“I think a case could already be made for us being screwed in settling down,” Tripp said as he finished the last of his beer. “Pretty sure it’s the bachelor life for me.”
“At least you won’t be alone now,” Finn said, and grabbed the empty glass before he got a clean one and poured Tripp another beer. “You’ve got Duke to keep you company.”
“Duke?”
“As in The Duke. And that dog is a menace.” He glared at Finn. “A small bear is more like it. There is no way in hell I’m getting my deposit back when I move, either. He chewed through a door. A door.”
Finn grinned as he passed Tripp the fresh beer. “Hey, I told you he needed space to move around. Frankie is doing just fine settling into my house. She hasn’t chewed through any doors.”
“Yeah, well you got the puppy that wasn’t a neurotic basket case.”
Finn turned to Liam in way of explanation. “Tripp found two puppies a couple of months ago. They were abandoned at the fire station. He adopted the male. I adopted the female. He’s having some difficulties.”
“Apparently,” Liam agreed.
“At least he’s doing better than he was.” Tripp took a sip of his beer before he set it back down on the bar. “When I brought him home he was scared of everything. Would run and hide at the drop of a hat. It’s a small wonder the thunderstorms didn’t give him a heart attack.”
“Yeah, well give him a yard and he will be doing even better,” Finn said.
“I’m working on it. House hunting isn’t going very well. I’m going again tomorrow.”
“See, Tripp, you are capable of the big grand gesture. It’s just for a dog as opposed to a woman.”
“Here’s a big grand gesture, asshole,” Tripp grumbled, and flipped Finn off.
“Maybe you should go with him.” Bennett turned to Liam. “You want to settle down here. So show Harper that you’re all in. Show her what you want. Show her that you’re ready for this.”
“I am.” He had been from the start.
“Okay.” Bennett nodded. “Then prove it.”
* * *
Liam spent the majority of the next day going from house to house with Tripp and Tammy, the real estate agent he’d hired. They looked all over town at more properties than he could even remember. Some out in the middle of nowhere that were surrounded by acres of land and cattle, with the closest neighbor miles away. Others were more centrally located, some nicer neighborhoods that were slowly growing and had more of a family feel. And there were a number of homes on the water, some scattered across the coast and others on Whiskey River.
Harper had made comments before about how much she loved living on the beach, so those were the ones that he paid especially close attention to. And when they walked into the last place he knew he’d found the one.
It stood on the typical pylons that were the foundation for the majority of the houses on the water. The house itself was two stories high, five bedrooms, three and a half baths, a newly remodeled kitchen, and a massive sunk-in living room that looked out to the water. And it wasn’t the only room that had a spectacular view, because the master bedroom had floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors that led out to the wraparound porch. They’d be able to watch the sunrise from their bed if they placed it just so.
He wanted it.
The problem? Someone had already put an offer in on the house. So he did what he needed to do. He put in an offer as well…which was slightly stress inducing considering he hadn’t talked to Harper about it, nor had she seen it yet.
But it was the one…and he really wanted it. Had to have it.
There were certain perks to not being a struggling artist anymore. He had more than enough money in the bank that he didn’t need to worry about getting pre-approved for a loan. What he did need to worry about was if he got the house. It was an integral part of the plan.
Another part of the plan was trying to keep it a surprise. But keeping anything from Harper had proved to be a failure for him. He just needed to figure out how to work around it if she asked him for a play-by-play of his day.
She didn’t get home until after ten o’clock that night, and the second she walked in the door she collapsed on the sofa and put her feet in Liam’s lap.
He started to rub her arches with his thumbs, applying just the right amount of pressure to make her moan long and loud.
“Yessss. God. Right there. Please don’t stop.” Her head was thrown back against a pillow, her eyes closed as she melted into the sofa cushions.
“Honey, you keep talking like that and you are going to be getting an entirely different sort of massage.” Obviously sex would be a more than fun way to distract her from conversations.
Harper cracked an eye and looked at him. “I don’t know how good it will be. I think I’m about two seconds from passing out. An extended weekend sounds like the greatest thing ever.” Her eye fell closed again as she pulled her arms up and over her head in a good stretch. The movement caused her shirt to pull up and expose her baby bump.
“That so?” He increased the pressure, moving to the ball of her foot.
Her back arched up and she moaned again. Yeah, he wasn’t sure how he was going to get through this.
“Barely had a second to sit down let alone take a break. My feet hate me…but you are pacifying their sensibilities now.”
“Oh, am I?” He speared his fingers between her toes, stretching them just so.
“Yessss.” She moaned the word again. “You are. Even talking is exhausting, so tell me about your day. How was dinner with Dale and Hamilton?”
Her follow-up saved him.
After house hunting, Tripp and Liam had gone to get burgers with the boys. As Liam wouldn’t be back in Mirabelle for a couple of weeks, they’d asked if he would hang out with them before he left.
He relayed that part of the day, concentrating on massaging Harper’s feet and hoping she didn’t ask anything else. But he realized his worry was for nothing as she was now breathing slow and steady from her side of the sofa.
She was asleep.
* * *
Their flight out of Tallahassee left just before noon the following morning. Harper hadn’t packed anything so she’d had to get up early to get all of her things in order. As it took Liam about ten minutes to get his stuff together, he went for a run.
And then came back all hot and sweaty…which made her get all hot and sweaty. That was just par for the course really. He’d always had that effect on her…from the very start.
There was a nervous anticipation coursing through her from the second she’d woken up, and when she walked into the cabin late that afternoon she knew why. They were returning to the place where it all began.
But as the second they walked in the door she had to go and get changed and freshen up from the flight, she didn’t have all that much time to dwell on it.
Since Harper hadn’t seen her aunt in months, nor had Liam met Celeste, she was pretty excited about the evening. Reed, Celeste’s boyfriend, had made a reservation at Bourbon and Brine, one of the hottest spots in town. It was just after seven when they arrived at the restaurant, and the place was packed with people lingering around the hostess station waiting for a table to become available.
A group of people moved to the side and an excited exclamation of “Harper!” filled her ears. Celeste navigated over to her, Reed following close behind.
“Hello, my sweet niece,” she said as she pulled Harper into an embrace.
“Hello, my wonderful aunt.” Harper hugged her back, so ridiculously happy to see her.
“Let me see you.” Celeste’s hands slid to Harper’s forearms as she took a step back and did a once-over. “You look wonderful. You feeling okay?” Her voice dropped low on the last question so that it would be hard for the crowd around them to hear.
“Yeah. Everyone is doing very well.” Harper’s hand went to her belly immediately.