"Yeah, that's fine. Tell him I want to move the meeting up, though. Maybe Monday or Tuesday. Oh, and I want to sit in on the fitting this afternoon, but other than that I'm going to be in the store."

Madison nods and writes something down. "Got it. Anything else?"

"Yes. You aren't allowed to come in tomorrow." She looks at me with wide eyes and I can't help but laugh. "Madison, you're young and beautiful and you need to take advantage. Go have fun, you're here all the time. Don't forget to have a life, okay?"

She smiles shyly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely."

She nods. "Thanks, Savannah."

She walks out of my office and I go back to the paperwork in front of me. The sales for the store downstairs have only gone up, and now we're talking about adding a couture collection since there's so much buzz about it. There's even talk of being involved in Fashion Week. I look up through the glass walls of my office and spot Mason talking to Madison, who points towards my office with a smile. He walks right in and I shut my folders.

"This place is huge," he says, laughing a little. "I had a hard time finding your office."

"I'm sure your building is just as big."

"Yeah, but I know my way around so it doesn't feel so big. Ready to go for lunch?"

"Yeah." I stand and slide my blazer on. "I talked to Mom, she's going to meet us there."

"Great."

"Just so you know, I'm waiting to drill you about Ky until we get there, because I know you hate to repeat yourself."

He laughs. "Yeah, and I'm not asking about Harry for the same reason. Sophie, though. She gets cuter every time I see her. And she grows like a friggen weed."

"Yeah," I laugh. "I know. We can't believe it. She's not a baby anymore, it's so weird."

We step into the elevator and he hits the ground floor button. "Is it sad? Do you miss her being a baby?"

I shrug. "It was so busy but it was fun. Babies are cute, so that's always a plus. But it's kind of nice that she can do some things herself, even if it does make me want to cry."

"The talking thing is scary," he says, shaking his head. "She shouldn't be able to talk like that yet."

"She's a little ahead of most kids in that department. She speaks really well for not being three yet."

"Over-achiever," he says, shaking his head again and rolling his eyes. "Of course."

---

"Enough chit-chat," my mother says, waving her arms. Mason and I share a knowing smile. "Let's talk about the good stuff. Mason, you first since we never see you anymore. Tell us about Kylie."

"Yeah, I actually do have news," he says. I raise my eyebrows and my mother leans forward, always so eager.

"What is it?" I prompt. He laughs a little and slides his hand into the inside of his jacket where there's a pocket. I already know what he's pulling out before he does it.

"A ring!" My mother squeals. She claps her hands and stands to hug him, and Mason laughs a little.

"Holy shit, you're proposing?" I ask. He nods and my mother wipes under her eyes as she sits back down. "Wow, Mase, that's amazing! Congratulations."

I hug him as well and we all try to calm down a little. It's insane that he's still with Kylie, if you ask me. I never would have seen them lasting until now, but obviously I was wrong. They are really happy together and I know how insanely in love with her he is.

"She hasn't said yes yet," he reminds us. "But yeah. Crazy, right?"

"Not really. If it's right then go for it."

"You two are getting so old," my mother says fondly. We both glare at her a little. "No, not old, just grown up. Savannah's had a baby and now Mason is getting married. I'm the one who's old!"

"Yeah, don't forget that," Mason says. "Anyway, thinking about proposing makes me nervous as hell, so let's talk about Savannah."

"Thanks."

"Yes, Harry and Savannah," my mother says, getting ready for more gossip. "How are things? It's been a few weeks now, hasn't it?"

"Almost a month," I say, nodding my head.

"And?"

"And...things are good. Really good. We're happy."

She raises her eyebrows. "That's all we get?"

I laugh. "Mom, I don't know what you want from me. There's no drama for once and I'm totally okay with that so you should be too."

"Are you going to move back in with him?" Mason asks. "Well, he'd probably move in with you, right?"

"Probably, but no we aren't doing that yet. We want to take our time with this, make sure we're ready."

"Savannah," my mother says scoldingly, "You have a child together, I think you're ready for a commitment."

"And if we aren't? We're happy now, but we were happy before too and look how that ended up. If we all started living together and it didn't work out, it would be so confusing and heartbreaking for Sophie. Neither of us are willing to put her through that. This way she's still sleeping at mine or Harry's and she still knows that there's some separation there."

