SLOW PLAY (7-Stud Club #4) - Christie Ridgway Page 0,74
realized that I didn’t do that.”
“You didn’t…”
“Six years ago, I didn’t ask you to stay. I should have. I was too afraid of my own feelings, though.”
A small child ran by, face painted like a zebra, its flailing arm knocking her off-balance. Mad’s hand shot out to steady her.
Harper sucked in a breath, pain radiating from her heart. “I would have stayed,” she confessed, putting her hand over her face. “I would have.”
“But you needed to go and I needed to let you.”
She dropped her hand and stared into his eyes. “I could have asked you to come with me. Or at least visit me.”
“And I would have.”
That didn’t make this new anguish abate. “We missed it, Mad. We missed out.”
“Then, we didn’t take the big risk. Because we were young, and unwilling to make such a huge commitment. That’s okay. I’m working on giving younger us a pass for that.”
“But now?”
“Now I’m not making that same cautious, yet stupid, choice again. Now, you’re mine.” His arms reached for her, pulled her close. “I’m in love with you, Harp. I need to get accustomed to me saying that. You need to get accustomed to hearing that.”
His kiss was hard, determined, thorough.
When they came up for air, she looked up at him, dazzled. “Is this really happening?”
“It is.”
“You broke the law for me,” she said, wonderingly.
“I’d do it again.”
“You’re mine,” she said, clutching his shoulders because the truth of that made her woozy once more. “Really mine.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “And globe-trotting Harper Hill is mine. We’ll make it work somehow if you want to leave—”
“I’m home now, Mad,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to go away again.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Then you’re my globe-trotter-turned-farm girl.”
She leaned into him, feeling like she had her own wings. “I still make a mean vodka martini, I’ll have you know.”
The crinkles at the corners of his smiling eyes deepened. “You’re all kinds of sophisticated.”
“I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough to stand here with our mothers looking on and give you the kind of kiss that promises…”
“What?”
“That promises forever, Mad.” She could have her very own revelations. “I don’t want you doubting for a second that this time it’s for always. Eternally.”
“I like the sound of that.” He tossed down the screws where they clattered against the license plates and reached into his pocket again. This time, resting on his palm was a small velvet box.
She reared back as he flipped it open to display a diamond ring that looked old-fashioned…and just perfect.
“Where did this come from?” she whispered, staring at it.
“I told you, I won big at poker night. It was either buy an engagement ring or pay the tab for a wild night at the Little Sweethearts XXX Club.”
Frowning, she looked up. “Your poker night is relatively low-stakes. Nobody loses more than a tank of gas which means nobody wins all that much either.”
“You got me.” He smiled. “It belonged to my great-grandmother. And now it belongs to you, if you’ll say yes.”
“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” This was happy, she thought, as his head lowered to kiss her again. This was the most happy any woman could ever be.
“I love you,” he said, his gaze boring into hers. “I love you, Harp.”
“I love you, too.” With her arms wrapping Mad’s waist, Harper glanced around. Those gathered by the apple cider station weren’t even pretending to hide their interest. “I think we’ve made a spectacle of ourselves.”
“Let’s improve on it,” he said, then swept her into yet another enthusiastic kiss.
“Swing me around,” she urged against his mouth. “This is a swing-me-around moment.”
When he set her on her feet again, they’d attracted the attention of everyone, from her mother to the kindergartener with frog face paint. Harper put her hand to her head. “As soon as this is settled back on my shoulders I need to make a citizen’s arrest.”
One of his eyebrows winged up. “Of me? For stealing your license plates?”
She smiled. “For stealing my heart.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I should have seen that coming.”
“I’ll point the way for you from now on,” Harper said, and realized that the last six years had given her the confidence to partner with this beautiful man, straight edges and hospital corners and all. “From now on, just follow my lead.”
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Thank you! I loved writing Mad and Harper’s story and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you missed any of the other books in the 7-Stud Club series, you