This Love

Chapter 79

SCARLETT STYLES

After only having Max for six days, I already don't remember what it was like to not have him. He's brought a special kind of joy to the house that I think only a puppy can...but also a special kind of frustration. Two of my designer handbags have been thrown away, along with three new sets of lingerie and two pairs of Harry's socks. The monster loves to chew.

That being said, he's now the reason we wake up in the morning. Or, he's the reason Harry wakes up in the morning, I should say. We tried letting him sleep in our bed for the first night, but he kept waking us up every hour by licking our faces. That was cute until it wasn't anymore, so now he sleeps in his cozy crate downstairs in the living room and we leave our door open to hear when he wakes up. Then it's my loving husband's duty to let him out to use the bathroom, of course.

But what I've learned is that Harry is absolutely the more strict and reasonable parent. He's not mean to him in any way, but he knows how to lay down the ground rules. Meanwhile, I'm thinking it's adorable when Max has an accident on the living room rug. We've both been working on potty training and teaching him general rules in the house, but Harry is better at making sure he understands them. I could have guessed that's how it would have worked out.

And with the trial coming up tomorrow, Max has offered the distraction I think I needed. If I sit for too long and think about seeing Frank in court, I start to spiral and sweat. Max has helped me focus on something else other than myself and he's served as a reminder that there are more important things to worry about, like loving and nurturing a growing and learning animal.

"Max, no," Harry laughs as he crosses the living room to take a Christmas ornament out of his mouth. "I thought you were watching him, babe?"

"I am," I set my phone down on my stomach.

"Uh-huh," he eyes the device and picks Max up to come and set him on my chest. If that was meant to punish me, it didn't work. My smile couldn't be bigger as Max licks all over my face and tries to eat the scrunchie in my hair.

"No!" I lose it laughing and hurry to hold my bun in place before he could undo it completely, and I can hear Harry's boyish laugh coming from the kitchen. "You little monster."

Max lets me cuddle him for about two seconds before he panics and wiggles out of my arms to jump back on the floor and make a beeline for the stairs. The baby gate stops him, and it's funny because that purchase will end up working for both our puppy baby and our future human baby. Harry and I have been trying since I officially told him I wanted one, but I'm expecting the process to take a while. I read that it can be years before a woman can conceive her first baby, which is why I'm eager to get started now.

"Hey, H?" I try to speak louder than the sound of the tap water running in the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"Since Hailey isn't here, maybe we should have couch sex," I suggest.

He laughs and shuts the water off. "You think so?"

"Well, we said we'd try three times a day, didn't we?"

"We did," he comes around the couch to lay himself down right on top of me, but sex doesn't seem to be the topic on his mind as he rests his head on my chest and breathes deeply.

"I don't think this is going to work," I filter his hair through my fingers, which will honestly just end up making him fall asleep faster.

"We'll do it in one minute," he mumbles back, making me smile up at the ceiling as he stuffs his arm under my back to hug me.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me," I warn. "You know I get claustrophobic and I won't be able to breathe, and then I'll die, and it'll be all your fault."