Thanksgiving
Harper
The snow falling outside is soft and peaceful. I snuggle deeper under the plaid blanket and lean my forehead against the cool pane of glass. Tucked into this window seat, I feel like I’m locked inside a snow globe, watching the magic of winter dance around me.
“You warm enough?” Charlie asks, passing me a mug of hot chocolate.
“Hey, yeah.” I grin up at him and take the mug. “Thanks.”
He repositions a nearby chair to face me and sits down. “Okay, so the game tonight is charades.” Charlie leans forward, his elbows dropping to his knees as he gives me a serious look.
I sit up straighter in my seat.
“Damien and Garrett will be on a team. They always are. And they always ch—”
“Uncle Charlie!” Garrett yells, zooming by with his arms outstretched, like an airplane. “Stop lying to Harper!” He stops in front of me and gives me the most adorable look. “I don’t cheat!”
“I believe you,” I tell him seriously.
“Uncle Damien does!” he yells, resuming his running and airplane noises.
“Hey!” Damien calls out from the nearby kitchen island. He’s having a drink with his dad as Mrs. Barnes cuts the brownies she and Garrett made after dinner.
“See.” Charlie nods, gesturing toward Damien and slapping his hand against his thigh. “From the mouth of a babe.”
I laugh and shake my head.
“Let Harper enjoy the snow without listening to your whining,” Fiona instructs Charlie.
He turns toward his sister. “Whining? I’m sorry…” He stands from his chair and moves closer to the kitchen island. “Who was complaining, just this morning, about having to drink orange juice with pulp in it?” He gives his sister a stern look.
Damien mutters something under his breath.
Mrs. Barnes pauses by the kitchen island, her eyes passing from one of her children to the next. She looks happy.
Over the past few months, my relationship with Damien’s mother has changed. After Damien’s and my first date, Mrs. Barnes called me to apologize. She was sincere, which I wasn’t expecting. However, she admitted that between speaking with her husband, and fully acknowledging the paths her three children were barreling down, she needed to make some changes.
She decided to start with me and put in the effort to get to know me and learn about my interests. Since that first call, we started texting and chatting weekly. She began sharing recipes that Damien and I could try together. Sometimes, she forwards me articles she thinks I’ll enjoy. I almost always do. When she came to see Damien play in Tennessee in September, she invited me to lunch. She was gracious and warm, and our relationship began to blossom.
As Mrs. Barnes offered insight into her world, I gained a deeper understanding of why the Barnes family is as closed off as they sometimes are. Mr. Barnes sold a chunk of his company and stepped back from a lot of the daily demands of his work. Damien’s parents attend more of his games now and Mr. Barnes is even assistant coaching Garrett’s soccer team.
Small changes, when taken in sum, have meant a big transition for the Barneses. There is more laughter and honesty. More joking around and confiding in each other. A lot less aloof expressions and withdrawn demeanors. They’re warmer, more open with each other, and I love that I get to witness it firsthand. I love that I’m now a part of their lives.
Mrs. Barnes bites into a brownie and moans. “Garrett, we did it! These are delicious.”
“Ooh, can I have one, Nana?” Garrett sits on a barstool next to Damien.
“You bet.” Mrs. Barnes plates him a brownie.
Before he can take a bite, Damien snatches it and tosses the whole thing into his mouth. He chews loudly, making all sorts of humming noises about how delicious and fudgey it is.
“Uncle Damien!” Garrett huffs.
Mr. Barnes laughs. Mrs. Barnes gives Damien a look while she cuts Garrett another brownie. Her eyes swing to the window and find mine. She smiles. “Come have a brownie while they’re warm, Harper.”
“And before Charlie and Damien eat them all,” Mr. Barnes advises. He turns in his chair. “Where did Fiona go?”
Charlie moves next to his mom in the kitchen and drops his elbows to the kitchen island. Making a phone symbol with his hand, he holds it next to his ear and shakes it, indicating she’s on a call.
Charlie’s been home from rehab for one month and while he’s still charming and sociable, he’s also more careful and thoughtful. Meeting him again was another kind of do-over, but considering he teases me like a brother, I think we’re doing a good job.
Fiona waltzes into the kitchen, her skin flushed.
“What’s wrong, Fi?” Mrs. Barnes asks.
Fiona grins. “I”—she shakes her head—“I have a date.”
“A date?” Damien looks up.
“With whom?” Charlie demands.
“Can I have another brownie?” Garrett asks.
Mrs. Barnes rolls her eyes.
Fiona ignores their questions and looks at me. “Harper, please tell me you have something to wear that I can borrow?”
