Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1) (11 page)

Casey gasps loudly when they touch lips, but after a second she recovers. She groans and wraps her arms around his neck, giving in to the kiss, if only for this special occasion. No one wants to be kiss-less on New Year’s.

Aiden wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in to him, kissing her as if he might never do it again. They pull apart slowly, Aiden staring at her face, Casey staring at Aiden’s lips.

Casey slowly removes her arms from around his neck, but Aiden doesn’t move an inch. “You can…” Casey swallows, her throat suddenly dry. “You can let me go of me now.”

“I would really rather not…” Aiden says softly. He smiles, and Casey smiles back.

“Fuck my life,” she says, shaking her head as she goes in for another kiss.

***

Dakota

In another room, Dakota and Harper have not stopped kissing since the new year began.

“I think it’s time we leave,” Dakota says, staring at Harper’s semi-swollen lips. Harper nods enthusiastically.

“I’m going to love you forever, Dakota,” Harper whispers in his ear. Dakota just stares at her, unable to speak at all.

***

Jamie

Jamie and Bianca sit in the living room of Mason’s house. He and Amelia went upstairs to “talk” an hour ago and never returned. The air is thick between the two as they sit watching Ryan Seacrest announcing the upcoming dropping of the ball.

“Are we just going to sit in silence?” Jamie asks.

“Yes,” Bianca says, picking listlessly at the couch pillow she’s hugging on the opposite end of the couch.

“Are you mad at me or something?” Jamie says. He looks at her.

“No,” she replies.

“So why aren’t you talking to me?”

“I don’t have anything to say…” She sighs and keeps her eyes on the television.

“Was Adam sorry to see you go?”

Bianca rolls her eyes. “Why are you so obsessed with Adam?” she says.

“Because he had something I wanted tonight.”

“And that is…” She looks at him reluctantly.

“You,” Jamie says smoothly, though his heart is racing rapidly.

Bianca’s mouth opens. The countdown to the new year begins.

“Me?” Bianca says breathless.
Ten…

“Are you really surprised?”
Nine…

“Yes. We’re friends.”
Eight…

“So what? The best relationships start out of friendship. Look at my mom and Dakota.”
Seven…

“So you want to be together?”
Six…

“Yes.”
Five…

“What about Mason? Won’t he feel like a third wheel?”
Four…

“He knows how I feel about you. He’s prepared.”
Three…

“You can’t love me…”
Two…

“Too late.”
One…
Jamie has crept his way to Bianca’s side of the couch and kisses her deeply.

Happy New Year! On television, the sky erupts into a beautiful fireworks display, and the crowds of people cheer, kiss, and hug their friends, but the two do not have to look at the TV to know what’s going on as color explodes behind their eyelids as their lips become one.

Chapter Sixteen

Harper

A Month Later…

Harper’s eyes flutter open as she wakes up from a good night’s sleep. She turns over, yawning, and finds that she’s alone. She sits up slightly, looking around, feeling slightly disoriented. She picks up her cell phone from her night-stand and reads that it’s almost noon. Why had she slept so long? That’s ten solid hours. She didn’t know what was getting into her lately. On her days off she would sleep half the day away. Her job was pretty demanding, but she didn’t think it was wearing her out that much. She sighs, sits up straight, and stretches her arms up in the air, closing her eyes to enjoy the stretch.

“Look who’s alive.” Harper turns to see Dakota coming into the bedroom. He crawls onto the bed and kisses her sweetly on the cheek.

“I didn’t mean to sleep so long,” she says.

“You were out like a light. I made you breakfast, and when I tried to wake you, you threw a pillow at me.”

Harper bursts into laughter. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember that,” she says, shaking her head. She falls back on the bed, flopping her head on the pillow.

“It’s perfectly fine,” he says, chuckling. They stare at each other for a few seconds, and Harper giggles, blushing.

“What?” she says.

“Do you know what today is?” he asks.

“Ummm…no. What?” Dakota turns around and opens the drawer of his night-stand, an addition he added to the room. He pulls out a silver and white box and then turns back to Harper on the bed. He hands it to her. Harper looks at it in his hand. She sits up straight.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” she says, shaking her head. She runs her fingers through her messy hair. “How could I forget?”

“Because you’ve been sleeping through entire decades lately,” he says, smiling.

“I didn’t get you anything, Dakota. This is our first Valentine’s Day as a couple, and I didn’t get you anything. God, I’m such an idiot.” She was really out of it lately. What the hell was wrong with her?

