Chapter 47
Gracie
The city slips by in a blur outside the car, but for once, I don’t find myself clocking all the details of my surroundings or wondering where we’re going. It doesn’t matter.
I meant it when I said I trust Hunter. Everywhere he’s taken me so far has been better than I could have imagined, and it feels good to open my heart and trust that wherever we’re headed now will be good.
Things at work have been a little awkward as word has passed around the office about Hunter and me.
Once Ashley finished giving me a hard time for keeping it from her, she told me she was impressed that I’d kept things under wraps and not let anything slip, even the night of the game when he grabbed me in the hallway and I played it off like I was as surprised as anyone.
“If the computer science doesn’t work out, you should be a spy,” she told me.
“And remember, I’m your friend. I’d have kept your secret and even given you good advice. You can trust me.”
One more person urging me to let my walls down. One more reminder that there are good people out there worth trusting.
Hunter drives west, and the sun shines bright through the windshield.
He pops on a pair of sunglasses and smooths a hand through his hair.
The wind from the open windows blows it back from his face, and I marvel at how beautiful he looks as the sun kisses his skin.
Without taking his eyes from the road, he brings his hand to my knee and softly pushes up the fabric of my dress until his hand is on bare skin.
I put my hand on his and lean back against the headrest. “I wouldn’t even care if we don’t have a destination. We could do this for a while,” I say.
“Agreed. But I have a destination in mind. Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I was going to have us walk up the street to this marketplace area that has some food stalls and a roof deck where we could hang out.”
He nods. “We’ll do that next time. Promise.”
He pulls the car into an alley that leads to a parking lot. “Don’t move,” he instructs, coming around to open my door. At least, that’s what I think he’s doing. But then I hear the trunk open. And close.
When he comes around to my side of the car, he’s wearing a sport coat over his tee and faded jeans, and he presents me with a giant bouquet of daisies. I don’t know why pinpricks of tears hit my eyes, but I pretend it’s the sun and accept the bouquet.
“Thank you. I love them.”
He takes my hand, and we walk under a dated-looking sign that looks like it belongs on an old drive-in.
Inside the squat brick space is a classic steakhouse with red booths, a long, ebony wood bar, and a fireplace burning in a corner.
It’s cool and dark inside, and as soon as the door closes behind us, I feel transported to a bygone era.
A host leads us to a table in the back, near the fireplace, and takes my flowers to put in a vase for later.
“This place is awesome,” I say. “The fabulous tour of Hunter’s haunts continues.”
“I have so many more places I want to go with you.”
“Good. Because I have a relatively open calendar. That’s the good thing about being an introvert.”
He laughs. “You keep calling yourself that, but you don’t seem that way to me.”
“You bring out another side of me. I like it.”
We order martinis with olives because it’s that kind of place. When they arrive at our table, Hunter lifts his for a toast. I’m expecting something short and sweet. “To us,” or another variation on the theme.
Instead, his expression goes serious, and he asks me a question.
“Do you know why I was at the airport that day?”
“Which day?”
“The day we ran into each other at the bar, before your flight.”
It’s funny that I never asked him about it. At first, I was embarrassed for not recognizing him, and later, it seemed like a blip in time. But come to think of it, I have no idea why he was there.
“I assume you had to fly someplace.”
He chuckles. “That would be a reasonable assumption at an airport. Yeah. I was going to visit my mom. For an indeterminate length of time.”
I feel a tiny pang of panic, and I don’t know why. Is he telling me there’s something he needs to do back home? Is his mom okay?
“Why indeterminate?”
“Because I thought I was getting dropped from the team. Traded to some god-awful place I probably didn’t want to go.
I’d been warned enough times. Even though the fans like seeing me dump guys on their asses, I knew my days were all but numbered with the Devils, and I wanted to beat them to the punch.
I was going to leave town and not look back. ”
The idea hits me hard. He and I never would have crossed paths in the kitchen, never would have felt the chemistry that now seems irresistible, never would have found ourselves here.
“Why didn’t you go?” My voice is quiet, but so is the room. It suddenly feels like we’re the only ones here, and the moment hangs heavy like a wet bag of sand.
“You.”
I blink hard. It’s not what I was expecting at all.
“But you didn’t know me. You said you didn’t recognize me.”
“I know. I had no way of finding you and really not a snowball’s chance in hell of tracking you down, except…” He looks guilty, pressing his lips together like he might get in trouble.
“What?”
“I looked at your credit card receipt and saw your name. I know that’s probably illegal or whatever, but I was a man on a hunt.
So I immediately figured out you were Ky’s sister, even though you didn’t bear any resemblance to the girl I remembered from high school.
And that felt like a sign. I didn’t get on the plane.
And when my house burned down, I took your brother up on his offer to put me up, even though I didn’t have to. ”
“Wait, I thought you had nowhere else to stay?”
He chokes a laugh. “Really? My insurance was willing to give me thirty grand a month for alternate accommodations. I could’ve stayed anywhere in town.”
“Oh,” I say, looking away because I feel foolish.
“Hey.” He redirects my gaze back to him with a finger beneath my chin. “What I’m saying is that once I saw you again, this was never going to end a different way. I’ve always had a thing for you, Gracie. Always.”
My breath hitches as he draws a line from my chin to my lips. Leaning in, he replaces his finger with his lips. It’s a kiss that rips through me, sealing every feeling I’ve ever had about Hunter Reyes into a permanent record.
“Thank you,” I say when we have to break for air. “For telling me that. I love you even more, if that’s possible.”
He nods, cupping my cheek in his hand. “I know how you feel.”
He places a gentle kiss on my temple and sits back in his chair.
“I think back to that day, and it seems like a year ago. How much my life has changed. Back then, I was convinced my time with the Devils had come to an end. I lost my house. I was mentally preparing to leave LA and never look back.”
“Glad you didn’t bolt out of town.”
Hunter shakes his head like he can’t believe his luck. “I’d have missed so much if I’d gotten on that plane. I have no idea where the road will take me, but I don’t care as long as I can walk it with you.”
At that moment, I realize, for maybe the first time in my life, that some things don’t warrant overthinking. Some things just are.
This is one of those things, the love I feel between us. It’s as close to perfect as any mathematical puzzle I’ve ever marveled over. Right there with the biggest mysteries of the universe. As pure as the elements and as durable.
I pick up my glass and propose a toast. “To you and me and the long road ahead.”
Our glasses clink.