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“Yes, plus, with it being so late, I’ll be fine until lunch,” she replies before finishing off the toast.
My cell rings, and I fish it out of my pants. “This is Nathan,” I state, answering the call. “We’ll be right down,” I tell our driver.
“Car is here,” I relay to Harper. We both grab our overnight bags, and head for the elevator.
The drive down the coast is just beautiful. It only takes about ninety minutes to reach the beach house I rented. Our driver drops us off, and after dumping our bags inside the house, we head down the beach in search of one of the seaside restaurants to grab some lunch.
We find a little place and get seated at one of the outdoor tables they have. From the looks of the place, they have way more outdoor tables than indoor, and I’m sure that is because when people are here, they want to be outside enjoying the beauty of the beach. The waitress takes our order, then disappears.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask Harper, snagging her hand to hold in mine. With our time quickly coming to an end for this trip, I crave to touch her anytime I can.
“How I don’t want Sunday to come. How will I ever return home and go back to my regular life and schedule. How will I ever get another good night’s sleep without you holding me all night, without kissing me goodnight, or rolling over to your hard body knowing that when I need you, you’re right there just as desperate for me as I am for you.”
“I don’t want it to come, either. But we’ll figure it out. I won’t lie to you; I hope we can figure out a way for you to move here. I want you with me always, but at the end of the day, I need to be here. I know that’s not completely fair to you, but it is what it is. I can more than take care of you and give you everything you’d ever need here. If you want to open a bakery here, I’ll make it happen, you just say the words. If you want to never work another day in your life, that’s fine with me, as well. As long as I have you by my side, I’ll be the happiest man alive.”
“I don’t want another bakery. I’ve sort of enjoyed not having to wake up before the sun does this week, but I also don’t know if I could switch to not working. I’d go insane with so much free time.”
“You’d be surprised how easily you can find things to fill your time. I swear, Candace has always got things going on. Leo never knows where she’ll be one day to the next.”
“Maybe, but I don’t know if that lifestyle is for me,” she states. “Candace was so nice when we got together this week, I could really see her becoming a good friend, but I also don’t see myself getting involved in everything she does.”
“And no one says you have to,” I state as our server returns, setting down our plates. “Just think about it, will you?”
“I’ll think about it. But isn’t it also kind of fast? We’ve only been together for a few weeks, Nathan.”
“Harper,” I state, making sure I have her full attention. I shift my seat so I can face her better. I grab both of her hands, holding them in mine. “I’d ask you to marry me today and take you straight to the justice of the peace if I thought you’d say yes. I love you with all of my being. I want you, mind, body, soul. I want your good moments and bad ones, the grouchy PMS ones, as well. I want it all with you. We’ve known each other for all of our lives. I let way too much time pass, I’m not about to let any more pass by without taking my shot and putting it all out on the line this time.”
I can tell I’ve shocked her by my admission. So, I let it all set in as I dig in to my lunch.
“I love you, too, and if I’m really honest with myself and you, I want all of that, too. I just need some time to adjust to that, okay? Can you give me a little time?” she asks.
I can’t help the smile that fills my face. Knowing that she loves me as much as I love her, and that in the end, she wants everything that I do, I’ll give her all the time in the world to catch up. “Of course,” I tell her before leaning over and stealing a kiss. “I can’t promise I won’t ask you multiple times a day when I can move you out here, but I’ll do my best to behave,” I state, then press one more kiss to her lips before I pull back so we can get back to our food.
With lunch done, we leisurely walk down the beach, hand-in-hand, the sand under our feet as we just enjoy the fresh air and time alone together.
* * *
“Ready to go?”I ask Harper. She’s checked the apartment twice for anything of hers she might have forgotten to pack. I’m sure she’s stalling, not wanting to go as much as I don’t want her to go.
“I guess so,” she says, the sadness evident in her words.
“Come here, babe,” I say, standing with my arms wide open. She quickly comes to me, hugging me tightly. I kiss the top of her head and an idea strikes me at that moment. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.” I step away from her, heading straight for my bedroom. I dump the overnight bag out that I took to the beach, then grab a couple days’ worth of clothes and fill it back up.
“What are you doing?” she asks when I walk out of the room with my bag in hand.
“I’m coming with you. No reason for the jet to fly back empty. I’ll have the return flight changed to late Monday night or Tuesday morning,” I tell her. I slip my cell out of my pocket, shooting off a text to both Leo and Rose, letting them know of my change in plans.
“Just like that?” she asks, a little shocked.
“Just like that,” I confirm. “Perks of being the CEO of your own company.”
“Wow,” she says, but the smile that has replaced the sad face is well worth the spur of the moment decision.
We make our way down to the waiting town car, which quickly takes us to the private aircraft check-in.
“Welcome back,” Taylor greets us. “Mr. Bailey, I hear that you’ll be joining us now.”
“Yeah, wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye,” I tell her honestly.