“First off, you just being in my life is gift enough,” he says. Harper shakes her head at the unexpectedly beautiful things he can say. “But I’m hoping once you open this box you’ll be so pleased that tonight you’ll find a way to thank me properly.” Harper blushes, chuckling at the smirk on his face. She takes the box from his hand. She opens the box, and inside it is another black square-shaped box. She opens it, and inside is a silver charm bracelet.

“Oh…my…God, Dakota. This is beautiful,” Harper says, her eyes wide with shock. “Is this Jamie’s birthstone?” she says, touching the charm with her finger.

“Yeah,” he says softly. “And yours…and mine. It’s like you have our family with you wherever you go.” Harper feels tears filling her eyes as he takes the bracelet and puts it on her wrist.

“This is amazing, Dakota.” A tear slides down her cheek.

“I did good?” he asks.

Harper throws her arms around his neck. “You did very good,” she says and kisses him passionately. When they break apart, Dakota chuckles.

“I’m guessing you know how to thank me?” he asks. Harper nods and pulls him into bed.

***

“You’re really good at that,” Harper says as she lies on Dakota’s chest an hour or so later. Dakota chuckles, stroking her satin-like hair.

“Why, thank you. I was thinking about going pro.” Harper laughs into his chest, shaking her head.

“No, no, no. I would rather you keep this talent between us.” Dakota kisses her forehead, a huge grin on his face.

“I can’t believe you paid Jamie to leave the house for the entire day. How much did that run you?” Harper asks, looking up at him.

“A hundred bucks. Just enough for him to get Bianca a really nice V-day present and dinner. The house is ours until midnight,” he says.

“My goodness. You are so good to me.”

“I try,” Dakota says, smirking down at her.

“So what’s next on the itinerary?”

“Well, lunch is in the crockpot, and then you’ll receive the other present I got you.”

Harper sits up, pulling up the sheet firmly around her torso, blushing.

“A second present? Dakota, the bracelet was more than enough. Seriously.” Dakota sits up a little, his bare chest facing her. She glances at it and grins.

“You’re such a perv,” he says when he catches her staring. Harper blushes, giggling. “And no, the bracelet wasn’t enough, so get over it. I’m treating you like a queen.”

“You treat me like a queen every day,” she says.

“Then I’m doing my job.”

Harper pulls the cover over her face and groans into it. “I love you,” she says.

Dakota kisses her forehead, quickly getting out of bed. “I know,” he responds. “Now get up so we can eat.”

“Any chance you made a stromboli with pepperoni, steak, and provolone cheese? And ranch sauce. Lots and lots of ranch sauce,” she says dreamily.

Dakota chuckles. “That’s pretty specific,” he says. “I actually just made smothered pork chops over white rice. Your favorite.”

“Mmm. That sounds good too. But I do really, really want a stromboli.”

“Well, I was thinking seafood for dinner, but if that’s what you want, we can do a grocery run for dinner tonight and make a homemade one,” he says.

Harper claps, excited. “That would be amazing,” she says, emphasizing the last word. Dakota raises his eyebrow at her. Harper shrugs.

“Shower first?” she asks, smiling.

Dakota groans, mocking her. “I love you,” he says, and Harper laughs as he scoops her up and heads to the bathroom.

***

“A weekend away at my favorite bed and breakfast. How did you even know?” Harper gushes for the fourth time as she and Dakota walk into their local grocery store. Dakota leans on the cart, pushing it down an aisle as she rambles on about how wonderful he is. He grins and blushes slightly, happy that his second present was on point. Casey’s tip was perfect.

“Casey dropped me a few hints about it. Plus, you have the website in your favorites on the computer.” Harper chuckles.

“You are so thoughtful, boyfriend,” she says and kisses him sweetly.

“Part of the job. Now, what do we need?” Dakota asks. They walk around the grocery store, throwing things in the cart that are on the list and mostly things that are not. After dinner, they plan to have a
Criminal Minds
marathon and snacks were needed for that.

“Pickle-flavored potato chips?” Dakota questions as Harper throws them in the cart.

“They sound delicious,” Harper says.

“Oh, we need peanut butter. And vanilla ice cream.”

“Why not just buy peanut butter ice cream?” Dakota asks.

“It’s not the same,” Harper says seriously.

Dakota laughs. “You’re insane.”

