Page 92 of Playing the Field
“I looked at your credit card receipt and saw your name. I know that’s probably illegal or whatever, but I was a man on a hunt. So I immediately figured out you were Ky’s sister, even though you didn’t bear any resemblance to the girl I remembered from high school. And that felt like a sign. I didn’t get on the plane. And when my house burned down, I took your brother up on his offer to put me up, even though I didn’t have to.”
“Wait, I thought you had nowhere else to stay?”
He chokes a laugh. “Really? My insurance was willing to give me thirty grand a month for alternate accommodations. I could’ve stayed anywhere in town.”
“Oh,” I say, looking away because I feel foolish.
“Hey.” He redirects my gaze back to him with a finger beneath my chin. “What I’m saying is that once I saw you again, this was never going to end a different way. I’ve always had a thing for you, Gracie. Always.”
My breath hitches as he draws a line from my chin to my lips. Leaning in, he replaces his finger with his lips. It’s a kiss that ripsthrough me, sealing every feeling I’ve ever had about Hunter Reyes into a permanent record.
“Thank you,” I say when we have to break for air. “For telling me that. I love you even more, if that’s possible.”
He nods, cupping my cheek in his hand. “I know how you feel.”
He places a gentle kiss on my temple and sits back in his chair.
“I think back to that day, and it seems like a year ago. How much my life has changed. Back then, I was convinced my time with the Devils had come to an end. I lost my house. I was mentally preparing to leave LA and never look back.”
“Glad you didn’t bolt out of town.”
Hunter shakes his head like he can’t believe his luck. “I’d have missed so much if I’d gotten on that plane. I have no idea where the road will take me, but I don’t care as long as I can walk it with you.”
At that moment, I realize, for maybe the first time in my life, that some things don’t warrant overthinking. Some things just are.
This is one of those things, the love I feel between us. It’s as close to perfect as any mathematical puzzle I’ve ever marveled over. Right there with the biggest mysteries of the universe. As pure as the elements and as durable.
I pick up my glass and propose a toast. “To you and me and the long road ahead.”
Our glasses clink.
EPILOGUE
Gracie
Three Months Later
“So, what’s on the menu?”Hunter sits on a chaise longue on the grass with an arm behind his head and a book in his hand, looking relaxed and just a tiny bit cocky. He’s wearing a pair of workout shorts and nothing else, his tanned chest beautifully sculpted.
“Not sure, since you’re cooking,” I say in a cheery voice.
“Um, no. It’s definitely you.”
“I really don’t think you’re correct on that one, hate to break it to you.” I stand on the deck behind the Santa Monica bungalow Hunter and I are renting until his house is finished being rebuilt. As much as Ky protested and said he liked having us as roomies, we decided to give him his space.
As soon as we did, my brother got a dog. With as much as he travels, we’ll be dog sitting quite a bit, but Bogie won’t mind the company, and I’m probably more excited than anyone. I’ve officially become a dog person.
But I’m not cooking dinner. I put my hands on my hips and give Hunter a fierce staredown, but he only laughs.
“I wish you could see how adorable you look when you try to pretend you’re angry at me.” The dimple in his cheek taunts me, and he gives me his very best smirk. I wish he wasn’t so damn hot. No, I don’t.
But he is very good at using his charm to get out of cooking duty.
So I stomp down the steps to where he’s being lazy on the chair and stand directly between him and the late afternoon sun. His expression dims a tad.
“Are we back to that silly bet again?” I ask.
“What’s that?” Ignoring my question, he points to a radish I’ve plucked from the soil in a raised bed, where I’ve been trying to grow vegetables. Of the two dozen seedlings I planted when we moved in, this is the only one that has survived. I feel strangely proud of it, even though I barely did anything to ensure that it flourished.
