Page 36 of Reforming Hunt
Hunt’s blood rushed through his veins and his head pounded. “I willneverhurt Noah and Abby. I’m doing this for them, you idiot. And if I’m scarred, so are the rest of you. We all lost Mom and Dad when Mom died.”
Hunt scrubbed a rough hand down his face. He knew what this was about. He’d always known what Levi thought. Not like his brother hid it. “Just admit it. You don’t trust me.”
No answer.
“Fuck you, Levi.” Hunt grabbed his clubs and stormed off the course, leaving his brothers gaping.
He never showed Levi how much his shit got to him. Okay, almost never. But this was different. Hunt had never been as serious as he was when it came to Noah and Abby. And he didn’t know how to explain his feelings to his brothers—or to himself, really. He just felt an overpowering instinct to protect them. And as long as Abby was willing, that was what he would do.
Hunt thought if he could get Levi’s support, his other brothers would follow suit at the news of his sudden engagement. But the conversation hadn’t gone as planned. None of them supported Hunt, with maybe the exception of Wes, who was the kind of father none of them expected him to be.
But Hunt didn’t need his brothers. If he had to, he’d marry Abby at the courthouse without any of them. This wasn’t about his brothers, anyway. Hunt would keep Noah and Abby safe if it was the last thing he did.
* * *
One week later,Hunt stood inside the small, rustic Fallen Leaf Lake chapel alongside Abby. A manager friend at the lake’s general store had gotten them a chapel slot despite the short notice. Hunt wore a new suit just for the occasion. He could have worn one he already owned, but it seemed only right to buy new clothes on his wedding day. Given his track record, this might be his one and only.
Abby had told Noah they were getting hitched a few days ago, and the little guy had been attached to Hunt’s side the rest of the week whenever Hunt worked at Club Kids.
A smile pulled at Hunt’s lips. He loved the idea of having Noah for a son. Even if it was short term.
His smile fell. His marriage to Abby was temporary. Just long enough to protect Noah and Abby from Noah’s grandparents, and to provide them with a stable home. But that would take time, wouldn’t it? Not like they could show a united front in just a couple of months; the grandparents would never believe it.
Hunt’s shoulders loosened, and he looked down at the woman holding on to his left arm. Abby wore a white, ankle-length sundress, her hair pulled up with a few wisps of artfully messy curls falling around her forehead and neck. If Hunt envisioned the perfect bride, he couldn’t do better than Abby. The more time he spent with her, the more beautiful she became to him.
A light bump hit Hunt from behind, and a sweaty hand grabbed his right palm.
He smiled down at Noah, who must have gotten bored standing as his best man and decided to join the party.
Noah wore a matching suit. Couldn’t let the kid wear jeans to his mother’s wedding, could he? Abby had been surprised when Hunt suggested he buy Noah an outfit for the wedding, but she’d smiled shyly and allowed it.
The rest of the last week, Hunt had been busy talking with lawyers and arranging the wedding, the details of which Abby had been all too happy to hand off. She had work, and Hunt’s schedule was flexible. Meaning he forced his brothers to cover for him when he had an appointment. He’d also quickly gotten a prenup drawn up, following through on his promise to Abby when he’d been trying to convince her to go along with his plan and marry him.
The lawyers he and his brothers had hired a couple of years ago when they took over Club Tahoe had given Hunt the name of the best family lawyer in town. The woman was already preparing for a custody battle, should it come down to one with Noah’s grandparents.
Hunt couldn’t let Abby and Noah dangle on their own without his protection. The longer he waited, the more nervous Noah’s grandparents made him. They’d already taken Noah from Abby once, and what was to stop them from trying again? So Hunt had wasted no time in planning the wedding. But now that it was here, the magnitude of his actions had his head spinning.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the attendant said, forcing Hunt’s attention on the present.
He wasmarried. To Abby.
Somehow, what he’d avoided for so long—marriage, a commitment—didn’t feel painful at all. It felt almost right.
Huh.
He looked down at the beautiful woman at his side.
“Kiss the bride!” Noah said, and jumped up and down.
Hunt glanced past Abby to the back of the chapel. Despite the shit Levi had given him, he’d shown up with Emily, along with the rest of Hunt’s brothers and a few of their friends, including Jaeger and Cali. Jaeger was one of Adam’s best friends, and Hunt had known him since school. The chapel held enough witnesses to make the marriage real.
Because the marriage was real.But not real.
Abby was watching him, chewing the corner of her mouth and not exactly meeting his eyes.
This was a real wedding, even if he and Abby knew it was only temporary. And at real weddings, the groom kissed the bride. He’d been imagining how her lips would feel since the day they’d met. Who was he to pass up an opportunity?
Hunt leaned down and touched the underside of Abby’s jaw. He pressed his mouth to hers.