Harper shrugs, not offended. She is a little weird lately in the food category. She actually can’t remember the last time she had a stromboli, but tonight she just really wanted one. They conclude their shopping trip with over fifty dollars in groceries, including three bags of M&Ms they decided to feed to each other during checkout, throwing each piece into each other’s mouth hoping the other caught it. The cashier wasn’t amused, but the bag boy was, and Dakota tipped him ten bucks for his great sense of humor.

“That cashier did not like us,” Harper says, laughing. Dakota shakes his head.

“No, she did not.” He pushes the cart to Harper’s car. “How did we possibly go for ten things and leave with like a hundred things?” Harper shrugs.

“Your fault,” she says. Dakota laughs. Harper opens the trunk to her car and helps him load the groceries in it. She stops for a second and holds her stomach, feeling a little sick.

“Ouch,” she says, frowning. Dakota looks at her.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yes,” Harper says. “I think I ate too many M&Ms. Stomach’s not so happy about chocolate these days. Weird.” She chuckles. Dakota nods, smiling warmly at her.

“Well, we’ll stop at a drive through and get you a ginger ale. Should go away by dinner.”

“Okay,” she says. Dakota closes the trunk and heads over to the driver’s side.

“I’ll drive,” he says. Harper nods her head and walks slowly to the passenger side. She gets in the car and fastens her seatbelt securely. She scratches her head slightly.

“Today’s the 14th?” Harper asks.

“Mmhm,” Dakota says. Harper lays her head on the window and stares out at the road, silently counting something in her head.

“You okay?” Dakota says.

“Yeah…yes. I think I might have forgotten to file some paperwork, but it’s all good. I can take care of it tomorrow morning,” she says. Dakota nods.

“Good.” He puts his gaze back on the road.

Chapter Seventeen

Dakota

“So what you’re saying is that…you’d sleep with Dr. Reid? No questions asked?” Dakota asks as he and Harper enjoy dessert after eating a pound of stromboli each for dinner.

“Oh my goodness, yes. All that intelligence and you think he won’t be good in bed? He’d be magnificent,” she says dreamily. Dakota shakes his head at her. Harper stuffs another spoonful of peanut butter in her mouth and then follows it with another spoonful of ice cream. Dakota laughs at her.

“You are a bottomless pit these days,” Dakota says, stealing a spoonful of ice cream for himself.

Harper laughs tightly. “Yeah, guess I am. Is that unattractive?” she asks.

“It’s actually adorable. I like a woman that can eat.”

Harper laughs. “If I ever do anything unattractive, please tell me. Sometimes it’s hard being both the best friend and the girlfriend. I don’t want to cross any lines.”

Dakota shakes his head. “You’re perfect. These past five months have been perfect. Don’t change anything,” he says. “Got it?”

Harper nods, a spoonful of peanut butter in her mouth. “So what are you saying exactly? You wouldn’t have a threesome with me and Dr. Reid?” she asks.

Dakota’s eyes narrow.

“Well, that depends on whether you would have a threesome with me and Scarlet Jo?”

Harper ponders for a second. She strokes her chin. “I’d do that,” she says, smirking.

Dakota laughs. “Come here,” he says.

Harper quickly puts her bowl of ice cream on the floor as he grabs her and pulls her in to him, playfully kissing the sweetness from her welcoming mouth.

An hour later they are cuddled up on the sofa finishing their TV marathon, a blanket covering their comfortable forms.

“This is really nice,” Harper says.

“Yeah it is.”

“Thank you for such a fun Valentine’s Day,” she says.

“You’re welcome.” Dakota kisses her forehead.

Harper snuggles closer. “Oh, I forgot to tell you I’m having lunch with Jennifer next week.”

“Yeah?” Dakota says. “That’s great. This is the third time since New Year’s. I’m guessing you guys are turning into total bffs.”

“Yes, we are. She’s so great. She’s taking me and Casey to see her dress. She’s picking it up and doing a final fitting.”

“Will all of her bridesmaids be there too?” Dakota asks.

“No, none of them could get off work apparently, so she asked me and Casey so she didn’t have to go alone.”

“How many bridesmaids does she have?” Dakota asks.

“She has two. Jessica and Willow. Willow is her best friend from childhood, and Jessica is her best friend from college and coworker.” Dakota nods.

“That’s cool of her to invite you to go with her. I’m glad you’re becoming friends.”

“Me too. I can’t wait to see her dress. I’m sure it’s beautiful. You know what’s weird? I’ve never actually been in a bridal shop. Like ever.”

