The Artist [h.s.]

twenty two

Carter focused her eyes on the man beside her. The man with the world in his green eyes and wind sifting through his soft curly hair, the man who'd broken down her walls and left her defenseless, the man that ignited a fire in her veins that she could never put out.

He was saying something, his lips forming words delicately and precisely, his voice smooth and dark, like melted chocolate, but Carter wasn't listening. She was thinking about him and everything that they'd been through together and how he continued to fight for her heart even though it had always been his.

She'd put him through hell, and yet, here he was, sitting next to her in the drivers seat and speaking with a vivid excitement about their wedding. He still wanted to marry her, even after she'd brought a fire to his heart, extinguished it without warning, and brought it back to life again.

Harry loved her despite how much she had hurt him because he loved her heart. Before he met her, many people had taken advantage of her love and made her heart feel like it was irreparable and ended up conflicting her love with her mind. He never blamed her for that and he never would.

His lips continued to move, but Carter still didn't hear a word. She was caught up with how his dimples sunk into his cheeks and how much brighter and alive they made his smile, how his eyes shone as he looked between her and the road, and how much love she could feel radiating from his fingertips as he held her hand in his atop the center console.

She constantly wondered how she'd gotten so lucky to have someone like him, someone that looked past all of her flaws, someone that loved her even when she didn't love herself, someone that still only wanted her love forever even after she'd ripped his heart to shreds countless times.

Harry's soft laughter brought her attention back, his soft green eyes bright as they met with her blue ones, "You weren't even listening to me, were you?"

Carter's cheeks flushed, she wasn't embarrassed, but she felt like she was a teenager again because she had gotten lost in her head while she was staring at him, "No, sorry. What were you saying? You looked happy."

Harry's hand squeezed hers lightly and the edges of her smile lifted in turn, "I'm always happy, because I have you. But, I was talking about how my mother is going to smother you with affection for the rest of your life. She's liked you since I started talking about you and she's been talking my ear off about this dinner for weeks."

Carter's blush deepened, his entire family was so sweet and welcoming, well, except Sam. "You haven't told me that. Is that why you refuse to acknowledge that your phone is ringing sometimes?"

Harry nodded and laughed loudly, his mother took up at least two hours of his day talking his ear off about their dinner plans and the wedding, so, when she called again later in the day, sometimes he pretended like he didn't notice. "Yes, I love my mother, but I can only take so much."

Carter leaned over the console and kissed his cheek, "Even so, you're still unbelievably sweet."

The rest of the drive passed by in what felt like a blink of an eye as they sang loudly to songs on the radio and shared kisses at stop signs.

Carter had been to his parent's house many times before, but this time something felt off. There was another car in the driveway and it didn't belong to his parents.

Carter bit her lip and glanced over at Harry. His knuckles were white against the steering wheel, clearly he knew who's car it was.

He felt her squeeze his hand, but he was so unbelievably angry that it hardly registered. How could they invite his brother to the dinner that they had been planning for weeks, just to celebrate their wedding that was just around the corner.