Can't Help Falling in Love

by Samantha Chase

  “So, where are you going on your honeymoon?” Violet asked.

  “Well, Dean is not big on travel,” Courtney began, and Hunter and his brother shared a look that essentially said, “Because it’s not a big deal.” Not that anyone noticed. “We were going to go on a cruise, but neither of us felt it was the right choice. So after what felt like months of looking at options, we finally agreed on Sanibel Island down in Florida. Dean’s shop is under construction, so we didn’t want to be away too long. We’re basically only going for a long weekend…”

  “Five days, actually,” Dean clarified. “But we hope to take another trip next year to Hawaii.”

  “Wow,” Violet said, comfortably leaning into his side. “I would have imagined you’d pick something that wasn’t beachy considering you live at the beach already.”

  “Yeah, we thought of that too, but we both just love it so much.” Courtney smiled at Dean before resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s our happy place.”

  “It’s hard to argue with that,” Violet commented. “And when you’re ready to plan, if you need any help, you can always reach out and give me a call. I can find you some amazing deals.”

  “Ooo! Thank you! I totally will!”

  After that, their food was served, the conversation flowed, and Hunter begrudgingly admitted to himself how it was nice to hang out with another couple.

  Too bad this will probably be the only time…

  He refused to let that thought take hold, and by the time they were all walking out to their cars and saying they should do it again sometime, he simply agreed. No reason to remind everyone how this was temporary.

  “I have to admit,” Violet began once they were in his car and heading back to his place, “when they first walked over to the table and introduced themselves, I was a little peeved.”

  That was surprising.

  “Really? Why?”

  Reaching over, she took one of his hands in hers and let out a soft sigh. “We already don’t get a lot of time to ourselves, and I selfishly wanted to have you all to myself tonight.”

  “Can I let you in on a secret?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  “I was kind of pissed at them, too. And for the same reason.”

  “Great minds,” she said, her voice all soft and sultry. “I bet we’re both thinking the same thing now too.”

  “Oh, yeah? What are you thinking?”

  “Hmm…I’m thinking how I can’t wait to get back to your place and take off these sandals.”

  “Not…quite what I was thinking…”

  “And then I’m going to help you off with your shirt.”

  “Keep going…”

  “Then I’m hoping you’ll help me with mine.”

  “That is something I would totally do…”

  “I imagine we’ll be doing that as we cross the living room, and we’ll keep stripping–could potentially be almost naked by the time we got to your bed.” She looked over at him and winked. “How did I do? Are we on the same page?”

  Hunter’s answer was a husky laugh and to hit the gas pedal a little harder.

  By the time they were parked in the driveway, he could barely wait to touch her.

  “Hunter…”

  “Out of the car, Violet,” he commanded, his voice foreign to his own ears. He heard her soft hiss of breath before she did as he said. He knew if he touched her before they got in the house, his neighbors would quite possibly get a bit of a show.

  His hand shook as he tried to get the key in the lock, but once the door opened and Violet walked inside with him hot on her heels, he slammed the door so hard the walls shook. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her with his need and the intensity of it, but when she turned and looked at him, he saw he had nothing to worry about.

  Her sandals came off, and she gently kicked them toward the wall. Then her smile turned a little wicked as she slowly walked over to him. Toe to toe, her warm hands skimmed under his shirt and slid it up and over his head, tossing it on top of the sandals.

  “You have the sexiest chest I have ever seen,” she whispered before placing kisses along his pecs. “So damn sexy.” Her tongue traced a lazy circle around his nipple and that was all he could take.

  Scooping Violet up in his arms, he stalked to the bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him.

  “I thought we were going to…”

  But he never let her finish. His lips captured hers in a kiss that was a little raw, a little dirty, and so full of need it shocked him. Down on the bed, his body covered hers, and it seemed like hours passed before he finally raised his head.

  “It scares me how much I want you, Violet,” he admitted gruffly. “All night it made me crazy thinking about how much I wanted to get us home so I could have you here like this.”

  Her nails raked through his hair as her tongue slowly traced her lips. “I feel the same way, Hunter. I would have been fine staying in and ordering pizza if it meant being here like this with you.” She paused, her eyes scanning his face. “Are we crazy?”

  “No. We’re just two people who know exactly what we want.” Then he stopped himself. “And as much as I love having you in my bed and making love with you, it’s…I mean, it’s not just…” And dammit, he couldn’t seem to get the words out.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have the same issue.

  “It’s just being together,” she said softly. “I love talking with you, laughing with you, and just being with you when we’re not doing anything except sitting together and watching TV. I’m comfortable with you, Hunter, and…I think you’re comfortable with me.”

  More than you know…

  They stayed like that–with Hunter braced above her, staring down into those beautiful dark eyes–and Violet’s soft hands gently caressing him everyplace she could reach. Where moments ago he felt frantic and out of control, now he found himself wanting to give her everything he had–to show her with actions how he felt about her.

  To make her feel what he felt.

