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“Having a good time?”
“Would be better if you were here,” she breathes into the phone. “I miss you. ”
My heart constricts pleasurably just from the longing in her voice. “I miss you too, baby. ”
“So… you were going to talk to me this morning about why Brody came over… but you never did. And now that I have a good buzz going on, I wanted to ask you about it. ”
Chuckling, I tell her, “It wasn’t much. He just wanted to let me know that he’d watch Last Call for me if I wanted to go back on tour. ”
“I have a confession to make,” she whispers into the phone and, for a split second, I think she might be getting ready to talk dirty to me. Which I’m totally up for, by the way.
Instead, she says, “I overheard your conversation with Brody. ”
“You did?” I tease her. “Skulking in the hallway?”
“Yeah… something like that. ”
My brain scrambles around to remember exactly everything Brody said, and it suddenly hits me why Gabby brought this up. “Don’t give what Brody said another thought. ”
“I’m not thinking about what he said. I’m thinking about what you said. I’m not more important than your shot at this. ”
“Gabby,” I say… my voice soft and reassuring. “My decision’s made. I’m staying here because it’s what I want. I want that more than I want the money and fame. ”
She’s silent on the other end, and I can envision her chewing on her lip as she considers what I said. Her voice is hesitant when she says, “I’m afraid you’ll come to regret it, and then hate me for that. ”
“What?” I exclaim loudly. “That’s ridiculous. Gabby… this is my decision. Mine alone. You’ve not pushed me one way or the other, so this will never blow back on you. You hear me?”
She’s silently digesting what I say, so I wait her out. When she doesn’t respond, I push at her. “Are you picking up what I’m putting down?”
I hear her giggle on the other end, and then she says, “Yeah… I’m picking it up. ”
“Good, baby… Now, we can talk about this more tomorrow. I’ll see you at the bar in the morning. ”
“Want me to come stay with you tonight?”
“Nah… enjoy your night out, and then get home and get some rest. ”
“But, I’ll miss you,” she whispers into the phone, and I can tell she’s doing that so no one else hears her.
“I’ll miss you too, honey… but it’s just for tonight. Besides, sounds like you’ll be too drunk to let me take proper advantage of you. ”
“Okay,” she sighs into the phone. “We’re going to be out for a while still. ”
“Cabbing it home, right?”
“Right. ”
“Drink lots of water before you go to bed… take some Ibuprofen. ”
“Got it. ”
“And Gabby?”
“Yes?”
“I love you. ”
“I love you, too. ”
I disconnect the call and tap the phone against my chin. Today is the start of the rest of my life with Gabby. Hundreds of thoughts and desires of all the things I want to do with her flood my mind.
I want to travel with her… take her around the world and show her all the amazing things I’ve seen so far. I want to see new things with her, so we can share them together for the first time.
I want to spend lazy afternoons lying on the couch, while I watch football and maybe she reads a book.
I want us to go grocery shopping together, and fight over whether or not to buy fat-free or skim milk. I want to make her breakfast in bed, and I want her to make me chocolate chip cookies when I’m feeling down.
I want to do all of this now, so we still have time for the important stuff. Like building a life together. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I’m guessing there is going to be a moment where we move in together, get engaged… get married… have kids.
Yeah… I see it all, and I know without a doubt I’ve made the right decision.
23
Slipping the key in the lock, I quietly turn it and push Hunter’s door open. I had called about ten minutes ago, first his cell phone, then his landline, but he didn’t answer either. I left a whispered message on his answering machine that I was going to swing by, hoping that if John or Sasha were up, they wouldn’t be prancing around na**d or something when I walked in.
I swung by the local donut shop and picked up a dozen donuts, which I take into the kitchen and set on the table. The house is quiet, but I’m not surprised. It’s just a little after six in the morning, and I wanted to get an early start over at Last Call. I think I can get the staining finished today, tomorrow will be about tiny touch ups, and then the job will be complete.
What I’ll do after that, I have no idea, but I’ll figure it out.
The mere fact that Hunter has decided to stay, has put a lot of things in perspective. I feel like I have the fortitude now to keep pushing forward with Ward Construction, because the one thing I know for sure… Hunter believes I can do it.
I leave the kitchen and turn into the hallway that leads to Hunter’s bedroom. As soon as I make that turn, I sense something out of place, and I glance up. His bedroom door opens, and for a split second, I think he might walk out.
Then my jaw drops open as Sasha steps out, wearing a robe that hits the top of her thigh, and I’m guessing not much else. Her hair is wet, and I’m also guessing she just took a shower. She looks me directly in the eye, and doesn’t seem the least bit surprised to see me standing there.
In fact, her lips curl upward in a smirk as she quietly shuts the door behind her, and she has the brass balls to say, “Oops. Busted. ”
“Seriously?” I ask in disbelief.
Sasha walks toward me and says in a whisper, “Gee… I’m sorry, Gabby. I heard some noise out here and came out to investigate. I never in a million years thought you’d be standing out here. ”
“Seriously?” I ask again.
