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RYAN
The relationshipwith Coach hasn’t changed much in the last two months since he found out about his daughter and me. He’s still tough as nails in our coach-athlete environment, but outside of that, things have gotten very friendly.
So friendly, actually, he more or less threw Harper out of the house so she could move in with me. After giving me a heads-up first. He knows Harper’s it for me and I’d do anything for her and our baby.
No second thoughts. Nothing.
I want that woman like nothing else. I need her like air to breathe. That feeling has intensified even more since we packed up her life in New York and she moved to California for good, spending most of her free time and nights with me.
Her stomach has finally popped at five months pregnant, and I want to rub it all day long, because it makes her even more gorgeous. The fact that her boobs continue to grow alongside her belly doesn’t hurt either.
Today is the official move-in day, and Harper is driving everyone crazy because she wants to help, but no one is letting her do much. Since most of her things were already at my house anyway, we were done in no time, which means everyone’s just lounging around now.
The guys are all here, including Coach and Sharon. Noah brought his nephews, since he promised his sister a day off. He’s been helping a lot while she’s dealing with her soon-to-be ex-husband. It sounds like a nightmare.
Hunter has a big family with a bunch of nieces and nephews he talks about a lot, and once he saw Noah and the kids, he jumped right into his uncle Hunter role and has been playing with them most of the time. They are five and seven and on the go nonstop, with Hunter or Noah not far behind them.
The younger of the two, Mason, comes up to where Harper and I stand in the kitchen. The kitchen island is covered with food. Pizza, pretzels, chips, cut vegetables with dip, fruit, chocolate, and about another million things.
Harper went a bit overboard, wanting to make sure everyone’s taken care of while they help. Since she didn’t have a lot of things that needed to be moved today, this also doubles as some sort of a housewarming party for her. Any excuse to get everyone together.
Harper squats to get to Mason’s eye level. “Hey, buddy. Are you having fun?”
He nods and continues to stare at her. “You’re really pretty.”
She laughs and holds a hand to her heart. “Well, thank you. Aren’t you a little charmer?”
His cheeks turn pink as he rummages around in his pockets. He holds something out to her that I can’t see. “Here. For you. Someone in my class had cupcakes this week, and this was on top. The cupcake was really yummy.”
Harper takes it, her surprised gaze flicking to me for a second before she wraps her fingers around whatever Mason gave her and focuses back on him. “That’s so sweet of you, thank you. I love it. But you’ve gotta tell me, what flavor was the cupcake?”
His eyes go wide. “Chocolate. My favorite.”
“Oooooh. I love chocolate.” She puts her index finger on her chin and leans closer. “Did it also have chocolate frosting?”
He nods so fast, he’s almost blurry.
Harper laughs, and Mason joins in with his giggles.
I can’t tear my gaze from them.
Harper said she’s never interacted much with children before, and I know that makes her just as nervous as me sometimes, but seeing her like this . . . all sweet and gentle and funny. It does something to me, to my chest. It sounds odd, but it’s like I can feel my love for her grow.
It also unlocks the caveman in me, and I want to carry her upstairs to our bedroom. And here I thought only pregnant women get hornier.
Once everyone has left, I tell Harper to go upstairs and rest while I make sure all of the mess is cleaned up. She looks tired, clearly exhausted from a day of running around.
But, when I come upstairs, she isn’t in bed like I was hoping she’d be. Instead, I find her in the closet, putting away the rest of her clothes and organizing everything. I love having her here for good now. Things have developed quickly between us, but nothing has ever felt this right before.
Last month we went to Southern California to visit my parents and grandma, and they all flipped a lid the second they saw her. Everyone loved Harper immediately, and I’m not sure who doted on her the most.
They told her more than once how happy they are I finally found someone. That they’d been worried about me staying alone forever. Talk about having a dramatic family.
My brother approves of Harper, of course, happy I got such a “hot chick,” and he’s been coming around more often than before. He says he feels like he gained a big sister and that’s what he loves the most. However . . . he sends her loving gazes sometimes, so I keep my eye on him to make sure it doesn’t escalate.
But also, to make sure he’s doing all right. He’s been more quiet and withdrawn since he got arrested. He’s currently on his summer break and decided to spend some time with our family in Southern California. I really hope the change of scenery will help him.
Harper spins around and spots me leaning against the doorjamb. Her left hand shoots to her chest, her eyes wide. “Oh my goodness, you scared the crap out of me. You can’t sneak up on me like that. I mean it.”