  To want what he wanted.

  And to make her wish it never had to end.

  Nine

  The first time Violet woke up the next morning, it was to Hunter kissing his way down her body. He made love to her, and they were both a little sleepy, but it was slow and sweet and oh-so-good.

  The next time she woke up, it was to breakfast in bed.

  And for a moment, she seriously thought she was dreaming because never in her life had anyone done anything like this for her.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Hunter said as he carefully placed a tray over her lap. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  Groggily, she sat up and did her best to take the sheet with her–hot coffee and bare breasts while haphazardly propped against pillows were not a good combination.

  “What’s all this?” Pushing her hair away from her face, she did her best to focus on all the food in front of her. Waffles, bacon, juice, coffee, and fresh strawberries. Was this man for real?

  “I’m used to getting up early, and, on the weekends, Eli and I usually make waffles together. I thought you might enjoy them.”

  She was slowly waking up a little more and still couldn’t believe this was happening. Looking up at him, she smiled and thanked him. “I hope you’re going to join me.”

  Hunter was shirtless and wearing a pair of faded jeans and looked good enough to eat.

  After the waffles and strawberries, of course.

  Violet held onto the tray as Hunter carefully climbed onto the bed beside her. They each took their coffee mugs and placed them on the bedside tables to avoid any spillage. She was ready to dig in when she turned and looked at him, suddenly feeling a little overcome with emotion. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  The look on his face was one of sweet confusion. Like he couldn’t understand why she was getting choked up over waffles. Reaching up, he caressed her cheek. “Hey. You okay?”

  Nodding and forcing herself not to embar
rass herself by crying, she said, “It’s just…I’ve never had breakfast in bed before.” Then she gave a careless shrug. “I always thought it was something you saw in movies or on Mother’s Day commercials. Never thought it was a real thing.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she looked away and put her attention on the food in front of her. “I can’t believe you had time to make all this. What time did you get up?”

  But Hunter wasn’t fooled. It just took the touch of his hand on her cheek again to make her look at him. He didn’t say a word, but he did lean in and kissed her.

  Slowly.

  Thoroughly.

  To the point that their breakfast was on the verge of getting cold.

  When he finally broke the kiss, they were both a little breathless, but also both aware of how they needed to eat.

  “To answer your question, I got up about an hour ago. I seriously contemplated staying in bed and waking you up like I did earlier, but then I thought about treating you to breakfast.”

  “Hunter, we could have gone to a diner or something. I don’t expect you to cook for me.” And she could feel her cheeks heat. Turning her head, she smiled. “But I’m delighted you did. This is…it’s incredible.”

  “You haven’t tasted anything yet.”

  “If you’d stop distracting me, I could,” she teased just as her stomach growled. “And now we know I can’t wait any longer.”

  Laughing, Hunter poured warm syrup over their waffles before holding up a strawberry for her to taste. She usually wasn’t much of a breakfast person, but this was something a girl could get used to for sure.

  “So, what do you have planned for today? Anything fun?” she asked after several bites of food.

  “I’m going to help my father with some yard work, and then I promised Eli we’d get a pizza and watch a movie.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Although, I doubt he’ll make it through a movie.”

  “How come?”

  “Whenever he sleeps at my dad’s place, they stay up late and are up early. They like to go fishing together,” he explained. “So by the time I get him home and get him a bath and have dinner, he’s practically asleep.”

  “It’s sweet that you still make the plans with him rather than pointing out how he won’t be awake to watch anything.”

  “Yeah, well…why point out the negative? He’s only three, and it makes him happy, so…”

  “You’re a good dad, Hunter. A really good dad.” Putting her utensils down, she leaned over and kissed him. “I’ve watched you with him, and I listen to you talk, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.” She paused. “As you know, I have no real experience to draw from except how my father took off. The fact that you’re here and so hands-on with Eli–and knowing how you and his mom weren’t together, and you were still so hands-on…” Shaking her head, she went on. “You’ve opened my eyes, Hunter Jones. You’ve shown me that not all fathers are bad and there are some good men in this world. Thank you.”

  It was his turn to get a little choked up with emotion. He mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and she wondered if anyone realized just how amazing this man was. Did his family see it? His friends? His co-workers? Violet was excellent at being able to pick out and call out bad parents, but she had never seen anyone like Hunter–a guy who lived to give his son a good life. She could only hope one day, Eli realized how lucky he was.

  They ate in companionable silence for several minutes before he put the focus on her. “What about you? Do you and Katie have anything exciting planned for the weekend?”

  “I think everything is in order around the house. Like if she went into labor today, the baby could come home and have everything it needed. Well…except for Brian.” She shook her head. “I find it so weird how his return date is so hush-hush. I mean…aren’t families entitled to know when their soldier is coming home?”

  “I’m sure the closer it gets, the more information she’ll have. Anything can cause a delay, and they probably don’t give that information out until they can guarantee they’ll be home.”

