Page 66 of Right Side of Paradise
Full Circle
“Come here for a second, baby.”
I tugged Harlow’s hand and led her into my office.
“What’s up?”
Curious eyes searched my face as I reached around her to flip the lock in place.
When she was trapped between me and the door, I gave her a tender smile. It was the first time we’d been alone all day, and I needed to know how it went with her mom this morning.
“What happened with your mom?”
Harlow seemed unfazed the whole time we were at the farmers market, but I knew that didn’t mean she wasn’t bothered.
“She apologized,” Harlow shared flatly.
“And?”
There had to be more with the way she was chewing her lip.
“She said she shouldn’t have said what she said but that she still doesn’t support what we’re doing. Not because you’re my ex-stepbrother. But because it’s four of us.”
I had a feeling. But it didn’t make it any easier to hear. I thought that talk at my granny’s house meant something to her, but instead it turned into two more months of silence. Until she texted Harlow out of the blue this week and said she wanted to apologize in person.
“What did you say?”
“I told her I was gonna keep letting y’all pass me around like a collection plate.”
Harlow’s nose wrinkled at my snort of laughter. “You tryna give that lady a heart attack.”
She shrugged. “She said it first, I was just embracing it.”
Damn.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around sweet Ms. Yvie reacting the way she had. But it just went to show that who people pretended to be on the surface, couldn’t hold up under pressure.
“I don’t want you to resent me, but I’m not willing to let you go either.”
“I’m grown, Rico.”
That fire in her eyes made my dick hard. Harlow was the most tender-hearted person I knew, and seeing her grow into her voice over the years was something special. She wasn’t placating other people because she feared saying the wrong thing.
She was who she was and wasn’t apologizing for it.
I was proud of her. Not just because she saw me as worthy of her love, but because she deserved this version of herself too.
A life walking on eggshells wasn’t a life worth living. I hated that it took this thing with her mom for her to get that message, but it led us here so I couldn’t really knock it.
“The only person I’d resent is myself for giving up all this just to help her sleep better at night.”
My lips grazed the column of her neck. “I’m so proud of you.”
She closed her eyes on an exhale when I kissed her temple, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“I always got you, baby. Whether that’s dick, money or someone to hold you through the night.”
If I had it, she could spend it. If I didn’t have it, I would figure out a way to get it so she could spend it.
I wanted to keep dating her. I wanted to travel the world with her, Soul and Christian.
We were too good together, I never wanted this thing between us to end. And it wouldn’t if I had it my way.
“Keep giving us forever and I’ll make it good for you, baby. I want you to wake up every day and know you deserve paradise.”
This living room was full of tulips. Christian added four dozen to the bouquet Mr. Tiny had already bought her, so we came back from the farmers market looking like we were headed to somebody’s funeral.
And now that they were crowding every surface in our living room, Christian looked proud of himself.
His arm was thrown over the back of the couch where Harlow was sitting and I couldn’t help but notice the difference this summer had made.
The last time we sat down for one of these meetings, it was me, Soul and Harlow on that couch while he sat alone on the love seat.
Today it was me and Soul on the loveseat and Harlow was tucked under his arm on the couch, her head on his chest as she traced lazy circles over his knee.
He wasn’t hiding from us anymore…
“Okay, Harley baby. Where’s your list?” Soul wanted to know, cutting into my thoughts.
She picked up her notebook and thumbed to the right page.
“We did everything.” A tinge of awe mixed with the triumph in her voice. “Most things more than once.”
She angled her head to one side to follow the trail of check marks she’d started making in the margin of the notebook.
“And the dates?” Christian followed up, eyeing the notebook.
Harlow flipped the page, causing me to raise a brow. I didn’t know she’d been tracking those too. I thought the pictures on the fridge were her only documentation.
“We’ve been on twice as many dates as things on the list.”
“Can I see?” Soul leaned forward and held out his hand.
When he had the notebook in his lap, I read over his shoulder.
Nature preserve.
Yoga at the aquarium.
Farmer’s market.
Jet skiing.
Parasailing.
Old school movie night.
Snorkeling.
Botanical gardens.
Escape room.
Drinks at Paradise.
Dinner at Salt.
Picnic at Chris’ empty condo.
Game night.
The list went on. And just like the items on her fuck-it list, things were checked off more than once.
Seeing the evidence of the time we spent together did something to me. The time passed so fast, but we’d always have these memories to show for it.
We really used this island like our playground, and I knew we weren’t letting up anytime soon.
Soul stood up and passed the notebook back to Harlow.
“You got any more lists you wanna create?” he asked teasingly.
Her expression warmed with the softness of her smile.
“I don’t need another list right now. I just want forever.”