“Yeah? Why not?” he asks.

Harper shrugs. “I guess I never had any desire to. I never really thought I’d ever get married.”

Dakota looks down at her. “Do you still feel like that?” he says seriously.

Harper opens her mouth to speak then closes it again. She looks up at him. “Um, I don’t know. Do you feel like that?” she asks.

Dakota smirks. “Like I could get married one day?” he asks.

Harper nods, biting her lip shyly. “Yes. I could get married one day,” he says. “Definitely.”

Harper blushes and turns back to the TV, smiling. “Me too,” she says.

Dakota smiles down at her as she hides her blush under the blanket.

“Glad we’re on the same page,” he says and snuggles her closer. This had been the best Valentine’s Day ever.

***

“Hey, boss, Jordan just called and said she can’t come in for her shift. Her kid’s sick…again.” Beth, one of Harper’s favorite nurses, comes up to her in the hall. Harper sighs. This is the fourth time this month that Jordan has called out. No one understands the constant responsibilities of having a child and being a working parent like her, but this is completely unacceptable.

“Okay. She has unit four, right?” Harper says. Beth nods.

“Okay, I’ll go make some calls and see who can come in. Can you cover yours and hers for a couple of hours?”

“Yep,” Beth says. Beth was simply amazing.

“You are the best. I’ll organize a weekend off for you next month. Deal?” Harper says, stretching out her hand to her. Beth takes it.

“Deal, boss.” She heads off to her unit. Harper walks toward her office. When she gets there, Casey is sitting in her small sofa chair flipping through
Nurse Weekly
. Casey had made a point of using her office as a nurse’s lounge since she got her promotion. It annoyed Harper to no end because she didn’t want the nurses to think she was playing favorites.

“Casey, how many times do I have to tell you not to hang out in my office?” she says as she sits behind her desk.

“You might as well stop asking, because I’m not going to stop. There has to be some perks to being your best friend, and I’d like the couch to be one of them,” she says, flipping the page. Harper rolls her eyes and pulls out her cellphone. She goes through the numbers in her phone, looking for a suitable replacement to cover Jordan’s shift.

“Ugh, do you have Willow’s number? I thought I had it in my phone, but I think I might have deleted it by accident or something,” she says, running her fingers through her hair.

“Yeah, I have it. Why? What’s up?”

“Oh, um, Jordan called out…again. I need someone to cover her shift. I texted a few people but everyone’s busy. Willow’s the last one on the list.”

“Oh, I can do it. I’m not doing anything tonight,” Casey says nonchalantly. Harper looks at her.

“Are you serious? You’re a life saver. Thank you.” She puts her phone down on the desk and rubs between her eyes. Casey sits up and looks at Harper.

“Are you okay, boss lady?” Casey asks. Harper takes a deep breath and looks at Casey.

“I have a secret,” she says. Casey gets up from her seat and goes around to sit on the edge of Harper’s desk.

“Spill,” she says.

Harper takes another deep breath. “Last week I realized that I’m late…” She looks at Casey. Casey looks at her.

“Late for what?” she says.

Harper shakes her head. “You know…
late
,” Harper says again, emphasizing the words this time. Casey’s small smile fades, and her mouth opens wide.

“You’re late!
You’re late
! Oh my
God
, Harper.
You are late
?” Harper can’t help but laugh at Casey’s hysterics.

“Calm down,” Harper says, grabbing her arm before she falls off the desk.

“You might be pregnant? Oh my God. Have you told Dakota? Have you told Jamie? Oh my God, Jamie! Do you think he’ll be okay with it? Do you think Dakota’s going to freak out? You think he’ll be happy? Oh my God, what if he freaks out? But oh my God, he loves you, he wouldn’t freak out. He’s probably going to cry. He’s emotional like that.” Harper grabs Casey’s shoulders and turns her around so she’s looking at her.

“Casey, calm down. We both can’t freak out about this. I need someone to be my rock. Now get it together.” Casey licks her dry lips and nods.

“Okay, okay,” she says, her breathing slowing down.

“Now, which question do you want me to answer first?” Harper says, chuckling.

“Do you know for sure that you are totally completely pregnant?”

Harper runs her fingers through her hair. “I took a blood test when I came in this morning. Leo got me the results right away. I’m pregnant.” Casey sits in Harper’s lap and hugs her, putting her arms around her neck.

“Harper, this is amazing. I’m so happy for you.”

“You think this is amazing…really?” Harper asks, feeling her emotions starting to get the best of her.

