Chapter Ten
Will
It’s been a week since Harper took off and headed back to the United States, and in those seven days, I scrambled to find out her contact information. Her firm wouldn’t give it out, but with the help of a private investigator, I finally tracked down her place. I’d wanted to go after her when she flew out the door, but my family stopped me, demanding answers. I couldn’t let them think the worst of Harper, so I told her story, and they all softened because she’d found her way into their hearts. Then I used those extra seven days to coordinate things—sometimes with my England family it’s like herding cats—and prepare to do things right with Harper this time.
Now, here I am, standing outside in the cold, repeatedly pressing the button to her condo. Either she’s not answering, or she’s not home. Regardless, now that I’ve found her, I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere—not unless she’s with me.
I pace on the front walkway and glance at the two cars parked on the curb, all the people inside staring at me with wide eyes, wondering what I’m doing, no doubt. Finally, a pizza delivery guy comes by, and I follow him in. The crew in the cars all jump out, and I hold the door for them. The delivery guy doesn’t bother giving any of us a glance as he makes his way to the elevator, and I head to the stairwell. I’m in too much of a hurry to wait for the elevator. I take the steps two at a time, and my heart pounds hard as I stand outside her door and raise my hand to knock.
I pause for a moment. What if she doesn’t want to see me, won’t listen to what I have to say?
I shake my head. Nope. Can’t think like that. I have to make her see things my way, and I’ll plant myself right here on the floor until she does. I knock. Hard. I hear footsteps on the other side of the door, then all goes silent. I stare at the peephole I can only assume she’s looking through.
“Open the door, Harper.”
I wait another long-ass minute, and when it doesn’t open, I say, “Open the door unless you want me to pound on it for the next few hours until your neighbors call the cops.”
The lock clicks, and she slowly opens it. My heart crashes when I take her in, dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt, her hair pinned up in a sexy mess like she’s been working all night, and all the love I feel for her comes rushing to the surface.
“We need to talk.”
“Will?” She blinks once, then twice, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m real or not. “What…what are you doing here?” Her lids flash rapidly, and she crosses her arms—a defensive move. Christ, does she think I’m here because I’m angry with her and the way things played out? Doesn’t she realize how crazy I am about her?
I wave my hand back and forth between us, a new sort of desperation racing through me. I can’t lose her. I just can’t. “We need to talk. You and me. That night after we made love, I told you before I went into the bathroom that I wanted to talk, and you took off, leaving me standing there in nothing but a towel, before we had the chance to speak.”
“I thought you wanted to talk about me confessing to your family, and I had to leave you like that. Everyone was standing there, accusing me of things…and I…I didn’t mean to hurt them, Will.”
My heart aches as tears pool in her eyes, and I pull her to me. At first she’s stiff, but then she softens in my arms. I kiss her forehead. “What I wanted to talk about was you and me,” I whisper into her ear.
Her body tightens. “It was a week of sex, I get that. You don’t owe me any explanation.”
“I owe you an apology.”
She shakes her head. “For what? I’m the one who should be apologizing to everyone.”
“You don’t need to, but that’s entirely up to you if you feel strongly about it. First, I need to say I never should have made such an improper proposal. It was wrong of me.”
She steps back her expression confused. “You mean about keeping my secret and having epic sex, again and again, until my trip was over?”
“Yes.”
“I agreed to it, Will. I wanted it, too.”
“The question is, do you still?”
“I…we…we agreed to sex only.”
“How stupid of me,” I say. “Any proposal to you should be a proper one.”
“I don’t understand.”
I drop to one knee. “I knew you were special the first time I laid eyes on you, and I know this is quick, and I’ve only known you for a few weeks, but I also know a good thing when I see it. I’m crazy about you. I want more than sex. I want everything. More importantly I want you to trust that I’m not like the guys from your past, that I’m not going to be here one day and gone the next.”
“Will,” she cries as I pull a box from my coat pocket. “What…what are you doing?”
