Chapter 31
Hunter
By five o’clock, I had spoken to Tatum Wood, rented out a private conservatory on the edge of the city, and arranged enough privacy protections to make the night feel less like a date and more like a classified operation.
Catherine deserved the best I could give her, and I was done trying to talk my way into being the man she needed. Tonight, I was going to show her.
By the time I got home from my meeting with Tatum, Isla was sitting on my bed while my mother braided her hair for her sleepover. She had packed enough clothes for a week even though she was spending one night with my parents.
“Grandma says we can make pancakes tomorrow,” Isla announced.
“Sounds good,” I replied.
Isla looked up at me. “Are you going on your date with Catherine?”
I glanced at Mom. She didn’t pretend she was not listening.
“Yes,” I said.
Isla’s face lit up. “Good. Don’t be weird.”
“I’ll try,” I chuckled. I crouched in front of Isla. “You okay staying with Grandma and Grandpa tonight?”
“Yes.” She gave me a look like I had asked something deeply offensive. “Grandpa lets me put chocolate chips in pancakes.”
“That was supposed to be our little secret,” Mom said.
I kissed Isla’s forehead. “Call me if you need anything.”
After Mom and Isla left, I sent the dress to Catherine’s parents’ apartment with a note.
Wear this only if you want. If not, wear anything.
I just wanted tonight to feel like it belonged to you.
The dress was blue because she had worn blue at the ranch, and apparently, I had not recovered. Her text came fifteen minutes later.
Catherine: You sent me a dress?
Me: I sent you an option.
Catherine: Thanks. I love it.
Catherine: Where are we going?
Me: Surprise.
Catherine: Hunter.
Me: Driver will be here at seven. I’ll come up to get you.
Catherine: To my parents?
I read the alarm in her text, but I needed to face Cole and Holland at some point, so I figured there was no time like the present.
Me: Yes. We’re together. They know. It’s the right thing to do.
Catherine: How chivalrous of you.
That made me laugh.
At seven, I stepped into the elevator, adjusting the cuff of my jacket and trying not to think about the fact that I was nervous.
I had played in sold-out arenas, worn a letter on my chest through playoff runs, angry media scrums, injuries, trades, and third periods that turned my lungs into fire.
Apparently, none of that compared to picking Catherine up from her parents’ apartment while her father watched.
The elevator stopped on the Davis floor, and for one second, I stared at the doors like they might open into a firing squad.
I stepped out before I could talk myself into pretending this was less important than it was.
This was not just picking Catherine up. This was me showing up at the front door.
I was here for Catherine. And everyone in that apartment was going to know it.
I knocked twice. The door opened almost immediately, and Jaden stood there with a bowl of cereal in one hand even though it was seven at night. He looked me up and down.
“Whoa.”
“Hey, Jaden.”
“Are you wearing a suit?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back and yelled into the apartment, “Mom, Hunter’s here.”
Holland appeared behind him, already trying not to smile. “Jaden, move.”
“It’s a date,” Mila called from somewhere inside.
I stepped into the apartment, and there she was, perched on the arm of the couch with her legs swinging, looking far too pleased with herself.
Mila grinned at me. “Hi, Hunter.”
“Hi, Mils.”
Cole stood by the island with his arms crossed, wearing the expression of a man who had decided not to murder me but was keeping the option open for later.
“Coach,” I said.
His eyebrows rose slightly.
“Russell,” he said.
Holland shot him a look. He clearly ignored it, which I deserved.
Then Catherine walked out of the hallway, and every thought in my head disappeared.
The dress hit me like a body check. Deep blue silk skimmed over her curves and caught the light when she moved.
Her hair fell loose around her shoulders, softer than she wore it at the arena.
Her heels were high enough to make her legs look like they should have come with a warning label.
She stopped when she saw me. Her gaze moved over my black suit, slow enough that the back of my neck went hot. The suit had been worth it.
“Hi,” she said.
I tried to answer like a normal man.
“Hi,” keeping my voice even was suddenly a challenge. Then I realized I had forgotten to bring her flowers. First fail of the night. “You look beautiful.”
Mila leaned forward, delighted. “Are you going to kiss her?”
“Mila,” Holland said. “Hush.”
“What?” Mila looked genuinely confused. “He’s Isla’s dad, and he’s going to be kissing my sister.”
Jaden made a gagging noise. “That’s disgusting.”
Catherine closed her eyes. “I hate all of you.”
