Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1) (13 page)

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my
God
!” she says.

“Casey, please—you are making a spectacle,” Aiden says, shaking his head as people from other tables look at them with curious faces.

“That’s so amazing!” Casey says. “Of course that also means I’ll have to deal with you forever, but I guess I can deal with that.” Dakota shakes his head, smiling at Casey’s backwards way of saying she approves of him.

“That’s really cool, man. I’m genuinely happy for you two,” Aiden says and shakes Dakota’s hand firmly. Dakota never would have thought they could actually become friends. But things seemed to be headed in that direction.

“Thanks, Aiden. That means a lot,” he says, nodding his head.

“Oh my God, Dakota. Do you know when you’re going to do it?” Casey asks, but just then Harper approaches the table. Dakota gives Casey a look, and she nods her head at him, agreeing to keep her mouth closed.

“The line was intense, but one perk of being pregnant is that you get bumped to the front,” Harper says, winking. Dakota laughs and pulls her to his side, kissing her forehead.

“Want to dance?” he asks her softly in her ear. Harper looks at him and nods. Casey and Aiden smiles at them as they walk to the dance floor. They snuggle closer to each other at their table and talk quietly, Casey smiling from ear to ear as Aiden kisses her forehead.

***

Aiden

“It’s amazing how things turn out, isn’t it?” Aiden says. Casey nods.

“Amazing is the perfect word to describe it,” she says, and they chuckle lightly before kissing. When they break apart, Casey looks at him seriously.

“Are you sure that you are okay about Dakota’s announcement there?” she asks. Aiden sighs and pushes a stray curl behind her ear.

“I would be lying if I said that it doesn’t feel weird knowing that the mother of my child is starting a family, with my son, with someone else, but they’ve shown me that they want me to be a part of that family. That’s all I really care about. I’m happy for them.”

“I knew there was a good guy hidden in there somewhere,” she says.

“Well, I think you might have been the only person who saw it and the only person who cared enough to try and bring him out.” He looks at her sincerely. “Thank you.”

“Welcome,” Casey says. He kisses her forehead again. Casey frowns dramatically and glances over at Dakota and Harper laughing and dancing to the fast song currently playing.

“I can’t believe my best friend is going to be Mrs. Daughtry. I’m going to be stuck with Dakota forever.” Aiden laughs, and then his eyes narrow slightly.

“Did you say Daughtry?” Aiden asks. Casey nods.

“Yeah, that’s Dakota’s last name. Daughtry. Assuming that she takes his name, that is. Why?”

“Oh…nothing. I just…I didn’t know that…” Aiden says pensively. He stares at Dakota for a few seconds longer than he should but then shakes his head, clearing his thoughts and turning his attention back to Casey, but he couldn’t help analyzing Dakota a tad bit closer for the rest of the night. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Chapter Nineteen

Harper

“Can I please just have a small coffee? Dr. Andrews said that it’s perfectly
okay
to have one cup of coffee a day.” Dakota’s eyes narrow as he grips the steering wheel a little tighter. It’s the morning after the wedding, and they’re headed out to find a place to eat breakfast. Harper woke up craving coffee and Belgian waffles. They had been arguing about the effects of caffeine since she announced her need for coffee was a matter of life and death.

“I just don’t like the idea of caffeine and pregnancy, Harper. There are all kinds of studies that show caffeine can bring harm to the baby,” Dakota says, annoyed.

“And there are just as many studies that show the exact opposite, Dakota. It’s one cup once a day. I’m used to four times that. I’m not going to drink like I used to anymore.”

“I. Don’t. Like. It,” Dakota says, rounding a corner and stopping at a red light. Harper folds her arms across her chest and scowls.

“Dr. Andrews wouldn’t tell me that if it weren’t true. Do you honestly think I want to hurt our baby?” Harper asks, trying not to get emotional. She’s having trouble controlling her emotions lately, and it’s infuriating. She couldn’t intimidate anyone anymore. Dakota glances at her and sees the hurt in her eyes.

“Harp, I know you would never do anything to intentionally harm our baby.” Harper scoffs.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m sure, baby. This is just all new to me. I guess I’m just…”

“Scared?” she asks, seeing his hands tighten on the wheel.

“Dakota, I’m scared too, and this is
not
new to me. I totally understand that. So how about we talk about those things? We’re in this together, right?”

“Right.” She sees air leaves his chest.

“Sooo…” Dakota glances at her, and she grins widely.

“So if Dr. Andrews says it’s okay, then…fine. Have your coffee,” Dakota says and lets out a frustrated sigh. Harper unfolds her arms and glances at him.

“Thank you, Dakota,” she says, a small smile playing at her lips.

