She was glad to see she probably wasn’t alone in waiting for the right man to come along. But even if she was, being alone on the journey that had led her to Gavin was worth every vanilla second, because Gavin was like the biggest, best mixed-flavored sundae with all the toppings.
Chapter Eleven
“IT’S ABOUT TIME I got a hug from you,” Brock said as he crushed Harper in his arms Saturday morning. At six foot four, he towered over Harper. “I’ve missed you, sis.”
“I missed you all so much,” Harper said, hugging Brock’s girlfriend, Cree Redmond.
At first glance Cree looked like the complete opposite of Harper’s clean-cut, rule-following brother, with her raven hair, head-to-toe black attire, colorful tattoos, and military-style boots. Cree was a tattoo artist and an incredible singer, as was Brock. In addition to being a champion boxer and owning a boxing club, Brock also sang in an a capella group with two of his friends. According to Brock, who had told Harper all about Cree while she was in LA, Cree’s sunny disposition and her love of singing were just two things they had in common, as evident by the adoration in Brock’s eyes.
Harper was passed from Jana’s embrace to Hunter’s, and finally, to Colton’s, before they settled in around a table at PB Boulangerie, a French bakery and bistro.
“Harper, can you believe Mr. Picky has finally handed over his heart?” Jana looked gorgeous in a pretty colorful sundress and strappy leather sandals, an outfit similar to the one Harper was wearing. Her gaze moved between Brock and Cree.
“There’s nothing wrong with picky,” Cree said.
Brock put his arm around her, pulling her into a kiss. He was a tough, serious guy, and it was nice to see this softer side of him.
“It only took you a few years of lusting after Cree to finally make your move.” Hunter put his arm around Jana and said, “I should have given you lessons in instant gratification.”
Hunter and Jana’s relationship had started with hookups, until they’d realized they were only hooking up with each other. It had taken Jana a while to admit she was in love with him, while Hunter was quicker to the admission. Harper had been floored when Jana and Hunter finally admitted to being a couple. She’d never imagined her rebellious younger sister would settle down before her. But she was happy for them then and even more so now that their relationship had stood the test of time.
“Brock and Harper were cut from different fabric than me and Jana were,” Colton teased. It was a running joke in their family. Brock and Harper were the careful ones, while there was very little Colton and Jana were afraid of.
Harper looked at Colton with his bleached-blond hair and blue tattoos on his arm, and she wondered if he’d ever end up with just one special guy, or if he’d always play the field.
“In my defense,” Brock said, “I thought Cree was taken, and I’m not an asshole.”
“The good thing about how long it took us to finally come together is that by the time we did, we knew we were it for each other.” Cree put her hand on Brock’s leg and said, “I think our timing was perfect.”
Brock leaned in for another kiss, and Harper’s heart squeezed. As excited as she was to be with her family, she missed Gavin. They’d texted last night until she could no longer keep her eyes open, only to have him appear in her dreams. Her naughtily scrumptious dreams.
“I sent you the video of Brock and Cree singing together the night they fell in love onstage, didn’t I, Harper?” Jana asked, pulling Harper from her thoughts. She had taken the video during an open-mic night at Colton’s bar, Undercover, when Brock had dragged Cree onstage for the very first time. Cree’s voice was raspy and eclectic, like a mix of Janis Joplin and Grace VanderWaal.
“Yes, and I loved it.” Harper paused as the waitress approached.
After the waitress took their orders and left to fill them, Harper said, “I wish I could have been there.”
“We have customers asking for Cree all the time.” Colton took a drink of water and said, “But she’s on her way to being a huge star.”
“Hardly,” Cree said shyly.
Brock squeezed Cree’s shoulder and said, “She’s being modest. Drake hooked us up with Boone Stryker, who passed along a demo of Cree’s songs to his agent. His agent is working his magic to get her a music deal.” Boone was a major rock star whom Serena had arranged to have perform at the grand opening of one of Drake’s music stores.
“Are you kidding? That’s awesome!” Harper gushed. She thought Cree’s news might bring a pang of jealousy, since her big chance at stardom had fallen through the cracks. But she was in too good a place with Gavin and her writing to feel anything but joy for her. Gavin had been right to push her toward using her experiences for inspiration. Her writing was stronger than it had ever been.
“Don’t get too excited yet. It might not happen,” Cree said. “But your brother convinced me to put some of my music up online, and people seem to like it.”
Jana rolled her eyes. “Seem to like it is an understatement. She has thirty thousand followers on Instagram, most of which were added after she started publicizing her music.”
“And she’s had a few hundred thousand downloads of her music,” Brock bragged. “I’m so proud of her.”
Cree curled into Brock’s side and kissed his chin. “I owe it all to you.”
“We don’t owe. We help each other shine.” Brock touched his lips to hers.
Harper wished Gavin were there to share in the excitement.
“Damn, bro,” Colton said. “You’re so mushy right now, we’re going to need a mop to get you off the floor.”
Brock grinned and said, “Well, get the mop ready, because you’ll need it over the holidays.” He lifted Cree’s left hand from his leg, revealing a sparkling diamond ring on her finger. “We’re getting married!”
Jana and Harper squealed and jumped up to hug them.
“Congratulations!” Harper said as she hugged Brock.
“I want to be a bridesmaid!” Jana exclaimed, hugging Cree.
“Definitely. I need help planning the wedding, though,” Cree said as Harper hugged her and Jana hugged Brock.
Hunter lifted his glass and said, “Congratulations. To another happy marriage.”
The waitress brought their food. Harper was anxious to tell everyone about Gavin, but she didn’t want to overshadow Brock and Cree’s excitement as they talked about their wedding plans.
“We’re thinking about having the wedding at Bayside Resort or maybe Summer House Inn,” Cree said. “We want to invite all our friends from the Seaside community, too.”
“That’s going to be a big wedding,” Hunter said. His brother and his wife owned a cottage at Seaside, as did many of their friends.
“I know, but how can we not invite all of our closest friends?” Cree said.
“You definitely have to invite everyone from Seaside. If it wasn’t for them, you never would have met Brock. They were instrumental in bringing me and Hunter together, too,” Jana said, happily eyeing Hunter. “It looks like there will be two reasons to celebrate over the holidays. We’re pregnant! I’m due the week before Christmas!”