“Gah, sorry,” I mutter, wiping it away with a laugh. “Please. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I’m not, though,” he murmurs, tugging me towards him. I’m too stunned to stop him, too shocked to respond. “And I do worry. Because I don’t want you to think I pushed you away today because of anything you did. You didn’t do anything to deserve that. And I…” He trails off, shaking his head.
“You, what?” I ask, voice soft.
He looks at me like he’s really seeing me, and that alone has something sparking to life within me. “I care about you more than what’s probably appropriate considering how long we’ve known each other.” I don’t want to, but I read between the lines. And care sounds a lot likelove. Which should be impossible.
But it doesn’t, and it has nothing to do with today.
I’d felt it last night when he carried me to his truck, then to his cabin. Felt it in every stare I’d caught from the stage at the auction, in every verbal spat over ideas and planning when he eventually gave in to what I’d wanted.
He continues quietly. “I don’t want you going anywhere. I don’t know if I made that very clear earlier, but that’s the last thing I want. And, well…” He looks down at his daughter, who grins. “Opal?”
“Move in!” she says, taking my other hand. “When your lease is up, anyway. Please?”
I don’t know which emotion is more prevalent. The shock? Or the happiness? Because both slam into me so fast, I can’t catch my breath. “Huh?”
Hunter clears his throat, entwining his fingers with mine. “You need a damn good reason to stay, and I get that. You have a whole life—a career—back home, and Willow Ridge probably can’t compete with that. But I’m hoping we can.”
Here come the tears again. They fall with no resistance, with no way to escape them. But this time, I don’t want to.
“Are you sure?” I ask. “Because if you aren’t?—”
As soon as he releases my hand, I feel myself deflate, only for the warmth from before to flood me as he wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his chest. The moment I breathe in his cologne, I can’t help but sob.
“We want you in our lives.Iwant you in my life,” he whispers. “Not just for now, but forever. And I wish I’d said all this earlier. Because I really don’t like seeing you cry.”
I sniffle. “No one has ever wanted me to stick around,” I admit with a half-smile, looking from Opal to him.
Opal leans her head on my shoulder. “I’ve wanted you to stay since we met,” she says. “I thought you were so cool.”
I choke on a half-sob, half-laugh. “Thanks.”
“And although I might not have shown it very well, I want you to stay, too,” Hunter murmurs, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “I wantyou.”
ELEVEN
HUNTER
SIX WEEKS LATER
“You sure about this?” I ask, glancing down at Sylvie, who clutches the gift bag between trembling fingers.
She meets my stare with a hesitant smile. “I mean, she technically won the date.”
I chuckle, heart pounding as we wait for Opal to come home. The surprise is something I never could have given her, but Sylvie has pulled through in ways I never could have imagined.
She doesn’t live here—yet—but has returned to her townhouse in New York to pack. She’s sent some of her belongings back here, which is a start, and hired a moving company to finish packing for her.
I know there’s some tension between her and her brother about it, but in the end, he hasn’t given her any trouble. The other brother doesn’t care much, but he’s on tour, and that’s drama Sylvie isn’t ready to get into. Meanwhile, I think she’s taken the break from party planning well.
Except there’s always something for her to plot.
My youngest brother’s truck pulls in, dropping Opal off like he always does on Fridays. I’ll be forever grateful for mybrothers, especially now. Because we’ve needed all the help we could get regarding her surprise.
Sylvie and I share an excited look as Opal bounds up the front porch steps and enters the house. As soon as she spots me, her eyes narrow, looking warily between us.
“What’s going on?” she asks slowly, closing the door behind her. “You guys are being weird…”
