His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 222: Three Magic Words

** Eli **

Eli was lightheaded. Never in his life had he felt so shocked, confused, and overwhelmingly elated all at the same time.

She said it was a true story. She said she was ... in love with him. But how could that be possible? Even before Tyler, even back on the day of their mutual confessions at that swimming pool in Hawaii, he had assumed that her interest in him was a recent swoon. A passion of the moment that he was prepared to see waning with time, a precious but temporary blessing he would lose once the nature of his true self caught up with them. But how could she have already had those feelings for years ... for over half a decade?

"H-Harper," he stumbled over his words as she pulled away, ending the ethereal kiss and the beautiful story he couldn’t even dare to envision in his dreams. "I—"

He didn’t know where to start. His mind was such a garble of thoughts that he was at a loss for words.

Thankfully, she saw it, and she was patient with him. Flattening both her palms against his chest, she gave him the softest, warmest smile. "You can tell me anything," she offered. "I won’t judge. Even if you say you don’t like the story and that the main character is simply being silly."

"What? Don’t assume that’s even possible," Eli blurted. "I ... Damn. I only wish I knew. But apparently I am an idiot. An unforgivably stupid one. How did I— When did it— I never—"

Harper chuckled at his embarrassing incapability to finish a sentence. "You look so surprised," she said. "Surely you should be used to women vying for your attention all the time. Perhaps you shouldn’t have assumed I was that different."

"But you are!" he blurted again. At least it was easy to figure out what it was that he had to tell her now. "Harper. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, kindhearted woman I have ever met in my entire life. Even if I couldn’t have been with you four years ago, it would never have been because of anyone else, because no one — no one at all — could ever outshine your light. You don’t need makeup because you’re gorgeous and flawless the way you are, and no one else can make a simple pair of canvas shoes or even pajamas look so casually perfect like they’re made for fashion shows. I would’ve told you all of this that day if I had known what you were thinking." freewёbnoνel.com

He meant every word of it. Harper had always been lovely in his eyes, although in a slightly different way when she was younger. Not that he wanted to compare her to his exes, but if he did, none of them would ever hold a candle to her, and the fact that she had once thought less of herself because of his college fling made him feel immensely guilty.

A spark gleamed in Harper’s eyes. And oh, yes, look at that. Look at how mesmerizingly stunning those emerald green eyes were, especially with those warm rays of light shining through their depths.

"I think you must be seeing me through some kind of lover’s filter." Her gaze was shying away ever so slightly. "There’s no way anyone could make pajamas look like fashion clothing."

"No, I’m serious. Besides, you were the one who once said I looked like a model wearing an apron."

That made her laugh. "Fair enough, I guess we are even on that." She met his eyes again. "What else are you thinking? Other than I am apparently the fairest of them all?"

Eli took a deep breath. It was still a lot to sort through his mind, as he was still having trouble coming to terms with everything he had just learned. "I ... I’m sorry that was why you stopped talking to me back then," he decided to say after a few moments. "Damn, we missed out on a whole four years for no good reason. And if not for this web novel you started writing, if not for Chelsea and May ... it could’ve turned into a lifetime."

They were both quiet then, contemplating this very real possibility that suddenly felt like the biggest tragedy in life.

"I’m grateful that fate had different plans." Harper’s gaze was soft when she spoke again. Then the corner of her lips lifted a little, turning her smile a bit sly. "Though I suppose I can’t complain that I got lots of good ’writing practice’ out of all that."

Eli laughed. Once again, that teasing gleam in her eyes dazzled him, and he was lost for a long second, agreeing with all his heart that he was the luckiest man alive to receive such a blessing from fate.

"... Anything else that you want to tell me?" Harper asked again as his thoughts wandered. Her hand slid over to his shoulders, gently looping behind his neck.

Hmm?

It took him an embarrassingly long moment to realize that she was looking at him, unblinking, so softly and expectantly as if she was waiting for something that would change their lives forever.

But of course! She was waiting for the response she wanted to hear ... She was waiting for him to say those three words back to her!

Yet he was getting so distracted talking about four years ago that he completely lost that train of thought. He really, really, really was stupid.

"Yes. I should have been the one to say this to you first, and I hope you’ll forgive me for being such a chicken that I actually admitted it to Tyler before saying it to you—" He laughed softly as she blinked in puzzlement, and he cupped her cheeks, looking into her eyes to let her know that he meant the words he was about to utter for the first time in his life. "I love you, Harper. I don’t know what I’ve done to ever deserve you, but I love you. I don’t know how it started, and I don’t know how to make it stop, but I love you. I want to write a happy ending for that story you told me ... With you, together."