And then there was the fact that she’d waited so long to tell him about the pregnancy.
Okay…so she’d just confirmed it a week ago…and then the doctor’s appointment to really confirm it had only been a few days ago. Denial was a word she’d used in describing the time gap between suspecting and knowing.
And denial was a word that he was becoming fully acquainted with as well.
Because he really thought he could do it, really thought he could get through it all without making a bigger ass out of himself. And he almost did, too. Made it through the part where he programmed her number into his phone—and he was going to ignore the relief of finally having it. Made it through the appointment confirmation of her next doctor’s visit that he would be going to—and which was conveniently during a break of the Isaac Hunter tour. Made it through walking the short distance back to the hotel where her friends were waiting by the car.
But he couldn’t have things stay that way. Couldn’t let her leave like this. Because at the end of it all, he couldn’t walk away. He still wanted her.
They were ten feet from the car when he gave in. He pulled his sunglasses from his face, hanging them on his shirt, before he grabbed her hand. He was unable to ignore the relief that coursed through him at finally touching her. She came up short as she turned to look at him.
“You want to get to know me?” His hold on her hand tightened, and he closed the distance taking a step forward.
“Yes. I do,” she answered without hesitation.
“Okay, new rule: no barriers.” He reached up, pushing her sunglasses into her hair and revealing her eyes. She winced at the sudden brightness, but she didn’t look away from him.
What he saw first was surprise mingled in her eyes, violet eyes that he’d been unable to get out of his head for the last few weeks. But underneath the shock they were tired and sad…sadder than anything he’d seen on her face before.
Considering everything, that was saying a lot. He hated seeing that look there. Hated it.
“Like I said earlier, we can’t start over. It’s not possible with everything that’s happened. Certain things can’t be undone.” He let go of her hand, grabbing on to her hip and sliding his palm around to her back. His other hand moved to her face, cradling her jaw.
“Like me leaving.”
“There are a number of things, and that’s one of them.” He nodded slowly. “I wish I could forget that part. I really wish I could, but it happened, and it sucked something serious.”
“Believe me it sucked for me, too. I’m sorry, Liam. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you that enough.”
“I know that. I do. And, though we can’t erase it, we can move past it. And even though we can’t start over, we can catch up.” His thumb brushed her cheek.
“And how do we do that?” Hope flickered in her eyes, a hope that was running through him as well.
“One day at a time.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers gently, just a slow simple brush before he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth. His hand moved back, palming the base of her skull as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.
She opened for him immediately, like she needed to taste him just as much as he needed to taste her. And then her hands were at his sides, tightening in the fabric of his shirt.
He didn’t care that they were surrounded by people, most of them strangers and a group of four that he had no doubt were watching their every move. Nope, he didn’t care in the slightest. All he was focused on was the fact that the woman in his arms was not only holding on to him, but kissing him like her life depended on it.
When he pulled back from her a minute—or two—later, they were both good and truly breathless. He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers.
“Despite everything that’s happened,” he whispered, “I still want you, Harper. That hasn’t changed.” Will probably never change. He moved just enough to where he could press his lips to her forehead.
She pulled back and looked up at him. “So how does this ‘no barriers’ work?”
“Honesty. We share everything personal.”
“So the exact opposite of six weeks ago.”
“Exactly. We talk. Every day. And at a minimum we learn three new things about each other daily.”
“Like what?” she asked, her mouth quirking to the side and giving him the first smile he’d seen on her face since finding her again.
“Like, I’m twenty-nine, have an older brother and younger sister, and I’m a musician.”
“I already know all of those things about you.”
“But I don’t know any of those things about you,” he said as he continued to move his thumb across her jaw.
“Okay, I’m twenty-six, an only child, and a massage therapist.”
“That’s interesting, both of our careers are dependent on our hands.”
Speaking of hands, hers were now climbing up his chest, something he had no problem with in the slightest.
“You have to go again,” she said as her fingertips brushed his collarbone.
“I hate Brussels sprouts, I have a slight fear of heights, and I hope our child has your eyes.”
Her hands stopped moving, her fingers now laying against the base of his neck. “Liam.” She breathed his name and he did the only thing he knew. He kissed her again, savoring everything about the taste of her on his tongue.
He didn’t want to say good-bye to her. Wasn’t ready for it. He’d just found her. It was too soon.
“We’re going to figure this out,” he said against her mouth.
“I know. No barriers.” She repeated the new plan.
“Exactly.”
When the SUV pulled away from the curb five minutes later—taking Harper with it—the only thing that helped the ache in his chest was the fact that he was going to get to see her in less than two weeks.
Let the countdown begin, and let it get to the end as fast as possible.
* * *
Liam’s deep, rich voice filled the tiny space of Harper’s bedroom while she unpacked and did laundry. As she had neighbors on all sides of her—some a little bit older who had never hesitated to complain—she had to listen to music at somewhat subdued levels. Though she was pushing the boundaries a tad bit tonight, her volume just a little louder than usual. The current song coming through her speakers was “Wild and Reckless.”
“Tearing down the road in the middle of the night. My only guide the glow of the moonlight…” she sang along.
It was Liam’s first big song and she knew every single word of it. Again, the fact that she hadn’t made the connection that he was Liam James was freaking ridiculous. How had she never Googled what he looked like before?
She still couldn’t believe how they’d found each other again, either. Because really, what were the odds? Slim, that was for sure. But hey, considering the fact that she’d gotten pregnant even with the use of all those condoms, maybe the odds were a little skewed.
She dropped the basket of laundry onto the bed and immediately put her hand over her belly.
But her getting pregnant was not an unlucky occurrence. It might not be the most optimal timing in the world, but this was her child…Liam’s child…their child.
He was going to be involved, and the relief at that fact was freeing. And then there was the added bonus that she hadn’t screwed everything up beyond repair.
I still want you, Harper. That hasn’t changed.
Those words kept repeating in her head, and that—combined with the low rich timbre of his voice crooning through her apartment—resonated through her body. The power that his voice had over her was scary as all hell, and the fear she’d felt all those weeks ago was still present, niggling at the back of her mind.
There was no denying the fact that she was in love with him. It hadn’t been some overwhelming rush of hormones six weeks ago. It hadn’t been just great sex…really great sex. It had been him. Liam James.