Liddy's POV
As soon as Hunter leaves the room, Renee starts glaring at me. It makes me a bit uncomfortable, but I hold my ground.
"I was going to suggest we walk outside to talk, so Hunter won't overhear, but you're certainly not dressed for that."
"You're right I'm not, but I can wrap up in a blanket if it would make you more comfortable."
"Or you could go change." She suggests bitterly.
"No, I think I'll stay with what I'm wearing."
"Fine." She hisses. "Let's at least go and sit down." She says as she walks over to the couch.
I follow, but sit across from her in one of the over sized leather chairs. "So what did you want to talk about, Renee?"
"Hunter."
"Of course, what about him?"
"Why did you have to come back and lure him away? Why couldn't you have just left us alone?"
"I didn't lure him away."
"Stop acting coy. We both know that the only reason you moved back into your apartment was to make it easier to seduce him."
"First off, I did NOT move back into my apartment to try and cause problems between you two. I moved back because I had stayed long enough at my sister's house. The only plan I had was to try and avoid both of you, as much as possible until I moved."
"You're moving?"
"I intended to, until Hunter and I talked."
"What did you talk about?"
"That's none of your business."
"Yes, it is! I have the right to know why he walked away from me."
"I believe he told you."
She fakes a laugh. "Yay, he used some excuse about he and I wanting to raise Harper differently."
"That's not an excuse. Harper means the world to him. He wants to give her the best childhood possible and...."
"And that would be for he and I to raise her together."
"Obviously, he doesn't agree."
"He did till you moved back in. What did you say to him, to make him change his mind about us?"
"I DIDN'T do or say anything!" I say loudly. I'm frustrated and you can hear it in my tone.
"He and I could be so happy if he would just give me another chance. I could get pregnant and we could give Harper the baby brother or sister she so desperately wants. We both know you can't do that." She says smugly.
I try to hide how much her comment hurt. "Who told you that?"
"He did." She smiles brightly. "One of the nights when we were snuggled up together, out of the blue, he mentioned that one of his biggest concerns he had about marrying you was the fact that he might never have any more children because of your in ability to get pregnant."
I'm shocked that Hunter would discuss my condition, with Renee of all people. I'm sure she's lying but I still feel tears forming in my eyes. I fight to hold them back. I refuse to let her know the anguish she's causing me. "Well, it couldn't be too big of a deal because he chose me and not you."
I can see the anger on her face. It takes her several deep breaths before she can speak. "Do you care for my daughter?"
"Of course, I do."
"Do you like to see her happy."
"Yes."
"Are you aware how much she wants a sibling?"
"She mentioned it a few times. It's not uncommon for children her age to want a brother or sister."
"Then why are you going to take that chance away from her?"
"What?"
"You know if you marry Hunter and you can't have a child not only will you take away his dream of having a large family but you'll take Harper's away, too."
Before I can reply, Hunter enters the room. "That's enough, Renee. I want you to leave right, NOW!"
"Why? I'm not done talking with your nanny."
"I heard what you just said, so stop trying to act innocent. Just leave before either of us says anything that can't be forgiven. Remember, we still need to get along for Harper's sake."
"Fine, I'll leave." She says as she stands and walks towards the door. "Hunter, give Harper a kiss for me. I'll text you tomorrow about setting a time up to see her and ah, Liddy, I hope you think long and hard about what we talked about." She smirks before closing the door behind her.
Hunter walks over and hugs me. "Don't listen to her she's just jealous and wants to hurt you."
"Were you listening the whole time?"
"No, now I wish I had. What did she say to you?"
"How much did you hear?"
"All I heard was her say something about you taking away Harper's and my dream."
I start to cry. "She's right. If I marry you and I can't conceive I will ..."
"Shhh. That's not going to happen."
"But you don't know that!"
"But I do, because my biggest dream is NOT what Renee thinks it is."
"It's not?" Then what is it?"
"It's to marry you and raise Harper together. I want that more than anything else in this world."
"You want that more than children?" I ask skeptically.
"Yes, I do. Theses last 3 weeks without you have shown me a lot. I know without a doubt that I'll never be truly happy unless you are by my side and that there is no one I want more than you to help me raise Harper."
"But what about Harper's dream to have a sibling?"
"I feel very confident that it will happen. Remember, you and I aren't the only ones who can give Harps a baby brother or a sister. Her mother can too. I'm sure in time, Renee will move on, remarry and have another child or two. So stop worrying, please."
"I can't help it."
"I know you can't, but I really NEED you to try." He says before wrapping me in his arms and kissing my forehead. "You are so selfless it scares me sometimes."
"Why?"
