OKAY...MAYBE HIS PLANwasn’t turning out quite how he had hoped. Instead of looking interested, Harper looked ready to run. He put up his hands. “Hear me out?” he begged. He had a reason for his proposal. He really did. He’d spent all his spare time working this out, but it wouldn’t matter if Harper refused to listen.
Harper stepped back, creating more distance where he had closed it. “Fine.” She shifted Layla.
Nope. This wouldn’t do. He took a big enough step to put them toe to toe. Harper gasped and looked up. “I need a nanny for Layla,” he said gruffly. He was fighting the urge to touch her. Being this close was the best kind of torture and he let the anticipation work inside him. Crew, Aspen, even Riley, had assured Mason that Harper still had feelings for him. He was hanging his whole future on the hope that it was true.
“A nanny,” Harper said flatly.
Mason nodded. “But there’s a problem.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I’m a little picky.” He reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trail along her jawline. He didn’t miss the goosebumps or the tiny shiver she tried to contain. His hopes rose. “I want Layla to spend time with someone who loves her.”
“Everyone loves her,” Harper said breathlessly.
Mason shook his head. “Not like you do. Only you would be willing to sacrifice your own wants for her own.”
Harper blinked rapidly and dropped his gaze.
Mason used his knuckle to pull her chin back up so she was forced to look at his sincerity. “I want someone who understands her. Someone who will play, tickle, laugh and love her the way she deserves to be loved. The way every child deserves to be loved.”
“Any nanny would eventually do that,” Harper said thickly. “It doesn’t have to be me.”
“I knew the moment you first stood in my kitchen feeding her mac and cheese that your relationship with her would be wonderful.”
Harper sniffled.
“And I knew the moment you insisted on helping me survive becoming an instant father that ours would be special as well.”
A flurry of emotions danced through her glassy eyes. “I... What do you mean? You don’t want a relationship with me.”
How he wished he could take those words back. They hurt as much now as they did then, and Mason was positive they were worse for Harper. “Crew!” he called over his shoulder. It was time to pull out the big guns.
“On it!” His brother emerged from the wild grasses and hurried over with a grin. “Heya, Harper! Nice to finally meet you in person.” He snatched Layla, who squealed in delight. “I’ll take her.” He winked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Mason rolled his eyes while Harper stood in stunned silence.
“I’m so lost.”
He nodded. “I know, and I’m working on that, but first, I needed a set of eyes on Layla besides ours.”
“Why?”
Okay...it was make it or break it time. “So I could do this without worrying about her.” Mason cupped Harper’s face and lowered his mouth to hers before he lost his nerve. Later he would be willing to swear in court that as soon as their lips met, the Earth stood still.
The broken parts of him that he was sure would never heal suddenly came alive and his chest nearly burst with the need for more. More kisses, more touching, more...Harper. His hands trailed down the soft skin of her neck and he flattened one palm against her back, pulling her into his chest. His other hand grasped her hip, anchoring her close.
He pressed forward, trying to be aware of any sign that she didn’t want this, but after her initial shock, Harper rose up on tiptoe and grasped his T-shirt in her hands, pulling him down as close as she could get him.
He flexed his fingers, trying not to let his hands wander, but the exposed skin on her arms, her neck and her face was oh, so tempting. Bringing his hands up to frame her face, he pulled his mouth away and began to pepper kisses across her cheeks, her eyes, her jaw...
“I love you,” he said hoarsely. “I’ve loved you since you showed me how to change a diaper.”
Harper laughed incredulously, the sound like manna from heaven. Mason hadn’t heard it in so long. “You...” She choked on her emotions. “You said you regretted our time together. You regretted me.”
Mason stopped his ministrations and rested his forehead against hers. “I lied,” he said bluntly.
“But why?” Tears began to leak down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know—”
Mason cut her off with another kiss. He pulled back just far enough to speak. “I was scared, Harper. I was already fighting my inner voice saying that it wouldn’t work between us. That I wouldn’t have enough time to build a relationship with you while trying to learn how to be a father.” He sighed and straightened. “Then came the pressure of the lawsuit. My mom is a formidable opponent and I was terrified she would succeed in taking Layla away.”
Harper leaned forward, her forehead hitting his sternum.
“And then Layla got hurt,” he whispered, bending down to kiss the top of her head. “I freaked out. It seemed like everything in my life was screaming that the little voice in the back of my head was right. Layla was hurt because I was distracted by you. I...” He swallowed. “I just wasn’t able to have you both.”
She lifted her head. “So you gave me up.”
Mason nodded. “But I know you. I know how selfless you are and how much you love to help others. I knew that any objection I had would simply be an opportunity for you to help even more than you already had.”
She shook her head, dropping her arms and stepping back.
It was like a slap to his face.
“So you hurt me.” The words were flat...hard...and filled with pain.
“I did.” He clenched his fists to keep from reaching for her. “I wish I could say it was just to protect Layla, but I’ve learned better.” He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “It was also a way of protecting me. I was so scared of losing you both that I sacrificed one to save the other.”
She didn’t respond.
“It was wrong,” he continued, desperate for her to understand. “I was wrong, and I’ll never be able to say sorry enough, but I’m learning.” He took a long, slow breath, praying for the right words. “I had several revelations during the trial with Layla and my parents. And I realized I need to change.” Her demeanor softened, so he kept going. “I don’t want to live in fear. I don’t want to control every aspect of my life. I don’t want to lose the things most precious to me.” He rested his hands gently at her waist to emphasize what he was talking about. “And I absolutely, under no circumstances, want to end up like my mother...or my father.”
Her body relaxed even further. “What do you want then?”
“This.” He took his time with this kiss. He might be eager to have a future with Harper, but he didn’t have to rush in convincing her. She deserved every moment he could give her. Long, drawn out, emotion-heavy moments where he showed her his heart just as much as he spoke it. “And this.” He tilted his head and took her mouth again at a different angle.
He loved it when her hands went behind his neck and played with his hair. It tempted him to never cut it again if she would simply keep her fingers moving through it.
They were both gasping for air when he finally pulled back. “It looks like you have those,” she said softly.
“Ah, but do I have this?” He tapped at the very top of her sternum. “Because your heart is what I want most of all.” He made a face. “Well...that and your forgiveness.”
Harper melted into his chest again and they simply held each other for several long moments. “I think we can work something out,” she finally whispered.
His heart leapt. “Do you mean it?”
She nodded, not moving from her spot. “I love you too, you know. I have from the moment I saw you playing with Layla even though you had no idea what to do with her.”
Gratitude unlike anything he’d ever known worked its way through Mason. He promised himself he wouldn’t take this moment for granted, or Harper for granted, ever again. “Then I guess there’s one more thing I want,” he said.
She looked up. “Oh? It sounds like you’re getting a little greedy.”
He grinned and let his finger skim along her skin as he memorized the lines of her face. “I really do want to hire you to help with Layla. I can’t do it alone, you need a job you can still paint with, and I want you in my life as absolutely much as possible from here on out.”
She snorted a laugh, then laughed some more. “I suppose we can talk about that one too, but I seem to remember that dating your boss isn’t considered good etiquette.”
“In this case, dating your boss is required.”
She slapped his chest and he chuckled. “I’ll think about it.”
He pressed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “That’s all I ask.”