Chapter 22 Zoey
ZOEY
Lulu: Today’s the day.
I stare down at my sister’s message as I straighten my hair. I have to be out of the house in thirty minutes so I’m not late for my night shift at the bar.
Mason’s been picking up my slack while I’ve been helping Hunter since he was released from the hospital.
I pick up my phone, typing out a quick message. I’m going to play stupid. I know what day it is.
Today, Hunter goes to the doctor. He should be there now, hopefully getting the “all clear” from the surgeon for his return to full physical activity.
Me: What?
It doesn’t take more than a second for my sister to reply.
Lulu: For you to get some D, baby.
I roll my eyes and laugh. Leave it to my sister to be so eloquent with her words.
Lulu: No more Sister Zoey. Dusting off those cobwebs.
Hunter and I have been kissing like a couple of high school kids for the last few days. It’s been hard not to do anything more, and no one is more surprised about that than I.
I never thought I’d trust someone again, but Hunter’s made that possible. He’s safe. I feel that deep down in my bones.
I grab my flat iron, ignoring my sister’s message. It wasn’t that long ago she told me I needed to join a convent. It wasn’t that I didn’t want a boyfriend. It was that I didn’t know who to trust.
I don’t know how it happened, but it did. Hunter made it easy. Throw Amira into the mix, and there was no way I could resist the guy. Watching him dote on his little girl made me realize he wasn’t a threat to me physically or to my heart.
Instead of my sister replying in our private chat, she moves the conversation over to the family chat.
Lulu: I heard someone’s been kissing someone.
I shake my head. I love my family, but sometimes the need for everyone to know everything all the time is a bit overwhelming. There’s no such thing as privacy.
Mason: Who told you about me and Lizzy?
I blink a few times, rereading his message. I knew they were flirting and had hung out, but Mason’s been quiet about everything if he’s been locking lips with Lizzy.
The shock must’ve worn off quickly for everyone else because the messages start rolling in at a fast and furious pace.
Lulu: OMG. What? When? You’ve been holding out.
Mason: Shit. I thought you were talking about me. Carry on.
Tate: Carry on? Um, no, sir. We want details.
Mason: A true gentleman never kisses and tells.
Lulu: Can you hear me snorting from there?
Mason: I’ve grown up.
My cousin is laughable at times, but he’s trying. He claims he’s ready to leave his single ways behind him and that he wants to settle down. I hope he’s not leading Lizzy on. If he breaks her heart, I’ll be so disappointed in him.
Nino: Who’s Lizzy?
God, I love my cousin, Nino. He’s the most aloof member of the family. He minds his own business, unlike the rest of us. It’s probably because he’s an only child, but he’s also totally spoiled.
Lulu: Hunter’s sister.
Nino: Who’s Hunter?
Amelia: Nino, what the hell is wrong with you?
Nino: I don’t pay attention to y’all.
Tate: Obviously.
Nino: I’ve got my own life. I don’t need to be in yours too.
I love my cousin. He’s one of my favorites. It’s probably because he does mind his own business.
Lulu: Hunter is Zoey’s boyfriend.
Lulu’s message is the first time I’ve seen Hunter called that. I’ve never spoken the words out loud either, but he is my boyfriend, isn’t he? I guess that’s a conversation we need to have before we go any further because I don’t want to get my heart broken either.
Nino: Cool.
Tate: So, who else is kissing?
Lulu: Hunter and Zoey.
Nino: Wow. She’s kissing her boyfriend. Mind-blowing news, Lulu.
Lulu: Shut up, Nino. Jagoff.
Nino: Peace out.
Amelia: Zoey—did you two…
Mason: I don’t want to hear this. Go to a girls’ only chat and leave the rest of us alone.
I chuckle. I don’t want to hear about his sex life either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make him immensely uncomfortable.
Me: No. Not yet.
Mason: Ick. I’m gone. Bye.
Tate: I’m pregnant.
“Holy shit,” I say, staring at my phone screen.
It’s not a total surprise. Hunter told me what happened at the party, and I was certain she was, although I hoped for her sake she wasn’t.
Amelia: Congrats, cousin! How exciting.
Tate: Yeah.
Brax: Don’t sound overly excited there, Tater Tot.
Tate: You squeeze a human out of your body and tell me how excited you’d be.
Brax: Valid point.
Lulu: Other chat. Now!
I swipe my screen, moving to the girls’ chat, which always has a very different conversation from the general family chat all my cousins and I have.
We talk about everything that would make the men in the family lose their absolute shit. Periods. Cramps. Boyfriends. Husbands.
Lulu: Do you know when you’re due?
Tate: No. I have an appointment this week to hopefully nail down a due date.
Me: Congrats, cousin.
Tate: I’m so mad at Wylder.
I laugh again and shake my head. Like it’s entirely his fault. She didn’t fall on his dick.
Lulu: You’re ridiculous. I want another one. Maybe I can talk Oliver into it, and we can have babies around the same time.
Me: You’re bananas.
Lulu: It’s worth every ounce of pain.
Me: I don’t believe you.
Tate: She’s kind of right, Zoey, but I wouldn’t do it without a kick-ass epidural. I don’t know how people did it in the olden days.
This entire conversation reminds me to take my birth control pill. If Hunter and I are going to have sex soon, which I hope like hell we are, I didn’t want to wind up like Tate.
Amelia: I hope it’s a little girl.
Tate: A healthy baby is all I care about, but a boy would be nice. We already have three girls.
Lulu: Wylder is the best girl dad.
Tate: He is. There’s something special about girl dads.
The conversation makes me think of Hunter. The very thought of him makes my blood pressure rise and my stomach flip with excitement.
