Delicate

Chapter 85

HAVEN MCQUEEN
August 2022

For the last two hours or so, I've watched the white ceiling in our hotel room turn from black to deep blue, to pale blue, and now to the lightest shade of yellow as the sun begins to rise in Georgia. My eyes are burning from the lack of sleep, but I tried that multiple times last night and failed...multiple times. I couldn't stop my mind from racing and I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to feel and look like a walking corpse all day. It's out of my control.

As my phone lights up on the nightstand, I whip my head over in that direction so hard that I wince from the cracking sound my neck makes after staying in the same position almost all night. It's the text I was awaiting from Harry letting me know that he just landed in Savannah and he's about to get off the plane.

All I do is "like" the text, which isn't much of a response considering I haven't seen this man since June. My fiancé. I haven't seen my fiancé since June. That's not entirely his fault and it's not mine either, but that's the fact of the matter. It's been 56 days since we were in the same room together and not just talking on FaceTime when we were able to catch each other. It's been so difficult that he had to start sending me videos of him saying good morning and goodnight to the kids wherever he was in the world because we couldn't get on the phone at the right time, so I'd send him videos of us back as if he's a fucking soldier stationed in a war zone and not just a rockstar touring the world.

But he said he would be at my parents' wedding, and so he's here in Georgia to make it to my parents' wedding. It would have been nice if he could have been here last night for the rehearsal dinner and pre-wedding celebrations, but he's in the middle of his 15-show New York residency at Madison Square Garden, so I'd say that's a pretty good excuse.

The nice thing about him staying in one spot for another month and us being back in the States for the wedding is that we can stay in New York with him until his residency is through. We were able to discuss it while I was packing for our trip here to Savannah, so I just added an extra month's worth of outfits for the twins and me. That'll be good for all of us.

My phone goes off again, but this time it's my alarm to get up. Usually, I'd snooze it and keep tapping that button until I knew I had no other choice but to get out of bed, but I'm already wide awake and have no reason to stay in bed any longer. Besides, I don't have a choice. I'm my mom's maid of honor, which means I need to be in her room to help her get ready. Today is not about me whatsoever.

Just to feel more awake, I take a quick shower before the twins are up and ready for me to help them go to the bathroom. Both of them are officially potty-trained before their third birthday, which is absolutely fantastic, if you ask me. It's amazing how much better your life is when you aren't changing diapers around the clock. I forgot what that was like.

"Did you guys sleep okay?" I scrunch my damp hair with my towel, just in the soft complimentary hotel robe.

"Mhm," they nod and climb on my bed to lie down on the messy duvet and sheets.

"Should we order breakfast before we need to go see Nana? Are you guys hungry?"

"Pancakes," Jack confirms with the one-word answer.

"What about you, Lily?" I wander around the suite to find the room service menu. "Do you want eggs?"

"Uh-huh," she replies. "And finch toast."

"Pancakes, eggs, and French toast," I yawn. "You got it, babes."

Assuming Harry hasn't eaten breakfast yet, I order him a veggie omelet with hash browns and stick with a yogurt parfait for myself. I haven't been having much of an appetite in the morning these days, but maybe the time difference is still throwing me off. Maybe I'm stressed. I'm not sure what it is.