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Once the hussies slink off to trap their next prey, Sydney’s mood instantly brightens. “Can we take our selfie now? Those ladies won’t bother us again.”
I’m still trying to smother my amusement, but the effort is futile. Laughter bubbles out in a loud stream. “After that territorial performance, we can do whatever you want.”
Harper flings open the front door before I can slip the key into the deadbolt. “Welcome home!”
Sydney gasps before rushing at her. “O. M. G. Harpy! You’re at our house to greet us. This is the best surprise ever!”
My girlfriend—who will be upgraded to a more significant title soon—squats to accept her hug. “Where else would I be?”
Glitzy darts out to leap at them, never one to be excluded. Her beloved master gives her a scratch behind microscopic ears buried in fluff. The three of them paint a portrait meant to hang above the mantle. It’s a scene I’d stare at with gratitude every single night.
The fluff puff yips and barks before disappearing the way she came. With her gone, Sydney refocuses on the woman crouched beside her.
“Daddy said you’d be working until waaaaay after I went to bed and I wouldn’t get to see you again until morning. I was super sad. But you’re here. Yay!” Syd skips inside, twirling circles across the entryway.
Harper straightens and graces me with a shy grin. “Hey, JJ.”
I cinch an arm around her waist and yank until she’s flush against me. My mouth crashes onto hers in the next breath. The obsessive infatuation I’m forced to smother while we’re apart pours from me. Her fist clings to my shirt, hungry for more. When I pull away, her expression is dazed.
“Missed you,” I exhale against her lips.
She trembles in my hold. “Missed you too.”
My nose drifts along the bridge of hers. “What’s JJ stand for tonight?”
Her palm rests over the spot where my heart thumps a feverish rhythm. “Just Jake. The best version, and the one who claimed me again.”
“Good answer.” I kiss her cheek. “Why aren’t you at Roosters? I was going to come get you.”
“Garrett let me leave early. It was pretty slow. Ginger gave me a ride.”
“And you chose to be dropped off here?”
“I did.” She munches on her bottom lip. “Is that okay?”
My thumb tugs the abused flesh from between her teeth, soothing the bite with a gentle caress. “I always want you at our house. Consider it yours.”
“Not sure I’m quite there yet, but…”
“But?” I prod after her pause drags through miles of mud.
Harper stares at me from under heavy-lidded eyes. “Maybe soon.”
“Maybe will lead you right where I want you to go.”
A giddy squeal interrupts us. “What. Is. This?”
Harper’s features light up when Syd’s exclamation hits us. She pulls me down the hallway at a fast clip. “Come on. I’m shocked it took her this long to notice.”
We arrive at the living room to find my daughter frozen in front of a crooked structure that’s featured in every child’s dream. I stare at the draped blankets purposefully arranged in the center of the room. Love for this woman spreads over me like warm honey, sticking us together for eternity. A dry chuckle rasps from me. I’m fucking sappy in this gooey state.
My astonishment whirls on Harper. “You made this?”
She nods. “I did. Thought it might be fun to snuggle in for a movie night. Do you like it, superstar?”
Syd and Glitzy run laps around the fabric exterior. “Is this a palace ‘cause I’m a princess? I don’t have a castle of my own yet. Does it come with a crown or throne or fire-breathing dragon? But maybe that’s for the king and queen to figure out. Where do I sit?”
I can only laugh at her energetic ramblings. “Harper built you a fort.”