Me: Got to go. Heading to the bar. Congrats again, Tate.
I close my texts as I leave my bathroom. I make it two steps before I back up, making sure I unplugged my straightener. I make a mental note that it’s out of the wall, so I don’t have a panic attack later.
I slip on my boots and grab my coat before running out the door toward the elevator. When the doors open, Hunter’s the first thing I see.
He’s staring at the floor, and when he tips his head up and his eyes meet mine, a smile spreads across his face. “All clear,” he says as he stalks out of the elevator and grabs me in a hug.
I soak him in, inhaling the cologne I hadn’t seen in his bathroom when I was in there. “That’s great news.” I wrap my arms around him, happy that his healing is going well, especially since I’m the reason he was injured in the first place.
“I’ll come get you after work,” he says into my hair.
“You don’t have to do that.”
He pulls back, staring at me. “You’re not walking home alone.”
“But I’m safe. Mark’s in jail…soon to be prison.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not letting my girl walk home late at night by herself.”
My stomach flips like a swarm of butterflies has taken flight. “Oh. Okay.” It’s all I can say.
I guess that answers that question. I am, in fact, Hunter’s girlfriend.
“Lizzy’s leaving tomorrow. I thought maybe tonight I’d stay at your place.”
I bite the corner of my lip, knowing exactly what that means. “More than kissing?”
He smirks. “More than kissing.”
“Fuck yes,” I say and press my lips to his, giving him a taste of what’s to come. “I got to go. I’m late.”
“Go,” he says, dropping his hands from me. “I’ll be there later.”
“I’ll be waiting,” I say and give his ass a swat before I step onto the elevator, leaving him smiling and shaking his head in the hallway outside our places.
My shift at the bar drags. Every minute feels like an hour. We’re busy, which helps, but unlike most nights, it doesn’t make the time pass any quicker.
“Sweetie, your man’s here,” Carly, a newer waitress we hired a few months ago, says to me as she points toward the entrance.
My heart leaps at the sight of him. It is such an odd feeling. Will it ever go away, or is this how my body will permanently react to him every time I see him for the rest of our lives?
I freeze. Did I just think about long-term? Not just long-term, but forever? Holy shit. I didn’t think I’d let my mind go there this quickly, but that’s the Hunter effect.
I stare at him as he stalks across the bar in what seems like a few short steps. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve never guessed he was shot a week ago. The man is walking with a purpose, and the purpose is me.
“I’m not ready to go,” I tell him as he slides onto the empty stool in front of me.
“I know. I came for a drink. I needed to get out of the apartment. I already stopped at the shop to talk to Tate.”
“Oh. Beer?”
“A beer would be great.” He taps his fingers on the wood, glancing around.
The regulars are staring at him. They were here when he got shot because they don’t leave until we force them out every single night. This is their home away from home.
“Hey. Hey. What’s up, superman? Up and about already?” Marvin asks, glancing down the bar in Hunter’s direction.
“That’s Marv,” I tell Hunter as I grab a beer from the cooler underneath the bar.
“I’m up and about, Marv,” Hunter replies.
“A bullet can’t stop you,” Marv adds.
Hunter leans forward when I place his beer down in front of him. “Am I imagining things, or are people staring at me?”
“You’re not imagining anything,” I tell him.
Marv climbs off his stool and walks toward Hunter.
“Oh boy,” I whisper, wondering what’s going to come out of Marv’s mouth next. It could honestly be anything, especially since he’s six beers deep.
Marv holds out one hand and touches Hunter’s shoulder with his other. “I need to shake the hand of the man who saved our Zoey’s life.”
Hunter’s face turns the deepest shade of pink. It’s completely adorable.
“I didn’t jump in front of the bullet,” Hunter says, but he takes Marv’s hand anyway. “No need to thank me.”
“You were there. If you weren’t—” Marvin shakes his head “—she might not be here with us now. So, thank you.”
I haven’t thought a ton about that fact. I know Hunter saved my life by taking a bullet that most likely was meant for me. But I haven’t thought about how truly close to death I came.
“You’re welcome,” Hunter says awkwardly, hating the attention but taking it all in stride.
Marvin doesn’t waste any more time lingering because his beer is getting warm, and he has a few more to down before we close.
I don’t know how the man is rail-thin. If I drank that many calories a day, I’d be as big as a balloon. My gut would be bloated, and none of my clothes would fit.
“Are you sure you’re allowed to drink?” I ask Hunter, not yet knowing the details from his doctor’s appointment.
“I’m allowed to do whatever I want, but I can’t lift over forty pounds for the next few weeks.”
“That’s too bad,” I tease him. “I was hoping you would give me a piggyback ride home.”
“Baby, as soon as I can lift forty pounds, I’m tossing your ass over my shoulder and giving you an entirely different ride.”
My mouth drops open. Who is this man, and where is the Hunter I knew? “Wow. Okay.” I’d be lying if I said he doesn’t make every little nerve ending in my body come alive.
He winces as he peers up at me, tearing at the label on his beer. “Too much?”
I shake my head. I clear my throat and pull at the collar of my sweater, suddenly overcome with heat. “No. It’s perfect.” My voice is huskier than normal, and I know he hears the tinge of need I don’t bother to hide.
“Time’s ticking,” he says, glancing down at his watch. “Go finish up. I’ll wait and plot.”
Flashes of what the night is going to hold pop into my mind like a preview of a dirty movie. I stalk to the other end of the bar and fill a drink order before rounding into the general dining room. Before I go to the table, I stop by Hunter and lean over.
“I hope you’re prepared,” I whisper in his ear. “I’m going to rock your world tonight.”
Hunter nearly knocks over his beer.
I walk away, leaving him damn near panting.
Checkmate.