Harper was pottering around the house, cleaning up a little to thank Sebastian for letting her stay with him for so long. She put dishes away in the dishwasher and straightened up where she could. Sebastian kept his house neat and tidy, so there wasn't really much for her to do.

The doorbell rang interrupting her cleaning. Harper opened the door curiously finding a cute middle aged brunette with short hair and a snub nose standing on her doorstep. She took in Harper's appearance slowly, checking her out with a suggestive smirk. Harper was dressed in comfy tracksuit pants and a slouchy t-shirt that hung off one of her shoulders. Her hair was tied causally in a knot on top of her head.

"Harper Thomas?" The brunette asked, her green eyes lighting up and her freckled nose crinkled with a huge smile. Harper nodded and she handed her an electronic signature pad for her to sign. She scribbled her name in shock. The brunette handed her a huge arrangement of several blooms, consisting of white calla lilies and white roses set against lush greens in a heavy glass cylindrical vase and a small blue box tied with a white satin ribbon that she recognised was from Tiffany's.

"Seems like you're one lucky lady." The brunette said enviously. Harper nodded in agreement and searched for a card. She skimmed the card and her face screwed up.

"Not from who you thought it would be?" The brunette inquired nosily.

"No." Harper replied, with a bad taste in her mouth after realising that the flowers and the gift were from Jackson. "They're from my ex husband."

"Seems like he's working pretty hard to win you back."

"Yeh..." Harper replied, her voice trailing off.

The brunette smiled consoling. "Well, if you ever want to go out for a drink and talk about it...?"

Harper ran her hand through her hair flustered. "Uh," she stammered, holding the large bouquet of flowers awkwardly. "Thanks for the offer, but maybe another time?"

The brunette smiled cheekily. "I'll hold you to it."

"Well, thank you." Harper replied flustered. "Goodbye."

She closed the door on the smiling brunette and took the flowers inside and set them on the kitchen island. She sat down and reread the card again.

Dearest Harper,

I miss you so very much.

Please have dinner with me tonight.

I want to try and start afresh with you.

If I don't hear otherwise, I will come and pick you up at 8pm.

All my love,

Jackson.

xxx

Harper sighed and undid her hair, letting her dark toffee locks cascade around her shoulders where she shook it out with her hands. She opened the blue Tiffany's box and saw that he had also included an exquisite Elsa Peretti bone cuff bracelet. Harper couldn't help herself and tried it on. The charcoal colour complimented her pale skin beautifully, the sublime asymmetry and sensuous contours of the cuff were simply stunning. She ran her fingers over it, admiring the gorgeous piece of jewellery and sighed even deeper. Jackson was trying really hard to impress her now. It seemed that his earlier attacks have been replaced with overtly generous gestures. Even though she had no desire to see Jackson again, she felt that maybe having dinner with him might be a good way of finalising everything and making sure that he knew that it was really over.

Jackson checked his phone on and off throughout the day to see if Harper had messaged him to decline dinner. She hadn't. It seemed like she should have appreciated the flowers and might even be looking forward to seeing him. He was distant and distracted throughout the day while his plan to win Harper back evolved. Isabella had to usher him into his meeting, as he sat at his desk doing internet research for restaurants for tonight's dinner. He followed Isabella to his meeting and apologised for running late.

It's all coming together. He thought as his fingers tented together. After tonight, Harper will be begging to come back home. He smiled as he sat in his meeting, not really hearing what was going on around him. Ethan shook his head sadly as he observed Jackson. It did seem that he was really losing the plot.

Harper was sitting at the kitchen island on a stool with a glass of Sebastian's Grey Goose in front of her, mulling over what to do about having dinner with Jackson. Part of her wanted to go and just tell him that it was over, another part just wanted to message him and let him know that she didn't want to meet tonight. She knew that he would pull out all the stops to make sure that it was an extremely romantic night, and he would woo her as he did when they first started dating. She tapped her fingers on the counter and thought about what to do.

The door opened and Sebastian swept in.

"Hey there Har-Bear!" He trilled as he put his Hugo Boss jacket and elegant Louis Vuitton briefcase on the hook on the wall. He spied the flowers on the counter. "Oh darling! You shouldn't have!"