"Well you know what's best for your family," Mason says before my mother can protest. She nods in agreement. "As long as it's what you want."

"I want my family. I missed Harry so much when we weren't together and now I feel like everything is falling into place."

"Speaking of Harry, I called him earlier and we're going out for drinks tonight with some guy. Neil, maybe?" Mason says.

"Niall. That sounds fun."

"Who is Niall?" my mother asks.

"A friend of Harry's. If you guys want to just come back to my place that's fine, you can see in the guest room," I offer. I check my phone for the time and start to gather my things. "I have to get back to work, though. I'll see you both for dinner?"

"Your place tonight," Mom chirps.

---

"Guess who?" Harry calls, stepping into my place. I hear the door shut and little feet pattering around, then pausing near the door. Harry pushes the door open for Sophie and she runs over to wear I'm standing.

"Hey princess." I scoop her up and kiss her cheek. "How was daycare?"

"Bite me," she pouts. I raise my eyebrows, about to scold her for her attitude, but Harry intervenes.

"One of the little boys bit her," he explains. Oh. He walks over and kisses me. "Hi."

"Who bit you?" I ask Sophie. She looks down, bottom lip sticking out and chin touching her chest. I look up at Harry with a small smile, arms folded as he leans against the counter watching us. "Soph?"

"No my friend," she says. She folds her arms and I let out a small giggle.

"She wouldn't tell me either," Harry says, smiling as well. "The lady said his name was Preston."

"Angela."

"No, it was a boy. Preston."

I roll my eyes. "No, I mean the daycare lady. Her name is Angela." He laughs and shrugs. I know he doesn't care to remember anymore since Sophie will be in school next fall anyway. "Harry, we're going to be bringing her there for another year so you should probably learn her name."

"You know it. That's enough," he says.

I set Sophie on the counter so I can gather her hair into a ponytail so it's out of her eyes. It really is suddenly getting curly and I absolutely love it.

"Mase and my mother should be here any time," I tell him. "There's stuffed chicken in the oven and I was just going to start on that mashed potato thing with the vegetables that you like."

"Your mother doesn't eat potatoes, remember?"

"Too many carbs, right. Well, she can suck it for tonight."

He laughs loudly and lets his chin on my shoulder. "So rebellious. You still in a bad mood, Soph?"

I laugh and nudge him in the ribs with my elbow, and I notice him instantly wince from the contact. I set Sophie on the ground and look up at him, already worried.

"What?" he asks nonchalantly.

"That hurt you," I state simply. He doesn't say anything. "Harry, you're scaring me."

"Stop worrying about me, I'm fine," he says. I reach for his shirt anyway, but he swats my hand away playfully. "No undressing me, your brother is coming here."

"Harry," I scold. He rolls his eyes. "Let me see."

"Savannah-"

"I'm not asking."

His lips set in a tight line and he stands in front of me, hands hanging at his sides. I step towards him again and roll up his t-shirt in my hands. I'm not sure how high my elbow hit him, but when I see the bruise I know exactly where it was. It's the size of a baseball and dark purple, almost black.

"What the hell is this?" I whisper, running my fingers along the edge of it. He flinches again and I look up at his face, tears already stinging my eyes. "Who did this to you?"

"No one, I was working out and I dropped one of the weights on myself," he says. But he's lying. I know when he's lying, and I can see it now.

"How many times are you going to lie to me about this?" I ask. I look back at the bruise and then let his shirt drop. The thought of someone hurting Harry makes my stomach turn. "Tell me what really happened."

"I just did," he says frustratedly.

"No, you told me a lie." The firm voice I'd like to maintain breaks with the knot in my throat and Harry notices, his hard expression wavering to concern. He puts his strong arms around me and suddenly I feel like I can't lean on him, like he's more fragile than I am now.

"I'm okay," he ways quietly, rubbing my back. "I promise."

"Yesterday I found painkillers in your cupboard and now you've got a massive bruise. I'm not stupid, Harry, I know you're hiding something from me."

He sighs but doesn't say anything, and I feel tears on my cheeks. He's not denying it, which is the same as confirming it. This is exactly what I don't want, why I wanted to take this slow. It's only been a few weeks and I already feel like maybe I can't trust him the way that I want to and that's terrifying.

