MASON NODDED AND SMILEDas congratulations flew at him like golf balls on the green, but not once did he let go of Harper. He couldn’t. Finally, finally, she was his. Not just for the evening, not for a few minutes during naptime...but forever. As soon as they were married, he wouldn’t have to say goodnight anymore or swap off babysitting duties. They’d all live together and all their moments would be shared.
He rested his head against the top of hers. “Thank you,” he whispered when there was a break in the friend line.
“For what?” she asked, tightening her hold around his chest.
“For being my angel,” he began. “For loving me.” He pulled back so he could look her in the eye. “For agreeing to be part of our family.” He kissed her, slowly and tenderly. “For loving Layla and not letting my short sightedness stop this moment from happening.”
Harper smiled up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. “Thank you for coming for me,” she whispered. “Thank you for opening my eyes to something more important than working myself into an early grave.” She patted his chest. “And thank you for each and every moment that led up to this one. I’ll always treasure them.”
“Even the bad ones?” he teased.
“Even the bad ones,” she confirmed. “Those are the ones in particular that make this moment so sweet.”
“Here she is!” Ethan called out, bringing Layla into their little chat. “Here you go, Mommy.”
Harper laughed and pulled Layla onto her hip.
“Okay, look this way!” Jayden called. He pushed a few people out of the way until the space was cleared. Then pulled up his camera. “Smile! You too, Princess.”
Ethan made faces behind Jayden while his finger flew, snapping pictures from all angles.
Mason felt as if his chest would burst. Who would have thought that he would be standing here, taking pictures with his family of all things? The man who had spent years trying to hunt down his sister, whose biological family was breaking apart at the seams, now had a new one. One built on love and respect.
He was grateful Jayden had the foresight to bring his camera because Mason knew he wanted to remember this moment forever. Being an instant father wasn’t the plan he’d had in mind, but in the end, he wouldn’t trade a bit of it. Layla had opened his eyes and Harper had opened his heart. He couldn’t imagine a better gift.
“Alrighty,” Harper said, bouncing a whimpering Layla. “I think she’s had enough.”
Mason nodded. “Sounds good.” Putting his hand on her lower back, they began walking to the front door, saying their goodbyes along the way. The night air was cool when they managed to get outside and Harper shivered.
“Ooh, I’m so ready for summer.”
“It wasn’t long ago you said you were ready for spring.” He took Layla and buckled her into her car seat.
“Heat,” Harper demanded. “I just want heat, okay?”
“Heard you loud and clear, ma’am,” Mason declared. He finished with Layla, then shut the car door. But before reaching for Harper’s to let her in, he caged her up against the car. “I have a great way of warming you up,” he whispered a hair’s breadth from her lips.
“I’ll just bet you do,” Harper whispered back. Instead of waiting for him to come to her, she leaned in the fraction of an inch and took control.
Mason let her have her way for all of three seconds before he wrapped his arms around her and took over. He planned to spend every moment showing her just how much she meant to him...starting right now.
“We need to put Layla to bed,” Harper said, pulling back. She traced his lips, sending a sharp shot of electricity down his chest. “Can we continue this on the couch?”
“Your wish is my command.” Mason got her settled, then walked around to the driver’s seat. He didn’t even try to stop the too-wide smile on his face. He knew life would be difficult at times. They would have to deal with Layla’s hearing loss, their relationships with their parents would have to be handled and sometimes life simply had a way of kicking people in the teeth, but right now, right here...everything was perfect. This moment was perfect and Mason planned to have many more moments just like this before his time with Harper was over.
She’d been right. Everything, all the good and the bad, had led up to this evening being what it was. He had been through purgatory and now he was reaping a reward...and it was far sweeter than he could have ever hoped for.