey following along like the perfect girl she is.
I grab our shared suitcase from the back of the car with a sigh and trudge inside. The low murmur of voices leads me to the kitchen, where I find Trevor and Harper whispering intensely. Clearing my throat to announce my presence, Harper scowls my way, but a smirk tilts up Trevor’s lips.
“Which bedroom is ours?” I ask, uncaring about Harper’s annoyance.
Eli appears from outside, hair wind tousled. “I’ll show you!”
I leave Trevor and Harper to whisper amongst themselves in the kitchen and dutifully follow Eli up the stairs.
“Bad drive?” Eli asks curiously, fingers skimming along the shiplapped walls.
“Harper wanted to pull over for a quickie and I said no.”
Eli’s snort can probably be heard from space. “You’re diabolically evil.”
“Yes,” I agree, dropping our suitcase on the floor by the bed. “Harper would agree.”
The bedroom faces the ocean where turquoise waves roll against the shore. The light blue, cloud-free sky stretches beyond the horizon. One would almost think it’s still hot with the way the sun beats down on the fine white sand. But it’s been a cool December in Florida, meaning it’s perfect shorts weather without the oppressive humidity or sweltering heat. My mind drifts back to the last time I had Harper at the beach, those magical nights in the tent. Sweet and sassy, I’ll get Harper back in my good graces soon enough.
“Well, he’ll get over it.” Eli stands in front of the windows, hands on his hips. “Colby asked me to marry him.”
“Oh?” Clearly, Eli is oblivious if he thought thatwasn’tcoming.
“Yes.”
“Well?”
Eli turns towards me with a wide grin. “I said yes.”
“Of course.”
Eli wiggles his fingers towards the door. “When are you planning on nailing that down?”
“Harper is too wily to ask now and he’d probably say no anyway. Who am I kidding… he might say no in twenty years. I’m biding my time. When the time is right, I’ll know.”
“Jackson,” Eli says my name seriously, eyes squinted as he takes me in. “That man would never say no. It’s all in the approach.”
I grunt in agreement. Just as Eli leaves the bedroom, Harper wanders in, hands on his hips. Harper peruses the room for bombs, bugs, or something out of place that he can be annoyed with. Finding nothing, he heads over to the windows to stare out at the waves.
“Is the room to your liking, my liege?”
Harper aims a death glare at me over his shoulder. “Shut up.”
I chuckle darkly and move to join him at the window. My prickly prince. Harper sighs happily as I wrap him in my arms, pulling him as close to my body as possible. He turns his head to press a kiss to my jaw, his form of apology for the brattiness of the past hour. But he doesn’t need to apologize and he should know that by now. I love his brattiness, makes it feel so earned when he’s sweet in my arms.
“Sorry,” Harper whispers, almost low enough that I can’t hear the word.
“You’re fine.”
I gently wrap my fingers around his jaw, lifting him up so that I can plunder his mouth. Our tongues fight for dominance for one brief second before Harper gives in and allows me to lead, per usual. Harper melts back in my arms as I eat at his mouth, doing my best to calm his nerves about the weekend stay with his family. Riled up and annoyed, I know it’s because he’s nervous about the beach stay, nervous that something will go wrong.
“Okay?” I ask against his slack mouth.
Harper just hums and leans heavier against me, the clearest sign that I’ve succeeded in relaxing him. “The water’s too cold to swim in.”
