All Chapters of A Sketch Away From Perfect: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

*​​Damien*When the plane touches down in Paris, it’s early morning. Fog clings to the runway, and the city is still half-asleep. I head straight for her apartment, and she’s waiting by the door when I arrive, her packed suitcases at her side.The second she sees me, she rushes forward, and I catch her mid-step, my arms winding tight around her waist. Her face buries into my chest, and I feel her sigh, all that tension easing just a little as I hold her close.“Hi,” she murmurs.“Hi,” I say back, kissing the top of her head. “Let’s get you out of here.”We don’t talk much on the way to the airport. She curls into me on the plane, her fingers laced with mine, her head resting against my shoulder. I let her sleep while I make a few quiet calls. I want Andre gone. I want every trace of him scrubbed from that school. I want his career burned to the ground.I call in a favor with a friend who sits on the board of directors. By the time we hit cruising altitude, I’ve sent him a copy of Harp

*Harper* May’s been fussy all night, and I still can’t reach Melody. I try rocking the baby on my hip, trying to bounce and hum at the same time while brushing my teeth with my free hand. My toothbrush hits the back of my throat and I gag, which makes her scream louder. “Jesus, May,” I mumble around a mouthful of foam. “I’m trying.” I spit, rinse, and wipe my mouth on the nearest towel. My hair is a frizzy mess, and I haven’t even touched my makeup yet. My shirt is damp from where May drooled all over it twenty minutes ago, and I smell like spit-up. I glance at the clock. It’s already 10:42 A.M., and I’m supposed to be at Scott’s at noon. I’ve texted Melody five times and called her three. Nothing. Not even a read receipt. Just silence. And it’s starting to piss me off. “Okay,” I say to May, shifting her to the other hip. “Let’s try the bottle again. You have to work with me here.” She hiccups and stares up at me with wide eyes like I’m the crazy one. I try to bounce her on my

*Harper*Rafe holds me gently and runs his fingers lazily down my spine. I could stay here all night, I really could, but I’m not going to abandon May the same way her mother did. The last thing she needs is more disruption to her life.“Rafe,” I whisper.His hand stills. “Hmm?”“I have to go.”He tightens underneath me. “Already?”I nod against his skin and force myself upright. “I don't want to leave McKenzie alone too long,” I explain. “She’s great with May, but this isn’t her responsibility. It’s mine.”“It actually isn’t yours,” he argues. “It’s Melody’s.”He shifts so I am looking at him. He gives me a teasing grin, but the concern in his eyes is real. “I could stay at your place,” he suggests. “Make you breakfast in bed tomorrow. Take the morning shift with May.”“You have an early practice tomorrow,” I remind him. “It’s so sweet of you to offer, but you shouldn’t put your life on hold too.”“I don’t mind,” he says earnestly. “You know I would do anything for you.”“I do,” I ag

*Rafe*“Maloney, I don’t want you to think this game rests solely on your shoulders, but….” Coach trails off in the locker room before the playoffs.This is our last big game of the season. We win this and we’re off to the Super Bowl, something we haven’t achieved since the 1970s. The air in the room is tense, all of us holding our breath, hoping that it will give us this victory.“I won’t let you down, Coach,” I tell him seriously.This is the most important game I may ever play in my life. I mean, sure, winning the Super Bowl would be amazing, but it would be devastating to get this close only to see it watch it slip through our fingers.We run out on the field, and I remember that I have a whole support squad up there watching me and cheering me on. Damien’s arranged a private box for the whole gang. I think McKenzie has even joined them. Harper texted me a picture of her in my jersey, and she looked sexy as hell. Win or lose, at least I’ll have the pleasure of her company after th

*Harper*When I open the door two days later, the last person I expect to see standing there is Melody. Her hair is a mess, tangled around her face, and her clothes are wrinkled like she’s been sleeping in them for weeks. Her eyes are red, swollen, and wet. She’s shaking, clutching the door frame as if it’s the only thing keeping her upright.For a split second, I can’t move. I thought she was dead. I thought she had abandoned her baby forever. And yet here she is.“Harper–” Her voice cracks in half. “I’m so sorry.”The words hit me like a Mack truck. I step aside automatically, letting her stumble in. She’s already crying, sobbing from the deepest depths of her soul.I close the door and press my back to it, my pulse a drumbeat in my throat.“Where the hell have you been?” My voice is sharper than I mean it to be, but I don’t apologize for it.Her knees give, and she drops onto my couch. She hides her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.“I was drunk,” she says through a sob. “I