"*Six months and seven days*," Harper said quietly to herself. Her gaze was riveted on the reflection of herself that was displayed in the floor-to-ceiling mirror in her walk-in closet. She took a deep breath and rubbed small, gentle circles on her growing belly.
A year after her low-key wedding to Alex, her father passed Merricup to her, and after she took over the coffee shop, she did not slow down and pushed even harder, adding two branches in less than a year. She was so busy that it even took some time for her to realize she was pregnant again. She was too preoccupied with the two more Merricup locations that were set to open soon. She had been so focused and stressed out about getting everything done smoothly and perfectly that she had missed all the obvious signs. Alex was the one who had actually noticed the symptoms she had been experiencing and had compelled her to go see their family doctor.
She was advised to get a pregnancy test. It was *positive*.
Panic had then taken over her body, but Alex assured her that everything would proceed as planned and took charge of the launch. Although it wasn't really a surprise to her because he had been her rock, her critic, her business legal expert, her advocate—basically, her everything—since that first night he came to Merricup.
As she continued to look at herself in the mirror, her gaze eventually settled on her chest just as the door began to gently open.
"What are you doing, Mrs. Carmichael?" Alex stepped inside, his face lit up with delight at the sight before him.
Harper was only in her lingerie, her breasts spilling over the lace fabric of her bra, and she was anxiously attempting to push everything inside.
"Is everything fine?" Alex asked, looking amused.
Harper then turned to ask him, "Do you think my breasts look larger to you?" He couldn't help but laugh at the look of worry that was plastered all over her face as she gave him a worried as well as an annoyed look.
"I'm not really sure," he murmured, taking a step closer and reaching his hands out to her waist.
"I think they're bigger," she said as she watched his eyes examine her chest and his hands glide up her sides until they stopped at the edge of her bra.
Alex hadn't really noticed until now, but now that he had, he was loving it. A lazy, sexy smile grazed his lips as he planted a gentle kiss just above the lacey lining of her bra. Then, he trailed his lips slowly across her chest as he kissed a route from one breast to the other.
"Alex," Harper whispered as she held his forearms, her gaze trailing down to her chest. "They'll be here any minute now. And Luke is downstairs…" she added, though she couldn't bring herself to pull away from him since it felt so good.
Alex managed to mutter, between kisses, "Paula's with him..." as he slid his fingers beneath the bands of her bra.
"Remember when we left him with her the last time?" She moaned as she bit her bottom lip, loving the feel of Alex's mouth on her skin, which was something she couldn't simply say no to. "He couldn't stop talking about radical and liberal feminism."
But Alex was not the type to put off making her feel adored. When it came to her, he lacked any capacity for self-control. So he continued to kiss farther up her chest, along her collar bone, and finally paused at her neck as he drove his hands more firmly into her back.
Harper turned her head to the side and rolled her eyes as Alex's warm breath on her neck caused little flutters in her tummy, but she knew she had to finish getting dressed, and she definitely needed to find a bigger bra because the one she was wearing wasn't really particularly comfortable anymore.
"Alex…" she whispered before gently pushing him away from her. She couldn't help but smile as she noticed the obvious hunger in his eyes. "I really need to get dressed now," she said, dragging her hands down to his forearms.
Alex smiled and replied, "To be continued then?" with a teasing tone in his voice.
She couldn't muster anything more than a smile in response.
He cast his glance in her direction. Pregnancy suited her perfectly. Her physique appeared to be fuller, and her hair was glossier than it had been before. He then gazed at her bump before reaching out and touching it.
"I'm sorry I missed your pregnancy with Luke," he muttered, his hand resting on Harper's stomach.
"Don't be. It was entirely my fault."
As he momentarily reflected on some of the remarkable events he had missed during her pregnancy, he felt a little thud against his hand. His eyes widened, and a surprised smile spread across his face. "Whoa!"