  “I guess. It’s just so hard on her. She never complains, but I can tell–it’s in the little things she says, the little comments. Brian isn’t going to re-up again, so I know she’s excited about that.”

  Nodding, Hunter told her how he’d heard the same thing. “I know he struggled with getting deployed this time. They had just found out Katie was pregnant, and it just about killed him to leave.”

  “It’s why I ended up coming here. We would talk all the time and as the months went by, I could hear it in her voice how she was struggling. I figured I could be a good distraction.”

  He let out a long breath. “And here I am keeping you from helping her. I told Brian I’d be there for her too and look at what a crappy job I’m doing.” He muttered a curse and Violet muttered one of her own when she realized she couldn’t maneuver toward him without knocking their plates on the floor.

  “Hunter, stop. You’re not keeping me from anything. I have loved staying with Katie and hanging out with her, but we also need our own space too. And if I felt like she needed me, I wouldn’t have left her. Especially not overnight.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “There’s one very important thing you should know about me, Hunter. I never lie. Like ever. On top of that, I am fiercely loyal to my friends. Especially Katie.”

  “That’s two things,” he said softly, but his lips twitched, so she knew he was teasing her.

  “You know what I’m saying…”

  “I do and thank you. I’d hate to think I’m causing her any stress.”

  “You’re not. But as for the rest of the weekend, I’m not so sure. Rose is joining us for dinner tonight–we’re making Mexican–and just having a girls’ night.”

  “Has Rose been coming around a lot since you’ve been there?”

  “I wouldn’t say a lot, but I think she could seriously stand to make some friends.” She finished her last bite of breakfast. “Oh, I think she’s going to your dad’s shop this week to get the oil changed in her car. I heard Katie telling her to do it and how he’s got the best shop in town.”

  “It’s kind of the only one in town for now. Dean’s building a shop on the other side of town, but it will still essentially be one business. They’ve just outgrown the current location.”

  “Wow! That’s awesome. And kudos to Dean for dealing with work, construction, a wedding, and a honeymoon trip all at once! Impressive!”

  “Yeah, well, my brother is the king of being cautious, so he worked all the logistics out before he started seriously putting anything in motion.”

  “Sounds like organization runs in the family.”

  With a low laugh, he disagreed. “Nope. Just the two of us. Dad’s a little scattered, but we’ve always been there to help since my mother died. Kyle sort of flies through life doing whatever it is he wants or whatever he’s in the mood for. It makes me crazy.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “And Scarlett’s somewhere in between. She’s organized and can multitask, but she’s way more impulsive. And yet at the same time manages to only see things in black or white. There’s no middle ground with her.”

  “That is quite the family dynamic.” Putting her fork down, Violet leaned back against the pillows. “And that was a fantastic breakfast. Thank you.”

  Wordlessly, Hunter stood. He came around to her side of the bed and took the tray off of her lap and placed it on the floor.

  And the view of him from behind was just as impressive as the view of the front. When he turned, his grin told her he totally knew she was checking him out.

  “See anything you like?” he asked, his voice gruff and oh-so-sexy.

  Nodding, she crooked her finger at him to get him to come closer. When he was beside the bed, she boldly reached out and ran her hand slowly up his abs. “All of it.” And since she was already being bold, she flung the sheet off of herself. “How about coming back to bed?”

&
nbsp; No sooner were her words out, then he was quickly undoing his button fly. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

  Once Hunter covered her body with his, Violet wrapped herself around him. “Where this is concerned, Hunter, it’s always going to be okay to be presumptuous.”

  “I invited Violet to Dean and Courtney’s wedding.”

  Why he was so nervous about telling his family about his plans, he had no idea. But when he looked up and saw his entire family staring at him, Hunter realized he couldn’t get a read on any of their reactions.

  And then started to squirm in his seat.

  “Okay, somebody say something. Please.”

  He expected Dean or Courtney to be the ones to speak first, considering it was their wedding, but after some exchanged glances, it was his sister who opted to be the voice of the family.

  Everyone was quiet as Scarlett cleared her throat. “Hunter, what we’re all hearing is you are…dating someone, and you’d like to include her in a family event. Do I have that right?”

  Why did he think this was going to be a simple thing?

  Forcing a smile–because he knew they were all just messing with him–he nodded. “Yes, I believe that is exactly what I’m saying. Courtney and Dean…”

  “Uh-uh-uh…” she quickly interrupted. “Not so fast.”

  One glance around the table showed him how amused everyone was.

  Including his father.

  Traitor.

  “Yes, I believe there was talk of the four of you having dinner together Friday night,” Scarlett went on. “So, there was a double date…”

  “It wasn’t a double date…”

  “A double date,” she repeated for emphasis, “and now the wedding. Dare we think this is getting serious?”

  He caught his brother Kyle’s eye and saw him barely holding in his laughter. He hated airing his personal stuff like this–especially where Violet was concerned because it wasn’t conventional. At least not for him. And it certainly wasn’t the kind of relationship that justified bringing her to such an important event.