Would I want kids?The answer to that is simple—only if Winter and I did the parenting thing together. She’s the only woman I ever saw a future with.
“Are you two serious?” Max asks me.
I take a swig of whiskey rather than answer him. What am I supposed to say, that Winter and I are fuck buddies? Something tells me none of my brothers would believe that even though technically it’s the absolute truth. But when I’m with Winter, I don’t believe it, either.
“She’s the only woman I know who can put up with your bullshit,” Liam says. “She even came babysitting with Hunt the other night,” he says to the twins. “And they were both great with Lulu.” He turns to me. “You looked good all domesticated.”
“Fuck off,” I say to him.
But I felt it, too. Taking care of Lulu with Winter beside me—it felt easy. And far too comfortable. When she leaves for New York, I don’t want to miss her the way I did the last time.
I already know in my gut that it’s going to be far worse than that, though. We’re connecting as adults, and with our past as a foundation—it’s damn near addictive.
“Question.” Jared sits up and looks over at me from the other side of Max. His dark hair is longer in the front, and it falls into his eyes as he stares at me. “I don’t mean to get in your business, but something’s been bugging me about the night we lost Dad.”
“Okay.” I have no idea where he’s going with this, and I gesture for him to continue.
“How did Winter end up at our house that night?” Jared asks me. “Neither of you had your licenses yet. And I didn’t think you called her before you left the hospital.”
“I didn’t. I took a cab to her house,” I say.
“In the middle of the night?” Liam doesn’t look over, but the surprise in his voice is obvious. “What if she didn’t wake up when you knocked or threw shit at her window or whatever it is you two did?”
“I knew she’d be there for me,” I say easily. Truer words were never spoken. “When I got there, I asked her if she’d come over. She saidof course. She even—” I cut off.
But my nosy brothers’ interests are piqued.
“She what, Hunt?” Liam asks me.
“She cleaned Dad’s blood off of my hands.”
“Fuck.” Liam’s tone is gruffer than usual. “You never told us that.”
“None of your business,” I remind him.
“Still,” Jared says in an odd tone, one I can’t decipher. “It’s kind of a big thing to do for someone.”
Yes, it’s a big fucking deal. Only one of the million reasons why I missed Winter so damn much when she moved away. And why I’ve fallen so hard for her since she returned.
“Anyway,” I say in an effort to bring the subject to a close. “After she helped me clean up, she stayed over. Nothing happened,” I feel compelled to add.
I’ve thought about that night countless times over the years. How Winter was there for me. How her body melded to mine.
Thank God I didn’t take it as far as I wanted to. That would have been wrong on so many levels. However, the truth then is still the truth now—I wanted Winter badly, and that night, it took everything in my power to stop myself from telling her that.
“Sounds like you two are right back where you’re supposed to be,” Liam says.
I glare at him. “Aren’t you the same guy who warned me away from her when she first came back to town?”
“I’ve changed my mind,” Liam says. “I was looking at you and Winter through jaded eyes. I think you two could be really great together.”
His response is too honest for me to fuck with him. And the brutal candor of his answer is so clearly laced with pain about his own relationship with Cathy that I don’t want to go after him. Given that, my only option is to stay quiet. Because fuck if I’m going to tellanyonehow I feel about Winter before I tell her.
* * *
Winter
I’m relaxing on the couch with Theo, watching a lighthearted movie, when Hunter comes home.
