Page 70 of Making New Plans

All I could do was blink at her as if she’d socked me in the face.

She turned her attention back to Hunter. “And you. I’m assuming you want to see these plans through?”

My heart caught at her question. Hunter turned to face me when he answered her, “I do.”

Vaguely, I noticed Sal wearing an expression of sheer triumph as if she’d won a monumental battle. But most of my vision filled with Hunter’s intensely gorgeous face wearing a look that said so much more than those two words had. That look had my head and heart spinning. Maybe I should take his grandmother’s advice and just go with it.

His leg suddenly vibrated against mine. I jumped, and he gave me a sheepish grin.

“Sorry. My phone. Uh, hang on.” He pulled it out of his pants and frowned at the screen. “It’s the lodge. I put my number on the desk in case of emergencies, so you wouldn’t be bothered.”

He accepted the call and walked a few feet away. I watched him go, probably with cartoony hearts and stars exploding from my eyes like an emoji.

Sal grunted. “I should’ve brought him here sooner.”

My eyes snapped back to her. “What do you mean?”

She glanced between the two of us and pressed her lips together. “Just what I said.”

“Then you should tell him that. I think he’d like to hear it.”

Sal’s thin eyebrows arched slightly, the only clue that I’d surprised her. But Hunter came back before she could respond.

“Yep, that was one of the new guests’ wife, Adelita Dodrige. Apparently, they had a little too much fun at the party and need some fresh towels and sheets immediately.”

I heaved myself to my feet with a sigh. “I’ll do it. You’ve been holding down the fort all weekend.”

Sarah suddenly came out of nowhere and draped herself over me, hiccupping. “Hey, buddy, old pal, I need a ride.” Her words slurred a bit, and she swayed to music only she could hear. “Wyatt, respectable sheriff that he is, took Carter and Owen. Gina’s got her baby. So that leaves my bestie.”

I sighed again. Another interesting correlation between Sarah and singing with Carter was that she only ever tended to get drunk after they did a show together.

“I’ll take her back to the house then take care of Mrs. Dodrige,” I said, struggling to keep Sarah from faceplanting in the bonfire. “Hunter, you can stay here with Sal and enjoy the rest of the evening.”

He gave his head one short, frustrated shake. “You don’t have to do everything, Chloe. You’re not alone anymore. I can take care of the lodge since I’ll be going there anyway. You go home with Sarah.”

Those words “you’re not alone anymore” rang in my ears so loudly I almost missed the rest of what he said. Was I not alone? I stared at him. I certainly didn’t feel alone when I was with him. Quite the opposite. He’d done so much for me around Pine Grove. A lot of it without me even asking. And damn it, it was nice to have someone to depend on for once instead of shouldering it all myself.

“Fine,” I agreed. “It does make the most sense. Are you sure?”

“Positive. One more thing.” He scooped my binder off the bench. “Do you mind if I hang on to this? I want to look through it some more.”

I bit my lip. Just do it. Just go for it. Take a leap. “Okay,” I croaked.

He beamed and tucked it under his arm. After saying good night to Sal, he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Thank you, Chloe. Sweet dreams.” His lips pressed the sweetest kiss to my cheek, then he was gone.

“Great Gatsby, that man smells good,” Sarah muttered a little too loudly.

Yes, he did. Yes, he most certainly did. “Okay, you, let’s get home, put you in a cold shower then into bed.”

“And Froot Loops!” Sarah exclaimed. Her favorite food.

“And Froot Loops,” I promised.

We said good night to Sal and headed for home. I grimaced as we passed through the square and the town. Some of the bunting and streamers had fallen and been trampled by a few dozen bikes. Food and drinks littered the park and streets. The cleanup crew might go on strike after seeing this mess. This was definitely their least favorite festival, despite the fun time everyone else had at it. Normally, Tangled River residents were much more environmentally conscious. But the first big outdoor shebang after winter with local brews and bonfires? We tended to let loose.

Eh, that was tomorrow’s worry. Tonight, I’d dream of my beautiful cabins and a sexy man kissing me until dawn. In those dreams, I lived the possibility that Hunter was falling for me the way I was for him.

Hard.

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