“Proposing, properly. Will you marry me, Harper?”
She steps back, leaving me there on my knees, and my heart sinks as she holds the door like she’s going to close it on me—on us.
“Wait,” I blurt out. “Please don’t.”
She gulps as tears fall down her face. “I can’t, Will. Your family. They hate me, and after the stunt I pulled, I can’t blame them. How could I ever be with you after that?”
“Answer me one question. You owe me that much.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“Do you love me?”
She stands there for so long, her eyes locked on mine, fear crawls its way into my heart. Maybe she doesn’t really feel the same way as I do. Maybe blaming my family is her way out. Jesus, fuck, please tell me I’m not wrong about us, that she does care about me as much as I care about her.
“Yes,” she finally whispers, and I let loose a breath of relief.
“Good.” I stand, turn around, and gesture with a wave. A second later, my entire England family, along with my mom and dad, who’ve yet to meet Harper, opens the door to the stairwell and comes racing toward us.
“Oh. My. God,” she shrieks as they bombard her, much the same way they did when she first landed on their doorstep. “What’s going on, Will?”
“They all insisted on coming.”
“I don’t understand,” she says as she’s passed around, everyone hugging and kissing her and welcoming her back into the family. When she reaches my mom and dad, I do the introductions, and from the look on my parents’ faces, it’s clear they’re going to love Harper as much as the rest of us.
When she reaches George, she freezes. “I’m really sorry, George.”
“It’s okay,” he says with an easy shrug.
“Why don’t you tell her what your real surprise was,” Will says.
“Just that I was getting of the military and going to law school.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”
“And, also, that I met someone,” George says.
“Oh, who is she?”
“Rupert Walker. I’m gay, Harper.”
“That was the real surprise,” I say, laughing as I pat my cousin on the back. “And I kicked his ass for keeping it from me for so long.”
“Oh,” Harper says, chuckling along with me. “When do we get to meet him?”
“Soon enough.”
Harper has a little grin on her face when she lifts her head, her eyes meeting mine. “Did you test him the way you tested me, Will? You know, to see if he was a gold digger?”
It takes a second for the meaning to register, then I laugh, and everyone joins in. “George is on his own this time, but I’m pretty sure he found a good one.”
Harper blushes and lowers her head. “I’m so sorry, everyone.”
“Nonsense, child,” Aunt Claire says. “We all understand.”
“In a way, it’s sort of Gramps’s fault,” Harper says, a sparkle in her eye.
“What’s that?” Charles says and pushes through the crowd.
“Well, you did think I was George’s surprise, and assumed I was his girl.”
“Best mistake I ever made, child,” he says, and Harper beams as he pulls her in for another hug.
She sniffs, and Charles puts his hands on her shoulders. “What are the tears for?”
“You have all been so nice to me, and I…I love you all.”
“Well, you’re family, child,” Gramps says.
“Technically, she’s not,” I say. “She hasn’t answered my question yet.”
I step toward her, and everyone moves back to give us space and privacy. I go down on my knee again and ask, “So what do you say, Harper. Will you marry me?” She opens her mouth, but I hold my hand up to stop her. “Before you answer, you have to know…” I pause to jerk my thumb over my shoulder. “These guys all come with me.”
She lets out a big hiccupping cry. “Yes,” she says, and before I can slide the ring on her finger, we’re both bombarded with hugs and congratulations.
When the fuss dies down, I finally put the ring on her and say, “I can’t decide.”
She blinks up at me, the huge smile on her face warming my heart. “Oh? And what can’t you decide?”
I lower my voice, for her ears only. “If we should all go out and celebrate, or if you and I should stay in and have our own private party. Your birthday is almost here, and I believe I owe you twenty-five spankings.”
Her face turns pink. “Will,” she says and smacks me as chuckles come from behind me, then she goes up on her toes, puts her mouth to my ear and says, “We can do both. We have the rest of our lives together.”
“Yeah, we do, don’t we,” I say as I gather her into my arms and kiss her with all the love inside me.