“Whatever,” Dakota says, and Harper giggles.

“I love you so very much,” she says in a sing-song voice. Dakota tries to keep the smile from his lips, but when he looks over at her smiling at him, he’s instantly no longer annoyed with her. He rolls his eyes.

“Let’s get some coffee now,” he says. Harper nods her head, excited beyond belief. Because of their disagreement, she hadn’t had coffee for weeks. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on a cup. They park and get out of the car quickly. Harper sits at a small table by the entrance, and Dakota goes up to order her coffee. He comes back to the table a minute later.

“Listen for your coffee while I go use the restroom.” Harper nods, and Dakota walks away. A minute later Harper hears her name. She walks over to the counter and picks up her to-go cup, turning herself toward the entrance. She immediately takes a quick sip, loving the way it burns down her throat. She’d let it cool in the car for a bit, but she just needed that first sip to calm her nerves. She switches her weight from one foot to the other, waiting for Dakota to come back from the bathroom, and glances at the name written on the cup. She recognizes it as hers but soon realizes there’s more written there. She moves her fingers so she can read the words and turns the cup slightly. It says:

Harper, will you marry me?

Harper gasps, and tears quickly pool in her eyes. She sets the coffee down like it has burned her hands.

“Wha-Wha—” she stammers and turns around with every intention of going into the bathroom and grabbing Dakota and figuring out what the hell is going on, but when she turns around, Dakota is in front of her, his face serious. The place is generously filled with the morning crowd, some on laptops, some reading, a few couples, and other groups of close friends or coworkers. They are all curiously looking at the couple as the staff behind the counter stops taking orders and are now focused on them.

“Harper,” Dakota says. He swallows thickly. “Since you came into my life, I’ve never been happier, more complete, and more alive. You’ve given me friendship, you’ve given me somewhere to call home, and most importantly, you’ve given me a family, and that’s something I could never thank you enough for. You’ve given me everything. You and Jamie and our soon to be new little girl or little boy are my everything. I love you so much. I didn’t think I could love a person as much as I love you, but I do, and with you now becoming the mother of my child, I can’t imagine my world without you in it. So I have to ask…”

Harper watches him, thick tears falling down her face as he gets down on one knee in front of her. Harper gasps, unable to speak, and covers her mouth with one hand as Dakota takes hold of the other. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a black box, the one he just shared with Jamie the day before. He cracks it open with one hand, revealing the beautiful ring inside.

“Harper Montgomery, will you please make me the luckiest man on the planet and agree to marry me?” Dakota says, unable to hide his emotion anymore. His eyes fill with tears, and Harper feels like she might pass out. She doesn’t think, she doesn’t breathe, she doesn’t hesitate for a moment before nodding her head so furiously that she feels she might get whiplash.

“Yes, Dakota! Yes! I—” She sniffs, trying to get control of her emotions. “I will absolutely marry you!” she says, and the coffee shop bursts in applause, whistles, and cheers as Dakota exhales and slips the ring on Harper’s naked finger. Harper throws herself at him when he stands back up, and they stand there hugging and crying into each other’s shoulders for what seems like forever. They connect foreheads.

“I love you,” Harper says, smiling through her tears.

“I love you too,” Dakota says.

***

Aiden

“Ahh!” Casey yells as Harper reveals the news to her a couple of hours later. Dakota and Harper never made it to breakfast, or out of the car, for that matter. It seemed that celebrating their engagement was way more important than eating or…getting to a bed. Nevertheless, Harper rushed to tell Casey the minute they came back to the hotel. Aiden and Casey had just gotten dressed and were about to come find them to see if they wanted to go get lunch somewhere. Dakota and Aiden are sitting at a little table in the corner of the room while the girls are seated on the bed, jumping up and down excitedly, Casey examining Harper’s ring with a satisfied smile and Harper smiling from ear to ear like she just won the lottery.

“Don’t think we’re leaving for lunch anytime soon,” Aiden says, grinning at Dakota.

“Probably not,” he says and chuckles.

“We could go pick up something and grab a movie. They probably want some ‘girl time’ anyway,” Aiden proposes. Dakota nods his head.

“That sounds good. Let’s go,” Dakota agrees. After saying a quick goodbye to the girls, who barely acknowledged their leaving, they are on the road. Aiden is in the passenger seat googling places they could possibly go to for good take out.

“Chinese?” Aiden asks.

“Harper only likes Chinese food at night.”

“Indian?” Dakota asks.

“Casey hates Indian food. She says it smells.” Dakota laughs as he turns a corner.

“Burgers and fries?” Dakota shakes his head.

