Chapter 53

After talking to Harper about his relationship with his physical trainer, Lauren, he finally invites her over for dinner. I can only imagine how the poor girl feels about having dinner with us when she’s been sneaking in like a burglar, which says a lot about Jasper’s home security. We never heard a peep, but Harper is a smart man. Surely, he found the codes in Jasper’s desk, disabling alarms to let in his late-night lady. I can’t be mad at the effort he went through to get laid without us knowing.

At dinner, we try to keep the conversation as light as possible so she doesn’t feel like we’re bombarding her or doing too much. She’s been to the house so many times, but this is the first time I've really gotten to see her. If I’d gotten a good look at her initially, I would’ve known that Harper was going to sink his teeth into her eventually. Or maybe she sunk her teeth into him. She’s a strong, capable woman, even though at the table, she’s rather quiet. It takes her a while to crack a few jokes, mainly at Harper’s expense. Each time she says something funny about him, he blushes, acting shy and reserved. Man, he must really like her, but I also feel like something else is on his mind that he isn’t telling me. Numerous times during dinner, he looks zoned out when he thinks no one is paying attention. I hope we haven’t made him uncomfortable or pressured. Maybe we should have given him more time to tell us instead of cornering him about it. But how else should we have gone about it? He was fucking the woman on the couch in our home. It was only a matter of time. He was a bonehead for nothing thinking it through, and I’m not taking responsibility for that.

I try to keep my mind from races during dinner, but by the time I’m putting the dishes in the washer, I’m bursting with questions about Harper’s distance at the table.

Jasper, Harper, and Lauren move to the patio, taking a bottle of wine with them while I cut up some fruit for dessert. Although I'm still not experiencing a lot of kicking, I feel like there's a fish swimming in my tummy when I eat juicy fruit, so I take that as a good sign. I don’t feel much when I eat vegetables, so she’s definitely my kid.

As I near the patio with my bowl of assorted fruit, I hear Harper say something, but I can’t make out the words. What I do hear is Jasper telling Harper not to tell me.

“Tell me what?” I look from face to face, and they all appear to be surprised to see me standing there.

“Eden,” Harper starts.

“Tell me what?” I repeat a little more aggressively than I intended.

Jasper pats his leg, prompting me to sit on his lap. When I do, he leans into my ear.

“Don’t overreact, baby.”

Okay, now I’m scared, but I take his advice into consideration before hearing whatever Harper doesn’t want me to hear.

“Eden, I know this will seem like a shitty time to do this to you, but I, for once, am doing what you want me to do. I’m trying to live my life and be happy.” He glances over at Lauren, who gives him a nod to continue. Seeing her do that starts a small fire of jealousy in my gut. For once, Harper is leaning on another woman for support. I know I shouldn’t feel threatened, but it’s an emotion I have no control over.

I feel an overwhelming urge to fight her even though she’s done nothing wrong. Her only crime is falling for Harper. It was only a matter of time.

“What are you trying to tell me, Harper?”

He takes several deep breaths like he’s about to tell me that the world is flat.

“Eden, I’m leaving sooner than planned. After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to head to New York early, and Lauren is coming with me.”

I want to laugh at how crazy he sounds to me, but the serious expression on his face tells me that this is anything but a joke.

“What are you talking about? You said you weren’t leaving until after the baby is born.”

“I know, Eden, but it’s time for me to move on. I can't keep pushing myself into you and Jasper’s life or home. I only agreed to stay here long enough to get better.”

Lauren reaches over, running her hand over his shoulder like she's done so a hundred times before. I want to tell her to take her hands off of him and stop trying to steal him from me. Too bad Harper isn’t mine to steal. She has every right to want to start a life with someone as great as him.

“So when are you leaving? Tomorrow? The next day?”

“I’m going to stay at Lauren’s tonight and move my things out tomorrow.”

Right then, my heart drops. My body tenses up, causing Jasper to lay his hand on my side.

“Baby?” he whispers, but I don’t answer.

I want to cry or scream. I want to argue to keep him here, but what’s the use? He’s already made up his mind without a second thought or care. My stomach is burning with rage, and tears threaten to spill out while Harper sits there, waiting for me to throw a temper tantrum.

Taking a deep breath, I stand up, running my hand over my belly to calm the energetic squirming in my gut. My eyes look to Lauren, who can’t even bring herself to meet them. I don’t know what Harper has told her about me to justify sneaking around, but I can tell her impression of me is anything but positive. The only thing I can do right now is prove them all wrong. They're expecting the worst from me. Well, they're in for a rude awakening.

“Well, if that’s what you want, then I support you. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. I don’t know why you felt like you couldn’t talk to me, but then again, it’s not the first time you’ve bit your tongue until the last minute.” I use every muscle in my face to give them both genuine smiles as Jasper groans softly at the last part of my statement. Was it necessary? No. Did it feel good to say? Oh, yes. I’m trying to be a bigger person, but I’m still a work in progress.

Harper’s forehead squeezes into wrinkles while Lauren is oblivious as to why we’ve all fallen silent.

“That was uncalled for, Eden,” Harper sighs.

“You know what else is uncalled for? This half-ass departure announcement you’ve thrown together. Now that your little secret is out, you want to talk to me like I’m some unstable person who can’t handle the thought of you leaving.”

“Eden, you’ve done nothing but act like me leaving is the worst thing in the world. You make it hard for me to speak my truth to you because I know you’re going to overreact.”

My eyes widen, and Harper looks like he regrets his choice of words all of a sudden.

“I overreact? Yeah, maybe I do, but for you to throw it in my face when I’ve done nothing but try to be there for you is foul. What? Now that you’re in a good place, you think you can sit there and treat me like a little girl with uncontrolled emotions?”

Harper opens his mouth to try to backpedal, but I don’t want to hear it. I’m tired of doing my best to make Harper feel how much I care for and love him. If he didn’t feel it before, he isn’t going to feel it now. Maybe, he never felt it at all.

As I walk back into the house, I hear Jasper.

“You’re a fucking idiot, bro. You shouldn’t have done this with Lauren here. It should have been a private conversation, and you know it. How many times are you going to hurt her?”

Jasper’s question causes tears to pool in my eyes because no matter what, he’s always in my corner, ready to defend me. He always has my back. Jasper has never left my side, and it’s about time I focus on the one who loves me.