Page 44

44

FORD

I give a pointed look to the guys, who immediately take the hint and wander inside the B&B under the guise of getting the drinks ready.

Allie wants to stay outside, but Connor hitches her over his shoulder, carrying her inside as she kicks and swears at him.

Harper watches with wide eyes, shaking her head.

“We always get what we want, hummingbird.” My fingers grasp her chin, turning her face to mine. “I was prepared to do anything to get you.”

Linking my fingers with hers, I pull her to her feet. “Let’s take a walk.” I adjust the blanket around her shoulders, ensuring she’s warm against the cool breeze.

“It’s a beautiful night. I want a moment alone with my soon-to-be bride.” I grin at her, holding her hand as I guide her where I want her.

She inhales deeply, tipping her face upward. “The stars are gorgeous.”

“Yes, they are.” My gaze never leaves her.

She lowers her chin, smiling. “You’re not even looking at the stars.”

I bring our joined hands to my lips, kissing her knuckles. “That’s because I’m looking at something far more beautiful and impressive.” I flash her a wide smile. “You.”

Her breath hitches, and her eyes shine with unshed tears, brighter than the stars above. “At your core, you’re such a romantic.”

I scoff. “That’s where you’re wrong. Only with you, Harper. No one else.”

She gives me a shaky smile, swiping at the tears sparkling on her cheeks. They match what’s in my pocket—the ring I’ve been dying to put on her finger all night.

“Ford.” She exhales, her voice unsteady. “You’re ruining my makeup.”

Oh, it’s about to get so much worse.

But I just smile, keeping my arm wrapped around her as we stroll to the dock by the lake.

The place where we’ll be saying our vows in too many days because it’s not tomorrow.

I’m ready to marry this woman.

I’ve been ready.

“So, you’ve been social media stalking me for the past decade, huh?” She peeks up beneath her long lashes.

I chuckle. “Baby, I can’t believe you never figured it out. I watched your accounts, picked female ones you interacted with, and then messaged you pretending they’d been hacked. I was behind every one of them, building you up.”

She laughs, shaking her head. Her eyes shine with love and happiness. “Now that I know, it seems obvious.”

“You are the strongest, most badass woman I know. Well, aside from Gram.” My lips curl in a smirk at her expression, half impressed, half horrified.

I get it.

Gram is a lot.

But we love her for it.

Just like I love Harper for everything she is.

“You’re perfect, baby. I love you for all you are and all you’re becoming.”

We reach the dock, and I pull her into my arms, overwhelmed by the love surging inside me.

I’ve had enough of us being apart.

I may have lied to myself for far too long, but no matter how I tried to fill the gnawing emptiness, I knew only one person could.

Harper.

My every damn thing .

“Everything I do is always going to be… what do you call it, abnormal?” I arch my brow.

She giggles, nodding.

“We are unconventional, Harper. And even though you pretended to hate the kidnapping and my other ‘unhinged behavior’…” I smirk, doing air quotes. “I knew you liked it. It sparks a fire in you. You come alive beneath my words, my touch, my behavior.”

I squeeze her hands before dropping to one knee, pulling the box from my pocket on the way down.

Her expression morphs from baffled to surprise to pure, unadulterated joy as I open the box, revealing the ring inside.

The one she lit up over when she saw it.

The one she tried to hide when I caught her looking at it on my laptop.

“You’ve always been mine, Harper. I’m not asking—you are marrying me. We’re going to spend the rest of our days fighting, making up, kissing like we’ll die without it, exploring your mask and primal kinks, and discovering new things together. Always together, Harper. Never apart.”

Tears stream down her cheeks as she glares at me—her smile wide.

Her voice is breathless when she says, “You unhinged bastard . We’re getting married in eight days, and now you’re proposing?—”

I remove the ring from the box, sliding it onto her finger. “I told you, you’re mine. I’m not asking, I’m telling you. We’re getting married, and I’m going to make you blissfully happy—and pissed off—for the rest of your life.”

I stand, and she collapses into me, a mess of giggles and tears, her small fists punching my shoulder before fisting my shirt and pulling me in for a kiss.

“I love you, you unhinged maniac.”

I lift her from the dock, spinning her beneath the stars.

The waves hit the wood, their sloshing a perfect soundtrack to this moment.

“Say it. Harper Brooks. Mrs. Ford Brooks .”

She wriggles in my arms. “Put me down before you hurt yourself, and I will.”

“Harper,” I warn. “You want to go swimming tonight?”

Her eyes widen. “N-No.”

“Then stop saying veiled comments about your weight. You’re perfect. When I tell you I love you and wouldn’t change a damn thing about you, I mean it.”

Her hands cup my face as she slams her lips to mine.

Breathless, eyes shining, she pulls back.

“I love you, Ford. And I can’t wait to be Mrs. Ford Brooks.”

“I love you, Harper?—”

A loud war cry interrupts us.

The deck shakes as Connor, clad in a priest robe , sprints toward us, dragging Allie along with Jake, Cole, and Daltyn in tow.

I burst into laughter. “What the hell are you wearing?”

Connor grins, tugging at the robe. “Son, I’m officially an ordained minister. If you want, I can marry you right now .” He pulls a Bible from his pocket.

“Noo!” Harper and Allie shriek in unison.

“I want the flowers and the arch!” Harper cries.

“I want to be maid of honor and see her in a white dress!” Allie smacks Connor with the Bible. “Stop your nonsense.”

Connor rubs his head. “Fine. But maybe we can use this costume for other fun things.” He wiggles his brows. “You have a priest kink, baby?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Allie groans.

“What’s wrong with my boy?” Gram appears behind him, beaming.

Harper and I rush to her, wrapping her in a hug.

“Oh, my. I’m the most popular one here,” she laughs, squeezing us tight. “It’s about time you two stopped fighting the inevitable.” She pinches my cheek, then Harper’s. “It was foolish to be apart for a decade. Now, you can spend the rest of your lives making up for it.”

I tighten my grip on Harper, and we share a long look.

Gram turns to Harper. “Trust me, honey, I married Ford’s grandpa when I was eighteen. We spent fifty-five years together in wedded bliss, and there was never a dull moment.”

Gram presses her hands against her heart. “I’ll always miss and love that man.”

Harper grins at me, eyes alight. “That’s gonna be us.”

My grin stretches. “That is us, hummingbird. Ford and Harper, forever.”

She hooks her pinkie around mine, just like we used to as kids. “I pinky promise you forever.”

“For infinity.”