She patted my shoulder before letting go. “Maybe it’s just a new chapter of the same book.”
I let one hand rest on Harper’s arm as I sipped my rich coffee. It was easy to imagine this becoming routine, but the thought of it came with a thousand what-ifs. What if Harper decided I was too much of a distraction? What if I let Finn down? What if I was in over my head with a family this tight-knit? And most importantly, what if I didn’t have a clue how to navigate any of this?
Harper caught my eye. The look she gave me was full of confidence, both in me and in us, and I knew then that this wasn’t just some temporary detour in our lives. It was bigger than that.
She poked me in the side. “Survived, did you?”
I quickly patted myself for injuries. “Pretty sure everything’s still there.”
“And what do you think?”
I considered her question, the way it felt to be part of this. The easy camaraderie. The scrutiny. The high stakes if I messed up. “I’d say tonight was a good start.”
“More than that.” Her voice was light, but I knew she understood the layers beneath my answer.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, feeling more connected to this family and to Harper than I ever thought I could. “We’ll see.”
Harper rested her head against me, and her warmth, her trust, the steadiness that came with having her in my life engulfed me. It felt like home or at least what home should be like. The kind of home I’d never known.
The night wrapped around us, stars scattered across the sky like a blueprint I couldn’t quite understand yet.Finn had fallen asleep on the couch, and soon we’d have to wake him and take him home. But for now, this moment of quiet felt sacred.
I’d spent my whole career planning for the future. Blueprints, timelines, projections—all of it focused on what was coming next. And here I was, finally feeling like I belonged somewhere, with someone, and I couldn’t stop wondering if this was a future I was ready for.