"*She's* been fairly active... been kicking a lot laterly," Harper said, moving her palm to the area where their baby had been more active.
"*She*?"
"We're having a *girl*, ALex," she said with a full smile. "I found out the other day. I had planned to surprise you and everyone else tonight at dinner. But I think you'd want to hear about our baby girl before everyone else."
Alex removed his hand from her stomach and began to rub his face. "Wow. We're having a girl! A baby! Our baby girl. I can't wait to tell everyone at dinner!"
"Oh! Speaking of dinner, I really need to get dressed now."
"Right!" He let out a small chuckle and started walking toward the door, but he stopped and turned around to face her. "By the way, they do look bigger." He cast his eyes down to her chest for a quick look. "But it doesn't matter. I adore them just the same." He smiled naughtily.
"Okay! Great!" She couldn't help but giggle as she pulled him away from him. She was relieved to hear him say that he loved them since she wasn't sure how attractive she was going to feel once her tummy got so huge that he wouldn't be able to get his arms around her.
Alex wasn't there when she had Luke and ballooned at that time, as she had been looking forward to that part.
After going through four different outfits, Harper ended up deciding to wear a knee-length dress in a light cream color. When she finally came down from the bedroom, Alex, Paula, and Luke were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the dishes.
"The salad is done," Luke declared before washing and drying his hands. "I'm going for a quick shower and change."
"Okay, buddy. Thank you." Alex watched his son climb up the stairs before turning to face Harper, who had come to a halt near the island counter.
"Is dinner almost done? Everyone will be here soon."
"When everyone arrives, I'll start making the pasta. That way, the pasta will stay warm," Alex explained. "And you look beautiful, darling."
"Thank you. I went through four different outfits. Can you believe that?" Harper gave a shy smile while her cheeks turned pink. " I'm going to set the table."
"I'll prepare the table, Harper," Paula remarked, looking down at her dress. "And I agree with Alex, you look fabulous."
"Thank you, Paula."
The young woman flashed a smile before walking out of the kitchen carrying a few of the dishes that they had finished making.
When they were finally by themselves, Harper made her way over to Alex. He did not waste any time and wrapped her in his arms. "Hello again, my gorgeous wife," he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Actually, I was going to comment on how hot you are right now."
Harper broke into a grin as she encircled her husband's neck with her arms. "I forgot to ask you... uh... was it your sister you talked to this morning?"
He heaved a sigh. "Yes."
"For how much longer are you planning to continue doing this, Alex?"
"Harper…" He let go of her and proceeded to get a couple of bottles from the wine rack. "Don't stress yourself about them, okay?"
"I'm not. But, as your mother points out, it's been years."
"Darling, listen, when you told me to talk to my mother, I didn't hesitate to do it. Do you know why? Because I realized she was not really aware of the horrors perpetrated by my own father and sister toward me and Francine. I reached out to her. We talked and I invited her to our wedding. Now she is more than welcome to come to see Luke or pay a visit to us whenever she likes. But, dad, and Collette," he scoffed while shaking his head. "There's no way. Harper, it wasn't only me to whom they'd done despicable things. They've also caused Francine a great deal of pain. If and when she is willing to forgive them, you can count on me doing the same. How about that? I mean it's only fair to her, right?"
"But Francine is in Nebiru."
"It makes no difference where she is. And, as you can see, my father still holds a seat on that damn royal council. He can always reach out to Francine and talk. If there's a will, there has to be a fucking way."
Okay." Harper looked at him for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Alright. I understand. Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you go and change? Everyone will arrive soon."
"Okay." Alex hurriedly exited the kitchen and made his way swiftly to their bedroom upstairs.
A short while later, Luke finally made his way downstairs and found Harper and Paula already busy setting the food and dishes on the table outside on the patio.
"How do I look, mom?" he asked.
"As usual, handsome." A proud smile crept across Harper's face.
Luke grinned brightly and was about to respond when the doorbell rang. "They're here!"