Page 56 of Hacking His Code
“Wonderful,” I reply back. “Everything is so beautiful.”
“It felt so sterile when I first arrived. I spruced up the living quarters, but the work areas are still so bleak.”
“Techies don’t much care about the finer aesthetics. Case in point: my apartment is decorated with old pizza boxes and Mountain Dew bottles,” I say without thinking.
Dammit—now she’s gonna think you’re a hillbilly.
Instead of making me feel awkward, Ernestine chuckles. “I remember those days.”
I cock a brow. “You remember coding all hours of the night for class?”
She rolls her eyes, bobbling her head. “No, I mean Lucy. It got to a point where my parents wouldn’t even force her to come down for evening meal.”
So, I guess working Lucy into the conversation isn’t going to be as hard as I had expected it to be.
“It was probably smart that they gave up. The effort it would have taken each meal would have been an inefficient use of their time.”
“Hunter wasn’t nearly as bad as she was. He’s definitely gifted, like his father, but the drive just isn’t there.”
“I have a feeling he enjoys coming down to eat. He speaks highly of you and Rand.”
“He’s always been a momma’s boy.” She frowns, looking down at the menu. “Which is partially my fault. After Lucy went missing, I smothered him.”
The waiter approaches the table, and I let Ernestine order for me, trusting her judgment.
“No one can blame you for being protective. Especially when a very real danger existed.”
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t just to protect him. I was selfish. With everything that happened with Lucy, not just her disappearance, but her betrayal…I just kept him close. I was so scared of losing another person.”
“Well, it seems like everything turned out alright.”
She looks up at me with a deadpan gaze. “I’m not so sure of that, and it’s one of the reasons I decided to ask you out to brunch.”
“Oh?”
“You’re the first woman Hunter’s ever developed feelings for, but unfortunately, that’s not even the worst part of it. He’s never even had a strong friendship. It’s not that people don’t like him, it’s just that he never lets them in. He knows all the big names, and they do lunch and rub elbows, but there’s no true kinship.”
My heart aches for her.
“Trying to fix my mistakes only made it worse. I figured if he found himself a partner, he’d always have someone, like I have Rand. When he wasn’t finding them on his own, I tried to help matters.”
“I can understand why you did that.”
“It was dumb, I fully admit it. He thinks I’m obsessed with him becoming a father so I could have a grandchild, but the truth is very different. When Rand and I are gone, I want him to have an anchor in this world. Someone he can love more than anyone. Someone he can trust. I want it so badly for him.”
Ernestine grows reticent, but I’m unsure how to fill the heavy void that lies between us.
Luckily, the crêpes arrive, and we dig into our food.
“This is delicious,” I finally say, then fork a savory bite of roasted bell pepper and caramelized onion into my mouth.
“Wait until the dessert crêpe comes. Strawberries and a chocolate hazelnut spread topped with powdered sugar. It’s to die for.”
“I always figured women like you never ate things like that, which means your figure is entirely genetic and completely unfair.”
Ernestine laughs so hard a piece of mushroom flies from her mouth. Her cheeks turn a deep shade of crimson. “Gosh, I hope nobody else saw that.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” I wink.
