“That’s not surprising. He lost her to cancer just eight years after they were married. Her ashes were spread over the gardens, and he stayed in the area to be closer to her. When I was leaving, Jock told me that Harvey has never talked about Adele to anyone. I felt funny about putting any of that in the article, but Jock said Harvey knows his days are numbered and that by telling me about Adele, it means Harvey trusts me to give his love for Adele a voice for the world to hear.”
“That’s tragically beautiful.”
“I know. My heart hurt during the whole interview, even when he made me laugh. Harvey said it was a good thing he’d fallen in love with Adele the very moment he’d met her, because after the accident she was in so much grief over the loss of her legs, she could barely stand being around herself.” Harper’s eyes teared up just as they had during the interview, and she blinked them dry. “He said it was during her recovery that he learned how important laughter was. From then on, he made it his goal to help Adele see the humor in life, and since losing her, he said he laughs to remember her. That’s why he opens the amphitheater only for children’s plays and why he hosts buffets afterward, so the children can be with their friends and run around. He and Adele never had children. He said he surrounds himself with the people who laugh the most.”
Jana rubbed her belly. “Kids.”
“Exactly. You should have seen him with Jock, and the way Harvey’s face brightened when he talked about his great-niece, Tegan, who he hopes will one day take over the property. Can you imagine facing all of that loss and coming out with an outlook like he has?” As she said it, she knew she would do the same thing if something were to happen to Gavin.
Jana nodded. “I can, actually.”
“Me too…”
Jana studied her face like she had at lunch. “You feel that way about Gavin, don’t you?”
Harper felt herself smiling.
“I knew it! It’s about time you fessed up. Did you really think you’d get away with telling me everything was fine or good when you took off after breakfast last weekend? When you ran off, I told everyone I’d never seen you like that. You’re glowing, Harper, and you’re not even pregnant.” Her eyes widened. “Are you?”
“No!” Harper laughed. “I’m happy, but I’m also a little…something. Confused? Hesitant? I don’t know.”
“Okay, let me help with that. It’s all good if you do it with someone you love. Ties are for wrists; ball gags are for—”
“Stop! I know all that.” Harper felt her cheeks burn.
“Oh, does my prim-and-proper sister have a naughty side?”
Yes. “No!”
“Poor Gavin,” Jana said with a pouty face.
“I’m naughty enough. Can you please focus for a second?”
When the Brewster Scoop came into view, Jana yelled, “Stop! Ice cream. I need it.”
“I can see focusing is even harder when you’re preggers.” She pulled into the parking lot.
“I will focus like a laser beam once I have some sugar.”
They got ice cream cones, and Jana suggested they walk down to Breakwater Beach, which was around the corner. “I promised myself I’d work off any extra calories I ate, and I’m eating a lot. I never stop. I swear I’m going to be eight hundred pounds after I have this baby.”
“And you’ll still be gorgeous,” Harper said as they walked past the Brewster General Store and turned down Breakwater Road, a residential street lined with pretty cottages.
“Hunter seems to think so.” Jana licked her ice cream and said, “So, give me the lowdown on you and Gavin.”
Harper sighed dreamily. “Remember how you and Hunter toyed with each other for a long time before you finally realized you both wanted the same thing?”
“You mean tortured, don’t you?” Jana said. “We were stubborn. Neither of us would admit what we really wanted. But you knew. You’re the one who told me to lay it all on the line and confront him.”
“Yeah. You were always crazy about him, but you got off on the whole oil and water thing that defined your relationship. Gavin and I are the opposite of you and Hunter. There are no games, no pretending or posturing. Or at least mostly.”
“Mostly? What does that mean? He better not be fucking with your head or—”
“Calm down.” Harper licked her ice cream. “I love that you’re so protective of me, but you don’t have to be with him. It’s not him. It’s me. He wants more togetherness, and I do too, Jana, more than you can imagine. We spent the whole weekend together, every single minute of it.”
“This sounds promising. In bed or out?”
“Both,” Harper admitted, and for the first time in her life she wanted to share something intimate, because being with Gavin was too good to hold in. “We made love a lot. Being with Gavin is heavenly. I never knew it could be like this, but he’s loving and sometimes demanding in a really wonderful way. He’s rough and sweet at once, and…” She snapped her mouth shut, realizing how much she’d revealed.
“About damn time I get to hear you say that. Harper, this is fantastic! I always worried you’d end up with some guy with a pocket protector or something.”
“Ohmygod, really?”
Jana laughed. “I don’t know. You were always so straitlaced.”
“That’s just it. I was. I just…It’s him, Jana. I think I’m like Harvey. He fell in love with his wife the first time he saw her. And the first time I saw Gavin, the first time I talked to him, I knew he was different. He’s amazing. But it’s not just that—we’re so alike. He’s a hard worker, but he doesn’t get lost in it, although he said he used to and that really messed with him.” She told Jana about Corinne and the pregnancy scare and how Gavin had become a workaholic, not finding his way back to his family and having a life until years later.
“It’s amazing he trusts women at all after that.”
“I know,” Harper said. “And because of what he’s gone through, he understands me and what I went through. He makes enjoying life, being with friends, and reaching out to his family more of a priority now. Oh, and you’ll love this. How many guys do you know who actually make their bed every morning?”
“Oh no. He does not.”
“He does!”
Jana bumped Harper with her shoulder. “You have definitely met your soul mate. Hunter and I are too busy messing ours up for either of us to ever bother making it.”
“I’m sure you are. You know why this weekend was so wonderful? We were just living our lives, and it was like we’d always been together. We went out and had fun, but we also spent hours working on our separate projects and helping each other with ideas. He’s incredibly supportive of my writing. And he doesn’t hold anything back. He tells me when it’s bad, which most people wouldn’t do, and I appreciate that.”
“You’re so weird about that. If my dancing weren’t up to par, Hunter better lie to me about it. I don’t want him to hurt my feelings.”
“Well, it stings to be criticized, but trust is all about honesty for me, and knowing he could be that honest? That’s like the best gift ever. Now that I have found my voice, and my writing doesn’t suck, he’s encouraging me to start submitting my work again. I didn’t tell you this, but after my show was canceled, I basically wrote off the idea of ever getting anything sold again. He’s inspiring me in so many ways, bringing parts of me to life that I never knew existed.”