“Surprises are fun,” Gwen suggests as I turn toward her, and I grimace.
“Yeah, but what if that's all we've been having? Fun?” I sigh, dragging my feet to the bed and plopping on the edge, recalling our conversation from last night.
All he said was that he knows what I'm thinking, that I didn't have to say anything because he knows me so well.
But what if he has no clue at all? What if he doesn't know that I instantly regretted calling that truce that put us back in the friend zone?
Again, he doesn't seem to be fighting for me, for my heart, and keeping things friendly between us as if that's all we'll ever have.
“Well, you did say that he wants to surprise you tonight,” Gwen reminds me as she takes a seat beside me and places areassuring hand on my shoulder. “Just go with it, D, and try not to overthink it.”
“I'm trying, Gwen,” I pout, feeling those insecurities resurfacing. “I'm really trying not to overthink, but I just can't help it.”
Gwen stares at me inquisitively. “You're telling me the great Delilah Hargreeves is insecure about her fated mate relationship?” she scoffs. “I find that very hard to believe.
“It's complicated,” I sigh, and Gwen shakes her head.
“It sounds likeyou'rebeing complicated for no reason.”
“Maybe….” My voice trails off just in time for us to hear the doorbell ring.
I turn to Gwen with a frown. “Who's that?”
“I don't know,” Gwen whispers. “Were you expecting anyone?”
Shaking my head slowly, I stand up and head toward my bedroom door. “I'm gonna go check.”
Wearing a firm frown, I head to the front door and pull it open, gasping when I find Hunter standing outside, holding a bouquet of red roses.
My eyes widen with shock as he passes me the bouquet with a single red dahlia sticking out from the center.
“Flowers, for m'lady,” he smirks, oozing charm as if it's our real first date. When I take the flowers, I notice the way he's dressed in dark blue jeans and a silk black shirt, looking too handsome for his own good, when I suddenly have the urge to throw myself into his arms.
“Flowers? Really?” I ask nonchalantly, setting the bouquet on the pedestal where he'd eaten me out the other nightand crossing my arms. “What are you doing, showing up like this?” I snap unexpectedly with a frown, and Hunter chuckles smoothly as he leans in.
“You don't have to be so nervous, m'lady…” he calmly purrs as he offers out a hand, clearly taking my shortness as just my nerves acting up. “It's only me.”
Frowning and feeling like he's acting way too calm for my liking, like this is just another friendly date, I hesitate to place my hand into his.
But the moment I do, those weird thoughts dissipate, and a sense of calm washes over me. It's like I'm snapped out of a trace that was pulling me into the throes of darkness, where the only thoughts were those that felt dark and depressing.
Lightening up, I even feel my lips lift into a hesitant smile as Hunter leads me to the Jeep parked in the driveway. The way he's picking me up, showing up at my front door with roses, gives me hope that my insecurities were pointless, after all.
Perhaps I've been clinging to the past too tightly, wanting to move forward but stuck in the rut of believing Hunter doesn't care about me when all he's been doing is showing up for me.
Since last night, I've been wrestling with strange emotions, one moment happy to be spending time with him, the other drifting into thoughts that all of this is meaningless when he hasn't said anything, or hasn't fought to be more than friends.
Maybe he's just taking things slowly, and as he opens the Jeep door for me, wearing his most charming smile, I can't help but smile back, wanting nothing more than to bask in the joy of being with him like this, spending time with him, and riding the excitement of the surprise.
“I liked getting the flowers,” I admit sheepishly when we set out on the main road.
Hunter glances at me with a smirk. “I thought you would. Roses always remind me of you,” he says as he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a brief second as if basking in the scent in the air. “The scent of roses. And also, the thorns.”
“The thorns?!” I exclaim, feigning shock. “You mean I'm dangerous?”
“Sometimes, if I'm not careful,” Hunter admits with an amused chuckle. “It's nothing I can't handle, and the thorns are worth getting pricked by to experience the rose….”
My heart skips a beat as I take in Hunter's words, becoming all mushy on the inside again, my worries flying out the window as we arrive at the Eastern Trail just outside the main town.
