Page 18 of Meet Me at Sunset Cove

“Yes. Marry me.” He pressed his lips together, his jaw tight. “Per the trust, I don’t inherit the house unless I’m engaged and planning to be married within the next six months when my thirty-first birthday hits.”

Daisy frowned. “So, just engaged. Not married.”

Hunter went on as though she wasn’t even there, his thoughts tumbling out freely. “If I could just…hold things off a little while…”

Daisy’s chest squeezed, a terrifying plan creeping into her mind. Maybe there was a way they could both get what they want. She pressed her lips together, hesitating even to suggest it. But…“I’ll marry you, Hunter Barrett.”

ChapterFour

I’ll marry you, Hunter Barrett.

Those were the words that had kept him awake all night, tossing and turning as his mind replayed them over and over again, until he’d started to wonder if he’d dreamed up the whole conversation.

When the first signs of sunlight warmed the sky, Hunter gave up on sleep.

Long shadows filled the living room as he crept through the open-concept kitchen/dining area/living room. For all his attempts to be quiet, he couldn’t do anything about the loud snoring rumbling through the floor from his brother’s room. Hunter shook his head. They were lucky the owners of the bakery downstairs hadn’t started fixing the place up yet. They hadn’t had a chance to get tired of Waylen’s loud existence.

Hunter snatched his running shoes from the entryway, slipped them on quickly, and stepped outside.

He welcomed the brisk air, making his way down the second-story landing hidden in the narrow cross street that ran behind Main Street.

The streetlights were still glowing when he started jogging.

Hunter had always loved the escape that running offered. He loved the familiar wooded paths worn into the island, the way wrinkles turn into smile lines. He loved the smell of aspen and pine and the sight of driftwood on the beach. It was there that he’d always found clarity in the past…but today, he found himself turning not onto his usual path, but up the hill. On the road leading home.

He crested the hill and found the old house waiting for him, the front windows reflecting the glow of the horizon. Hunter slowed, paused, his breath coming out in shallow puffs as he stopped at the stonework wall edging the property.

The early morning was stark against the burnt orange that surrounded the house, and he thought of his mother’s early mornings spent sipping coffee on the steps of the porch as she sent his brothers and him off to school. He made his way that direction, kicking up dew on his trek to the porch. Finally, he settled onto the top step of the porch and looked out over the lake.

I’ll marry you.

What had she been thinking?

The moment flashed back to him.

“What?” he’d asked, his brows furrowed.

“I’ll…I’ll marry you,” she repeated, her face flushed, lips parted as she pulled in a nervous breath. “I mean, not for real,” she said hurriedly. “Just…like, until you get ownership of the house. Or change the trust. Or whatever you need to do to keep it.”

In that moment, she’d looked so sincere, so concerned with his hurt. The breeze tousled her hair, carrying her familiar scent—honey and coffee, and uniquely Daisy.

Hunter winced, remembering the only words he could think to say at the time before walking away. “I…don’t have time for this.”

He’d managed to think up a hundred better responses in the night, the most important of which was, why? Why would she do that?

A sliver of sunlight crested the horizon, throwing a blanket of gold over the frigid water. It reminded him of his brother’s sunrise kayaking outings. He could use Miles’s guidance right about now.

Hunter debated for a moment before slipping his phone from his pocket and opening his brother’s contact.

Miles answered on the first ring. “Morning, sunshine! What are you doing up this early?”

Hunter couldn’t help but smile. “I think I could ask you the same thing. Don’t you ever sleep?”

His brother scoffed, as if insulted by the insinuation that he needed rest. “Sleep? With all this beauty around? Nah, if the sun’s awake, I’m awake.”

“I knew you were a hippie.” Hunter chuckled. He could imagine his brother, perched on the windowsill of his Chicago apartment, a lean arm draped over his knee as he peered out at Lake Michigan, his dark eyes soaking up the light. It had been a while since he’d seen his Miles, but there were some things that just didn’t change.

Miles hooted a laugh that sent Hunter grinning, exhaustion leaking chuckles from him.

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