It stood on the typical pylons that were the foundation for the majority of the houses on the water. The house itself was two stories high, five bedrooms, three and a half baths, a newly remodeled kitchen, and a massive sunk-in living room that looked out to the water. And it wasn’t the only room that had a spectacular view, because the master bedroom had floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors that led out to the wraparound porch. They’d be able to watch the sunrise from their bed if they placed it just so.

He wanted it.

The problem? Someone had already put an offer in on the house. So he did what he needed to do. He put in an offer as well…which was slightly stress inducing considering he hadn’t talked to Harper about it, nor had she seen it yet.

But it was the one…and he really wanted it. Had to have it.

There were certain perks to not being a struggling artist anymore. He had more than enough money in the bank that he didn’t need to worry about getting pre-approved for a loan. What he did need to worry about was if he got the house. It was an integral part of the plan.

Another part of the plan was trying to keep it a surprise. But keeping anything from Harper had proved to be a failure for him. He just needed to figure out how to work around it if she asked him for a play-by-play of his day.

She didn’t get home until after ten o’clock that night, and the second she walked in the door she collapsed on the sofa and put her feet in Liam’s lap.

He started to rub her arches with his thumbs, applying just the right amount of pressure to make her moan long and loud.

“Yessss. God. Right there. Please don’t stop.” Her head was thrown back against a pillow, her eyes closed as she melted into the sofa cushions.

“Honey, you keep talking like that and you are going to be getting an entirely different sort of massage.” Obviously sex would be a more than fun way to distract her from conversations.

Harper cracked an eye and looked at him. “I don’t know how good it will be. I think I’m about two seconds from passing out. An extended weekend sounds like the greatest thing ever.” Her eye fell closed again as she pulled her arms up and over her head in a good stretch. The movement caused her shirt to pull up and expose her baby bump.

“That so?” He increased the pressure, moving to the ball of her foot.

Her back arched up and she moaned again. Yeah, he wasn’t sure how he was going to get through this.

“Barely had a second to sit down let alone take a break. My feet hate me…but you are pacifying their sensibilities now.”

“Oh, am I?” He speared his fingers between her toes, stretching them just so.

“Yessss.” She moaned the word again. “You are. Even talking is exhausting, so tell me about your day. How was dinner with Dale and Hamilton?”

Her follow-up saved him.

After house hunting, Tripp and Liam had gone to get burgers with the boys. As Liam wouldn’t be back in Mirabelle for a couple of weeks, they’d asked if he would hang out with them before he left.

He relayed that part of the day, concentrating on massaging Harper’s feet and hoping she didn’t ask anything else. But he realized his worry was for nothing as she was now breathing slow and steady from her side of the sofa.

She was asleep.

*  *  *

Their flight out of Tallahassee left just before noon the following morning. Harper hadn’t packed anything so she’d had to get up early to get all of her things in order. As it took Liam about ten minutes to get his stuff together, he went for a run.

And then came back all hot and sweaty…which made her get all hot and sweaty. That was just par for the course really. He’d always had that effect on her…from the very start.

There was a nervous anticipation coursing through her from the second she’d woken up, and when she walked into the cabin late that afternoon she knew why. They were returning to the place where it all began.

But as the second they walked in the door she had to go and get changed and freshen up from the flight, she didn’t have all that much time to dwell on it.

Since Harper hadn’t seen her aunt in months, nor had Liam met Celeste, she was pretty excited about the evening. Reed, Celeste’s boyfriend, had made a reservation at Bourbon and Brine, one of the hottest spots in town. It was just after seven when they arrived at the restaurant, and the place was packed with people lingering around the hostess station waiting for a table to become available.

A group of people moved to the side and an excited exclamation of “Harper!” filled her ears. Celeste navigated over to her, Reed following close behind.

“Hello, my sweet niece,” she said as she pulled Harper into an embrace.

“Hello, my wonderful aunt.” Harper hugged her back, so ridiculously happy to see her.

“Let me see you.” Celeste’s hands slid to Harper’s forearms as she took a step back and did a once-over. “You look wonderful. You feeling okay?” Her voice dropped low on the last question so that it would be hard for the crowd around them to hear.

“Yeah. Everyone is doing very well.” Harper’s hand went to her belly immediately.

“That’s what I like to hear,” she beamed, letting go before her eyes moved to Liam. “And you’re him, huh? The man who has fallen in love with my niece?”

“Yes, ma’am. I didn’t have a chance from the second I met her.”

“I like you already. And it’s Celeste. None of this ma’am nonsense.” She winked at him before introducing him to Reed.

The hostess came up to them, menus in hand, and led them to their table. Liam walked behind Harper, his hand on the small of her back as they made their way through the room. Her eyes caught on a couple of the plates, the delicious smells filling her nose.

Good Lord she was already starving. She wanted to order everything she saw. And when she sat down and looked at the menu, she was even more confused.

“What are you going to get?” Liam asked, leaning in close to her.

“Well, the pan-seared filet with the mushroom bacon risotto sounds amazing. But then so do the pork chops in the cherry wine reduction with the asparagus soufflé.”

“You just want to share? Both of those sound good to me.”

“This is why you’re my favorite.” She grinned as she folded her menu.

The meal was perfection. Per-fec-tion. And by the time they were done eating and talking, Harper was so full it would be a wonder if she could walk out of there…especially after the caramel crème brûlée.

But she somehow managed.

After dinner they said good-bye to Celeste and Reed at the door. They were taking advantage of their evening out. While Harper was ready to crash, Celeste was ready to party.

“Reed is taking me dancing,” she said as she shimmied. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Liam had gotten three tickets for the concert he was performing at a club in downtown Nashville. It was a smaller venue than the arenas he’d been opening in, but he was the headliner for this one.

“Tomorrow.” Harper nodded as she hugged her aunt and then Reed.

When they walked outside, the hot summer air was still a tad bit stifling, and the crowd outside was making Harper a little claustrophobic. The two guys manning the valet station were having trouble keeping up with the current rush.

Liam braved the crowd while Harper stood off to the side. A group of women—all dressed to the nines—moved to make way for him. It was like Moses parting the Red Sea.

When he walked past, the brunette in the purple stilettos leaned over and whispered into the ear of the blond in the hot pink romper.

“Nuh-uh.” Romper’s mouth dropped open as her head whipped back around to get another look at Liam. But while she was getting another look, Stilettos was telling the other girls in the group.

Before Harper even knew it, three of the five women had pulled out their phones and were blatantly snapping pictures of Liam. At least one of them tried to make it look like she was taking a selfie.