I was trying very hard not to laugh because laughing felt dangerous with Cole standing ten feet away looking like his blood pressure had doubled.
Holland pressed her fingers to her mouth, but I saw the smile.
Cole looked at Mila, then at Catherine, then at me.
Then Holland narrowed her eyes at him in what I read as a warning.
“Have a good time tonight,” he said. The words sounded more like a question than a statement, but he was trying, and I had to meet him halfway.
“Thank you. I have some surprises planned,” I said.
“I love surprises,” Mila said. “They’re so romantic.”
Catherine walked toward me, and I held out my hand. She looked at it for one second before placing hers in mine. That one small choice felt bigger than it should have. Cole and Holland saw it too.
Holland stepped forward and touched Catherine’s arm. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
Catherine swallowed. “Thank you.”
Mila sighed. “The dress is amazing.”
“Hunter picked it,” Catherine said.
Holland smiled at me then, softer than I deserved. “Have a nice night.”
“We will.”
Cole stayed quiet.
I looked at him anyway. “I’ll have her home safely.”
His mouth twisted. “She’s not sixteen.”
“No,” I said. “She’s not.”
Something passed between us. A reminder. Catherine was a grown woman, and she was choosing me.
Holland muttered, “I need wine.”
Catherine tugged me toward the door before anyone could say anything worse. Once we stepped into the hallway and the door closed behind us, she exhaled hard. “That was mortifying.”
“It needed to be done. They need to get used to an us,” I explained. “They’re all important to both of us.”
“You’re right.”
I stopped in front of the elevator and turned toward her. “You’re gorgeous.” I kissed her properly.
“You look pretty hot yourself,” she said once the kiss ended. “We’re going to have a hard time keeping these clothes on.”
The elevator doors opened. “You aren’t wrong,” I said, adjusting my semi-hard cock. We stepped inside together, hands still linked. She leaned in and kissed my neck.
“Did you just smell me?” I asked.
“You smell so good, Hunter,” she said in the voice that told me she needed me to take care of business.
“Catherine, we aren’t going to make it far if you keep that up,” I warned.
She stepped closer. “I thought you liked me dangerous.”
“I do, but I owe this night to us,” I explained.
The elevator slid downward. I should’ve behaved. Instead, I gave her ass a nice hard smack. Just once.
She moaned. “I think that just got me wet.”
I groaned. A promise of everything I wanted but was trying not to take in an elevator that probably had cameras. When I pulled back, her eyes were darker. She smiled, and I kissed her knuckles instead because self-control was still allegedly part of my personality. The doors opened to the lobby.
The driver waited outside beside the black Escalade. He opened the door as we approached, and I helped Catherine in before sliding in beside her. The second the door closed, she glanced over. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Hunter.”
“Don’t give me that look, Catherine. I’m one breath away from wanting to take you in this back seat.”
Her breathing picked up. Fuck me. I loved the way she reacted to me. She smiled and looked out the window as the car pulled away from the building. She was quiet for a few minutes, which gave me time to calm myself down.
“How’s Isla?” she asked.
“Excited. She packed like she was moving into my parents’ house permanently.”
Catherine’s smile softened. “She’s really okay sleeping there tonight?”
“She’s thrilled. My father lets her put chocolate chips in pancakes, and my mother pretends she doesn’t notice.”
“I feel bad,” she said, looking down at our joined hands. “I don’t want her staying out because of me.”
“She isn’t.”
Her expression said she did not fully believe me.
I brushed my thumb over her knuckles. “Bug loves nights with my parents. They spoil her rotten, she gets pancakes, and my mom gets to pretend she isn’t counting the minutes until she can steal her again. One night with her grandparents every once in a while, is perfectly acceptable.”
“And you? Are you okay with it?” she asked because she must have known on some level that all this time, Isla had been the center of my universe. That wasn’t changing, but I was making room for another person at the center.
“I get a night with the woman I love.” I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m more than okay.”
Her eyes softened. The car moved through the city, traffic lights sliding over her face in red and gold.
She tried to guess where we were going, and every few minutes, her thumb shifted against mine like she was reminding herself I was still there.
I didn’t let go. When the car finally turned through the iron gates, Catherine leaned forward.
“What is this?”
“You’ll see.”
The driver stopped at the end of a candlelit path. I stepped out first, then held my hand out for her. She took it and emerged from the car, the blue dress catching the night air. The conservatory glowed ahead of us, warm and golden, tucked between trees and overflowing with greenery.