#harlowbrooks

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“How’s the future Mrs Creech this morning?”

Harlow smiled into her tea but was quick to retort as Michael kissed her on the top of her head on his way past.

“You know, I might keep my name. I always thought yours sounded like the noise a leaf makes when you step on it.”

Her comment made Michael laugh, but then his expression changed.

“You know, I still can’t tell when you’re being joking at times. You’re ever the enigma.”

“Oh, I was joking. About not changing my name, that is. I stand by what I said about your name.”

“You’re a riot. So, I was thinking maybe we could plan our wedding for the last weekend of spring? It’s so beautiful this year.

“I’ll be in Selvadorada that weekend? It’s right in the middle of the two weeks, and- “

“You’re still going?”

Harlow bit her lip. ‘Did he really propose just to get me to stay?’ She pushed the thought from her mind and forced a smile.

“Of course, I am, I’ve already told the curator that I’ll be there. What makes you think I changed my mind? This trip means a lot to me.”

She could see that Michael was thinking about what to say next, and she decided to interrupt before the conversation could escalate into an argument.

“Oh, I totally lost track of time. I promised Maritza I’d be there to pick her up from the airport. I love you!” and she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Michael alone with his thoughts.

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Harlow walked into the lounge right on 6pm and was surprised to see Michael already waiting, the man was perpetually late. She walked over to where he sat, but he stood before she reached him, looking frazzled but happy to see her.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been back here.” She said with a smile as Michael took her hand, “What made you feel like coming back?”

Michael used his free hand to gently brush her cheek before letting out a deep sigh.

“I was thinking, all last night, about how much my life has changed since we were last here and I just feel that maybe it’s time for it to change again, if you’ll have me.”

And with that, Michael got down on one knee and pulled a ring box from the pocket of his suit jacket.

“Yes, Michael! Yes!” Harlow couldn’t contain her excitement, or the tears of joy that had started to brim in her eyes.

“You don’t want to see the ring first?”

“That box could be empty, and my answer wouldn’t change.”

They spent the rest of the night laughing, flirting, and drinking a few too many glasses of rum. When they collapsed into bed at the end of the night, Harlow couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

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The next morning, Michael was up and off to work before Harlow had even opened her eyes. She stumbled half-asleep into the kitchen to look for him and found a note on the kitchen counter.

‘Good morning, baby. Sorry I had to rush off, meet me at The Shrieking Llama at 6? I love you!’

The note made her smile, his messy handwriting adding character, and she hoped it meant that he was still okay with her leaving. She sent him a quick text, ‘See you at 6! x’, and set about getting organised for the day ahead.

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“So, what’s your big news?”

Harlow took a slightly bigger sip of her wine than she’d intended and grinned at Michael across the table.

“Well, I uh…  I got a call today from the museum in Selvadorada and they asked me to go back and help to retrieve some artefacts from one of the older temples. Something about changes in the structural integrity of the temple? Anyway, they say it’s urgent and it’s a paid expedition, but it would be two weeks minimum.”

He tried to hide it, but she caught the look of concern as it flashed across his face.

“It’s only two weeks! And you could come with me?”

“I can’t take so much time off so soon, I need to show that I’m committed to the company. But I can tell you’ve already made up your mind, so I’m not going to hold you back.”

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, baby, I know.”

Harlow wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked out to their waiting cab, and he knew her gesture was genuine, but he couldn’t shake the thought of what this trip could do to their relationship. It was going to be a long night.

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Michael walked out onto the deck where Harlow was working on a relic and playfully wrapped his tie around her head.

“Can you believe I’ve been a working man for two months already? It feels like it’s been four years, but the old man said he feels like he can give me my own office now without looking like he’s playing favourites, so at least I won’t have to keep watching Anderson picking his nose over the divider.”

“Why do you watch?”

“It’s like watching a tragedy unfold in front of your eyes, you just can’t look away.”

Harlow laughed, shaking her head, but continued working on the artefact.

“So, what do you say to a dinner date? We can celebrate me not having to bleach-wash my eyeballs.”

“I’m not sure how you got from nose-picking to dinner, but I’m game. I actually have some news worth celebrating, too.”

“Well, I’m not sure how it could top my newfound workplace sanctuary, but I’ll quickly go wash up and we can head out.”

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“Hey, you, how’s the working world?”

“You won’t believe it but working in business is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry. How’s your day been?”

“Rough, just so rough. I slept in, had a late breakfast, went for a nice, long shower- “

“You’re a tease, Harlow Elizabeth.”

They chatted back and forth, completely losing track of time.

“What? Oh, shit. I’ll be right there. Harlow, I’ve got to get back to the grindstone. I love you!”

“Love you!”

Harlow spent the rest of the afternoon working on restoring artefacts and texting with Maritza. Most of their socialising was done through a screen now, and it gave Harlow a pang of guilt when she’d think about how far she’d moved from her closest friend.

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“What have you got there? I thought we were finally finished.”

The last week had been dedicated to unpacking their belongings and they were finally down to the box at Harlow’s feet.

“You can relax, Michael, these are just keepsakes.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the relieved look of Michael’s face as he sunk into the couch beside her.

“Keepsakes, huh? Mementos from the spectacular relationship you’ve had so far with the love of your life?”

“Oh, definitely. Just in case you ever leave me I can use them to hex you and bring you back to me.”

“Hex me? That I’d love to see.” Michael laughed and lay back on the couch, placing his tired feet in Harlow’s lap. “Seriously, though, what’s so special about these keepsakes? That box looks like it might fall apart.”

“Yeah, it’s almost as old as you are.” She laughed, brushing her hair behind her ear, “It’s mostly old friendship bracelets and photos, just stuff from my childhood. A few old diaries, too.”

“So, a bunch of old notebooks covered in ‘Mrs Zac Efron’?”

“Well, it’d be more like ‘Mrs. Keanu Reeves’ but you get a gold star for trying.”

“I guess you’ve always gone for the older guys then.”

Harlow just laughed and leaned her head back against the couch. It had been a long day trying to get the last boxes unpacked before Michael started his new job.

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“So? What do you think?”

Harlow glanced around at the latest on their list of potential new houses and unlike every other mansion and penthouse they’d been to so far, she could see this house becoming their home.

“Michael, it’s…”

“Still too much?”

“No, it’s perfect.”

Michael beamed at her, watching as she almost skipped into the kitchen to speak to the real estate agent about buying the house. He never imagined he’d make it to the end of The Bachelorette, or that she’d want to keep him around once the cameras stopped rolling.

He was snapped out of his reminiscing by the excited way she bounced back into the room with that enormous, genuine smile of hers plastered on her face.

“She said we can have the keys within the week! Can you believe it?!”

Her excitement was contagious, and he couldn’t help but laugh as she wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Well, I guess we’d better start packing!”