Page 110 of Accidental Groom
But halfway through opening gifts and feeling like I want to jump off a cliff from all of the attention, the door opens at the other end of the hall.
I blink rapidly to make sure I’m not seeing things.
Harry. In a black turtleneck with his sleeves pushed up his forearms, pressed slacks, and boots. His eyes lock on mine like no one else is in the room — which is absolutely a problem,because there areonlywomen in the room, and men were not invited.
I open my mouth. “I?—”
“Harry,” Grace hisses, pushing to her feet.
“No, no, it’s fine,” I say, rising as he makes his way across the room. There are rules to this, apparently, and a tradition that goes along with it — but he doesn’t care. And maybe I don’t either.
He walks straight up to me like it’s the most natural thing in the world, cups my cheek, and kisses me in front ofeveryone.
My cheeks heat far too quickly.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” I murmur against his mouth.
“I know,” he grins. “But I got you a gift and I wanted to give it to you myself.”
“Oh, god. You’re not here to be nice, you’re here to make me emotional in front of everyone.”
He laughs, then kisses my cheek, mumbles a quick, “Maybe,” into my ear. He presses a small white envelope into my hand before taking a step back, but not far enough for me to feel the weight of the eyes around me — it’s still mostly him in my vision.
I open it slowly, pulling the slip of paper out.
It’s a deed. A preservation agreement. I read it once, then again, and again, until the words start to blur and my cheeks feel cold from tear tracks..
My knees buckle just enough to make me startle. His arm bands around my waist faster than I can react. “Hey, hey, let’s stay standing, darling.”
“Harry,” I croak.
It’s the eighty acres. The land Sarah and I used to hike as teenagers, the land I mentioned in passing months ago, had said that Sarah told me it had been sold off to be turned into developments. But now it’s his. No,mine— it’s entirely in myname. “I had Matthew work with the buyers,” he says softly. “Pushed through a private deal. It’s protected now. Forever. No developments, no shopping centers. It’ll be added to the Highcourt land, the preservation, if you want it to be.”
I cover my mouth to keep from outwardly sobbing.
“And I might be having a cabin built on it,” he adds, leaning back just enough to grin down at me. “Just one. Off the main trail. For us, to take her whenever we want. I know she’ll have a ton of wilderness here, but it’ll be nice to change the scenery once in a while somewhere smaller.”
I stare up at him, stunned, my hands trembling. “You… you did this.”
“I did.”
I launch myself into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck, half laughing and half sobbing into his shoulder. He holds me tight, one arm low on my back, the other around my side like he’s trying to protect the bump. “Thank you,” I rasp.
“No need to thank me,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss against the side of my head. “You never need to thank me, Elena.”
Chapter 40
Harry
Avoice I haven’t heard in weeks echoes through the foyer, one I wasn’t entirely sure I’d hear again in this house.
I pause at the top of the staircase, one hand resting on the railing as I listen, just briefly. It’s muffled — he’s in the front hall, not in my line of sight, and it sounds like he’s trying not to sound bitter. That alone is a sign he’s not here to start swinging. But Elena’s voice follows, softer and cautious, and I hadn’t accounted for the possibility that she’d be the one to let him in. It’s enough to get me down the stairs quickly.
I find them just on the other side of the living room. George stands with his hands shoved in the pockets of a black coat, his hair mussed, expression tight. Elena, barefoot in pajama bottoms and one of my sweaters, looks like she’s just seen a ghost. Her hand hovers awkwardly by the doorframe, the other around her stomach like she’s unsure whether she should be defensive or polite.
I didn’t expect him to cometoday.
“I’m not here to cause problems,” George says, pulling his hands from his pockets and raising them in surrender.
