He moved then, three steps, close enough to touch, to hold. And it was the greatest moment of his life when she didn’t shrink from his touch, didn’t push his hands away as he gently cupped her shoulders.
But she didn’t let him interrupt. “You were the first person, the only person, to show me that I was holding him back. And when he started to fly free, I was so scared that he might not always need me. Because then what was I supposed to do with my own life?”
“Harper, I never meant to make you doubt yourself. You’ve only ever been good to him.”
She shook her head. “I have been good to him, but I’ve messed up, too. I know it’s not going to be easy to start letting him go, but he’s not a little boy anymore. And I want to show him that I trust him.” She inhaled a shaky breath as her eyes held his. “And I want to show you that I trust you, too. Because I do, Will. I swear I do. He’s blossomed in these last couple of months with you. Your love has made him stronger. So much stronger.”
He wanted so badly to take everything she was giving him, to believe that it was real. Just as much as he’d wanted to believe it when she’d whispered I love you to him in the dark. But he couldn’t deny the truth of who he was.
“I screwed up so badly. I should have known I would. I should never have gotten in your way, should never have forced myself into your life, and into Jeremy’s.”
“Listen to me.” She held his face in her hands. “My brother has learned how to do more for himself in the last few weeks than in the six years since my parents died. I did the best I could, but Jeremy needed you to see him as limitless. He got all the way to the museum on his own by following a handwritten map. And he had a great time. He never could have done that without you. Without everything you taught him.”
“Harper, it was all you. I was the one who didn’t prepare my employees properly. And he got lost.”
“Yes, he got lost. And I’m not going to lie and pretend I wasn’t terrified when we both know I was. But that’s also because I didn’t have faith that he’d know what to do. He did, though, Will. He found a cop. He got help. He helped himself. You gave him the strength to do that by believing in him.
“I love you, Will Franconi. I love you for seeing my brother’s worth when even I don’t always. I love you for loving me, too. And I love you for all you’ve done for your friends, for Susan and Bob...and for yourself. You were once a little boy who didn’t have anyone to take care of him, and now you’re a man who always takes care of everyone around you. You make us all better people just by being in our lives.”
She kissed him then. And he felt loved right down to his bones. This beautiful, intelligent, wonderful woman believed in him.
Could he dare—finally—to believe in himself?
“I never thought I could change my story,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “so when you came into our lives I thought all I would get to have with you were a few stolen moments of wildness. But now I see that you, Jeremy, and I have already rewritten our stories. And we’ve done it together. You’re a good man, Will. The best I’ve ever known.”
“Harper—”She put two fingers to his lips. “Tell me one thing. On the plane, before we found Jeremy, you wanted to fire them all, didn’t you? Benny, Ronnie, even your PI friend. You wanted to knock them all down.”
How could she know? But he already knew how. Because she knew everything right through to the heart of him. She always had, even before he’d confessed his past sins.
When he nodded, she smiled, and everything inside him stilled a moment as he basked in the headiness of that smile on her lips. It warmed every part of him, heart to soul.
“But you didn’t fire them,” she said softly.
“No.” He breathed deeply, drawing in the beauty of her essence, wondering how he could have lived so long without her. And praying that he’d never have to live without her again.
“You probably sent them a memo with a new plan on how to help Jeremy without limiting him.”
“I haven’t sent it yet.” But he’d worked out the details. Despite the crushing certainty ripping him into bite-size pieces that he would never see Harper—or Jeremy—again. “But I will. I’ll make sure he’s safe, Harper.”
She bumped his nose with hers. “I know you will. And don’t you see?”
He saw only her, the sweet center of her, so full of heart and goodness.
“Your Road Warrior of old would have smashed them all so that he didn’t have to feel guilty anymore. But you took responsibility. Then you figured out a way to fix it.” She dropped her voice to a note that vibrated inside him. “That’s what you’ve been doing for years without even giving yourself credit. You made the right choice. You always make the right choice.”
She truly believed in him. And Will suddenly felt lighter than he had…ever.
That’s what Harper did for him. This gorgeous, generous woman made him recognize that he had control over who he was. He didn’t have to be a Road Warrior. He didn’t even have to be his father’s son.
Once upon a time, he’d done a hell of a lot to change his life for the better. But he’d never taken the final step toward real happiness. Never believed he was worthy. Never thought he could write himself a happily ever after.
Not until Harper made him realize that he could believe in himself—and true love that would last forever—because she already did.