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“Someday, you can graduate to the grown-up crossword puzzles,” I said.
He glared, but grinned. “Tease if you want, but I’m your boss now, remember? I can fire your ass.”
I’d thanked everyone at Stay Inn, but ultimately decided I wanted to be all-in on Fairhope. Once I actually thought logically about it, I knew I had enough money to last me a few lifetimes. It was time for me to do something I enjoyed and surround myself with people I cared about. That was why I’d agreed to help Gramps run the inn. By help, that meant essentially taking over the operation so he could wander the lobby and shoot the shit with guests. But I had Gabby to help with everything else and we’d even hired a couple employees to cover the desk at night and help clean the rooms.
“Fire me at your own risk. You need me.”
His face softened into a smile, and he squeezed my arm. “I’m damn grateful for you, Greyson. You saved my inn. That inn is my life, you know. I didn’t realize how much it hurt to see the way it had become until you came along. You fixed it and showed me what I’d been missing.”
“Any time,” I said.
“Well, I’m going to fuck off so you two lovebirds can do whatever it is you came out here to do.”
He got up and shuffled inside.
Harper and I grinned at each other.
“I like some of your family,” she said.
“Yeah, the Ashford’s seem to be half good, half bad. You may get to meet my little brother tomorrow. He’s somewhere in the middle, honestly. Kind of a prick, but I think he’ll grow out of it. He’s just too worried about keeping my parents happy.”
She nodded. “I was surprised your parents came.”
“Me too. I just wish Hailey had made it.”
Harper gave my hand a squeeze. “Maybe she’ll still come. Who knows?” There was a twinkle of mischief in Harper’s eyes.
I frowned at her. “What did you do?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Harper…”
“Well, I have your sister’s first and last name. I spent a few weeks googling and digging through social media accounts with the same name or anything similar. Once I ran out of Haileys, I started looking for nicknames people with Hailey might use for a social media handle. I eventually found her. She’s living in Florida and dating some guy who kind of looks like trouble? Tattoos, piercings, motorcycles, that kinda thing. But she looked happy.”
“You found her?” My throat felt tight, and my stomach was turning over. “She’s okay?”
“I also messaged her. I told her I was her big brother’s new girlfriend and invited her to the wedding. I figured that was a lot more reliable than you Ashford’s just hoping she still checked her old phone. I’m guessing she changed her number.”
“Did she respond?”
Harper’s smile widened. “She’s coming tomorrow. She didn’t want to stay because she wasn’t ready to deal with your parents yet, so she’s going to kind of sneak into the ceremony and watch from a distance. She said she doesn’t know if she’s ready to try to mend things with the family yet, but she’s working on it.”
“Wow,” I sat back, staring at the mountains in the distance. The sun was rising and bathing them in orange light, highlighting the rock and casting the runs of snow in glaring white. “You really found her?”
Harper shrugged. “I know it’s important to you. And you’re kind of my man now. That means it’s my job to keep you happy.”
“I like how that sounds coming from you.”
“Good,” she said. “Because if you ever decide to be an idiot and push me away again, I will kill you.”
I laughed. “Not happening.”
“The me killing you part, or the you pushing me away part?”
“Both. I love you, Harper. I’m not going anywhere because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. You’re stuck with me now. Like it or not.”
“Hmm.” Harper put her hands on my knees and leaned in, letting me kiss her nose as she smiled up at me. “Like it.”
* * *
The End
