Chapter 27

Harper sat curled up on the swing with Tank asleep behind her knees. Luke sat across from her with his feet up and his laptop resting on his knees as he worked on his backlog of work. It was the first time in a long time that she was completely relaxed. She shouldn't be, she had no job and no plan for her future so she should be freaking out, but she couldn't be bothered.

"What are you think about so hard?" Luke asked as he set his laptop aside and stretched. Harper couldn't help but admire the way his muscles rippled in his arms before he rested his hands behind his head.

Harper shrugged. "That right now I can't be bothered to care about much of anything."

"Enjoy it while it lasts because if I know you tomorrow will be a different story."

"Probably," she agreed reaching over and pulling on a snoring Tank's ear.

"Have you thought any more about your future?" Luke watched her hand as it stroked Tank.

"No, not really, but I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens I won't go back to construction. The moment I walked out of that office I felt the lightest I have felt in over ten years, despite my father and sister's betrayal."

"Your degree is in business, right?"

Harper nodded. "Yes, I thought that I would be taking over for your dad one day." She reached for her wine glass taking a sip of the ruby red liquid.

"Why don't you do something with that, start your own business?" Luke's attention was focused on her as she drank the wine, and Harper cleared her throat nervously.

"Like what?" Harper asked as she swirled the wine in her glass before inhaling the scent then taking another sip. It had been in the back of her mind that it was just the two of them and it would be all night.

"I don't think that I have ever seen a woman make drinking a glass of wine look so sexy before."

Harper glanced up at Luke, and he was staring at her mouth, his eyes a dark green. Blushing, she gave a nervous laugh. "That could be my business, teaching women how to drink wine," she joked.

"No, that might be a bit extreme, but something with the wine business might not be a bad idea," Luke agreed, getting back to the topic under discussion. "You know the wine business already, it's in your blood, and your name alone will help with making connections. This part of Georgia has a strong wine industry. Perhaps you could team up with your family, be a supplier for their wines?"

Harper's eyes grew wide at the idea. "My own winery, I could start one here?" She felt her heart swell with the rightness in the idea. "Do you think it's crazy?" Her hopeful eyes met Luke's.

"No, I think you should at least explore the idea."

Her excitement faded a little as she started to think of how daunting the idea really was. The amount of money alone was beyond her reach. She had minimal savings but nowhere near enough. "It wouldn't work."

"You know, you're really good at finding reasons why things won't work instead of reasons why they will." Luke threw his arms down to his sides in frustration.

"I'm a realist Luke, the money alone is beyond my reach. I don't have enough and there is no way that I could borrow that kind of money," she argued.

"There are such things as investors. I would invest, I'm sure Gran would, and your family, Aunt Rita, would probably go for the idea, especially if you decided to use their label. An American Sinclair wine, it would open up an entire new market."

Harper felt her excitement start to rise once more.

They were silent as Harper started to dream and make plans, and she was taken by surprise when Luke suddenly changed the topic.

"What about us Harper, your past excuses are no longer valid. Your out of the business so what happens between us can no longer affect Hightower, and as far as the families are concerned, your sister already created more damage than we ever could."

Luke's phone rang and he looked down at it, sighing. "Hey Gran," he greeted as he answered the call.

She couldn't hear what Gran was saying but she could hear Luke's end.

"What did you tell her?" Luke asked, his attention focused on Harper. She could feel his eyes on her as he watched her take another sip of her wine.

Harper jumped as Luke suddenly stood, handing her the phone. "Gran wants to talk to you."

Harper swung her bare feet to the ground and took the phone as Luke reached past her for Tank, who grunted at being disturbed.

"Hello Gran," she greeted as she watched Luke go into the house, giving her privacy.

"Hello Harper dear, how are you holding up?"

"Surprisingly well," Harper said, setting her glass of wine on the table and standing up, feeling the need to pace.

"I wanted to talk to you in Paris. I didn't understand why there was such a complete change in the both of you, but Luke said to leave it alone. He promised me he wouldn't give up on you, but that you didn't need any more pressure than you already had, that you needed time. "

"No, it just wasn't the right time," Harper explained weakly as she gave a silent sigh of relief that Luke had said he wouldn't give up on her.

"Rita sent me a long letter with a photo included. She said that it was a shock to her to learn that I was such a huge part of your and Henri's life. He had never mentioned to them that we remained friends after everything that happened." She took a deep shaky sigh, as if what she was about to say was going to be hard. "I gave up on Henri. I went home and fell into the same routine, being the good dutiful daughter, and without Henri there; I grew weak and I gave in because it was easier."

