Page 75 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
Together, we go back downstairs and open the containers I brought home. It’s nothing special. Hunter loves the fried chicken at the grocery store deli, so I grabbed his favourite chicken and one of the pasta salads I love. Diamond had Hunter’s favourite cheesecake, so I brought that home, too, for later, along with a homemade caramel sauce that sounded too damn good to leave behind.
After dinner, it’s a breeze to clean up, and Hunter suggests we have dessert and tea on the porch swing.
“I’ll never say no to that.”
As he makes the tea, I plate our dessert, and together we settle outside on the swing that’s become one of my favourite things about this place. There’s just something about the peace and togetherness of it that warms my soul in a way no vacation ever could.
“Do you think if I asked Diamond and batted my eyes real nice, he’d make me a whole cheesecake every week? I don’t know what he does to make this so damn fluffy and delicious, but it’s amazing.”
Hunter hums and closes his eyes as he savours the cheesecake, and I laugh softly. “He calls you…what again? Mr. Hunky? Pretty sure he would if you asked.”
He sets his plate on the side table and takes mine before handing me a mug of tea. Curling into his side as he pushes us gently, I let myself enjoy this moment. Once rodeo season starts, we won’t have as many of these evenings together. If he’s not at a rodeo with Levi, he’ll be teaching at the rodeo school he and Jackson are forming, and while I’m happy he’s found his footing, I’m a little sad to not have these moments as often as I’d like.
“He calls you Mr. Handsome. Maybe you should ask him for me.” Hunter chuckles as he sips his tea.
“Maybe I will.”
“I went to the cemetery after I left your office,” Hunter says softly. “I should’ve done it sooner.”
“Are you okay?”
He drops his head back with a sigh. “Yeah, mostly. I just wish I hadn’t let him get to me the way he did all those years.”
His voice is steeped with regret, and I know it’s hard for him to accept that he can’t change the past, but it sounds like he’s ready to let it go.
“He manipulated you when you were emotionally vulnerable, Hunter. That kind of action isn’t something to shake off lightly, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it.”
From all the stories he’s shared, I’m glad I never met Jeremiah because I’d probably punch him in the face.
“I thanked him.” Hunter lifts his head and cups my cheek with a gentle hand. “I thanked him for bringing me you. Without you stepping up, I’d never have married you. But I also forgavehim because I think…I think the hatred I carried was affecting all my relationships. Jackson and the guys tolerated me, but the men I took to bed before you…” He trails off and slides a thumb across my lips. “They were quick replacements to lose myself in sex and avoid intimacy.” Hunter’s gaze searches my face, and my breath catches. This isn’t the same man who left my office. “I was afraid…and then I met you.”
Hunter bends and kisses me, and my free hand clutches his thigh as he kisses me much like he did at my office earlier. It’s passion and love, and an unspoken promise that I always come first. But there’s something different there, too, and I didn’t think it was possible to be swept up into this man anymore than I already am, but he’s doing it again.
“I didn’t plan on this being a permanent thing, either,” I whisper against his lips. “I just wanted in your pants.” Hunter’s chest rumbles as his hand wanders to the inside of my thigh.
“That can be arranged. Come with me?”
“I’ll go anywhere with you.”
He places our mugs on the table, and he pulls me into the house by the hand. He’s not said a word as we walk upstairs towards the bedroom, and when we pause at the bedroom door, he holds up a finger for me to wait and slips inside.
I don’t know what he's hiding in the bedroom, but I’m counting my lucky stars that it’s me he’s sharing it with. The door peeks open, and Hunter steps aside to let me pass.
“It’s completely cliché, but after everything that happened today, Gabe, I want you to know that I’ll never hurt you again. Not on purpose at least, and if I do somethingthat breaks your heart…” He reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips. “Please call me on it and don’t just let me have what I want.”
Hunter must have bought out the store’s inventory of battery-operated candles. Every available surface is covered. Tea lights, pillars, and lanterns all cast the room in a romantic glow. Two giant bouquets of flowers, one on each nightstand, sit with white roses and teal carnations.
“These are the flowers we picked for the wedding,” I whisper.
“They are.” His fingers move to my shirt buttons, and I bring my gaze to his. “I googled romantic ideas because you know I’m not good at this shit and it said flowers and candles.” His hands slide under my shirt and push it to the floor while I’m still getting my brain to catch up with everything that’s happened today.
“You cared enough to do something special. I’d say you’re doing all right with this shit.” He huffs a laugh, and I place a kiss at the base of his throat. The vibration of his laugh against my lips dies away, replaced by a soft moan.
“I’m so gone for you, counsellor.” Hunter rests his forehead on mine. Our breaths mix between us, and Hunter places his work-roughened hands on the side of my neck. His thumbs stroking my cheeks in the most tender of ways are almost too much to handle.
“Show me.”
He kisses me, sweeping me farther into this love-drenched moment, while his fingers work my pants open. I want nothing more than to have his weight press me into the mattress, but Hunter’s touch signals he’s in no hurry to get there.