When I pull away from him he just stares down at me. If he doesn't want to tell me I know him well enough to know I can't force him, but I wish that I could. He wipes a tear from my cheek and I'm about to give him some sort of ultimatum or something, but I hear the front door open announcing my mother and Mason.

"We're not done talking about this," I mutter, wiping the tears from my face and turning around.

When I swing the door open Sophie runs through, straight towards my family. She heads for Mason first, then sees my mother and goes for her, but then Mason says her name and she gets confused, so she turns around and runs back to me, hiding her face between my legs. Mason laughs and comes to pick her up himself, which only makes her more shy.

"I brought something for you," he tells her quietly. I see her making the face she does when she tries not to smile, her cheeks blown up with air. "Do you want to see?"

Sophie nods without looking at him and my mother catches my gaze, the worry creasing her forehead a sign of a silent question. Harry comes through the door then and I look back at him, then nod as assuringly as possible. I never tell anyone the details of my fights with Harry, especially my mother. There was one time where she actually said I should be fighting for sole custody, and if Harry ever heard anyone thought he was a bad father he would just be beside himself.

"I made the potato thing," he tells me. I half turn towards him, not meeting his eyes. "It's in the oven."

"Thanks."

"Savannah-"

"Not now," I snap quietly. He sighs and nods his head, running his fingers through his hair as I step around him to see what Mason got for Sophie. She's waiting patiently in front of the door. "Soph, where'd Uncle Mase go?"

She points to the door just as he reappears, and he sets the largest stuff bear I've ever seen on the ground in front of her. Her face lights up like a Christmas tree and she starts jumping around it. It's bigger than she is; probably heavier, too.

"How'd you know about the bear thing?" I ask, laughing.

"Mom told me. Do you like it, Soph?" He bends down to her level and she giggles a little, nodding her head.

"What do you say?" Harry says from behind me. Sophie looks up at me and I nod, so she stands in front of Mason with her hands behind her back.

"Fank you," she says cutely. He hugs her really tight and shakes her around a little, making her laugh again as she pushes against his face. When he releases her my mother emerges from the kitchen with wine and glasses for all of us. When she tries to hand Harry one he politely refuses, and it makes my head spin. The only reason I can think of for him refusing is that he's on those pain meds, but that could just be the paranoia talking.

---

"Wif me?" Sophie asks, pointing to the massive bear I placed next to her bed.

"No, he can't sleep with you, angel. He's too big."

"Mummy," she whimpers, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Not tonight, okay Soph?"

She whimpers something in response but I don't hear it, so instead I just kiss her forehead and tuck her in as I usually do. Part of me wants to stay in here with her so I don't have to deal with her bloody father, but that conversation is going to happen eventually. Plus, my family is still here so we can't talk yet anyway and he's supposed to be going out with my brother.

"She go down okay?" Harry asks. He places his hand on my back when I sit next to him and I just nod. "I think Mason and I are going to head out soon, if that's okay."

"You don't need my permission." I'm surprised you're even telling me.

He sighs in a frustrated way and removes his hand from my back. Maybe I'm acting unfair, but he's lying and I know that he is and he's still not telling me the truth. Its beyond infuriating and having my mom and Mason here doesn't disguise that.

"Excuse us for a minute," Harry says. He takes my hand and pulls me down the hall to my bedroom. When we get inside with the door shut I tug my hand away like a child.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You've been snapping at me all night and I'm tired of it."

"Oh, I'm sorry my attitude is so inconvenient for you," I say sarcastically. "It's not like you don't deserve it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You tell me, Harry. You're lying to me about those pain killers and the bruises and I want to know whats going on. We have a daughter to worry about and if you're doing something dangerous or illegal then I need to know so I can protect her."

"From what? From me?" he asks. He shakes his head and rubs his hands over his face the way he does when he's frustrated. "Don't be ridiculous, Savannah."

"Okay, we're not doing this right now," I decide. "Sophie doesn't need to hear us fight and neither does my mom or Mason."

He sighs. "Fine."

"Fine."

He shakes his head as he walks past me. "You're infuriating sometimes, you know that?"

That makes two of us.

Notes

any guesses?

yaaay another update :) i could never make you guys wait so long again hehe.

let me know what you thinkk :)