Chapter 13
WILDFLOWERS ARE PRETTY
MADISON
Hunter: Can friends bring friends flowers?
Me: What?
Hunter: Can they?
Me: I guess… but not roses.
Hunter: Why not roses?
Me: Roses are romantic. Friends aren’t romantic.
Hunter: Noted.
Hunter: Bye friend.
I stand in my kitchen, phone clutched in my hand, blinking in confusion as I scroll back through our thread and re-read our earlier texts.
A prickling sensation crawls up my spine, the hairs on my neck standing.
I move toward the front door, my heartbeat picking up with each step.
As I turn the handle and pull, silence greets me—no cars, no voices, just the sound of birds and the morning breeze rustling through the trees.
Then I see them. A bunch of wildflowers sits on my porch step. Wow.
They’re beautiful. Wild, untamed, a burst of color against the gray concrete.
I bend to pick them up, their petals damp under my fingertips, their scent earthy and sweet.
Heading back inside, I grab a glass, fill it with water, and set the flowers inside before placing them on the entry table.
Before I can think twice, I’m reaching for my phone.
Me: Wildflowers?
His reply is instant, and I fight back a smile.
Hunter: For a friend.
Me: You okay?
I chew at my lip, debating. Something in me knows there’s more behind that gesture, something he’s not saying. I could push him away all I want, but at the end of the day, I know him, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ll never stop caring.
Me: Want to grab coffee?
Hunter: Do friends do that?
Me: I get coffee with Connor and the girls all the time.
Hunter: Meet you in ten.
I spot Hunter sitting at one of the outdoor tables when I pull in. His hands fidget with the hem of his shirt as he glances around, unsure of himself. Is he nervous to meet me?
The thought that I have him on edge excites me.
It makes me want to know how far I can push before he snaps and takes control.
We’re playing a cat-and-mouse game here.
I know it. He knows it. We’re drawn to each other, being pulled closer and closer until reality comes crashing down, and I need to push him away again.
I don’t for a second believe he wants to be just friends.
I know he’s waiting for me, and God, that makes me want to cave even faster.
He’s giving me what I need without a fight.
I appreciate it, but there’s a small, dangerous part of me that can’t wait until I’m ready to hand over the control. To see what he does with it.
It’ll be wild. Untamed. Just like those flowers he left me.
“Hi, friend,” I say, sliding the chair out opposite him.
“Hi, friend.” His mouth curves as he nudges an iced coffee toward me.
A comfortable silence settles between us, the morning hustle fading into the background—shoes scuffing on the pavement, a dog barking somewhere down the street, the hiss of milk steaming inside the coffee shop.
Hunter lifts his coffee, and I can’t help but track the movement. The flex of his hand around the cup, the slow swallow that works down his throat, the vein that pulses along his forearm. His shirt strains when he sets the coffee back down, and I swear my heart screams at me for noticing.
“Wildflowers, hey?” I break the silence before he can catch me staring.
“They’re pretty.” He grins.
Laughter bubbles up from inside me, and I shake my head. “You want to tell me why you were there?”
His eyes flick to Halle’s store across the street, and his hand drags through his hair, leaving it sticking up in parts.
His jaw tightens, the muscle ticking. I don’t push.
I don’t demand answers. I let the silence stretch between us, giving him the space to think through his thoughts.
Trusting that he’ll tell me when he’s ready.
“I had to do something,” he says finally, his voice low. “Something I’ve been putting off, and I…” He pauses, eyes locked on the table between us. “I didn’t want to do it alone. But I couldn’t ask you, so I kind of just got in the truck and drove. I ended up there without thinking.”
He shrugs, and my chest pulls tight. Without thinking, I reach across the table and wrap my fingers around his hand.
His eyes snap to mine, lips parting as he exhales slowly.
I give him a half smile, squeezing his hand just a little.
This isn’t something friends do, and maybe that should scare me, but if holding his hand reassures him, then I’ll hold it. To hell with my rules.
“Hunt…” I whisper, knowing he’s about to say something important. Something real.
His thumb traces the edge of his coffee cup, his other hand tightening around mine like he’s afraid I’ll pull away. “I found—”
“Yo! Hunter! Madi!”
I flinch, yanking my hand back as my heart crashes into my ribs.
Connor jogs across the street, Ace following at his side, tongue poking out happily.
The moment between us shatters, the air shifting into something heavy.
Hunter forces a small smile, the kind that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
I take a sip of my coffee, hoping it hides the disappointment coursing through me, just as Connor drops into the seat between us.
“Didn’t know you two were on coffee terms.” He grins widely, clapping Hunter on the shoulder. “This is a good sign, fam. A damn good sign.”
Rolling my eyes, I lean over, scratching Ace behind the ears. “What if you were interrupting something important?”
“Oh, shit.” Connor’s eyes bounce between us. “I can—uh—go? If I was?” He half stands, the chair scraping against the pavement.
“Nah, man. You’re good.” Hunter waves him off.
I arch a brow at him. He’s lying, and we both know it.
Connor did interrupt something, and I get the sense that it was something big, something that matters.
Whatever he was about to say still lingers in the air, unspoken, tugging at me to know more.
My foot nudges his under the table, not hard enough to draw attention, but enough to remind him that I won’t drop this.
His eyes flick to mine, that storm whirling in them, as he mouths, Later.
