Page 64 of Moonlight Feels Right
"We all have things in our past we don't want to talk about," Lexie said. "But for the record, you turned out really well considering what you went through."
"Thanks."
"So what's going to happen to the man who came here today?" Kaia asked.
"Ben said he had an outstanding warrant. I don't know what that's about, but hopefully, Ben can hold him for a while. Maybe I can also get a restraining order or something."
"Ben will help you figure out what to do," Kaia said confidently. "It's good he was here."
"And Hunter, too," Lexie said. "How did that happen?"
"He was looking at the empty apartment. I guess Bree, Olivia's mom, might want to rent it so that they can stay here."
"Oh, that would be great," Lexie said with an excited gleam in her eyes. "I'll follow up with him on that. But didn't you say that Hunter was probably going to leave? Will they want to stay here if he's gone?"
"I hope so. Olivia has made friends with Henry, and I'm close to her, too. I know Olivia's mother, Bree, has been going through a hard time since her husband died. I want to support both of them. I think we should do everything we can to make Bree feel welcome."
"As we always do," Lexie said.
"It sounded like Hunter already knew your story," Kaia interjected, a curious gleam in her eyes.
"He did. He was with me when my aunt rescued my mother. I guess I left that part out."
"How was he with you?" Kaia asked.
"I told him what was going on and he offered to go with me to the market."
"The farmers' market," Lexie echoed. "Where you didn't buy anything. Wow, I had no idea you had just been through something so intense. I thought you were just sneaking around with Hunter."
She smiled. "It was more than that." She sighed as Kaia and Lexie exchanged a pointed look. "I know you both think there's something going on?—"
"Because there's something going on," Kaia interrupted.
"Maybe there is," she admitted. "But I'm pretty sure it's just going to be a short-term thing, so no one needs to get excited about it."
"Are you trying to convince us or yourself?" Lexie asked.
"Maybe all of us. I wish things were different, but timing is everything, and it's not working in my favor."
"Does he have to leave? Couldn't he be stationed at Camp Pendleton?" Kaia asked.
"I don't know. He seems to think he will be assigned elsewhere, but he's not even sure if he's going to get cleared for duty, so there's a lot up in the air."
"Then just let things be whatever they are meant to be," Lexie suggested. "Until you know what's going on, you just have to live your life."
"But living my life in the short term could hurt in the long term. I like him…a lot."
"It sounds like you've already gotten to a place where the hurt is going to be there regardless," Lexie said quietly.
"But if I stay away from him, I'll start to care less, won't I?"
Kaia gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't think that's how it works, Emmalyn. My advice—you're already involved, so I'd just double down and try to enjoy the hell out of things until they end and hope maybe they won't." She paused. "Are you and Hunter coming to Maverick's tonight for Liam's birthday?"
"I'm coming. I don't know about Hunter."
"Well, now that Olivia's mother is back, maybe he's free, too," Lexie said. "I'll make sure he knows about it when I talk to him about the apartment."
"You two do not need to try to get me and Hunter together," she said. "Like I said before, I don't even know what I want."
