Chapter 43
Ford
Harper loves me. She told me, and it was the best present I’ve ever received. I had been so sure she was running away and wouldn’t return, but the night turned around quickly. Now, here she is, in my arms, on her favorite day of the year.
She stirs as golden morning sunlight spills through the blinds, painting stripes across her sleep-flushed cheeks and the tangled mess of her hair on my pillow. Her eyelashes flutter against her skin like butterfly wings.
“Morning,” I say softly, barely above a whisper, keeping my voice low in case she’s not ready to wake up yet, afraid to break the spell of having her here in my bed.
“Mmm, morning.”
There’s no panic in her eyes. No racing thoughts that make her jump out of bed. She stays relaxed, snuggled against me.
“Can we get breakfast?”
Kissing her shoulder, I sigh happily. “We can do whatever you want.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to do the walk of shame at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve,” Harper giggles.
“You should just bring your suitcase here. Then you won’t have to worry about it.” It’s a risky suggestion, but at this point, I’m ready to risk it all.
She turns in my arms, nuzzling her head under my chin and wrapping her arm around my waist. “We’re really doing this? Head first into the deep end?”
“I’m all in, baby. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Sighing, she kisses my chest. “You’re so sure about how you feel. I’ve never met anyone like that before.”
“Do you want me to dial it back? Tone it down?”
Pulling back, she gazes at me with those stunning blue eyes and shakes her head. “I don’t ever want you to be anything but Crawford Stokes. It’s nice not having to wonder what you’re thinking or feeling. I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
I tuck her hair behind her ear and smile. “See what?”
“How much you care for me. Apparently, everyone but me could see it. It was right there in the pictures. There’s no denying it.”
I frown. “What pictures?”
“The ones I took for all of Gina’s stuff. I captured the moment you saw me—your eyes lit up, your face changed. Even at the wedding, despite the weirdness, your expression shifted the second you laid eyes on me.”
Seeing Harper has always lit me up like a Christmas tree, but I didn’t realize everyone else could witness it. “Can I see them?”
She nods, and we climb out of bed. I can’t tear my eyes away from her as she bends down to pick up her clothes scattered across the floor.
The emerald sweater dress that slipped from her body last night, the stockings that had been so hastily discarded.
Her movements are unhurried, comfortable, as if she’s always belonged in this space with me.
I can’t believe this is real, that I’m not trapped in some fever dream where my deepest wishes come true. Harper Wallace, with her ocean-blue eyes and that tiny freckle just below her left ear that I kissed last night, loves me.
“Stop it,” she warns.
“Stop what?”
“If you keep looking at me like that, we’re not going to leave here. And I’m hungry.”
I laugh. “I have food here, you know.”
She shakes her head. “I want the diner’s Christmas special. It’s my favorite.”
Noted. Every Christmas Eve morning, I’ll take her to the diner for the breakfast special. Every Christmas Eve morning. Because I plan to do this for the rest of our lives.
It didn’t take us long to change and drive to her parents’ house. As we stepped inside, I found her family lounging on the couch, their expressions knowing and expectant. For the first time, a wave of anxiety washed over me.
What if they’re disappointed that she had spent the night with me? The implications of our actions loomed large in my mind.
“Harper, where have you been?” Eric asks, his gaze narrowed on me.
“Ford and I had things to talk about last night,” Harper replies, her tone steady.
Her father approaches, and I feel my muscles tense. He has been friendly, even calling me “son,” but now the thought of what I did with his daughter hangs heavy in the air. Yet, he extends his hand, and I shake it, feeling a mix of relief and dread. “Welcome to the family.”
“Wait, does this mean you two are officially a couple?” Gina exclaims, her jaw dropping in surprise.
Harper take my hand firmly. “We’re doing this. It’s succeed or fail.”
“We’re going to succeed. That’s a promise,” I say, my voice steady.
“Oh, and I’m moving back to Frosthaven Falls,” Harper adds.
Her mom jumps up, squealing with delight as she envelops Harper in a tight hug, forcing us to release each other’s hands. “You are?”
At least her family seems supportive.
“Jumping in head first,” Harper says. “Nothing to potentially cause issues for us. Like distance.”
“There’s always phone sex,” Gina chimes in, prompting groans from everyone, including Lance.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I need to show Ford a few pictures I’ve taken since I’ve been home. They’re not edited yet, and it’s not the wedding. Promise. Just candid shots,” Harper says.
But Gina interrupts. “Before you do that, I’ve been waiting for you to get home from your holiday booty call with your new sexy boyfriend to make this announcement.”
Her mom opens her mouth in shock, but Harper cuts her off. “You don’t want to say her name just yet, Mom.”
Lance walks over to Gina, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. The way she gazes up at him with such love strikes me. I recognize that look. It’s the same one Harper gave me at her sister’s wedding, and it leaves me breathless all over again.
“Harper and Ford already know, but it’s a good thing that Harper’s moving back here. Because I need to schedule a shoot with her,” Gina announces. “A maternity shoot.”
“Gina!” their mom gasps, rushing to hug her. “You’re having a baby?”
“In about four months. Give or take,” Gina replies, beaming.
Their father wraps them both in a hug. “I never took you for the traditional type, baby girl.”
“Me neither,” she giggles. “But I wanted to wear Mom’s dress. And I figured this baby could use some tradition.”
Harper takes my hand and leads me into her bedroom. I have been in here once before, but it feels different now. I sit down on the chair at her desk, pulling her onto my lap.
She giggles as she logs in, and within moments, three pictures appear on the screen—shots from the engagement party, the bachelor party, and the wedding. “Okay, this is when you first walked in. The normal brooding Ford look,” she teases.
“Brooding?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Am I wrong?”
I laugh, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Well, I’m not brooding anymore.”
“Now, look at these.”
She clicks again, revealing three more pictures. They capture the moment I first lay eyes on Harper. Sure enough, a sparkle lights up my eyes, and a genuine smile stretches across my face.
“I plan to frame these, by the way,” she says, planting a kiss on my cheek. “I think they’re the best pictures I’ve ever taken.”
“I think they’re perfect. Now, go get changed. You need food.”
As she stands, I playfully slap her backside, earning a surprised giggle. “Hey!”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help it. I can’t keep my hands off you.”
I stare at the pictures again, shaking my head in disbelief. Now that Harper is in my life and in my bed, I know this is how I will look for the rest of my life. Even when we’re eighty and in a nursing home, I’ll still light up like this whenever she enters the room.
“Can you grab my suitcase in the corner? I’ll just have to pack up my camera equipment and grab my laundry later,” Harper calls from the bathroom.
“Pack it up?”
She pokes her head in, a teasing smile on her lips. “I thought you wanted me to bring it to your place.”
This is honestly the greatest day of my life. “Yes, yes, I do.”
And I plan to have her at my house permanently, sooner or later.