Connor sinks back into his chair, oblivious, while I fight the urge to grab Hunter by the hand and drag him somewhere quiet, somewhere he can finish what he was about to say.
“So,” Connor starts, drumming his fingers on the table, “you two finally decided to be civil, or is this some kind of kidnapping situation?
I snort into my coffee. “Kidnapping? What?”
Hunter shoots him a dry look. “If I kidnapped her, do you really think we’d be sitting here drinking coffee?”
Connor grins. “Well, unless you have some crazy basement set up none of us know about, this would be your next best bet. Madison. Coffee. It’s a no-brainer.”
“Wow,” I deadpan.
“Oh, come on. You know if someone offered you free coffee, you would follow without a second thought.”
I shrug, because he’s not wrong. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. Great sex, good coffee, and I’m a happy gal. Pretty simple, really.
Hunter glances down at Ace. “Your dad’s an idiot,” he mutters.
“Hey! Language around my child.” Connor covers Ace’s ears in mock horror.
A giggle slips out before I can stop it. “There was no kidnapping. We’re just friends.”
“Yeah, just friends.” Hunter drags the words with a look that sends heat racing up my neck.
“I feel like I’m missing something here.” Connor’s voice cuts through our heated look.
“Nope. Not at all. Just friends,” I say, a little too quickly.
“Well, on this lovely note, I’d better head out. I promised my sister I’d help her out today.” Connor stands, unhooking Ace’s leash.
We say goodbye, watching him take off down the street.
The silence he leaves behind feels heavier than it should.
When I turn back to Hunter, ready to bring up everything from earlier, he’s already standing.
My breath catches in my throat, and my shoulders drop.
I cross my arms, waiting for him to speak, waiting for his next excuse.
“I have to be somewhere, too. I didn’t realize that was the time,” he says.
“Yeah, sure.” My words come out clipped.
“Are you mad at me now?”
“Nope. I just thought we’d stop playing this game and you’d just be honest with me.”
“We’re not playing a game. You wanted to be friends, and we’re friends. Please.” He takes a step toward me, his eyes pleading with me. “Come by mine before work tonight. Instead of telling you why I went to our spot, I’ll show you.”
“You’ll show me?”
“Yes. It’d be easier that way, and I don’t know…” He hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe you could help me with the next one.”
“The next one? What next one?”
“Just, please come over. It’ll all make sense. Trust me.”
I should ask more questions. I should make him explain right here.
Why am I chasing him again? Why am I giving in again?
But there’s something in his voice—something almost unsure—that tugs at my curiosity, tugs at the part of me that always wants to protect him. Whatever this is, it matters to him.
“Okay,” I say quietly. “I’ll come over.”
He leans down, his lips brushing my forehead as his fingers slide through my hair. The world stills. My stomach swoops, and my pulse stutters so fast, it hurts.
“Hunter…” I whisper, breath catching. “I don’t think friends do this.”
He straightens, that crooked grin playing at his lips. “Bye, friend.” He winks, walking away.
Oh yeah, I am so screwed.
I’m lost in my head, my thoughts spinning from Hunter.
His sudden I have somewhere to be, whatever he wants to show me, the way my heart beats too fast every time he’s near.
How I can feel the ghost of his lips on my skin.
I hate how at peace I feel when he’s around.
I’m tired of fighting this connection, tired of pretending I don’t want him.
For what? To protect myself? To make him prove he means it?
To remind myself that I deserve to be chosen without question?
I’m so caught up in the war inside my head that I don’t hear the bell over the coffee shop door.
I don’t hear the footsteps until a voice cuts through my thoughts.
“So… is he the reason why my phone’s stayed silent?”
I jolt, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Xavier stands in front of me, coffee in one hand, that same easy confidence rolling off him.
He looks more put together than the last time I saw him.
His tie is straight, shirt buttoned, hair styled like he’s walking into a boardroom.
So this is what he looks like on his way to work, I’m assuming.
“You okay there?” he asks, his voice light and smooth.
“Sorry,” I blink at him, forcing a weak smile. “I was in my own little world.”
He chuckles, shifting on his feet. His cologne hits me a second later—clean, sharp, expensive. The kind that clings to your clothes long after he’s gone. My nose twitches. It’s never bothered me before. Now it just feels wrong. He’s not Hunter.
“About that dinner…” he says, eyes shifting toward the empty chair across from me. “Probably not going to happen now he’s back, hey?”
“If I’m honest. Probably not is probably the best answer right now.” I lift a shoulder.
He nods, waiting, so I add, “I’m sorry if I led you on. Or wasted your time. That wasn’t my intention. Things are just… complicated right now.”
“You know where to find me if things become uncomplicated,” he says, stepping back.
He pauses, that familiar smirk sliding into place. “Oh, and Madison?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t like complicated, but I do like a bit of fun. If you ever need to give him a bit of a push…” His grin turns wicked. “I’d be more than happy to lend a hand.”
A burst of laughter escapes me. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I stare down at my coffee, watching the ice melt into nothing.
I’m epically failing at keeping Hunter in the strictly-friends zone.
Xavier stood in front of me, polished and sure of himself, and I felt…
nothing. Not one spark. Not one flutter.
Nothing. Zilch. Hunter’s still under my skin, crawling through every thought I try to silence.
I still feel him everywhere, and the worst part is, I don’t think I want the feeling to stop.