I exaggeratedly roll my eyes before squatting in front of her. She takes my face between her hands and leans forward to press a wet kiss against my cheek.
“Thank you for playing with me.” Her blue eyes sparkle.
“Thank you for being you.”
She laughs. “You don’t make sense.”
I stand and shake my head. “Probably not.”
Lucy runs off to her room.
I’ve spent the last half hour playing with Lucy while fielding worried texts from Caden and Luke. I fell asleep last night dreaming of Harper and hated waking up without her in my arms.
We need to fix this shit.
Me:
What do you have for me
Will:
A few more files unencrypted
Loaded to the cloud
More coming tonight
I don’t know what Will Frank’s deal is, but I’m glad we have him. I’m still drowning in files to review, but that’s what tonight is for. Fuck, I want to do more than just stare at my computer.
Maybe we’ll just have to get inventive.
Honestly, I just can’t wait to see how we are with love being out in the open. I’ve never been prouder of my friends than when they each told Harper they love her. It seems hard to believe, but she makes it so easy to fall in love with her.
“You heading out for the night?” Dad walks into the room and picks up some of the toys Lucy discarded to race to me.
“Yeah, I’ll check in tomorrow. But I’ve got a date tomorrow night.” I pick up my laptop and slip it into my backpack.
“The girlfriend?” When I nod, he asks, “When are we going to meet her?”
I smile because I think Harper’s going to love my family, and I know they’ll love her right back. “Soon. We have Homecoming next weekend. We’ll stop by for pictures.”
Dad nods and sits on the edge of the couch. “You doing okay? You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”
I put on my backpack and pick up my packed bag. I stop because his concern is real and I’m glad I have someone looking out for me, besides Harper and the guys. “Just busy with school, football, and my girl.”
“Don’t push too hard, Jack. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You need to take care of yourself too.” Dad stands and looks around for additional stray Barbies.
I step in and wrap my arms around him. “Thank you.”
“Hey.” His surprise lasts a moment before he hugs me to him. “I’m just doing my job.”
“I know and I’m glad I have you.” Pulling away, I thrust my hands in my pockets. “I do want you to meet Harper. You guys are going to love her as much as I do.”
Dad looks shocked. “Well... of course.”
I shake my head and smirk. “See you tomorrow.”
Nico