Mrs. Barnes points toward her closet. “I have a whole closet filled with dresses, Fi. Take anything you’d like.”
Damien snorts. Charlie hides his laughter in his hot chocolate. Even Mr. Barnes looks amused.
“What?” Mrs. Barnes asks.
“It’s a first date, Mom. We’re grabbing drinks, not attending a ball. It certainly doesn’t require some lavish number that Bethany pulled.”
Mrs. Barnes laughs, taking the razzing in stride. She holds up a hand. “Okay. Okay. Tell us about this guy.”
“He’s…a good man. Sincere and funny. Smart,” Fiona explains, gesturing with her hands.
“He lives here, in Aspen?”
She nods.
“How did you meet?” Mr. Barnes inquires.
Fiona blushes. “Online.”
“What did we tell you about going into those chat rooms?” Charlie mock scolds, a hand on his hip.
“What does he do?” Mrs. Barnes asks, more curious than concerned.
Fiona looks at me and I slip from the window seat.
“I have several options. We’ll pull together something cute.” I pick up my hot chocolate.
“Fiona,” Damien sings. “Tell us what he does for a living. Is he from ‘good stock’?” He air quotes.
Mrs. Barnes whips a dish towel at him.
“We need his family name,” Charlie agrees, pulling out his phone.
“And his taxes from the last three years,” Damien tacks on.
“How tall is he? Can you wear heels?” Charlie inquires.
“All right, enough, enough.” Mrs. Barnes laughs. “I was awful, okay? I know it and I’m sorry.”
All the Barnes men and Fiona pause and stare at Mrs. Barnes.
She points her fork at them and admits, “That’s the only time I’m going to say it too.”
A silence hovers over the table before everyone cracks up, teasing Mrs. Barnes. She laughs with them, her cheeks rosy, her eyes dancing. She looks like a completely different version of the woman I met over the summer and since I saw her transformation happen over the past four months, it’s lovely to know she’s in a much better place.
I laugh and tip my head toward Damien’s and my bedroom.
Damien catches my eye as I pass him, blowing me a kiss, his eyes filled with gratitude.
I blow him a kiss back.
Garrett fake gags.
“Now we have to redo our teams for charades,” Charlie mumbles, like his entire evening is falling apart.
Fiona and I disappear into my bedroom and spend the next forty minutes putting together outfits and laughing as she fills me in on her date with a handsome, considerate, down-to-earth ski instructor and part-time mechanic she’s been speaking to for weeks. She looks happy and as I push my favorite pair of jeans into her hands, I’m happy for her.
After Fiona leaves, the family settles around the fire for an intense game of charades. There are snacks and hot chocolate. Laughter and teasing. It’s the kind of family game night I used to have as a kid, with my brother and me ganging up on our parents and trying to stay up past our bedtimes.
It fills me with nostalgia but also hope that one day, Damien and I will grow a family and it will be like this. Cozy nights wrapped in blankets, with hot chocolates in hand and sore bellies from endless laughter.
After Damien and Garrett secure their win, Damien whisks me to our bedroom. We ignore Charlie’s obnoxious whistles as the door closes behind us.
Damien turns off the lights, the moonlight streaming in through the big windows, reflecting off the snow outside. It casts everything in a warm glow.
Damien crosses his arms and leans back against the door as I quietly undress. When I’m clad in a black bra and panties, he rushes me, scooping me into his arms and laying me out on the bed.
Breathless laughter bubbles up inside as Damien lands on top of me. Automatically, my legs wrap around his hips, and he settles into the space above me. He pulls off his shirt and brushes my hair from my face. When he stares down at me, his gaze is reverent.
“Thank you for tonight, with my family,” he says softly.
“Thank you for bringing me skiing in Aspen,” I quip back.
He snorts, rubs the end of his nose against mine. “I love you, Harper Henderson.”
I bite my bottom lip. “Show me how much.”
“Always,” he agrees, drawing me into a kiss.
Then he sets to work and shows me the depths of his feelings, the intensity of his desire, the sincerity of his love.
He shows me again and again and again.
I lose myself in his touch. I free-fall into the bottomless pools of his gaze. I let his kiss consume me.
When we’re spent and sated, we fall asleep, our bodies pressed tightly together, surrounded by a wonderland of our own making.
It’s a hell of a lot more than relationship goals.
Together, Damien Barnes and I are everything.
Thank you so much for reading Playboy’s Reward! I hope you fell in love with Damien and Harper’s journey. If second chance romances (and military romance vibes!) are your jam, pre-order Beau and Celine’s book, Hero’s Risk, coming January 5.