Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
HARPER
W atching the friendship between Banks and Cy blossom makes my heart explode. I never thought about Cy needing the same type of grounding that I need from Banks. But it makes so much sense, and seeing it work makes me feel so profoundly grateful for Banks.
I know that Cy and Emerson have their own dynamic going. They provide each other comfort on a level that no one else can touch, but I’m so happy to know that when Emerson can’t be there, there’s another who can step in.
“Now that we’re alone, are you going to tell me what you’re going to say to the guys?” I ask Banks as I watch him pack his bag back up.
He pauses to look at me. “No. You can wait a little bit longer.”
“Ugh.” I toss myself back on the bed dramatically even though I figured he wouldn’t budge. “Fine.”
Gentle rain is coming down outside, the patters of raindrops fill the air as he zips his bag. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I don’t want you to go either.” The bed dips beside me as he lays down. “I love you.”
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me back against his body. “I love you, too. Being apart sucks.”
We lay there for a while listening to the rain and soaking up each other’s company while we wait for Declan and Emerson to get home. Occasionally we’ll hear Cyrus moving around upstairs while he works on one of his paintings, but otherwise it’s peaceful and quiet. I’m just about to doze off when I hear the sound of the Jeep pulling into the driveway.
“Guess it’s time for you to spill your idea.” I sit up and pat his thigh. “You ready to face them all?”
“Yep.” He runs a hand through his hair and stands up.
“Nervous?” I smile up at him.
“Nope.” He holds out his hand for me and pulls me to my feet when I take it. “They don’t scare me.”
“What does scare you?”
He steps in front of me, looking straight into my eyes with an intensity I’ve never seen from him before. “Losing you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Damn right.”
Cyrus has already made his way downstairs by the time we get to the living room. Banks takes a seat while I go into the mudroom to greet the guys. Declan looks up as soon as I enter the room like I have a homing beacon on me just for those gorgeous green eyes. He stands to his full his height, leaving whatever he was doing in his bag behind to come to me.
His fingers weave through the hair at the nape of my neck as he tilts my head back. Our lips meet in a soft kiss as he gently pulls my hair to tilt my head back further, allowing deeper access to my mouth. My lips part beneath his as he slides his tongue against mine.
The kiss is full of dark promise laced with the slightest bit of longing. What he has trouble expressing with words, he always communicates with his lips. He breaks the kiss first, resting his forehead against mine.
“Hi,” he says quietly.
“I missed you.” My whispered confession hangs between us as he looks deep into my eyes. I drop any walls I’ve erected between us so all he sees is the truth behind the words. If we’re going to do this, we both have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other.
“I missed you, too.” He pulls me into a tight hug, kissing the top of my head while I breathe him in.
“My turn.” Emerson grabs my hand and tugs me out of a reluctant Declan’s embrace over to him. He presses a chaste kiss to my lips as he hugs me. His lips have the lingering taste of Cy’s peppermint lip balm, leaving mine to tingle just a bit. “He’s not the only one who missed you.”
“He’s not the only one I missed.” I grin back at him. “But now we can finally hear Banks’s plan. Come on.” I pull him into the living room behind me.
I sit down beside Banks. Declan takes one of the armchairs directly across from us. Cy and Emerson sit on the other couch, side by side, and look over at Banks expectantly.
Banks shoots me a glance and then clears his throat.
“Before I start explaining, I just want you to promise to keep an open mind.” He looks directly at Declan as he speaks. “The most important thing is to keep Harper safe, right?” He waits until he sees nods from the other three guys. “The stalker seems to think he has the right to marry her, which we know is ludicrous. I’ve been thinking, what if we made it so he couldn’t marry her?”
Declan goes still. “How do you suggest we do that?”
“I marry her.”
My heart picks up speed. Is he really suggesting we get married? I honestly haven’t given marriage much thought, especially since I’m currently involved with four men. It doesn’t seem like a possibility for me, nor is it something I need. Not that I haven’t spent years thinking I’d eventually be married to Banks.
“No.” Declan shakes his head vehemently.
“Explain your thought process further,” Emerson says quietly.
Cy doesn’t say anything, he focuses all his attention on me, studying my reaction.
“It wouldn’t change any of this.” Banks motions around at the five of us. “You still have your relationships, it just gives her an added layer of protection. Maybe it will make him lose interest in her.”
“Or piss him off even further.” Declan scoffs and looks at Cy. “You can’t be okay with this.”
Cy shrugs. “I just want what’s best for everyone. I don’t care if she marries him, it wouldn’t change my relationship with anyone.”
“Setting aside all of that. How would this even work? What would your parents think?” I ask. “You’re going to school hours away.”
“Mom and Dad know. I’ve explained everything, in limited detail, to them. They love you, they love me. They want us both to be happy even if it isn’t exactly traditional.”