Harper smiled. "If only they had come for you today."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "So ex husband man is trying to ingratiate himself back into your life?"

Harper nodded and held up her wrist. "Ya ha, he sure is."

Sebastian whistled. "Daaaayuuuuum grrrrrrrrl!! Is that Tiffany's that I spy with my little gay eye?"

"Yep. He's trying to woo me again."

Sebastian covered his mouth with his well manicured hand with exaggerated theatrical shock.

"And," Harper continued. "He wants to take me out to dinner to talk about things."

Sebastian sat down next to her and placed a hand on her arm. "So what are you going to do?"

Harper took a sip of vodka and contemplated her answer. "I really don't know Sebby. Part of me wants to go and end it once and for all, and the other wants to just tell him to piss off."

Sebastian nodded and stole a sip out of her glass. "Are you going to keep that fancy doodad?"

Harper held her arm out in front of her and admired the gleam of the cuff on her wrist. Sebastian leaned in next to her and admired the gorgeous piece of jewellery. They both tilted their heads and sighed at the same time, then looked at each other and started laughing.

"Kinda want to keep it Sebby." Harper replied, in between chuckles. "It's so pretty."

"I kinda want to keep it for you." Sebastian joked, his face turned serious. "What time do you need to let him know by?"

"Before 8pm." Harper said. "So only a couple of hours left now."

"As much I hate you seeing him again," Sebastian replied with a concern for her safety. "It might be for the best to try and end it once and for all. And I doubt that he would try anything in public."

"Maybe I should meet him at the restaurant?" Harper suggested. "That way I won't be trapped without a ride home?"

"That might be a very good idea." Sebastian replied. "Send him a message and ask for the address and tell him that you're out and it will be easier to meet him there."

Harper nodded. "I just might do that Sebby. Let's see what he says."

Harper: Hi Jack, I'm not home at the moment, and I won't be able to get back home before 8. Can I have the address of the restaurant and I'll meet you there?

Jackson's phone lit up with a text message. He looked up from his work and glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed as he read Harper's message. Tricky, tricky. He thought. Looks like Harper is playing hard to get. That's fine. Let her think that she's in charge.

He leant back in his chair and thought about his response. If that's how she wants to play it. He thought. I can let her play it her way. Soon she'll be back home and all will be right in life again.

He starting typing the name and address of the restaurant. Jackson paused for a moment, wondering how much sugar he should pour on the message.

Jackson: ... I'll see you at 8. I can't wait to see you my love xxx

He paused for a moment before hitting send. Too much? He pondered briefly. Nah, she'll love it. He hit send and smiled. It was all coming together and Harper would be his again.

Harper looked at her phone and showed Sebastian the message.

"What on earth do you make of this Sebby?"

Sebastian read the message again and laughed. "He think's you're going to go back to him my darling."

Harper chuckled. "Looks like I'm in for a fun evening."

Harper was getting ready upstairs slowly. She was debating on what to wear. She didn't want to wear anything that could be construed as too provocative, lest she gave Jackson the wrong impression. She finally decided on a soft vanilla Marciano Zimra high-low sleeveless mock neck top and a pair of Marciano Camila soft leather leggings. She finished the look with a pair of Jimmy Choo suede boots. The criss-cross leather straps complimented the leggings. She looked at the Elsa Peretti bone cuff bracelet that Jackson had gifted her with and sighed as she couldn't decide whether or not to wear it.

I should really give it back. She thought sadly. Even though it's absolutely gorgeous, but it's not right to keep a gift that makes it look like I want to get back to together with him. She rationalised with herself. I'll wear it so I can give it back to him.

The cuff finished off her outfit perfectly. She kept her make up simple, just a swirl of bronzer and gloss. She went downstairs and did a twirl for Sebastian.

"Love it my darling!" He cried out with enthusiastic energy. "You look so damn good, you'll have him biting the palm of his hand hard and kicking himself that he let you go!"

"It's not too sexy?" Harper worried.

"If you were Amish," Sebastian replied cheekily. "Then yes. For regular people, you look just fine and dandy."

Harper laughed and kissed him on the cheek, wiping away the stray lipgloss off with her thumb.