Anne tiredly walked down the stairs in search for some morning coffee. She didn't get too much sleep the previous night because she couldn't help but toss and turn at the mere thought of Harry letting Candice waltz back into his life like nothing happened. She really hoped he would remember exactly what she put him through and refuse to see her again, but if what Gemma told her is correct then he seemed to have forgotten. She wasn't going to tell him what he should or shouldn't do, Gemma usually did that herself, but she would make it known how she felt about the situation. She wanted her baby to be happy and knew that Candice wasn't going to make him happy; not in the long run.
"Sounds like you had an interesting night." Gemma said greeting Harry at the breakfast table in the morning.
"What are you talking about?" He questioned.
"I got a text message from Heather last night, first asking me if you and Candice had rekindled things, she hopes not by the way, and then giving me a run down of how you left in a quick hurry. As well as everything you said to dear ol' Candice." She said. "She was at the restaurant with her husband and saw you two."
"I had begun to forget why I fuckin' hate small towns and now I remember why." Harry grumbled. Everyone was too much in each other's business and eager to share. Maybe Heather hadn't told anyone other than Gemma but someone saw it and told someone who told someone else and so forth. Surely at least half the town knew about what had happened last night.
"What happened Harry?" Gemma pressed. She'd been surprised to get the text from Heather Erwin saying her brother was yelling at Candice and to ask if they were back together.
"We were at dinner and I just...I realized how horrible she is. Has she always been so..." He struggled to find the word he was looking for.
"Pretentious? Bitchy? A diva? Awful? A terrible human being? A soul-sucking person?" Gemma offered up some helpful descriptions. Certainly all words she'd used to describe the woman.
"I mean I used awful yesterday, but they all work." Harry chuckled.
"Understandable. Well I mean in the very beginning she wasn't as bad, but she definitely turned into a terrible person pretty quick." She said.
"How did I not see it? I mean was I that blinded by love for her?" He questioned. Gemma laughed and shook her head.
"Mum and I wondered the same thing pretty much the whole time you two were together." She shrugged.
"And I couldn't help but compare her to Piper the whole time." He admitted. Gemma felt a wide knowing smile growing on her face.
"Oh really?"
"Do you have to give me that look?" He said side-eying her. He watched as she laughed and smiled gleefully.
"Oh yes little brother. It's the look I give you when I know I'm right. And I was right. If we were 10 years younger I'd definitely be dancing around and pointing my fingers at you singing 'I'm right' over and over again." She giggled and nodded.
"Oh well thank goodness you're older and more mature." Harry said sarcastically.
"Well someone has to set an example for those monsters disgusted as my daughters." She laughed. "So what are you going to do?" She asked.
"About what?"
"The whole thing with Piper...speaking of, where is she? She still asleep?" She asked looking around. She hadn't seen her milling about the downstairs.
"She was on the phone with her parents when I left the room, so I'm assuming she's still doing that." Harry shrugged.
"But yeah, what are you going to do." She asked again.
"I don't know. I mean what can I do?" He shrugged.
"You can tell her how you feel." She said obviously.
"Gem, she's leaving after holidays. Well...the 1st technically." He said.
"So?" She asked.
"Well I mean...does it make much sense to start something only to have her go back to New Hampshire. She lives in another country! This isn't some cheesy movie where we're going to magically be able to work something out." He said.
"You're getting ahead of yourself Harry. I'm just saying, if you like her then you should tell her, it is Christmas after all and you have to be honest at Christmas time. At the very least you deserve a shot at happiness." She said.
"Good morning!" They heard Piper in the living room, likely talking to Robin who was reading his paper with his morning cup of tea.
"We'll talk more later okay?" Harry knew she wasn't going to drop it.
"Good morning you two." Piper said walking into the kitchen.
"Good morning. Cup of tea?" Harry asked getting up.
"That would be lovely, thank you." She smiled sitting next to Gemma.
"He didn't offer me a cuppa when I sat down." She cheekily told Piper.
"Because you already had one." He snarked back.
"Regardless, you didn't even ask if you could get me anything. Piper comes in, 'cup of tea?' and you jump out of your seat." She said mocking him.
"Will you hush!" He said. "You just love making fun of me don't you?" He asked.
"You certainly make it easy." She grinned cheerily at him.
"Are you two quite finished? We've got quite a day today." Anne said entering the kitchen.
"Shopping?" Gemma asked excitedly as Harry groaned at the thought.
"Shopping." She confirmed. Piper quietly thanked Harry as he handed her the steaming mug. "Got the list of people and places to look at." Anne said waving a piece of paper.
"I do love a bit of shopping." Piper chimed in from behind her mug.
"Alright, well let's do this." Harry groaned.
"SEE!" Gemma said wildly waving a finger at him. "Mum mentions shopping you're all groaning and moaning but when Piper says she enjoys it, you're ready to go." She said.
"Gemma, please leave your brother alone."
"Thank you."
"Everyone be ready in an hour?" Anne asked. The three people at the table nodded and she smiled to herself in satisfaction.
"We're going to go for a walk mum." Harry said later in the evening.
"Don't stay out too late, it's dark out." She called back.
"I hope Gemma's teasing this morning wasn't uncomfortable for you." He said.
"It was fine." She giggled. "I'm sure it was uncomfortable for you though." She smiled as he nodded with red cheeks.
"So I want to be honest with you." Harry said rubbing his hands to try and warm up.
"Okay." Piper said.
"I went to dinner last night with my ex girlfriend." Harry said. He watched her carefully for any sign of a reaction but all she did was look at him.
"Okay." Piper wasn't exactly happy but she realized she had no say over who get spent his time with.
"However, the whole time I couldn't stop comparing her to you." He shyly admitted. Piper stared at him dumbfounded as she tried to think of what to say.
"Oh." She said. Her mind was kind of a blank as she tried to think of a response.
"I realized I didn't want to be there with her when you were at the house spend time with my family. I mean, I asked you, no more like begged you, to come up here with me only to leave to go have dinner with someone who ultimately slapped me in the face. Don't even know what I was thinking. How could I do that to you?" He ranted. Piper could sense he was working himself up and cupped her hands on his face as a way to try and refocus him.
"Harry!" She snapped. She watched as his blazing eyes focused on her. Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. She could hardly process what he was saying.
'At the very least you deserve a shot of happiness' Gemma's words rang through his mind as he stared down at her. Snow had begun falling around them and sticking to their clothes but neither of them seemed to notice. Deciding it was now or never Harry decided to just go for it, Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.
Squeaking in surprise Piper let her hands slip from his face and she gripped his arms to try and keep steady. His hands came up and cupped her face to keep her close to him as his lips worked over hers.
"Woah." Piper mumbled as he pulled away. He laughed and nodded looking at her.
"I'm sorry, I should've asked you first." He said and she shook her head.
"You're fine." He smiled and kissed her again.
Anne walked down the stairs to see what was going on, having been woken up by the front door opening. She stopped short upon seeing Piper and Harry kissing in front of the Christmas tree. Not wanting to interrupt she quietly crept back upstairs with a smile on her face. Gemma owed her £20!