Carter straddled Harry's waist and kissed him deeply. She'd woken up long before he had and she had an overwhelming craving for sex.

After a few moments, his lips moved against hers, tired but loving, and his hands lifted to her waist. Carter smiled into their kiss and he returned the gesture only to mumble a groggy, "Good morning."

The way that his voice dropped in pitch and contained a raspy undertone sent shivers down her spine. She'd woken up to him for months and it still affected her so dramatically.

His eyes opened slowly and met hers with such profound adoration that had Carter believing that time itself had stopped just for him to look at her that way. She was too absorbed with the way that he was looking at her to say anything, which only had him smiling even brighter.

"Have you suddenly changed your mind about sex?"

Carter snapped out of her daze, the heat rising in her cheeks as she shook her head, "No, I still want sex. I just love the way that you look at me and I got a little distracted. Have you always looked at me like that?"

Harry nodded and Carter stared at the dimples in his cheeks briefly before meeting his eyes again, "Yeah."

Carter didn't say anything else and leaned forward to kiss him again. His fingers tightened around her waist and she pulled away, "Don't, I want to be on top today."

Harry's grip loosened and he let her take control, well, except with their kisses because they both enjoyed it more when he was in control of those. Somewhere in between kisses, she'd taken her shirt off and pressed her body flat against his, her nipples poking at his chest and her hips gently rocking against his.

He liked being in control most of the time, but he loved it when Carter took the lead. It wasn't as often as it could have been, but it didn't matter to him much because he loved just being with her, even when she wasn't being feisty and in charge.

Needless to say, her morning wake up was a very welcomed surprise that he wasn't going to say no to.

Carter moaned softly when his hand left her waist, trailing down her stomach and slipping underneath the soft fabric of her underwear only to rub circles on her sensitive spot. In response, she snaked her hand between the band of his briefs, tugging on him agonizingly slowly.

A low groan passed his lips and she smirked as she pulled her hand away and pulled his brief downs swiftly. Carter traced her hands over his stomach, feeling how toned his muscles were and teasing him a bit longer because she knew that she had him frustrated already.

His teeth tugged on her bottom lip and she moaned into his mouth, one of her hands removing his from her underwear. She'd confused him long enough to detach their lips and lower herself so that she was  between his legs.

Carter looked up at him, smirking and batting her eyelashes before lowering her mouth and lightly sucking on his tip. Harry's hands gripped the sheets briefly before moving to her hair, holding it away from her face and tangling his fingers in it as she took more of him in.

One of her hands was splayed on his hip while the other massaged him and had him bucking his hips up in pleasure. It had been a long time since they'd actually touched on foreplay, but she certainly hadn't lost her touch.

She swirled her tongue and sucked a little harder, letting Harry move her at the pace that he wanted and humming every now and then just to make him feel even better. After a few minutes, she tapped his hip and he released his grip on her hair, breathing heavily and looking at her with concern.

"You...okay?"

Carter bit her lip and nodded, pushing herself up so that her hips lined up with his, her hand gripping his base and lining him up with her entrance as she lowered herself down and onto him. She sighed at the familiar feeling and Harry cursed under his breath, he hadn't been expecting that.

Slowly and precisely, she moved her hips against his, biting her lip and moaning softly, "You feel so good."

Harry laughed breathily, his hands finding her waist to support her and his fingers digging into her skin with the perfect amount of pressure, "So do you."

Carter decided that slow wasn't how she wanted it and placed her hands on his chest, stopping the motion of her hips only to switch to bouncing on him quickly.

Harry brought his hips up to meet hers and she definitely wasn't quiet anymore, his name falling from her lips followed by a string of curse words and high pitched noises. Her hands had moved to his shoulders, squeezing tightly as he pressed kisses all over her body and their hips collided over and over again.

She'd said his name one last time before he'd hit the spot and she'd reached her climax, a drawn out moan passing her lips as she clenched around him. Harry let her ride it out before flipping them over so that he was on top.

A few more sloppy thrusts and he was finally there, catching Carter's lips with his own as he followed through with his high.

Carter smiled as he pulled away, her chest rising and falling heavily, "Morning sex is definitely the best."

Harry nodded before removing himself and collapsing into the empty side of the bed. Immediately, he turned on his side and pulled Carter into him. She giggled as her hands flew to his chest, her lips connecting with his seconds later.

He smiled brightly as she pulled away, "You're so beautiful."

Carter blushed and leaned in to kiss him again, her lips lingering for a good moment, "And you're so handsome."

Harry laughed and laced their fingers together, "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

Carter beamed and shook her head, "Never."

