However, being the dominant man he was, she should have known Daniel wouldn’t just drop it. He invited her mother for a walk after dinner one evening and kissed Harper on the forehead, saying they’d be back soon.
Twenty minutes later, they returned, and a sort of peaceful alliance had been formed. Daniel wouldn’t tell her what they’d spoken about, only that he’d promised he would love Harper until his dying breath and make sure she knew every day how much she was loved.
Big words.
This time they came with actions. Daniel had invited her to move to New York. A man who had never had a relationship in his life had asked her to move across the world to live with him.
“I know you need a visa, Harper, and I intend to make you my wife, so don’t worry about that,” he had said.
She had laid her hand on his arm, shaking her head. “Daniel, I don’t need a visa. My father was Hawaiian. I’m half American.”
He stared at her.
“I don’t want that to be the reason you propose,” she had said, and that had gone down badly. She cringed even now, remembering his response.
Daniel’s mouth lifted from hers and he grinned at her. “I’m so fucking happy. I can’t wait to take you home, sweetheart.”
He pulled her to a sitting position and sat back on his heels in the sand.
“If I hate the snow, I’m going to Hawaii for the winter,” Harper said, giving him a grin. “And I don’t know how big your wardrobe is, but I want half.”
Daniel laughed.
She already knew his apartment in New York was enormous. He’d shown her photos and told her a lot about what to expect. Some of it she knew was to get her prepared and some to incentivize her.
Harper didn’t need any of it.
She just wanted Daniel. To feel his eyes on hers, his body against hers every night, and to wake with him in the morning.
And all the delicious parts in between.
“I think you might find I can accommodate both those requests. Anything else?”
“I’m going to keep writing. I’m not going to become one of those kept women,” Harper said. It was important she keep her independence.
He frowned. “Hmm, see, now we have a problem.”
Harper's eyes widened.
“I don’t want you to be a kept woman either, but I want you to be my wife,” Daniel said, cupping her face and their two sets of blue eyes met.
“Marry me.” He said, pure love beaming from his eyes. “Marry me, Harper. Be my wife and spend forever with me.”
“Yes,” Harper replied, her own eyes filling with joy.