That’s what managers were for, right? Well, that and drinking a shot of tequila in the middle of the day. But it was five o’clock somewhere.
“You’re pretty torn up about her, huh?” Gary asked.
“I love her more than I’ve loved anyone, but she doesn’t know if she wants to spend the rest of her life with me.”
“And you need to make her realize that she does.” Not a question from Gary, but a statement of fact.
“Yes.”
“You finish this shoot up today, you can be on a plane to her by tonight.”
“Seriously?” Hope flared in Liam’s chest.
“Most of this video has to do with the other three couples. They get all of the shots with you and you’re done, my friend,” Gary said as he reached for his pocket. His phone must’ve been vibrating because he picked it up and put it to his ear. “This is Gary.”
The murmuring on the other end was barely audible as the crowd of people around Liam talked.
“What?” Gary asked, his eyes coming up and landing on Liam. “Okay, I’ll be right out.” He hung up, sliding his phone in his pocket. “I’ll be right back.” He reached out and grabbed Liam’s shoulder. “You get up there and kill it. Understand?”
“Yeah.” Liam nodded, taking a deep breath before he turned around and walked through the crowd.
He got back up on the stage, grabbing his guitar and pulling the strap over his head. He glanced up, catching Gary as he passed by Jim. The two men spoke for just a second. Gary probably telling the guy that Liam was going to pull his head out of his ass. Jim nodded before he headed back to the camera.
“You ready to get this shit done?” Jim asked as he settled in.
Liam took a deep breath and let it out. “Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.”
His fingers strummed the chords of the guitar as the lights focused in on him. “Love at first sight was something I’d never seen. But you walked in and became every one of my dreams…”
It was at that moment that he saw her. The crowd disappeared and it was only Harper standing in the middle of that room and looking up at him.
“Violet eyes and the lips of a goddess. I knew I’d want more than just one kiss…”
Her mouth curved up in a smile as she watched him, and her eyes closed for just a second as her body began to move to his voice.
“A day, a week, a month, a year. It would never be enough. I want forever, honey. Forever, honey…”
Her eyes opened and she looked up at him again. “Forever with you,” she sang along.
He kept going, Harper’s mouth moving in sync with each and every word of the song until he got to the very end. “I need forever, honey. Forever with you.”
The second his fingers strummed the last chord he was pulling the guitar from his body and jumping from the stage. The crowd parted and when he got to her he pulled her into his arms, his mouth coming down hard on hers as his fingers speared in her hair.
He tasted her mouth for a good minute before he pulled back and looked at her. “You didn’t get on the plane.”
“I didn’t get on the plane.” She shook her head. “I was wrong. I don’t need any more time Liam. No more catching up. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. None of the other stuff matters. This is what matters.” Her hand moved to his chest, her palm over his heart. “You and me.”
“No more running?”
“I’m done running away from us. As long as you’re next to me, I can handle anything.”
“It’s you and me, honey. From here on out.” He leaned down, his mouth right against hers, their breath warm on each other’s lips.
“From here on out,” she agreed.
* * *
The second the front door of the cabin closed Harper found herself pushed up against the wall by the solid weight of her perfectly muscled, attractive as sin man.
Yeah, that was right. Her man.
“Haven’t we done this before?” she asked as she looked up into his green-gold eyes. Eyes that had seen her from the very start. Eyes that didn’t hide how much he loved her.
“I believe we have. But things have definitely changed since the last time we were here together.”
“In so many ways.”
“Buying you that beer is still the best decision I ever made.” He grabbed her hands, pulling her arms up and pinning them to the wall above her head.
“Stole. You stole that beer.”
“It was only fair. You stole my heart first.” He grinned as he twined their fingers together.
“You’re still using your lines on me. Apparently not everything has changed.”
“Not a line.” Liam shook his head, his lips brushing hers with the movement. “That’s a fact.”
“That so?”
“Yup. Want to know what else is a fact?” He skimmed his nose across her neck as he inhaled.
“What’s that?”
“You smell incredible. You always smell incredible. Honey.” He whispered the word, his warm breath hitting her skin before he pressed his lips to the spot just under her left ear. “My honey.”
“Always yours.” How had she ever doubted what they had? For even a second? Never again. Never, ever, again.
Liam’s mouth left her skin as he pulled back, his eyes finding hers. “I’m going to kiss you now. So if you have any problems with that, you should speak now or forever hold your peace.”
She couldn’t stop herself from grinning at his words, the same words from their first night together. “No objections.” She shook her head.
His mouth came down hard on hers, their tongues tangling together. It was a good long couple of moments before he pulled back. “Still no objections?”
“I’m objection-less.”
“Thank God.” He gave her a wicked grin before he let go of her hands and bent, sweeping her up in his arms.
“Liam!” she gasped, her arms going around his neck and holding on tight as he carried her through the house.
“I’ve got you, Harper.”
“I know.” Of that she had no doubt. She kissed his jaw, his beard rasping across her lips.
When they got to the bedroom he set her down gently. The second her feet were firmly stationed on the floor and she was standing up straight, his hands were on her hips and he was pulling her in close to his body.
“So I decided something,” she said as she dropped her arms from where they were looped around his neck, running her palms down his chest.
“And what’s that?” He took a step forward, moving her back through the room.
“I’m not going to let the lies in those stupid tabloids get to me. We’ll make our own headlines.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Well, the first one will say, ‘Liam James and Harper Laurence Don’t Care What Anyone Else Has to Say About Their Relationship, and Kiki Jean Carlow Is a Lying Piece of Work That Absolutely No One Should Listen To. Ever.’ Though that might be a little wordy?” The back of her legs hit the bed and they stopped moving.
“A little.” He nodded. His hands had descended down and were now under the skirt of her dress.
“What about, ‘Liam James and Harper Laurence Tell Everyone Else to Shove It’? How does that sound?”
“Probably not the best for publicity.” He grinned, palming her ass.
“Okay, ‘Liam James and Harper Laurence Are Madly in Love’?”
“No.” He shook his head. “‘Liam and Harper James Are Madly in Love.’”
She froze, as she looked up at him. “What?”
“Yeah, and the next will say, ‘Liam and Harper James Settle into Their New Home in Mirabelle, Florida’ and after that ‘Liam and Harper James Welcome Their Baby Girl into the World.’ I think I’m forgetting one though…” he trailed off, his eyes narrowing in thought as his mouth turned up at the sides. “Oh, the first one. ‘Liam James and Harper Laurence, His Beautiful.’” He kissed the side of her mouth. “‘Stunning.’” He kissed the other side of her mouth. “‘Sexy as Hell Wife.’” He pressed his lips to the center of hers. “‘Wed in a Small Beachside Wedding Surrounded by Friends and Family.’”