“You,” she pleaded, pulling him up by fistfuls of his hair. “I need you.”
He fished a condom from his wallet, stripped down his shorts, and sheathed his length. He crashed his mouth over hers as he lifted her into his arms and entered her in one hard thrust, and they both cried out. He pounded into her, and suddenly she stilled, her eyes wide.
“Listen,” she said frantically. They listened to the silence. “The fireworks are over? They’ll notice we’re missing. Wait, they haven’t done the grand finale.”
“Neither have we.”
He crushed his mouth to hers as the explosive sounds of fireworks rang out, giving her a finale she’d never forget.
Chapter Twenty
HARPER AND SERENA climbed onto stepstools, holding opposite ends of a shelf they were hanging above the windows in Gavin’s sunroom, which they were turning into an office. It had been a week and a half since their yachting adventure, and in the days since, Harper had been feverishly revising her script to turn it into a movie, discussing her ideas for live episodic theater with Jana and Tegan, and falling deeper in love with Gavin. Gavin had been equally busy putting the final touches on the boutique at Ocean Edge, working on the Wharf restaurant redesigns with Serena, and romancing Harper every chance he got. His thoughtfulness knew no bounds. Last weekend he’d set up a rolling typing stand and chair with an attached umbrella on the dock for her to write more comfortably by the water.
“Does this look straight?” Serena asked as Drake and Gavin came into the sunroom carrying the two sawhorses Gavin and Harper had painted white last weekend. They were going to be used as the base of a large worktable.
“If by straight you mean a straight angle, then yes.” Gavin set down the sawhorse, looking strikingly handsome in running shorts and a dark tank top. He and Drake had gone running with the guys before meeting Harper and Serena at the inn for breakfast with their friends.
Drake grabbed the level and set it on the shelf. “When in doubt, use the tools.”
“We want the room to look shabby chic.” Harper motioned with her chin toward the distressed wooden desk by the back windows. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Gavin chuckled as he and Drake hoisted the wooden tabletop and set it on the sawhorses. “I always use a level, babe. Lift the left side of the shelf a little.”
Serena lifted her side of the shelf, and after a few adjustments the shelf was up, and they climbed down from their stools. Harper admired the tables the guys were setting up along the walls, which would be perfect for her to spread out her papers when she was editing. They’d also bought a seafoam-green sofa, an ottoman, and two desks. Gavin had the best vision. With the sunlight streaming through the windows, the room was warm, inviting, and inspiring.
Gavin smacked her butt as he headed for the door and said, “Be right back, beautiful. Let’s go, Drake.”
She watched him leave the room. He glanced over his shoulder as if he could feel her eyes on him, then winked.
“Stop ogling your man,” Serena teased.
“If you insist.”
“I insist. I want to get this done so we have time to go to Common Grounds for dinner. Drake’s going to play his guitar for me at the open mic. I can’t wait to go all fangirl on him.”
Harper laughed. “You’re so cute.”
“Just wicked in love with my man. But you know the feeling. I see the way you get all dreamy-eyed over Gavin.”
Serena picked up the picture of the dock at sunset that Harper had taken. The rowboat was tied to the end of the dock, and the rolling typing stand sat a few feet away. In the distance, the sun cast golden rays across the treetops, spreading ribbons of oranges and yellows across the blue-gray evening sky.
“This is the perfect representation of you and Gavin,” Serena said. “Where do you want to hang it?”
She couldn’t agree more. It gave a sense of privacy, and it reminded Harper of their first date and made her think of how far they’d come. “I was thinking about the wall by the door.” She grabbed the hardware and a hammer.
As Harper hammered in the picture hanger, Serena said, “When you first met Gavin, did you ever think you’d be practically living with him a year later?”
“No, but you know I hoped I’d see him again. I told you about the whole number-in-the-zipper-pocket debacle.”
She hung the picture, and they both stepped back to look at it.
“Gavin told me about the LA offer falling through. Are you okay?”
She’d gotten the call two days ago. It had been a blow to her ego, but she knew she’d made the right decision. “Yes, I’m fine. They want the person who does the rewrites to be on set during production, and that’s the last place I want to be. My career aspirations have changed so much, it would have hindered moving forward in a new direction. I need all the time I can get to rework my script for Trey. Plus, I need to write something new for the theater. I know it’s a long shot, but if he options the script, I can’t use it for the theater. And I really need him to option it so I can use that capital to fund my new endeavor.”
“If anyone can do it, you can. You’ve always been driven, and you’ve got me and the girls to help with romantic comedy ideas. I’m so excited about what you’re doing. I think live episodes will be fun to watch. You said Tegan is all for it, right? Oh, by the way, the article you wrote about her uncle made me cry. It was really good, Harper.”
“Thank you. I was happy with it, and so were Tegan and Jock. As far as my new project goes, Tegan thinks she’s interested. But she’s only here through August, and then she’s going home until the spring. I think she’s a little overwhelmed at the moment and needs to process everything that has landed in her lap. She’s still grieving, too. We’ll see how it all shakes out. I hope it works, but if she decides not to host the shows at her amphitheater, there are other places I can do it. Jana’s talking with her contacts to see what types of research they have, if any. But to be honest, I feel like this is one of those know-it-in-my-gut projects that needs to happen.”
“Like mine and Gavin’s partnership,” Serena said as the guys carried in a desk.
“What about our partnership?” Gavin asked as he and Drake set the desk beside the other one, facing the back windows.
“We knew it was right, so we did it,” Serena answered.
Drake set down his end of the desk and said, “Like our marriage.”
“Exactly.” Serena put her arms around him and kissed him.
Gavin pulled Harper into his arms and said, “How’s this, babe?”
“I love it, almost as much as I love you.”
“I think my cheesy lines wore off on you.” He kissed her and said, “And I love that, almost as much as I love you.”
He and Drake chuckled as they left the room to get the sofa.
“With so many projects on your plate, I can’t believe you found time to shop with Gavin.” Serena waved to the furniture. “Can I just say, wow? I’m a little jealous of this space. I might just have to come here to work sometimes.”
“That sounds good to me,” Harper said. “There’s definitely enough space for two incredible designers. Oh, speaking of designing, I got approval to do an article about the grand opening of the boutique at Ocean Edge. Gavin said Mia was pleased with how it turned out.” The grand opening was next weekend, and they were attending it together.