"Because you always put other people's feelings before your own. That's why you've pushed me away twice already. I'm not going to let you do it a third time."
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Hunter's POV
While Liddy takes a shower, I watch Harper sleep. I am so worried about her. I agree with Lid, Harps definitely has more than the flu. Tomorrow morning I'm going to call another pediatrician and set up an appointment for a second opinion.
When I hear the water shut off, I reach down and feel for the engagement ring that is in the front pocket of my jeans. The same place it has been everyday since Liddy gave it back to me. I know she told me to put it some place safe, but I couldn't do it. Having it on me made me feel like a part of her was always with me."
I still can't believe how stupid I was too think I could be happy sharing my life with Renee or anyone else for that matter. Liddy is my everything. She's my world. I need her. She fills a void in my heart that no one else can.
"How's she doing?" She asks.
I look over, she's standing there in a sleeveless pink cotton nightgown with a scooped neckline and only thin straps to hold it up. It lands at her mid thigh so I can see her gorgeous tanned legs. She is so beautiful. "She seems okay. I think her fever is down."
"That's good!" She smiles. "I'll watch her so you can take a shower."
"Okay, thanks." I say before kissing her lips briefly and heading into the bathroom.
When I'm finished showering I toss on my blue striped pajama pants. Then I brush my teeth, towel dry my hair and run a comb through it. Before tossing my dirty clothes in the hamper, I reach into the pocket of my jeans and remove her engagement ring. I slid the 2.5 carat diamond on my baby finger and head into the bedroom to grab a white V-Neck out of my bureau.
As I glance over to see what Liddy's doing I find her sitting next to a sleeping Harper gently rubbing her back. I stop and stare for a moment. I'm still amazed at how maternal she is towards my daughter. It comes naturally to her. When she feels my eyes on her she looks up and smiles. God, I love her so much.
"Hey, I need to let Cole out one more time. Want to come with me? We can sit and look at the stars for a few minutes before heading to bed."
"Sure, just let me grab a robe." She says as she walks over to stand beside me. "Ah maybe you should put a shirt on, too? As much as I appreciate all your toned muscles and trust me I do. I REALLY do. We don't need the neighbors seeing you like this. A photo would be posted on Twitter in 2.2 seconds. Your fans would go crazy and your phone would probably blow up from all the tweets." We both laugh. Then I grab a T- shirt and pull it over my head, as we head downstairs.
"I'm so thankful you agreed to come outside and sit with me."
"This is nice." She says as she snuggles up next to me on the chaise lounge, next to the pool. "I've missed this."
"You've missed gazing at the stars?"
"Yes, that to, but what I meant was I've missed you holding me in your arms."
"I've missed it, too, more than you know." I say as I pull her close. "Can I ask you something."
"Sure."
"Did you believe me when I told you that nothing "happened" between Renee and I?"
"Yes, I did. But I won't lie it was nice to hear Renee admit it, too."
"She did?"
"No, not to me face. But as I was walking downstairs earlier, I overheard her complaining that you never gave her a chance, you always insisted she sleep in the guest room."
"You know why I did that, right?"
She nods her head. "I think so."
"It's because I couldn't imagine being with anyone besides you. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I was so hurt and so scared and..."
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize again. We BOTH messed up." She turns to look at me. "I'm as much to blame as you are, I realize that. I'm just so lucky that you were willing to forgive me."
I grab both of her hands in mine and stare into her eyes. The light from the almost full moon is reflecting off of them, making them sparkle. "Can we try to put this behind us and get back to where we were, just you, me and Harper?"
"I would like that."
"Does that mean you won't take the job in California?"
"I already planned to call Mr. Green in the morning and tell him I can't accept the job."
I hug her. "Thank God."
"I love you, Hunter."
"I love you too. So much that it scares me sometimes. If I learned anything from this whole Renee thing, it's that even though I could live without you, I don't ever want to. I want to wake up to your beautiful smile every morning and kiss you sweet lips every night before going to sleep. I want us to hold each other when we're sad and I want to laugh with you when we are happy. I want you with me every day for the rest of my life. So will you please agree to marry me, again?" I ask as I hold her engagement ring in my hand.
Tears form in her eyes. "Yes, I'll agree to marry you again."
"I know this wasn't as romantic as the first time I asked you and I probably should have waited to find a better way, but I couldn't help......."
She smiles brightly as she places her slender finger over my lips. "Would you stop talking and just kiss me?"
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Well they are engaged, again. What do you think?
Please, keep voting and commenting. I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!!!!
I would like to give a shout out to KellieHayes1993. She has started writing some HH imagines and they are very good. You should check them out!
14.2 K reads!!! This is so incredible. Thank you all for reading and voting and for just being awesome!