Page 56 of Reclaim Me

Maybe it’s the warmth of his palm wrapped around my forearm or the soft eagerness of his eyes, but at this moment, I can’t find a single reason to say no to him.

“Yes.”

Hunter beams at me, and I yelp loudly when he wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up off of the ground, spinning me around the sidewalk. It’s the closest we’ve been in years, and the familiar scent of his skin—all spiced earth and warmth— transports me back to a time when the only place I wanted to be was wrapped in the strength of his embrace.

When he sets me back on the ground, Riley is next to us, bouncing on her tiptoes.

“Do me next, Daddy! Do me next!”

Hunter obliges her request without hesitation, scooping her up and spinning her around in circles so fast I almost get dizzy looking at them. While they’re caught up in their silliness, I walk the short distance to the building I fell in love with all those weeks ago, something like the hopeful flaps of butterfly wings fluttering in my stomach.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can?—

The thought dies a quiet, painful death when I stop in front of the building and see that the for rent sign is gone. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. With Hunter covering Riley’s tuition, I’m still free to use my savings to start my school and let Aaron worry about everything else. The building being unavailable doesn’t change that. It doesn’t change anything, not really, but as I stand here, looking at nothing but the outline of the sign that welcomed me and my dream to the building, it feels like everything has changed.

“The sign is gone,” I say quietly, turning to Hunter, prepared to repeat myself but stopping short when I see the gleam of silver keys dangling from his hand.

“I know,” he says, dark eyes glued to my face, greedy for every change in my expression as I digest each word. “I came over and took it down as soon as I signed the paperwork this morning.”

“Paperwork?” I gasp, confused by his words and the way my heart starts to pound with genuine excitement every time he says more of them. “You signed a lease for me?”

Hunter’s lips curl into a slow grin that sets fire to my veins and melts me from the inside out. He moves forward—one hand in Riley’s, the other hand holding the keys out towards me—and lifts his brows, silently ordering me to take them.

“No, Sunshine, I bought the building for you.”

20

HUNTER

Now

The first time I made Rae smile was a month after we met.

We hadn’t seen much of each other because I was busy suffering through the task of getting clean again, and I didn’t want anyone but Will to see me like that. On the one-month anniversary of our meeting, I got my thirty-day chip, and I looked out in the crowd and saw her there, pride shining in her eyes as she looked at me like I was holding an Academy Award instead of a piece of plastic that, at the time, just felt like a reminder that I was starting all over.

Again.

Will, the annoying bastard that he was, had me address the crowd, urging me to expose my missteps, so I could find acceptance among people who knew what it was like to start over. What was supposed to be a recounting of my fall from grace and a recommitment to my recovery, turned into a long, drawn out thank you speech that was just for her, and in the end, I called her my sunshine.

I think about the smile she gave me after that all the time. Sometimes, when I go to sleep at night, it’s the first thing I see when I close my eyes. I remember exactly how long it took to form and how long it stayed on her face, but most of all, I remember what it felt like to witness it and know that I was responsible for something so beautiful, so pure.

When we were together, I thought I’d never top that smile, that moment. And when she left, I knew I’d never get another chance to try. Now, I know that neither of those is true because every day for weeks, I’ve had the chance to best myself, and today, I’ve succeeded.

The smile happens slowly, fragments of reluctant joy causing her lips to twitch and pull until they’re left with no choice but to curve up into a grin so wide Rae covers it with her hand.

“WHAT?!” She screams through the trembling fingers hiding that smile from me.

“I bought the building for you,” I repeat, even though I know she heard me the first time. “It’s yours. Well, technically, it’s mine, but I’m happy to sign the deed over to you if that will make you feel more comfortable.”

“Hunter.” She’s still covering her mouth, so my name comes out garbled, wrapped around vocal tremors that are filled with disbelief. “Why would you do this? How did you do this? When did you do this?”

I can’t tell if these are rhetorical questions, so I just answer them truthfully.

“Because I want to see you make your dreams come true.” My brows furrow as I answer the second question because surely she knows how purchases work. “I tracked down the realtor and asked if the owner was interested in selling. They weren’t initially, but then I submitted a letter to them and made an all-cash offer, hoping for a quick close, and they accepted.” Her eyes go wide, and I’m not sure whether the mention of the letter or the cash is the cause, so I just keep pushing. “Like I said before, we closed this morning, but I started the whole process the day you showed me the building.”

---