I pulled her close to me as I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Have I told you that I love you?”
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
I smiled as I rested my cheek against the top of her head. “Well, you had better get used to it because I don’t plan on ever stopping.”
G stepped out into the room and cleared her throat, gaining both of our attention. I turned around to look at her, watching the smile forming on her lip as she saw the two of us sitting there together.
“Did you tell her about Ballsy?” she signed to me as she walked up around the couch to sit with us.
I rolled my eyes at her. “Yes, I told her about Ballsy,” I said out loud while signing to my sister. Harper looked over at the two of us. I didn’t want her to feel left out while Giana and I were signing back and forth with one another.
Giana moved to sit on the adjacent side of the sectional couch. She turned her direction toward Harper and began to sign as I spoke the words out loud to her. “So, Harper, tell me all about your photography. Nico has told me a little, but not enough.”
Harper smiled as she looked between the two of us. Her eyes landed on Giana’s and she spoke out loud explaining to her about being a sports photographer and her plans for the future. I didn’t need to sign for Giana as she read Harper’s lips, and watching the interaction between the two of them felt like my heart was melting into a fucking puddle.
What the hell was she doing to me?
I watched G struggle in life with the way people treated her when they found out she was deaf. It was like there was a disconnect with some people and they viewed her as if she were flawed. They didn’t know how to properly communicate with her. Instead of speaking to her normally, the way Harper was, they would speak loudly and slowly as if she were stupid and couldn’t follow them.
It was sad to watch but I knew it just annoyed Giana more than anything. She wasn’t one to let those kinds of people and their ignorance deter her in life. Giana signed to me to relay the message to Harper since Harper wasn’t as skilled at reading lips like my sister was.
“That’s so interesting,” I told Harper for Giana. “I never really knew how intense taking pictures of a sport could be. It sounds like you’re really building something with the different clientele outside of sports.”
Harper was watching Giana mouth the words as she signed them to me and it was almost as if I weren’t even there. I was simply just the voice translating. Harper didn’t once look at me like it was the two of us talking. Her focus was solely on Giana.
She smiled again. “I’m really hoping I can get something going so I can quit sports, honestly.”
I glanced over at her. “You want to quit completely?”
Harper looked over to me now with a shy smile as she nodded. “I told you it wasn’t where my heart was and I’ve decided it would be best if I left it behind completely.” She paused for a moment as something glimmered in her eyes. “The sooner the better, wouldn’t you agree?”
My tongue darted out as I wet my lips. “Definitely sooner. As soon as possible, actually.”
Harper laughed softly. “Well, I can’t do that yet. I need to get more established and finish out the rest of the season.”
She had told me already that she didn’t want her entire career to be in sports photography, but I didn’t realize she meant she wanted to leave it completely. The thought and the possibility had a rush of adrenaline racing through my veins. If she didn’t work for the team any longer, then we were free to fully explore this deepening connection between us.
“So, we just have to get through the rest of the season and then I can make you mine?”
Harper’s blue eyes shimmered. “Officially, you mean.”
“That’s right,” I murmured as I pulled her close and ignored the sound of my sister clearing her throat. “You’re already mine.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
HARPER
As I drove home, I couldn’t help but play over how it went meeting Giana for the first time. It felt like it had gone well and she was very likable. I didn’t know why I was so nervous about meeting her. She was probably one of the nicest people I had ever met. Although, I wouldn’t want to be the one to cross her. I couldn’t imagine how she would be if she felt her brother had been done wrong.
The closeness between them brought a smile to my lips. Coming from a family where I was an only child, siblings were always something I had been jealous of. I never had someone in my corner like that and there was a part of me that always felt like I was missing out on something. It was just me growing up and I had spent a lot of time alone unless I was with friends.
Seeing that Nico and Giana had each other, especially after losing his mother, made me feel a sense of peace for them both. He hadn’t really told me much about his father, so it sounded like they only had each other left. My heart ached for the two of them but at least they had one another.
Nico insisted that the three of us were going to go to dinner tonight, but I needed to come home to get changed and everything first. We had both been going back and forth between each other's places and it was getting a little annoying. It seemed like I never had the things I needed when I needed them.
My phone vibrated in my hand as I let myself into my apartment. A smile touched my lips when I saw his name and opened his message.
Nico
I made reservations for tonight and we’ll be by to pick you up around six.
Let me know that you get home safely, love.
He was something I wasn’t used to. I wasn’t used to having someone checking up on me to make sure I was okay. I wasn’t necessarily estranged from my family, but we weren’t close. Nico was always checking to make sure I got home safely and I couldn’t help but really feel the sincerity behind his actions.
They spoke so much more than words, yet they were just a different way of him telling me he really did love me.
Harper
I just got inside my apartment.
There was no hesitation before he texted me back immediately.
Nico
Good. I miss you.
I tried to stifle the laughter that bubbled in my throat. I shook my head while I collected some clothing and headed into the bathroom to get into the shower.
Harper
You just saw me and you’ll see me again in a few hours.
Nico
That only makes me miss you more. Can I just come over now?
His words did something to my heart and I wasn’t sure it was a feeling I should trust. He had proved himself to be trustworthy. He was nothing like my ex and I knew that now. I just was afraid of the way he made me feel. Things like that were always too good to be true.
Maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe I just needed to let go of my fear since I had already decided to take the risk with him.
Harper
What about your sister?
I set my phone down as I turned on the shower and undressed before his next message came through.
Nico
She knows how to get an Uber. She can meet us at the restaurant.
I half smiled, half frowned as I shook my head at my phone.
Harper
Be a good brother and hang out with your sister. You’ll see me soon enough.
Nico
Fine. But I’m dropping her off at my place after dinner and I want you to myself tonight.