2 Years Later

“Harper.”

Groaning, the blonde turned over, burying her face in the pillow. It was Saturday, and she had long declared that anyone who dared to wake her up on a Saturday before noon would see the full brunt of her wrath.

But that had never really deterred Ethan, in all honesty.

“Harper. You awake?”

“No.” She groused pointedly, her eyes stubbornly closed. “Not until twelve.”

His only response was a low chuckle that, even after almost three years together, still warmed her in ways she had never imagined. “Harper, my appointment is at ten thirty. Please - for me?”

At his plea, Harper’s eyes popped open in guilty remembrance. That was right. Today was Ethan’s last physical therapy session for the injuries he’d sustained almost two years ago in a car accident that had almost cost him his life.

The mere memory was enough to make Harper shudder. But, as she always did when her feelings threatened to overwhelm her, she forced herself to see the truth of the situation - Ethan was here, with her. He was alive.

And he didn’t want to miss his appointment.

Rolling over, she stretched as she straightened, a huge yawn threatening to dislocate her jaw. “Jesus, Ethan, I’m sorry. I didn’t get to bed until late last night and I-”

Before she could properly apologize, his mouth was on hers. Once upon a time, Harper had protested that she couldn’t possibly be sexy this early in the morning, or that it was better if Ethan avoided aggravating what were once numerous injuries.

But then she had learned better. “Morning, gorgeous.” Harper allowed herself a small smile against his mouth as he kissed her. She knew better than to argue.

It was a while before the man finally let her go, but when he did, she hardly wanted to leave the bed. That, however, was exactly what they had to do. “Ethan, mercy, please…” How was it that the man knew exactly how to light her fire?

“Mercy?” He murmured indulgently against her neck, making her shiver. “Not in my vocabulary.”

Harper laughed - half tortured, half amused. “What about your appointment?”

The grin she earned in response was positively evil. “I woke you up early on purpose, didn’t I?”

Dear God, she hated him….and she loved him. Ridiculously.

An hour later, they finally made it to the kitchen for breakfast. As Harper searched for cheese and eggs, she eyed Ethan in awe. Despite the fact that he had mostly recovered from the accident, he’d had a few setbacks - one of which being a mishap that had almost re-broken one of his legs. He was still wearing a cast - a bulky, heavy thing that went all the way up to his knee and had to be uncomfortable as hell.

But that didn’t stop him getting into mischief. It seemed nothing stopped Ethan getting his way when he wanted it...but then, Harper had always known that, hadn’t she?

“You do all your exercises?” She tossed over her shoulder as she set her ingredients on the counter.

“What, this morning or in general?” Harper shot him a dirty look marred by her amused smile.

“In general, Ethan. The doctor will know if you haven’t.”

Her lover exhaled a pained sigh. “I’ve done them. And done them and done them and done them. You know me, Harp. I just want to get out of this thing.”

It had been the story of the man’s life for the past two years. While Harper and most members of his family could consider him reluctant when it came to work and getting up on time, when it came to physical therapy, Ethan was like a man obsessed. He had always depended on his body, and so the loss of it was one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to endure.

Of course, when Harper promised him she would take care of him, she had no way of knowing the difficulties that laid before them - days of punishing therapy that left Ethan sullen and despondent. Frustrating arguments that led to her giving him days to cool off - but she had never abandoned him. Harper had long learned that, even though the man could be infuriating, life without him just wasn’t the same. It could never be the same again.

That was what it meant to be in love.

“Today’s the day, hon.” She glanced at him as he settled at the kitchen table that she had picked out. “You’ll have your freedom.”

When she first moved in with him, and Ethan told her he’d give her free reign over the apartment, she was reluctant to believe him. After all, the only woman who had ever left her mark before was his housekeeper, and Harper didn’t know if she could encroach on that terrain.

But gradually, she found out just how serious the man was. It turned out that after years as a consummate bachelor, Ethan was all but dying to change things up - who’d have thought? That, and the fact that he could move little in the first few months meant that he enjoyed watching Harper do things for him.

And she liked to do them.

“Freedom sounds good...everything except the part where you don’t wait on me hand and foot anymore.”

Harper rolled her eyes, beginning to break eggs into a bowl. Heaven forbid he became independent again. In that respect, she couldn’t wait to see the man walking on his own...even if it meant admitting to herself that there was a small part of her that liked feeling needed.

But then, there were a lot of things that Ethan had helped her to discover about herself.

“I’m going to have to think of some other way to keep you around.” At that, Harper merely laughed, picking up her bowl of eggs to advance towards the table. Bed-tousled and unshaved, the man she loved looked utterly and completely scrumptious.

“Oh really? Like what, the dreaded holy matrimony?”

Ethan smirked. “If I asked, would you say yes?” This was a game they often played with one another. Harper knew full well that she would end up married to Ethan one day, and that he was all but dying to ask - but he didn’t want to do it until he was one hundred percent. Marriage, for them, was an eventuality.

But that didn’t mean there couldn’t be other surprises.

“Maybe. Lucky for you, I’ve got other reasons to stick around.” The moment she sat down, Ethan edged closer to her. The moment he could, he wrapped an arm around her waist to kiss her shoulder fondly.

“Do you now? Finally found that match?”

Harper snickered. “I wish.”

“After all my funds? I’ll demand a pre-nup.”

The blonde grinned, tossing her hair. “If I don’t first.”

“Well, babe, you’ll have to let me in on your secret. I’m dying to know.”

Harper had planned for a more opportune moment - sometime after he had his cast off. Maybe when they were out to lunch or at the park - maybe even when they were in bed with his arms around her. This moment, however, suddenly seemed more opportune than she could have imagined.

“Ethan...I’m pregnant.”

She expected the man to freeze. To stare at her as if she were out of her mind or, perhaps, to demand what had happened. They had never discussed children, and when Harper had last visited her doctor, she’d been surprised to discover that her IUD’s protection had expired a mere six months before.

Leading to the current situation.

But Ethan did none of those things. Instead, he merely pulled Harper into his lap, heedless of the bowl of eggs that dripped across the table. Before she could say a single word, he was kissing her - deep and desperate, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. “A baby,” he breathed, as if it were the most astounding thing in the cosmos. “We’re going to have a baby. A little baby, Harp!”

It was almost as if he were the one telling her, and Harper couldn’t help the way her eyes filled. This man never ceased to surprise her.  “We are.”

Ethan chuckled against her mouth, ecstatic, before he pulled back to look up at her, his eyes alight with happiness. “Wait until we tell Dad.”

THE END