CHAPTER 35 #3
He pondered over my question, while dangling a cat toy in the air for Luna. She leapt up excitedly, pawing at it with a meow. “Does a picture book count?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
He grabbed Luna and she snuggled up to him, purring. Tonight, a black bandana was tied over the top half of his head, keeping his hair away from his face. He looked incredibly hot and I barely managed to keep my paws off him.
“In that case, my family album. I’d go through every picture from start to finish, and reread all the anecdotes my parents scrawled behind each memory.”
Oh, that was so sweet. “That’s lovely, Hunt.”
“I’ll show it to you when you come over.” He winked. “You know, when you meet my mom and sister.”
I was glad that we were both at that stage in our relationship where we wanted each other to meet our family members. Some may say it was too soon, but it felt right for us.
“Can’t wait.” Another rhinestone went on my book cover with meticulous precision. “Next question: if you could listen to one melody for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
“Your voice.”
My eyes widened and my heartbeat pounded. “Eat one meal only?”
“Anything you cook for me.”
I swooned and drew my finger over the faded scar, barely visible, on the bridge of his nose. He told me a couple nights ago that he got it as a kid, having fallen off his bike. “Revisit any one memory?”
“When I saw you on that moonlit terrace.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Me too.”
“Yeah?” He pressed his forehead to mine. Luna was snuggled between us. “Why is that?”
So I could fall in love with you all over again. “Because until then, I don’t think I’d ever seen a more beautiful man.”
Hunter’s face softened.
He fused his mouth to mine, pouring all his unspoken feelings and emotions into our kiss.
The next day, when I got home from seeing Anna and Layla…Hunter was already there, courtesy of the key I gave him so he could come and go as he pleased too. Candles were lit, music hummed in the background, and my dining table was set with takeout food from my favourite Middle Eastern restaurant.
“Well, this is a surprise.” I took off my coat. “Hi, pretty boy.”
“Hi, baby.” Hunter crossed over to me, Luna resting in his arms. “How was your day?”
“Good.” I kissed him, lingering longer than usual. “How was yours?”
“Good. I actually have another surprise for you.”
“Oh?”
“Close your eyes.” I did and he grabbed my hand.
If any other man had asked me to blindly put my trust in them, I would never. But Hunter? I’d follow him to hell and back. As long as I was with him, I didn’t care.
He tugged me down the hallway and we entered a room. Hunter let go of my hand to flip some switches. “Okay, open.”
For a moment, I was speechless as I soaked in my spare room.
He converted it into a safe haven for my bookworm heart.
Black floor-to-ceiling bookshelves spanned two walls, stocked with all my romance titles from A to Z.
A matching work desk with my bedazzling kit sat on the surface and a small velvet heart-shaped sofa lined the other walls.
An art deco lamp, a leopard print rug, and fairy lights completed the newly renovated space.
And the pièce de resistance?
The Hero and Leander painting that Hunter bought from the auction now mounted on the wall above my sofa.
“I asked Anna and Layla to keep you busy for a few hours while I built the furniture and organized everything according to your taste.” He cleared his throat, a nervous blush smattering his cheekbones.
Luna wiggled out of his hold to investigate the room herself.
“I know you mentioned wanting to renovate this room, so I hope I did your vision justice.”
“Hunter, I…”
“Do you like it?” He held his breath.
“Like it?” I repeated, shocked. “I love it! Are you kidding me?”
Hunter’s relief was palpable when I beamed and jumped him, my arms and legs wrapping around him. I smothered his face in gentle pecks and he chuckled, tightening his arms around me. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I can’t believe you did this for me. I’ll be spending all my time here.”
“What did we say about the T-word?”
“Shh.” Kiss. “Let me.” Kiss. “Express.” Kiss. “My appreciation.” Kiss. “I love this room.” Kiss. “So much, Hunter.”
“I’m glad you do,” he replied. “Figured you needed your own reading nook and a place to let your creativity thrive.”
I fall in love with him more and more and more every day. What will I ever do without him? He was becoming an integral part of me, like a vital organ, and I couldn’t fathom the possibility of ever losing him.
“Where have you been all my life?” I whispered.
It was perhaps one of the most important questions I’d ever asked.
His eyes crinkled at the corners endearingly as he grinned. “Right here in the city.”
If I knew he existed even before Josh’s birthday party, I’d have scoured the entirety of Montardor to find him. “You’ll never know how much I regret not striking up a conversation with you those four hundred and sixty-three days ago. If I could go back in time, I would change it all.”
“I wouldn’t.” Hunter shook his head. “I told you that I like our story and how it’s written. Don’t beat yourself over the past, baby. We’re exactly where we are supposed to be.”
I pressed my forehead to his. My red hair curtained around us, blocking the outside world until we were in our own little bubble. “And that’s all that matters, right?”
“Exactly.”
I could give Hunter a million thank-yous and a million gifts in return for all the abundance he brought into my life in such a short period. Yet I wanted my love to be the most powerful thing he received because I knew, at the end of the day, that was all he ever wanted.
All of me. In my rawest, truest form, loving him the way he deserved.
I almost told him right there and then how much I loved him.
But Hunter, sensing the weight of my intense gaze as I watched him and came to the realization that I would do anything for him, recognized that words were insignificant to convey the magnitude of what I was currently feeling in this moment.
“Come on, Gabriela.” He ushered us out of the room, Luna right behind. “Let’s eat before our food gets cold.”
As the days went on, I realized that while Hunter’s love was quiet and comforting, it was also encompassing in its grandeur.
Like the spring season filled with life after a barren winter.
Like the gust of a strong wind blowing past you, plastering your clothes against your skin in a hug.
