Page 130 of Unexpected

She made an unconvinced expression and leveled me with a serious look. “Why does it matter what anyone besides me thinks about it? I’m the one that reaps the benefits of your horse cock.”

I had no words because she was right. It was only her opinion that mattered.

When I didn’t respond, she smiled and seemed pleased with herself, picking at her remaining pasta.

The music lifted louder around us, and the voices in the restaurant grew louder with it. Finishing our meals, we sat in companionable silence as we watched the people around us enjoying their dinner. There were a few older couples that appeared to be on date nights and a family just a few tables away that was celebrating a birthday. But what caught my eye was Ronnie, leaning against the baby grand piano, chatting with the woman playing.

He threw his head back, laughing, and so did she. And I assumed he was just casually flirting until he leaned in and kissed her.

“Do you see them?” Hazel asked, elbowing me in the side and moving closer to me for a better angle.

With one hand holding her half-empty wineglass, the other dropped to my thigh and wrapped around it. I could feel her nails slightly dig into my skin through my pants, and the one small touch may have appeared insignificant to anyone else—that we were just a normal couple having dinner together the day before Thanksgiving. But that wasn’t the case.

The touch meant she wanted to be near me and wanted to feel the heat of my skin against her own. With each voluntary touch, she claimed me as much as I claimed her.

Those little words were once again on the tip of my tongue as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and buried my nose into her hair. It was freshly washed and soft against my rough skin. I breathed her in and let her surround me just as the music did, holding me to this moment and the calmness I felt with my woman in my arms.

Hazel tilted her face up toward me and her eyes met mine. There was a spark of joy there and it lit my entire world on fire to see it in her eyes. If necessary, I’d light the entire world on fire to make sure it stayed there, captured in her hazel eyes forever.

Her nose brushed mine and then her lips ghosted over my own.

“Are you finished with your—oops.” Ronnie had the most perfect timing. I smothered a groan when he blushed. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but are you finished with your plates?”

“Yes, thank you so much. It was delicious,” Hazel said. Ronnie grabbed them both and began to walk away. But before he could get too far, he turned around and reapproached the table with a curious look.

“Are you celebrating something tonight? An anniversary perhaps?”

“Actually, this is our first official date,” I answered honestly, although too much had happened before we could even get to the first date.

Ronnie’s eyes widened like he was shocked to hear it. “By the way you interact, I could have sworn you’d been together for years. Well, either way, I like to give advice to young couples whether they want to hear it or not. It makes an old man like me feel important when I have an audience once in a while.”

“We’d love to hear your advice. Go for it.” Hazel prompted, leaning forward against the table and placing her chin on her fist. Her other hand didn’t leave my thigh, and I covered it with my own, matching her curiosity as the older man set our bowls back on the table.

“Well, there’s three things really. The beautiful woman playing the piano has been with me for fifty years and hasn’t killed me yet, so I’d say it’s worked. But if you want a love that lasts, first you must be honest. Nothing good ever came from lying about anything, and if the person really loves you, there isn’t much that they won’t understand. Second, love them every day like it’s the last day you’ll do so because you don’t know when that last day might be. And last, but certainly not least, make new memories all the time. Never stop creating new memories together. There may come a time, and sometimes it’s sooner than you would have hoped, when all you have left are those treasured memories.”

With a final nod, Ronnie slid the dessert menu onto our table and shuffled off.

His words hung around us, and I knew we were both internalizing his advice. It was easy enough advice to follow, and I didn’t doubt for a second that it was something we could manage for years. Because I needed years with her—I needed forever at least, but even that didn’t seem like long enough.

Hazel was still seated in the same position, staring into the rest of the restaurant. I smoothed my rough, calloused hand down her smooth arm, eager to have her attention back, but when she turned to me, I wasn’t prepared for tears welling in her eyes nor the one that broke free and slipped down her cheek.

“Whoa, Angel. Why the tears?”

She sniffled and wiped them away before I could. Turning to face me, she pulled her knee up and tucked it against my thigh. She used her napkin to dab under her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling completely, before she looked at me again.

In a shaky voice that instantly put me on edge, she said, “There was something else that came up at lunch with Amanda that I need to talk to you about.”

I scrubbed a hand through my hair and attempted to mentally prepare myself for anything from my past that might have arisen in their conversation. There wasn’t much that Hazel didn’t know, and what little she didn’t know wasn’t because I intentionally kept anything from her but was because it hadn’t come up in conversation.

Most was unimportant information or stupid shit. She knew about Valerie and the only other…

It dawned on me exactly what she could have learned about my past that would put tears in her eyes. I let my head slump forward as I steadied myself for the conversation.

“She told you about my parents,” I said matter-of-factly.

Not hearing a response, I looked up as Hazel gave me a sad nod. Decades of emotion flooded back to me, seeing the way she looked at me. I’d done so much to not be that scared little teenager anymore; I wasn’t him, and I never would be again.

Trying to think clearly, I remembered that the woman in front of me only cared about me and it was likely not pity in her eyes but genuine concern and heartache.

---