"If I give in it might ruin our friendship Gran," Harper said softly, getting to the heart of the matter. "I couldn't bear it if that happened. He's my best friend."

"I know sweetie, there has always been a strong connection between the two of you, even when you were fighting like cats and dogs. But Harper, have you ever thought that it might make your relationship stronger? If I had trusted Henri with my love, our connection might have been stronger, I might have been able to wait forever. Instead I held back, unsure of myself and of him, and while we did love each other, our relationship wasn't strong enough because of my doubt and insecurities."

"So, your saying that if I make love to Luke our relationship will be stronger?" Harper asked, unsure of the point she was trying to make.

"I know that times are different from what they were when I was younger, and that having sex with someone outside of marriage is an acceptable practice, but no, that's not what I'm trying to say. Like you with Luke, I was unsure of Henri's love, he said he loved me but I doubted it because we hadn't known each other long. When we were separated I started to believe in that doubt all over again, I believed that he had forgotten me."

"I've known Luke for years Gran, and I don't doubt that he loves me,"

"But you doubt that he's in love with you, yes?"

"Yes." She couldn't deny it.

"Why, do you doubt it, he shows you in so many little ways. He buys you your favorite drink almost every morning because you're the first thing he thinks about, he took in a dog he doesn't particularly like because he wanted to make you happy, and he told me about what happened with George, and how terrified he was when he saw you being attacked. The questions is, do you love him, are you in love with him?"

Harper thought about the way he had looked at her in her office all of those weeks ago when she first realized he wanted to kiss her, the way she looked forward to seeing him every morning and if he didn't show up her entire day was thrown off, how she had only wanted him near her when she had been attacked, how it felt when he held her and kissed her. "Yes Gran, I'm in love with him, and I'm afraid I can't live without him." She felt tears prick the back of her eyes at the thought of it

"Then don't, you have known each other for over twenty-six years, you know the good and the bad, there will be no surprises, you and Luke know each other better than anyone else, do it for you and him, and despite everyone else's opinion on the matter.

They talked for a few more minutes, and Gran gave her a pep talk before she ended the call. Harper took a deep breath as she thought about what she had told Gran. She was in love with Luke and had been since she had covered for him that time he had made her walk home in the rain when they were kids. It was why she always had and always would cover for him. Harper thought about all of the little things that he did for her all of the time, she suddenly remembered the way he had called her sweetheart when she had gotten sprayed by the skunk, and how she had felt safe as he had led her away from the site, she never worried that he wouldn't take care of her. He always did. But his house, why had she never been invited here until that day, if he loved her wouldn't he want her to be a part of it? It was such a minor thing but it still bothered her.

Harper walked into the house and found Luke in the kitchen cleaning-up.

"Did you and Gran have a good talk?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Yes," she said absentmindedly, and Luke stopped what he was doing and looked over at her.

"Harper?"

"Luke, why was I never invited here, to your house until that day that I got sprayed by the skunk? Everyone else in the family had been here, even Mindy, but I was never invited, why?" Harper hadn't realized how stung she had been by that fact until she spoke the words aloud.

"Because," he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms defensively, "this is the one place that you weren't, it was my Harper free zone, there were no memories here to haunt me, no lingering smell or sound that reminded me of you. Sometimes, when I had had enough of caring and not being cared for I would come home and it would be a neutral zone for me to unwind and regroup."

"And now?"

"And now you're here," he shrugged and looked around.

Harper could take it no longer, she was tired of playing it safe, if this amazing man loved her then who was she to deny it. Why he still did love her after all of this time was a mystery to her, but maybe it was one she could figure out given time?

She walked towards him and took his face in her hands. "Luke, I love you, I am in love with you, and I am so sorry that it took me so long to figure it out." She went up on her tip-toes and kissed him for all she was worth. He held out for a moment before he gave a little groan and reached for her, pulling her close.

"Harper, this isn't the right time. You've been-"

"This is the perfect time. I've been stupid, we're alone, just the two of us, it's the perfect time," she said before she kissed him again.

"You're sure?" he asked, looking down at her once more.

"I don't think that I have been more sure of anything else in my life Luke."

That was all it took as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to his bed.

If there was any doubt about his loving her, it was quickly chased away as he showed her just how much he did.

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