Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #1.5)(53)
“I didn’t steal Harper!”
He opened the door and took a step outside, his shaking hand gripping the outer knob. When he looked back at me, his eyes were flat and lifeless. “You stole my entire world.”
“Chase”—I turned to see Brad leaning against the wall—“you need to give him space. He’s right, you were the biggest dick to him while he was dating her. Now that you have her, you can’t act like the two of you can just go back to being the way you were. He needs time to get over what you guys did to him. You know he told Derek he planned to marry her?”
“No”—my eyes narrowed—“what’s your point, Brad?”
“His best friend and the girl he wanted to marry, stabbed him in the back. He has every right to try to ruin this for you, or at the very least to beat you into next week. And he’s stepped back . . . so let him step back. What you’re doing is just twisting the knife.”
I nodded and sighed heavily. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Well, you’re about to find out if your son is actually going to be a son. And you planned a weekend I know Sarah is seriously jealous of.” I snorted, and he clapped my shoulder. “So cheer the f*ck up. Because if Harper sees there’s something wrong, she’s going to want to know what it is. And you can’t tell her about this shit; she hates herself enough as it is.”
“I know.” No need to remind me that the woman carrying my child still loved someone else.
It didn’t take much for my mood to change again. Seeing Harper and being able to pull her into my arms always made everything right again. And knowing I was about to see our baby for the first time had everything else just slipping away. I met her doctor and talked with her about everything I’d missed so far and what to be expecting, and about took off running for the ultrasound room when it was time for that part of the appointment. Princess had just laughed and gripped my hand to keep me by her side, and I’d continued to cling to her when the doctor turned off the lights, and the ultrasound started.
And all I could think was holy shit.
The air had left my body in a rush when our baby appeared on the screen and a lump formed in my throat. My mouth opened, but nothing came out, and when the heartbeat filled the room, it took everything in me to not break down right there. This baby is ours. I turned to look at Harper and saw her eyes glistening through the dark in the room as we listened to our baby’s racing heart.
“I can’t even believe how perfect a position your baby is in right now! That is unreal.” The doctor laughed. “Now, did you want to find out the sex of the baby, or do you want it to be a surprise?”
“I already know.” My princess glanced back at the screen and smiled softly when I squeezed her hand and laughed.
“I told you, baby,” I whispered. “I told you it would be a boy.”
We both looked at Dr. Lowdry. “It is a boy, isn’t it?”
“Oh, he is definitely a boy.” She laughed again, and I watched as our baby boy moved around on the screen.
I looked back over at my beautiful girl and kissed her softly, keeping my lips brushing against hers as I told her, “I love you and our son so much, Harper.”
When I pulled back, I saw that her eyes were glistening, and a few tears had fallen down her face. Using my thumbs, I brushed the trail of wetness off her cheeks and was rewarded with a heart-stopping smile.
After the doctor handed us the ultrasound pictures, I continued to stare at our son as Harper and I left the building. I’d known for months that I was in love with the girl walking next to me, and I’d known that I would give anything to make her mine, forever. But I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with her all over again, or to have this instant love for our baby.
When we got to my truck, I grabbed around her waist and hauled her back to me, my mouth crashing down on hers. Harper laughed softly, and her arms went around my neck as I walked her slowly backwards ’til she was against my truck. Our kiss was slow and heated as I tried to show her how happy she was making me.
I broke the kiss on a huff and looked into her smiling gray eyes, “That was . . . that was absolutely amazing!” I laughed and kissed her hard once more.
Her hands found their way into my hair as she pulled back. “Having you there made it so special, all I could think about the last two times was how I wished you were there to experience it with me.” Harper’s eyes filled with pain when she whispered, “I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you.”
“No sorrys today. I love you, and we’re having a son.” Holy shit, we’re really having a son. I smiled and pushed some hair away from her face. “Today is only allowed to be an I love you day.” When she nodded, I opened the door and helped her into the truck before running around to the driver’s side and getting in.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as my Princess looked over the pictures with a wide smile. I only hoped the rest of today kept her smiling just as big.
We stopped for Mexican food, but thank God Harper was too distracted by the appointment to notice I could barely touch my lunch. My palms were sweating, and I was praying that the rest of the day wasn’t too much too soon for her. I hadn’t been lying to Sarah and Brad. I already had an idea in mind for a proposal to the only girl in the world that would ever matter; and it wasn’t going to happen that day. But everything I had planned for that day could definitely scare her just as bad as a proposal this soon would.