“Yes, I think Dakota and Jamie are going to be
so
excited,” she says, smiling. Harper feels her eyes quickly well up with tears.

“But what if they aren’t? What if Dakota isn’t ready for a kid right now? What if Jamie is threatened by another kid being in the house?” She wipes a tear from her eye.

Casey strokes her best friend’s hair softly. “Harper, Dakota has helped you raise Jamie for years. Do you really think he isn’t ready to be a father—especially with your child?” She wipes Harper’s tears.

“I know. I know. I don’t know why I’m being so weird,” she says, exasperated.

“Jamie is going to be thrilled to have a new brother or sister. Thrilled!” Casey says.

Harper laughs and shakes her head. “You’re right. You’re so right.” She sniffles. “Casey, I’m pregnant.”

Casey squeals and hugs her to her chest. “This is going to be fantastic!” Casey shouts, and they start laughing while hugging each other.

Harper feels a little better, and she’s hopeful that Casey is right.

***

“Honey, I’m home,” Dakota shouts later that evening. Harper is sitting on the sofa in the living room. Dakota comes over to her and gives her a kiss.

“Hey,” Harper says. Dakota plops down on the sofa next to her.

“Where’s Jam? I want to show him the shoots I did today. One was this really cool perfume ad with a women wearing a dress made of only rose petals. Gave me some ideas,” he says, smirking at her.

“He’s at the diner with Mason. Mason’s trying to get him a job there, actually.” Dakota starts to slide out of his shoes.

“Really? That’s awesome. I really like that Mason. He’s such a good kid.”

Harper nods. “Yeah, I think so too.”

“What’s for dinner? I could eat a cow right now with grilled onions and mushrooms.”

Harper laughs. “Dakota, why can’t you just say you want a cheeseburger? And yeah, that sounds good, actually,” she says, sidetracked by food once again while Dakota laughs. She shakes her head and then clears her throat.

“Dakota, I have to tell you something.” Dakota puts his shoes on the side of the sofa and then sits back.

“What’s up, buttercup?” he says.

Harper shakes her head. He’s so silly. “So this is going to sound really weird, but I want to just get it all out, and then when I’m done you are allowed to respond.” Dakota’s eyes narrow. He takes a deep breath.

“Okay.”

Harper sits up and folds her legs like a pretzel. “You know that I’m on the pill, right?” she says.

Dakota nods. “Mmhm.”

“Well, when New Year’s was coming, I decided to skip my pill so we could have a special New Year’s Eve,” she says, blushing slightly. Dakota sits up a little on the sofa. Harper takes a breath and runs her fingers through her hair. She looks down at her hands.

“I was supposed to…continue taking them so that my period would be regulated again, but I forgot to do that. I forgot to take my pills for the past month.” She licks her dry lips.

“I realized a few days ago that my period was late, and then I remembered that I’m late because I never took my pills. So.” She licks her lips again. “At work today, I took a blood test to find out if I’m pregnant, and the test came back positive.” She takes another deep breath.

“I’m pregnant, Dakota. I’m sorry that I was so irresponsible with my pills. I don’t know how I forgot to take them. I’ve been taking them since Jamie was born. I don’t know what I was thinking. I know we just started this—us, you know—and the last thing we need is to rock the boat this way. I completely understand if you’re angry or hurt or confused or whatever, because I am all those things too at myself. This is my bad. This is all me. I’m sorry.” There is silence for several seconds as Harper continues to stare at her hands in her lap. Finally, she musters up the courage to look at Dakota. He’s staring at her with wide eyes.

“You’re pregnant?” Dakota says.

“Yes,” Harper says.

“You’re pregnant with my kid?” Dakota says.

“Yes, pretty sure. I mean, I know it’s not God’s baby, so you’re next on the list,” Harper says, smiling slightly.

“Harper,” he says, pulling her by her waist into his lap. She straddles him, sitting comfortably. He puts her arms around his neck. Then he puts his hands on her stomach. “This is amazing.”

“Yeah?” she says.

“Yeah.” Dakota kisses her forehead.

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad? I love you. You are it for me.”

“We’re having a baby, Dakota.” Tears fill her eyes.

“We’re having a baby!” Dakota yells. Harper laughs as he hugs her tightly. She kisses him for several minutes, and they laugh in between like teenagers sneaking in a janitor’s closet at school. Just as things are getting past PG-13, they hear Jamie come into the living room, and they both look up at him.