Hunter’s next smile is almost shy, and I want to capture it. Memorise it. Hold it close. “Yes?”
“Yes.” I can only hope that there will always be more Hunter in her than me.
He nudges my foot with his under the table. “They’ll be here soon. I should get dinner ready.”
The next thirty minutes are strangely harrowing. Spent watching Hunter throw together a casserole with a bunch ofrandom ingredients from his fridge. The steadyclack, clack, clackof Miles typing.
“You can’t have people on him indefinitely.”
Hunter briefly pauses from spreading cheese over the top of the dish. “I know.”
I could. I have the money to hire someone whose entire job would be to follow him, keep him safe. Only I would never trust anyone outside this circle enough to do that. Theo and Adam are better suited to other jobs, though they’re available if we’re ever desperate.
“Should we invite him to dinner?” Extend an olive branch for him to reach for, so to speak? If he needs it.
“If he wanted to be here, he would be.” Hunter sounds nonchalant, but he’s stirring the casserole with more aggression than necessary.
“Alright.”
Based on his expression, he clearly doesn’t agree with me. Luckily, I’m saved from his response by the opening of the back door.
Spencer comes in first, carrying a small suitcase, followed by a boisterous young girl with a braid that’s half undone, then Kendrick.
I’ve seen Olivia before. In pictures and from afar. A safe distance where reality can’t destroy my illusion.
Being this close to her, knowing that she’ll see me for the first time, is an entirely different experience. Everything I worked so hard to avoid is coming at me like a freight train that I can’t stop.
I can see pieces of the egg donor in her—even just one profile picture shows a lot. The surrogate had no biological tie to her, to prevent issues in the future. No one will ever try to take Hunter’s daughter from him. Even so, it’s too easy to see the parts of her that came from me. Her eyes. Her nose. The way she looks at Hunter, like he’s responsible for putting all the stars into the sky.That part of her I understand. I’ve felt it from the moment I met him. Even if we were apart for lifetimes, I would still feel that way.
“Daddy!” she cries happily, jumping into his open arms. “Missed you.”
“I missed you too. Did you have a good time with your uncles?”
She nods enthusiastically. “Uncle Spence showed me how to submit.”
Hunter’s left brow rises in confusion. “He what?”
Kendrick rubs his forehead in exasperation.
Spencer cackles. “We were practising her wrestling skills,” he explains. “She has a mean armbar, and she can take idiot boys to the ground if they don’t take no for an answer.”
“She’s seven.”
“It’s never too early to learn.”
“How thoughtful,” Hunter deadpans. “A useful skill for her, I’m sure.”
“You’ll thank me one day.”
“Not today.”
“It was fun, Daddy.”
Hunter ruffles her hair. “We can talk about situational context later.”
“What-ever,” she says mockingly, eyes rolling as she turns to face us, leaning back against her father’s legs.
Kendrick eyes me curiously. “Heard you were back in the picture.”