Harry playfully rolled his eyes, he didn't really mind her calling him beautiful, he'd just been trying to make her laugh back in Paris, but handsome was more than welcomed.

"Are you having lunch with your mum today?"

She nodded and looked down at their linked hands, she loved his hands so much because they were perfect for hers. Even with all of his callouses, scars, and paint stains, his hands were beautiful and they met with hers like puzzle pieces, which made her ridiculously happy to think about.

"Yes, in about another hour or so. Thank you again, Harry." She couldn't tell him thank you enough because he had somehow managed to get through to her mother and bring her into their life without any drama.

Harry kissed her forehead, "I see why you were so excited now."

Carter laughed loudly and rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Hey, I never said that I didn't like it."

. . .

Carter was so nervous as she pushed open the door to the diner. She hadn't seen her mother in years and she had no clue how to act around her. Hell, she didn't even know what she looked like after all this time.

It was funny to her, in a way, because she was more nervous to meet her mother than she had been to face four judges every week on a television show.

The place was pretty full when she'd walked in, only a few scattered tables were open along with some seats at the bar. She'd noticed her mother immediately.

She was sitting in a booth at the center of the restaurant, her hands folded neatly in front of her and her eyes focused on her hands. She looked the same as she always had, but so very different at the same time.

Carter walked over timidly, her teeth sinking into her lower lip and her hands twisted behind her back. There were so many questions running through her mind. Would she remember her? What would she say about her tattoos? About her career? About Harry?

The booth was in front of her much quicker than she had expected and she cleared her throat awkwardly, "Mom?"

Rosemary looked up instantly, her features awash with nervousness and joy as she took notice of the woman before her. She noticed that her hair was shorter and the ink that marked her skin almost immediately, but she was still just as beautiful as she'd remembered her.

A shy smile rose to her lips, she was just as nervous as Carter was, "Hi, sweetheart."

Carter felt the tension fall away with the endearing term. Her mother wasn't the same person that she was years ago and she didn't hate her. She sat down across from her and placed her hands in her lap.

There was so much to talk about, but she didn't know where to start. Thankfully, her mother started for her, "I just want you to know that I'm sorry for how I treated you when you were younger. None of it was your fault and I'm so so sorry. I'm also sorry for ignoring you too, I just thought that it would be easier because of how I'd treated you."

Carter smiled softly, her hand reaching across the table and resting atop her mother's, "It's okay, mom. I forgive you."

Rosemary squeezed her hand and wiped at her eyes with her free hand. Carter retracted her hand after a few moments and found herself blurting, "You look better."

Rosemary nodded, "A little after you left, I forced myself into a rehab. It was terrible, but it worked."

Carter hummed in response, her smile intact. Things were so awkward between them, she didn't know what to say next because there was so much to say and everything was fighting for her attention.

"You're fiance's quite the charmer."

She felt the blush rise in her cheeks at the mention of Harry, "Yeah, he's good at that. Probably better than he should be, actually."

They each laughed and the awkwardness gradually faded away in moments. A waitress came over and took their orders, giving each of them some time to process their thoughts.

Rosemary spoke first, "Can I ask what happened with your three engagements?"

Carter swallowed nervously, it wasn't something that she was hoping to talk about again, but her mother was just trying to understand, which was reasonable because she'd told her three times that she was engaged, twice to the same man.

"It was actually four. I uh...I didn't tell you about the first one because it was a little after I'd left and I didn't think that you'd care."

She told her everything, from the first engagement, to when she met Harry, to when she fucked up royally and left him and eventually ended up with him again. Rosemary was a little shocked to hear some things, but she didn't judge her. She'd learned long ago that people make mistakes and Carter made mistakes just like everyone else.

They talked about her tattoos and about the competition, they talked about Rosemary's life and how she'd just started to get back into dating, and everything in between.

Eventually, after two milkshakes each and three baskets of fries, they'd ended up on the topic of Harry and her wedding.

"He's quite the looker. I'll admit, I didn't expect for him to be British and when he opened his mouth it shocked me a little."

Carter laughed and popped another fry in her mouth, "Me neither. He's actually quite annoying sometimes too. But, if he hadn't been so persistent, I wouldn't be with him now."

Rosemary smiled, she saw the way that her eyes lit up at the very mention of him and how her cheeks flushed and she was so happy that she'd found someone that loved her more than the stars. She knew without even having to ask because Carter had explained, in great detail, her three fiances.

"I'm glad that he was. You two are such a lovely couple, he showed me some pictures when he stopped by. I can't ever thank him enough for coming to talk to me like he did."

Carter beamed as she sipped at her milkshake, "Me either."