He furrowed his brow and leaned away slightly, “Blaze, I can’t – I hate not having you there. I get that we’re never going to happen. I know it took me probably too long for your liking to understand that, but I know now. I still want you around, or for me to be around I guess. Brandon, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want that though. I know I acted pretty shitty before, but I would never try anything now that you’re married. I’m not that much of a douche.”

Bree and Konrad walked in with wide eyes when they saw Carter with us. “Uh, we have the food?” Bree said it like a question and mouthed What the hell? from behind Carter’s back

I shook my head at her and looked back at Brandon as he spoke again, “If you want, we’re having some friends over for a barbecue next Saturday, you and your friends are more than welcome. Harper can text you our address.”

My eyes widened.

Um, what?

Carter took that as his cue to leave and stood from the chair, “That’d be great, thanks man.” He shook Brandon’s hand and brushed his knuckles against Liam’s arm. “Thanks for this Blaze.” He hugged me tightly for a second and backed away, probably trying not to push his luck further. “Guess I’ll see you next weekend?”

“Yeah, see you then.”

With another awkward glance at everyone in the room, and a nod in the direction of Konrad, he walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

“Um, what just happened?” Bree asked as she handed out the sandwiches.

“We talked it out.” I put my sandwich on the desk and grabbed Liam so Brandon could eat, “Brandon, why’d you invite them over? You really didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged and took a big bite, speaking around his food, “People mess up and make mistakes all the time. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?”

It felt like someone punched me in the stomach. How was I any better than Carter? I’d slept with my boyfriend’s friend and gotten pregnant. I’m practically the queen of getting second chances, especially from Brandon.

“Hey,” he leaned over to whisper in my ear, “I didn’t mean anything by that. I love you.”

I nodded, “Love you too.” I smiled when he pressed his full lips to my neck.

“So you guys are just back to being okay again?” Bree started searching for an explanation.

“Not at all, we’re going to try though. He said he’d stop pursuing me or whatever now that he knows Brandon and I are married. So maybe eventually we will. I guess we’ll see how everything goes next weekend.”

“That’s weird, do you not re–”

“So what wedding stuff are you girls doing today?” Konrad cut her off with a wink in my direction.

Bree’s face lit up and she went into a detailed checklist of all we were going to get done. Or rather, what we’d already gotten done.

“Harper, if you don’t want him to come over, he doesn’t have to. I was just trying to help.” Brandon said softly so we wouldn’t interrupt Bree.

“No, I think it’ll be good. Like I said, we’ll see how it goes. If it doesn’t seem like he’s changed at all, then we don’t have to see him again.”

“Right. And if he pisses me off again, I now have his address from the membership card.” He smiled wickedly, “What time will you be home today?”

I caught Bree smiling at me from the corner of my eye, “I’m not sure, late this afternoon, you’ll probably make it home before I do, do you need me to pick something up or do something for you?”

“My mom offered to watch Liam for the night, she said she has enough things at her place that you wouldn’t need to get a bag for him. You can drop him off on your way home.”

“Hmm…date night? We haven’t had one of those in a few weeks.”

He leaned in close enough that his lips brushed against my ear, causing goose bumps to cover my body, “And it’s long overdue.”

Oh I definitely agree. “Well then, I’ll get home as soon as I can.”

“That’s my girl.” He picked Liam up and handed me my sandwich.

Bree and I winked at each other, oh if Brandon only knew. Carrie, Bree and I had already planned out this day, including the date night. Only Bree knew what was really going on, but Carrie had been the one to suggest acting like it was her idea. The only reason Carrie had enough things at her house was because we had Liam’s bag already packed and ready for the night. We finished our food, and hung out with the guys for another few minutes before finally taking off. I’m not sure who was more anxious to leave, me or Breanna. But thankfully the guys picked up on our bouncing legs and shifting eyes towards the clock and practically pushed us out of the gym after hugs, kisses and a couple quick introductions to some of the regulars.

***

“Harper, are you already home?”

My stomach erupted into a million butterflies when I heard his husky voice down the hall. I couldn’t believe I was so nervous right now. Well not nervous, just really giddy. Okay, maybe a little nervous. I checked my outfit, or lack thereof, to make sure I looked okay. I was wearing black lace underwear and a blue silk spaghetti strap that I knew he loved. Fluffing my long hair that I’d loosely curled the bottoms of, I stood up straight at the end of the bed and waited. My palms started sweating and I was biting the crap out of my bottom lip when he walked in the bedroom door.