Harper
After Jackson leaves, I give myself a few moments to come down from the high of kissing him. I'm not sure I’ll ever be the same after that kiss. I’ll be thinking about him even more than I already have been, and that seems almost impossible.
As I push through the door to the kitchen, three sets of eyes snap up to stare at me.
“Oh my gosh! You guys kissed!” Sophia squeals, clapping her hands.
“Girl, chill out! You’re going to burst an eardrum if you keep squealing like that. Ears aren’t made for that decibel.” Emma covers her ears and glares at Sophia.
“I never said we kissed,” I say softly, trying my hardest to deny it, but I know it won't work. Not with them.
“Oh, please!” Bella rolls her eyes. “You have a ‘just been kissed’ glow and there are hearts practically floating out of your eyes. He clearly just kissed you like you’ve never been kissed before.”
“You know, that’s how you know if he’s the one,” Sophia says so matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean?” Emma slowly lowers her hands. I'm pretty sure she’s worried Sophia will get excited and squeal all over again.
“Well, let’s use Harper and Jackson as an example.” She motions towards me.
“Let’s not,” I groan.
“When you kissed Evan, did it feel anything like that kiss you just shared with Jackson?”
“Not even close.” I shake my head.
“Exactly. Because Evan isn’t your ‘it guy’.”
All three of them grin. Their Uncle Cole always called their Aunt Sammie his ‘it girl’. He says he knew she was it for him and there was no reason to fight it. They belonged together.
“Ugh, I want to find my ‘it guy’,” Bella groans, a pout settling on her lips.
“Me too,” Emma makes the same face. “It’s not fair that both of you found them and we can’t.” She motions between her and Bella.
“Maybe you need to go visit a small town in the middle of nowhere,” Sophia teases.
“You said all the cuties are taken in Maple Springs.” Emma narrows her eyes.
“Oh, they are. But there’s more than one small town in this country. Go find another one. I'm sure they’ll have some cuties who are single. If not, move on to the next small town.” Sophia shrugs.
She met Peck while she was visiting her cousin in a small town in the middle of nowhere. They hit it off and he happily followed her when she went home.
“Why does this sound like an awful reality show?” I laugh. “They just travel from one small town to the next until they find the love of their life?”
“I mean I’d totally watch that show.” Sophia smirks.
We talk and laugh for the next few hours, all while working and getting over a thousand things made for the game tonight. I'm exhausted by the time we’re finished.
“Man, you weren’t joking when you said you’d work me to the bone.” I gather my hair into a high pony and secure it with a scrunchie.
“Ha! That’s nothing. You should see the days we have to stock both stadiums and we have birthday parties or a wedding too.” Emma’s eyes are wide as she shakes her head. “It’s like ten times worse, especially when someone gets sick and can’t work.” She makes a face at Sophia.
“Oh my gosh! It was one time! It’s not my fault I got pregnant and had horrible morning sickness.” Sophia rolls her eyes.
“Then I’ll yell at Peck. It’s definitely his fault you got pregnant!” Emma says.
“I’ll take full responsibility for this gorgeous mama,” Peck murmurs as he enters the kitchen. He sweeps Sophia into his arms and kisses her neck.
“Where did that door come from?” I motion to where there wasn’t a door a few moments ago and now there is.
“Oh, Peck needed to install a secret door between Bennett Bradley Security and Mulberry Lane Bakery. It was too much work for him to exit the building to see his obsession every hour on the hour.” Emma folds her arms over her chest and arches a brow at the happy couple, daring them to argue.
“She’s definitely my obsession,” Peck murmurs as he kisses her neck again, making her giggle.
“Ok, stop. You’re going to make me throw up all over this kitchen and we just finished cleaning up.” Emma pretends to gag, making Bella and me laugh.
“You’re so dramatic. You know we sign your paychecks, right?” Peck arches a brow.
“Yup. I still said what I said.”
“The truck is around back and ready to be loaded up.” Peck ignores Emma’s comment. I'm sure she gives him a lot of sass. It’s who she is.
“Well, then you better get started, boss man! I need to go make myself presentable for the game tonight. I hear there will be some cuties there.” She wiggles her brows.
“You better stay away from my security guys,” he groans.
The private suite is amazing. There’s a retractable wall between the Powell suite and the Mulberry Lane suite. Owen opened it up so we’d have even more room tonight. Even with the extra space, it’s jammed packed.
Jax and Cody are here and they’re chatting with a bunch of the Mulberry Lane kids, Kyler Bennett, and my little brother, Declan. Kyler’s little sister, Elliott, is staring up at Declan like he’s the most important person in the world to her. They’d be adorable together.
“Harper Bradley! I haven’t seen you since before you ran off for college!” Jax grins and waves for me to come over. As soon as I'm close, he tugs me into a tight hug. “How are you doing?”
“I’m hanging in there. I just need to get through this week and then I'm finished with school.”
“Unless you go to law school?” He arches a brow. They all know I’ve always thought about law school.
After what happened to my mom, I always wanted to help hold people accountable for their actions. Being a cop never really appealed to me, plus you can only do so much. I felt like being a lawyer or judge would give me the ability to do more.
“Yeah… I'm not sure what I'm doing yet.” I scrunch up my nose.
“That’s ok. I still don’t know what I'm doing.” He flashes me a grin. His grin quickly fades as he stares at someone over my shoulder. “Isabella Brooks!”
I chuckle at his use of Bella’s full name, laughing even harder when she glares at him.
“Jax Robinson! Oh, look, we can both use full names.” She rolls her eyes. I love when her sassy side comes out. It doesn’t happen as often as it does with Emma, but it’s always entertaining when it does.
“Come here.” He motions for her to come closer.
She huffs out an annoyed breath, but doesn’t hesitate to come right to Jax. She stares up at him with big blue eyes and I swear his expression softens.
“Why are you wearing this?” He tugs on the side of her jersey.
“Umm, because we’re at a Pit Bulls game so I'm wearing a Pit Bulls jersey?”
“I don’t like you wearing some guy’s name on your back,” he murmurs softly.
“It’s Wyatt’s jersey.” She rolls her eyes again. “He’s not just some guy.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“So? Whose name is supposed to be on my back?” She arches a brow.
“Only mine.”
“Fine. I’ll make sure to get Cody’s jersey.” She smirks as she walks away from him without another word.
“Man, that woman is going to be the death of me,” Jax mumbles.
I can’t help but laugh at him. It’s so much fun catching up with all of Mulberry Lane. They’re all the people I’ve considered family since my parents got married.
As the game starts, we all take a seat and turn our attention to the field. I love watching my man play the game he loves and watching him dominate on the field.