His parents are wonderful, especially considering how conservative their views tend to be. They’ve never been judgmental, though, instead keeping their focus on their family and offering compassion to those around them. I mean, they closed ranks around Mom and me when Dad was arrested and the scandal exposed. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they’d be open to this.
Banks pulls out a small black box and opens the lid. “Mom even gave me Granny Great’s ring to propose with.”
The emerald cut diamond sparkles in the sunlight, along with the smaller diamonds surrounding it and covering the vintage filigree gold band. It’s absolutely stunning. He takes it out of the box and slips it down my ring finger.
“Perfect fit,” he says quietly. “Like it was meant to be.”
Declan shoots to his feet and leaves the room without saying a word.
I start to move to follow him, but Emerson holds a hand up to stop me. “Give him some time to calm down.”
I want to go reassure him that even if I did choose to marry Banks, it wouldn’t change my feelings for him. I trust that Banks is only bringing this up to know we have the option. Right now, it’s just a possibility. An idea not yet set in stone.
“I don’t want to start any trouble,” Banks says. “I won’t do this if everyone isn’t on board. It’s just an idea.”
“We don’t even know what Mom would say.” I can’t lie, though, as I look down at my finger, it feels right in a way I wasn’t expecting to be wearing Banks’s ring.
“Actually, we do.” Banks looks at me nervously. “I called her first, just to bring it up. She’s on board if it’s what you want.”
“Oh.” I blink several times, surprised that she’d be okay with it when she was married so young and look how that turned out. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Thought of everything, didn’t you?” Emerson looks at Banks with a blank look on his face, hiding his thoughts completely. “And you’d seriously give up your scholarship to move here and go to Trinity?”
“Yes. You’d all have to be okay with me moving into the house, though.”
“I’m okay with it.” Cyrus gives a decisive nod. “As long as it’s what Harper wants, I’m good.”
“Do you want it?” Emerson asks me.
“I don’t know.” I look from the ring to Banks. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.” He kisses my temple. “Keep the ring and think it all through.”
“Take the stalker out of the equation, would you still want to marry her?” Emerson surprises me with the question, but I want to hear the answer from Banks, too.
“Yes. I’ve known I wanted to marry her for years now. I don’t want you guys to feel threatened by it, but it would cement our,” he points back and forth between himself and me, “unconventional relationship.”
Emerson nods as he mulls everything over.
Banks looks at his watch and then me. “I need to go.”
“I know. I’ll walk you out.”
I leave the ring on and follow him as he grabs his bag and heads for the door after exchanging goodbyes with Emerson and Cy. He opens his door and tosses the duffel onto the passenger seat before turning to me.
“Sorry it wasn’t a huge romantic proposal or anything. I just thought we all deserved to have an open conversation about it.” He holds up my left hand, looking down at the ring. “It looks so good on you, though.”
“It does.” I give myself a moment to soak in the sight of an engagement ring on my finger before melting into his arms. “It’s an absolutely beautiful ring. I’m so touched.” I give him a kiss on the cheek. “I always wanted to be Mrs. Armstrong.”
“You don’t have to take my last name if we do this, but I wouldn’t complain if you do.” He rests his cheek on my head. “I love you so much, Harper.”
I hug back just as tightly. “I love you, too.”
“I should go.” He doesn’t make a move to let me go.
“You should.” I don’t either.
He finally tears himself away and sinks down into his car. I take a step back as the engine revs to life. He rolls down the window to say goodbye one last time, and I remind him to text me when he gets back to his dorm. I watch as he backs out of the driveway and until his taillights disappear around a corner. Dragging one last breath of cool air into my lungs, I turn and walk back into the house.
Emerson and Cy are still sitting on the couch when I walk back inside. Cy scoots over and pats the space between them for me to settle in. I rest my head on Cy’s shoulder and angle my body so I can look at Emerson. I know Cy is going to be fine with whatever I choose to do. It’s Emerson who I’m interested in hearing from.
“What are you thinking?” I ask him.
“It’s your choice. I do wonder if it won’t just trigger your stalker to become more insistent, or worse, though.”
That is a concern I share. “Setting that aside, how do you feel about it? I know this is new, and everything keeps changing so fast.”
He grabs my hand and looks at the ring still on my finger. “I didn’t see it coming, so it wasn’t even on my radar as a possibility. It is a pretty ring, though.”
“It looks good on your finger.” Cy takes my hand from Emerson and holds it up to gaze at it.
“I want you to be happy,” Emerson says. “So if you want to solidify your relationship with Banks in that way, I’m okay with it.”
“I still need to think about it.” I look at my hand again, obsessed at how pretty the diamonds are winking in the light from the lamp. “I’ve always thought that Banks would be the man I’d marry. I just didn’t realize I’d also be in a relationship with three other guys who I care deeply for.”
Who I’m falling in love with.
“Just wear the pretty ring for now and know none of us are going anywhere.” Cy squeezes me and kisses the side of my neck.
“I should probably go talk to Declan.”