Page 120 of 2204 Hunter Lane
Judging by the hesitation in his speech, his demeanour didn’t strike me in a way that told untruth, rather, a vulnerable realization he was just coming to terms to.
“I knew that already,” I snorted, slapping him on the back as I hopped up. “Don’t go making babies with her, though. I love my daughter but I’m thinking of hiring a nanny to prevent stress-induced hair loss.”
A laugh escaped his throat as he sprung to his feet and maintained my pace down the hill. “Wall-Street power dad.”
Holding my head high, I smiled at the one guy I finally thought Marley got right.
“I’m getting that written on a t-shirt.”
???
After the torturous hike, I realized I was completely out of shape and beside myself with hunger. Hunter delivered his promise and bought bagel sandwiches for breakfast, grabbing a few more to go.
When I walked back into our hotel room, Marley was holding Rosy while Michelle reheated some leftovers from Berandino’s last night.
“Hi boys,” my wife said, planting a swift kiss on my cheek. “How’d it go?”
Chugging down the water bottle in my hand, I wiped sweat off my brow. “I need recovery time and a massage.”
“That’s the most New York thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Marley piped from the loveseat.
I shrugged, unable to protest my needs.
“Michelle, I got some bagels if you want ‘em.” Hunter passed me the brown bag, strutting towards Marley with a smile. “C’mere, sweetheart.”
She looked so happy when he leaned down to kiss her, greeting my daughter with a gentle squeeze of the cheek. When I made my way over there to retrieve Rosy from Mar, she placed a finger over her lip.
“She’s sleeping, don’t disturb her.”
“You don’t want a break from carrying her?”
She shook her head. “Never, this is good practice for my future self.”
Both Hunter and I exchanged a glance as he held his hands up in a joking fashion. “We aren’t expectin’ any kids, cross my heart.”
But I wouldn’t have been mad if they were. Marley was only twenty-four, but she always had a maternal instinct in her to care for someone,anyonerather than herself.
I had no doubt in my mind that she would be an amazing mother, and Hunter, though I knew very little of him, seemed to be completely taken by her. If he really was the real deal, I would not be opposed.
“So what’s next on the agenda?” Marley asked, rocking Rosy back and forth. “Water rafting? Mountain climbing? Or maybe snorkeling in the Mariana’s Trench?”
Fuck the ocean. Pardon my language butfuck the ocean.That’s one hundred percent why Marley suggested it, and when she threw me a fairy-like wink, it confirmed my suspicions.
“Trying to get me killed?” I narrowed my eyes at her, chuckling.
And in the oddest, most comforting turn of events, Hunter placed a firm hand on my shoulder and smiled. “Nah, I always wanted a brother.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Marley
Ilove Hunter Lane.
I love him so much. I love him with everything in me. Never did I ever think that four months ago, when I first told him I loved him on my birthday, that I could possibly fall even harder.
But I had.
I had, and I was over the moon, drunk in love with Hunter Lane.