She just smiles at me in a simpering sort of way, and actually twirls a lock of her wet hair around her finger. “This is a little awkward, huh? Maybe you should go ahead and just leave. I think Hunter’s made his choice. ”
“Seriously?” I ask one last time, acting like I’m in disbelief at what is going on here, but on the contrary, I know damn well what is going on here, and this bitch just met her match.
“You step out of Hunter’s bedroom, and you want me to believe that you were in there doing what? Having sex with him? You want me to believe you slept in there last night?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she purrs, and I don’t miss the fact that she’s still trying to whisper.
Okay, time to put an end to this charade.
I step past Sasha and make my way to Hunter’s door, relishing that she gasps and makes a grab at my arm. “What are you doing?”
“Exposing you,” I tell her.
Pushing the door open, the hall light bathes Hunter’s bed in a warm glow. He’s lying on his side, the covers pulled up tight over him. It’s clear by the way the covers are smooth on the other side that he slept there alone, but that’s exactly what I expected to see.
I make a glance behind me and see Sasha standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her stomach and a sick look on her face. And in that moment, I have a brief flash of pity for her fill me. I don’t know what her motivation for doing this was, but I suspect it stems from the fact that she loved him at one point, and I know how mighty fine that feels.
Turning, I face Sasha and stare at her a moment. Then I softly shut the door on her, enclosing me in the room alone with Hunter, relishing the look of fear on her face because she knows not what I’m going to do.
I crawl onto the bed and fit my body up to his back, wrapping my arm around the lump that is him under the covers. He’s breathing deeply in his slumber and I just hold onto him a while, basking in the love I feel. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt be
fore, and I realize what a lucky woman I am. To have been given the love of her life… the one I have wanted forever.
Leaning up on an elbow, I bend over and kiss the side of his neck, just below his ear. “Morning, baby. ”
He gives a slight groan from the touch, and then he turns over, pulling his arms out from under the covers to wrap around me. “Gabby?”
“Now, who else would it be?” I tease, all the while thinking to myself… just a few minutes ago, Sasha was in here.
I made a split-second decision when I closed the door on Sasha’s face not to tell Hunter about this. She and John are heading out early this afternoon for an evening flight out of Raleigh. I don’t want to make waves, and I certainly don’t want to do anything that can potentially come in between John and Hunter’s relationship. Sasha will be Sasha and, maybe one day, I’ll tell Hunter what she did, but for now, it doesn’t serve any purpose other than to get everyone riled up.
When I saw her walk out of his room, there was not even a second of doubt in my mind that she was staging this. I knew… without a doubt… that she must have heard my message on the answering machine, and knew I was coming over. I didn’t need to see the smoothness of the covers of Hunter’s bed to know she hadn’t been in it, and I bet if I walked in his bathroom right now, the shower would be bone dry, even though she made it look like she had just come out of there.
Hunter has my absolute trust and loyalty. There was never a moment that I felt he would betray me with another woman. That is how secure I am in my love for him, and in his love for me.
And f**k if this high road doesn’t feel good.
Hunter pushes the covers down so he can pull my body in closer to his, and the heat emanating off him burns through my clothes. He snuggles in deep, pulling my face into the crook of his neck, and wrapping both arms and legs around me.
“You feel good,” he murmurs sleepily, squeezing me tight.
“And you smell good,” he adds as he takes a deep sniff of my hair.
One of his hands drifts down my back and over my butt, grasping me tightly there.
“I bet you taste f**king divine, too,” he says, his voice now a little less groggy and a whole lot more alert.
Giggling, I hug him tight. “Bad man, and while I’d love to let you find out exactly how I taste, I don’t have time. I just wanted to drop off some donuts for you, John, and Sasha, and give you a good morning kiss before I started work. ”
He makes a sound of disgruntlement deep in his throat, but then he pulls away slightly to grin at me. “You sure you don’t have like five minutes to spare? No, wait… ten minutes to spare?”
Pushing out of his hold, I swing my legs off the bed. “Sorry, babe. Duty calls. ”
When I turn back to look at him, my breath catches in my lungs. He’s beautiful… lying on his back with his hands propped behind his head. His smile is magnificent, showing me all the kind and lovely things I know to be deep inside this man. He looks so happy, and that makes me happy.
Leaning over, I sweep the hair off his forehead and give him a kiss. “See you later. ”
“Love you,” he says as he turns over in bed to go back to sleep.
“Love you, too. ”
I tiptoe back through the house, because I assume John is still sleeping, and I pray that I don’t run back into Sasha. The coast seems clear, and I literally trot down the stairs high on life.
But when I get to my truck, I come to a dead stop because I see her standing there. She’s still in her robe and leaning up against the passenger door. Gone is the smug look on her face, and rather, I see an interesting array of confusion and earnestness.
“You didn’t tell Hunter what I did,” she says matter-of-factly. “How come?”
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