Page 67 of Shades of You

I stormed back to him, the fury inside me igniting. The fragments of Knox’s number crunched under my heel in a satisfying punctuation to my mounting anger. I squared my shoulders, facing Hunter with an intensity that matched what I saw on his face.

“Listen to me,” I said, my voice rising. “It’s not for you to decide what I deserve. Don’t you think I should get to determine who I date? Who I’m involved with? I thought we were past this, dammit.”

Hunter faltered, his usually stoic presence wavering under my fervor. He looked away and skated a hand over his beard.

But I wasn’t finished—not by a long shot. My hands gestured wildly. “Everyone has a past! What matters is what we do with it. And you, Hunter Markham, are doing everything you can to start again. That’s the man I’m standing here with. Not the boy who made one mistake that affected the trajectory of his entire life.”

As his eyes met mine again, his voice was a low rumble. “Right. You’re so proud of me that you won’t even introduce me. Even though your family knows about us.”

The question sent ripples through the carefullyconstructed walls around my heart. How could I explain? That I was the woman who wanted to end this feud between our families, but now I was afraid I was only going to cement it further.

“That’s not true,” I said through gritted teeth, but the words tasted bitter on my tongue. “And yeah, maybe I need to work some stuff out too. You Markhams have your storied reputation and your success. And we Coleridges have our difficult, scrappy existence.”

“So I’m just a fling to hide away, then?” Hunter’s voice, sharper than a blade, cut through the pretense. “Because meeting my family—that went fine, didn’t it? But when it comes to yours?—”

“Look at me, Hunter. I want peace. Peace between your family and mine. But I can’t ignore the reality that as we get closer, it gets even more complicated. I can’t tell you my siblings won’t throw your past in your face. And I don’t want to expose you to that since it is very clear right now that you’re still confronting a shitload of baggage. Andthatis what you need to deal with.”

His jaw clenched, his burning eyes locked on mine. “What are you saying? That we’re just… what? Star-crossed lovers, doomed from the start?”

“No.” The word came out more forceful than I intended. I reached for his hand, finding it unyielding, but I held on, needing the connection. “I’m scared, okay? I’m terrified that by bringing you into my world, I might lose you. Or I might lose my family. And I can’t—I won’t let that happen.”

“And what about me?” Hunter’s words sliced through the air. “When we stepped on Aiden’s boat, I didn’t know how my family was going to react to you. If they’d treated you with anything less than respect, do you think I would’vestood for it? I watched closely the entire time we were out on the water. Ready to act if necessary. Because I won’t let anyone mistreat you, Brenna. Not even my own blood.”

Anguish tinged his voice, and his fierce loyalty made my heart ache. “Hunter, it’s not that I don’t trust you or your intentions. It’s just… You know about my family, our struggles. Introducing you now, it could?—”

“Make them see you’re happy?” He cut me off, pulling his hand away to rake it through his hair. “Or do you think I’m not good enough? That I’ll always be the black sheep Markham?”

“Stop it! It’s not about being good enough. You understand me better than any man I’ve ever known. This is all about timing, about making sure when we do this, we do it right. Letting my family get used to the idea of you and me. Us.”

“Timing!” He scowled, parking his hands on his hips. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead, he just stared at me, his entire being tense and tight.

And something snapped in me. Heat swept through me, a wildfire of indignation sparking in my belly. “Look at what you grew up with, Hunter!” I flung my arm toward Calypso Key and its storied resort. “Your family built that place. That huge house, all those bungalows, the history of it all. The Markhams are practically royalty around here.”

His eyes flickered with confusion. But I pressed on as centuries-old resentment rose inside me. “But what about the Coleridges? We lost everything to your ancestors. Calypso Key was ours. We’ve had to sit back and watch as your family experienced success after success with it. And meanwhile, our legacy on Dove Key has been chipped away over the decades.”

I paused for a moment. He knew the story as well as Idid of that high-stakes poker game over a century ago. When his risk-taking ancestor beat mine and gained an empire.

Hunter was still as a statue, but his eyes flashed dangerously. “You have no idea the sacrifices my family has made. Present generation included, Brenna.”

“I’m sure that’s true. But do you have any idea how hard it is for us? To be constantly reminded of all that’s not ours anymore?” My hands flailed helplessly in front of me as I struggled to articulate generations’ worth of bitterness and regret. “I’m not trying to make excuses, but can’t you see? Our side of this divide is different than yours—we’re the ones who lost.”

I stared at him pleadingly, willing him to understand. That we were trying to navigate through centuries-old grudges and unhealed wounds. And that wasn’t even taking into account the problems Hunter himself faced.

“I understand your family hasn’t had it easy,” I continued. “I understand you haven’t. Or Evan. But dammit, Hunter, this isn’t just about you! I’m trying to walk a tightrope here between a century of anger and resentment.”

“So am I. Between the light and the shadows.”

I wanted to be supportive. I wanted to be encouraging. But dammit, I was frustrated. “So what are you saying? Are you just giving up on us? Is this what happened with her? With your great love you lost?”

His face went completely blank. “What are you talking about?”

The words had tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. But now that they had, I was determined to have my say. “You told me you were in love once. But obviously it didn’t work out, because now there’s no sign of her. Well, Hunter, I’ve got some news for you. No woman can be in arelationship with a ghost! Is she another part of your tragic past? Or just someone who got fed up?”

A completely unreadable expression covered his shock. “Why do you want to know?”

Because I love you.

But that was the last thing I should say out loud. “Because I want to know what happened. I’m curious, okay? Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I remind you of her, and that’s making you back away.”

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