Like the first shot of espresso in the morning, awakening all your cogs and preparing you for a whole new day of adventure.
And like an ever-flowing current of water against rocks, softening even the harshest of surfaces.
I felt it all the time in my veins, in my muscles, in my bones. It sat inside of me like a peaceful entity, strengthening me with its pillars, raising me to unimaginable heights.
I wrote down these things in a personal journal, never wanting to forget the feelings he invoked within me.
Not today, not tomorrow, and not for decades to come.
Maybe one day, long after we passed, someone would find my penned words tucked in the safety of these papers and learn that to be loved so effortlessly like this was possible.
It was jarring how quickly my heart went from an inhabitant in my own chest to suddenly walking outside of my body in the form of Hunter Saint Warren.
And it was humbling—almost painful—to witness.
Any hurt directed at me, I could withstand.
But hurt directed at Hunter? It would ache differently.
All I wanted now was to protect and shelter mio principe from the harms of this wretched world.
If I ever told him that, he would smile, shake his head, kiss me, and tell me I was being worrisome for no reason.
But he didn’t understand that if he was no longer in this world, I wouldn’t survive.
It was getting harder and harder to live life and not tell Hunter how much I loved him. There were moments where I wanted to…but an invisible zip kept my lips sealed shut. I was overthinking. Too much in my head. Continuously waiting it out for the right time.
I even came close to telling him on Saturday night, after a double date with Layla and Josh, when we were on our way home.
The weather was gloomy and cold, a light drizzle falling from the sky.
Hunter let me drive, saying it would be good practice.
Both our phones had died, ironically, so we were listening to the radio—an old favourite Beyoncé song playing in the background—while we conversed.
Less than a mile away from home, the car released a flapping sound, followed by the unmistakable crunch of something.
My fingers tightened on the wheel and I braked, peering at Hunter with confusion and fear rooted in my sternum. “Hunter?”
He gazed out his window, muttering a curse as he found whatever he was looking for. “Sounds like a flat tire. I think you drove over a patch of glass. There’s a flurry of broken beer bottles lining the sidewalk and road.”
I felt horrible and guilty. “I’m so sorry.”
He tutted and grabbed my chin. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. Plus, it’s extremely dark out, so it’s not like you could have seen the mess. I didn’t either.” He stroked his thumb over my jaw, noticing my panic. “Hey—it’s okay. Relax, Gabby.”
My shoulders deflated as I shifted the gear into park. “But I feel bad.”
“And I’m telling you not to,” he said. “This car doesn’t have a spare tire, so you’ll have to drive closer to the curb and park. Since we’re less than ten minutes from home, we’ll walk and then I’ll call the insurance company.”
The flat tire was worse than either of us expected. A new screeching sound echoed in the five seconds it took me to line the car with the curb. Great. The earth should open right now and swallow me whole. I was never driving his or any car ever again.
“Gabby.” Hunter unbuckled his seatbelt. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”
I unbuckled my belt too, shame pelting at me from different angles. “What?”
“Baby,” he murmured. “These things happen to beginners and veteran drivers. It’s okay. It’s not a big deal. This is part of the driving experience. Please don’t berate yourself or let this stop you from driving again.”
“I gave your car a flat tire. You’re not mad at me?”
Franco would have cussed me the fuck out if I’d done that to his Camry.
He cupped my face. “I could never be mad at you.”
“You don’t hate me?”
He frowned, mildly disturbed that I would think that, but perhaps understanding that in my previous relationship, I would get chided for the smallest of mishaps. “What I feel for you is the furthest thing from hate.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach. “Yeah?”
Hunter pecked my lips softly. “Yeah.”
He was looking at me like he was in love with me. It undid me.
Telling him that I loved him after giving his car a flat tire probably wasn’t a good idea. Nor would it be my finest moment. So once more, I kept those three words locked in the safety of my heart.
Hunter stepped out of the car and came to my side, opened my door and extended his hand for me. I accepted it and handed him his keys. But then my heel broke and I stumbled forward with a yelp.
He chuckled, breaking my fall before I could face-plant into the ground.
“I got you.” My boyfriend swung me into his arms in a princess-carry style. “You’re okay.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, gazing at him with heart eyes. “My hero.”
“All your book boyfriends wrapped into one, huh?”
I nodded and he kissed my forehead. That singular gesture made me so warm and protected. Hunter was the strongest of shields. He would always keep me safe.
As if the turn of events couldn’t get any more disastrous, the dark sky above us pulsed with a flash of lightning and the rain turned from a drizzle to a torrential downpour. Hard sheets of water bounced off the ground.
Hunter started walking down the sidewalk leading to our apartment complex.
We were soaked in seconds.
Our eyes met and we shared a laugh. Getting caught in the rain should have annoyed me. Except all I could think about was how this was the most romantic moment of my life.
“Hunt, put me down.” I pushed away the red locks sticking to my neck. “I’ll walk.”
“You mean limp, considering your heel is broken?”
I tucked my face in his neck and kissed the droplet of rain travelling down his jugular. “Yes.”
“I want to carry you home tonight.” Hunter laid his cheek gently against my head. “Just let me, sweetheart.”
God, I love him, I love him, I love him.
“You’d do it, wouldn’t you—walk miles in the cold rain and bring me to safety?”
“Yes.” His deep voice rumbled against my skin. “You’re my whole world, Gabriela. I need to keep you protected.”
Tears stung my eyes. One escaped and trekked a path down my cheek. I prayed Hunter didn’t notice and that it mingled with the rest of the raindrops on my face. “You’re my whole world too, Hunter.”