Freed

Thirty-Nine

"Call Ms. Lotia ad ask her if she's bringing the bridesmaids in for a fitting today." I tell Samara, as I sort out the pile of fabric lying near my feet.

"Yes, of course." Samara says, taking a seat behind the cash register. I sneak a quick glance at Ariel, who is soundly sleeping in her rocker. It's so good to be able to sneak in a few hours of work without her crying every five minutes. I'm glad the newborn baby moments are over. The boutique door bell chimes, alerting us of a customer's presence.

"I'll get it," Samara says.

"Thanks," I say gratefully, folding up a black velvet strip of fabric. A few minutes later, I look back up to see how Ariel's doing, but my view is blocked by a building. A building of a man draped in black. I look towards Samara, alarmed, eyes wide. She shrugs her shoulders, smiling.

"He's hot," she mouths. I shake my head in disbelief and get up, heading towards my child who could quite possibly be in danger.

"Excuse me, Sir?" I say, stopping right behind him. "This is a clothes shop, not Babies 'R' Us."

"Considering she's my child I think I have the right to focus on her." Harry says, surprising me. He looks at me from over his shoulder and smirks. "Hello, baby mama."

"What're you doing here?" I ask incredulously.

"Someone gave me a call and said there's a very unhappy woman in town," Harry turns around to face me. "Because her stupid husband believed her immature words and left." I can't suppress the grin that tears across my face, practically reaching my ears.

"Oh really?" I cock an eyebrow. "Well, you shouldn't have wedded such an immature woman."

"Ah, you see, I didn't have a choice at the time." Harry teases, crossing his arms across his chest. "But it wasn't all that bad. I tend to recollect happy memories only from our time together."

"Then you should knock some sense into her and win her back." I tilt my head to the side. "Be her knight in shining armor."

"Oh, I intend to." Harry takes one long stride towards me and wraps his palms around my cheeks, mashing our lips together. "I'm sorry," he murmurs against my lips.

"No, Harry, I'm sorry." I say, resting my forehead against his. "I became weak and gave up on you when I should've stood by you. It was so wrong of me to ask you to give everything up and begin a life that you had no idea about. I'm sorry." Harry smiles at me understandingly, zero anger in his gaze. Good God, I don't deserve this man.

"And I should've fought harder for my family," Harry says. He nods towards Ariel. "She's become more of a babe than before." I laugh, punching Harry's forearm lightly.

"She's your daughter! You should use words like angel, beautiful, etc." I say, as Harry wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. He turns us around to face Ariel.

"She's my child and so I can call her whatever I want, but I swear if a guy uses the same term..." Harry's face transforms into one of absolute rage. I place my palm against his chest and rub it soothingly.

"Calm down, Rambo." Yeah, nothing feels as good as this. No friend's arm, no boyfriend's hug.

"Are you supposed to be here all day long, or can we make a getaway right now?" Harry asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Because I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about and decide upon."