“If I eat anymore burgers, I’m going to go insane. That’s all Harper wants to eat these days, and she’ll put anything on it. Anything and give me those sad puppy eyes if I don’t experiment with her.” Aiden laughs.

“What about Mexican? There’s a place like twenty minutes from here that has good reviews.” Dakota nods his head.

“That sounds good.” Aiden puts the address into the GPS on his phone and then sticks it into the holster above Dakota’s rearview mirror so he can see.

“Thanks,” Dakota says. There is a comfortable silence for several seconds as Dakota gets onto the correct road to find the Mexican restaurant. Aiden glances at Dakota every few seconds, wondering if he should start a conversation or not. This is the first time they have been completely alone since their truce. He decides to start a conversation.

“So did you talk to Jamie about asking Harper beforehand?” Aiden asks. Dakota nods.

“Of course. Yeah. I felt like it was the right thing to do. I felt like I needed his approval before I could do it.”

“And his reaction?” Aiden asks, smiling slightly, already knowing what it probably was.

“He was really excited about it. I hoped he would be.”

“Of course he would be. He loves you,” Aiden says. Dakota glances at Aiden and sees the sincerity on his face.

“I love him too,” Dakota says. Aiden nods.

“I’m happy for you guys. I really am,” Aiden says.

Dakota chuckles, shaking his head. “Did you ever think this would happen? You and me in a car and not ready to kill each other?” he says.

Aiden laughs. “Not in a million years. I hated you, Dakota. Seriously I did.” Dakota nods. “But I realized I only hated you because you were able to do something I never allowed myself to. I just wanted to be you,” Aiden says honestly.

“Well, I’m glad we were able to get past all of that because my intention was never to push you away. I always encouraged Jamie to continue pursuing a relationship with you. I know what it feels like not to have a family. I never wanted Jamie to feel how I felt growing up. I never want anyone to feel how I felt growing up.”

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like.” Dakota gets off at an exit and heads down a long road. He comes to a light and slows down as it eases into red.

“It was tough. I had a lot of dark days. Times when I felt like going through life wasn’t even worth it. I was really lonely and isolated for a long time. I was lucky to make it to eighteen.”

“Do you remember your parents at all? Did you ever know them?”

Dakota shakes his head. “No. All I know is my last name, and I know I was born in Atlanta.”

“Have you ever thought about finding them?”

Dakota scratches his head. “A few times when I was a teenager.”

“What stopped you?”

“I don’t know. I just…I figured if they let me go, if they didn’t want me, why would they want me now? I felt like I didn’t have anything going for me. Like…I still wasn’t good enough.” Dakota sighs slightly, taken aback at his own confession. He had never told anybody that besides Harper. When did Aiden become so easy to talk to?

“I can understand that. I mean, you were wrong, obviously, but I can see your train of thought.”

“I thought about it again these past few years, and now that Harper’s pregnant, it would be nice for our baby to know at least one set of grandparents.” Dakota shrugs.

“I think you should do it,” Aiden says.

“Yeah?”

Aiden nods. “Yeah, I mean, you never know. They could be…looking for you too, you know?” Aiden says.

Dakota nods. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep thinking about it,” Dakota says.

“Good,” Aiden says. “The place is coming up here on your right.” Aiden looks out the window, searching along with Dakota. They spot it in the middle of a busy shopping center and pull in. They both get out of the car and head into the restaurant, going over what they think the girls could possibly want, laughing as they think ordering the entire menu might actually be a promising idea, knowing both of their girlfriends. Once they decide on six or seven items on the menu to give them a variety, they decide to pick up some wine and a movie. The two were surprised at how easy it was for them to get along with each other. How easy it was for them to laugh about normal things like sports, lame pop songs, and Jim Carrey movies. But today they also realized they could talk about more than that. They never would have predicted almost seven months ago that they could actually have things in common like their weird love of corn, obsession with designer suits, and fear of clowns. Who would have thought they could actually be friends?

***

“So you and Dakota seemed to be getting along really well,” Casey says later that night after the couples decided to retire to their respective rooms for the night for some alone time. They are in the bed cuddled up with the television showing a random movie they aren’t really paying attention to. Casey lays on Aiden’s chest while he has his arm wrapped around her waist and the other behind his head.

“Yes. Yeah, he’s a really good guy. Think we might actually be becoming friends,” Aiden says.

“Jamie’s going to love that.” She looks up at him. Casey kisses him sweetly. He kisses her back, but she feels that he’s distracted. He has been all day from time to time. Casey looks at him.

“Are you okay?” she asks. Aiden looks down at her.

“Yes…” he says.

Casey scrunches up her nose at him. “I don’t believe you.” She pokes him in the chest. Aiden chuckles slightly.