Reese closed her eyes tight. “And I am so happy for you, but I am not you.”

“No, you’re not. You’re Reese Allen, owner of the most prestigious dance studio here. You have the business side of things, Reese, but what about your heart? When you close your eyes, who do you want to open them too?”

Phillip.

Tears pooled in Reese’s eyes, and she had to look away as she slowly shook her head. “He scares me.”

“Good, love is scary as hell but that means it’s real.”

“He has the power to destroy me, wreck me completely, worse than Kevin.”

Harper shrugged her shoulders. “Be thankful for that. It means you’ll give him every piece of you and it’s up to him to keep you safe and love you, which I believe he’ll do. He loves you, Reese. I knew that from the first time I saw you two together. He has it bad for you, and I really don’t think he will ever hurt you.”

“I am still so scared. I don’t even think I want kids or marriage, and I think he wants that.”

Harper smiled. “Love is about compromise. No one is saying you have to get married now, or even have a kid. I bet all he is asking for is your love, and you have the power to give it to him. Worry about the other stuff later. Love him, build a foundation, and maybe it will come. For me it came quickly because I got pregnant but, once it came, I was ready. You aren’t one to turn away from a challenge, Reese. You go head first into things with all the determination to win. Love him and see what happens. You are trying to find a reason to not allow this to work because you are scared. Stop it. Find your courage, find the person who left a very promising job and started Reese Allen Company, and love the hell out of him.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“Don’t think, do. I know you can. You are resilient, Reese, and I believe in you. Now believe in yourself, believe in Phillip, and believe in your love because love conquers all. All you need is love.”

“What are you, a f**king hallmark card?”

Harper shot her a grin, wrapping her arms tight around her as she kissed her softly on her temple. “I’ll be anything you want as long as you go back to smiling the way you have since he and Claire came into your life. You know what I think is funny?”

Reese bit into her lip as she looked up at her. “What?”

“That’s you say you don’t want kids but Reese, you love Claire like she is yours. You say you don’t want to get married, but four days ago, you had a partnership with Phillip. I saw you two at the party. You were practically finishing each other sentences when you talked about Claire and how y’all planned on going to the beach this summer. I love how much you have changed since you’ve met him. He brings out a greatness in you, and it’s beautiful to see. You know what else I think?”

“You’re going to tell me anyways, so hit me with it,” Reese said, trying to act bored even though she was listening to everything Harper said.

“I think you are hiding pieces of you from yourself, and you need to stop because you can’t keep yourself warm at night. You can’t give yourself the things that Phillip gives you. You need him; he is your other half.”

Reese looked away and didn’t like what her sister was saying because she was hitting a chord. Her heart was beating so loud, she could hear it in her ears. Her breathing had picked up and she felt like her chest was caving in, because Harper was right. Every single thing she had said was the truth, and she hated that her big sister knew more about her than she did. She bit into her lip so hard, until she tasted the metallic taste of blood, and then looked up into a pair of brown eyes that mirrored her own. “I think you went over five minutes.”

Harper grinned as she kissed her again, this time on the cheek. “I know. I also know that you are trying to shut me out, and that’s fine,” she said with a wink. “I still love you.”

She let her go and started for the door. Looking back at her, she said, “The brochures are on the table, and I’ll see you tonight, Ally is really excited to dance on the big stage.”

With her throat tight, she nodded. “So am I.”

Harper smiled. “I don’t believe you, but maybe you will be once you talk to Phillip. It needs to happen, Reese, because you’ll lose him and you don’t want to do that.”

As her sister shut the door, Reese stood frozen, knowing that, once again, her sister was completely right.

The recital was going on without a hitch. Every time Reese looked out at the crowd, she saw that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. She also noticed that Phillip was sitting front and center, sandwiched between Elli and Harper. She wanted to laugh at his visible discomfort, but he looked so good that it hurt. In a thin, blue sweater that he had pushed up to his elbows, with faded blue jeans, he looked scrumptious. She wanted to go out there, jump into his lap, and just snuggle the way she had been wanting since the day she pushed him away.

God, she was so stupid.

When Ally and Shelli came running towards her with their backstage Mom close behind with the rest of the little-bit class, Reese tried to push Phillip out of her mind with no luck at all. She smiled, bending down to kiss Ally loudly on the cheek.

Ally threw her hands up and exclaimed, “I’m going on the big stage!”

“I know! Aren’t y’all excited?”

They all nodded quickly all starry eyed and beautiful in little, sparkly purple leotards and gold tutus. They were dancing to Disney’s Tangled, “I See The Light”. It was one of her favorite dances she had done with the little bits, and she was excited to see them do it on the big stage. When her seven-year-olds got done on the stage, the lights went out and she went out with them, setting them up in the right spots before taking her spot stage right. The music started, the lights came on, and the whole crowd awed. Reese smiled widely as Ally waved her hand wildly at Harper and Jakob.