“It’s okay,” I murmur, and reaching out to her, I take hold of her hand and link our fingers.
She takes a deep breath, and her eyes begin to shine as she stares into mine. “I’m glad it was you, Hunter. Everyone says you don’t get to choose who you love, that it just happens and you have to go with the flow, but they’re all wrong. My heart chose you long before my head knew it. I chose you every day I fought with you. I chose you every time I said no to a guy asking me on a date.” A breath ripples over her lips, and her voice cracks, “I chose you every second of every hour for the past seven hundred and thirty days, and I’ll keep choosing you for the rest of my life.”
Pulling her to me, I hug her hard against my chest. Overcome with emotion, I need a minute to regain my composure. I press kisses to her hair, and I try to even my breathing.
Finally, I whisper, “I’ll never do anything to make you regret your decision.”
“I know,” she whispers, sending warmth from her breath over my chest. “I don’t deserve you, but I’ll treasure you.”
I close my eyes and wrap my arms tighter around Jade. We cling to each other, our hearts beating the same rhythm.
“I love you, Bean,” I whisper.
Lifting her head, she grins up at me. “I love you, Hunter.”
The Epilogue
HUNTER
Jade and I decided to tell our parents we’re together before Thanksgiving.
“Everything’s going to be okay, right?” Jade asks again, her leg jumping where she’s sitting in the passenger seat.
Reaching over, I place my hand on her thigh. “Everything will be fine,” I reassure her. “Let me tell them.”
“But my dad,” she argues.
“Let me handle it, Jade.” I glance at her before I steer the car up Uncle Rhett’s driveway.
I recognize Dad’s car and glancing at the other vehicle, I ask, “Is that Miss Sebastian’s car?”
“Yeah, she knows everything, so she’ll be able to play peacekeeper if things get out of hand.”
I let out a chuckle. “It was clever of you to invite her.” I switch off the car and leaning over to Jade, I press a kiss to her lips. “Let’s do this.”
Climbing out of the car, I jog around the front and open the door for Jade. When she gets out, I take hold of her hand, and together we walk to the front door.
When Jade pushes it open, she tries to pull her hand from mine. When I don’t let go, her eyes dart up to me. “I’m not going to hide how I feel, Jade. I’m holding your hand,” I state, the tone of my voice leaving no room for arguing.
“Okay.” She sucks in a deep breath, and then we walk into the house.
When we enter the living room, everyone’s eyes snap to us. “Hey,” I say, and I have to clear my throat before I continue, “Thanks for meeting us here.”
“Christ, please tell me you’re not pregnant,” Uncle Rhett explodes.
Jade lets out a burst of air, and her mouth drops open. “Dad, noooo! That’s not why we asked you here.”
Uncle Rhett let’s out a relieved sigh, slumping back against the couch. “Thank God. Here I thought you asked Hunter to save your ass in case we wanted to kill you.”
“No. Noooo. No,” Jade repeats, shaking her head. “That’s not the reason.”
Pulling her hand from mine, she goes to hug my mom and dad. I walk to Uncle Rhett and shake his hand before giving Aunty Evie and Miss Sebastian a hug each.
I take hold of Jade’s hand, and I pull her down next to me as I take a seat. Dad tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me. “Well, I never saw that coming.”
“What?” Uncle Rhett asks.
“They’re dating,” Mom answers.
Uncle Rhett’s head snaps in my direction. “You’re dating my daughter?”
I give him an anxious smile, as I explain, “We just started dating.”
Uncle Rhett stares at me, his face void of any expression. Not breaking eye contact, I wait for a reaction.
Then Miss Sebastian jumps up. “Rhett Daniels! Don’t just sit there like a dead fish out of water. Say something.”
Uncle Rhett shoots her a glare then mutters, “I’m still processing the fact that my little girl is living under the same roof as Hunter.” He pulls a worried face. “And they’re dating.” Looking stunned, he stares at the floor. “Jade should move back home.”
“Daddy,” Jade gasps.
I glance at my father, and he gives me a reassuring smile.
“Uncle Rhett,” I begin, and his eyes instantly snap to mine. “I love Jade, and I’ll never do anything to hurt her.”
He pulls a face as he considers my words. “I know, Hunter.” Not looking happy, he continues, “I don’t like the idea of the two of you living together.”
“It’s no different from me living with Jase, Noah, and Kao,” Jade argues.
“Yeah?” Uncle Rhett gives Jade a sardonic look. “You’re not kissing them.”
I try to hide my smile, but I fail miserably, which has Uncle Rhett glaring at me. “I’m still not happy.”
“Oh, Rhett, hush,” Aunty Evie says as she gets up and walking over to us, I quickly rise to my feet. She wraps me in a hug, and says, “I’m glad it’s you, Hunter. I was so worried when you kept fighting with each other. I can’t tell you how relieved we are to hear you’ve made peace.”
“That’s not the kind of peace I had in mind, Evie,” Uncle Rhett complains.
“Ignore him,” Miss Sebastian says as she comes to hug me as well. “Just take good care of my god-baby, or I’ll tan your bedazzled ass with my diamond-studded belt.”
I choke as I try not to laugh, but when Dad cracks up, I’m unable to keep it in.
Miss Sebastian lovingly pats my cheek, then she darts past me. “My god-baby finally got her own chunk of hunk.”
My gaze turns back to Uncle Rhett, and when he gets up, I quickly walk to him. “I’ll take good care of Jade. I promise.”
A grin spreads over his face, and he pats me against the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you. We all knew you were dating the instant you asked us to meet here.”
My lips part, and then I just shake my head. “You had me there for a while. Good one.”
Dad gets up and comes to stand by us. “I’m not gonna lie, the bets were up in the air whether you’d kill each other or finally admit your feelings.”
“Who won?” I ask, giving them all a playful glare.
“We did,” Mom says as she wraps her arm around Auntie Evie’s waist.
“Yeah,” Dad admits. “Your Mom never doubted for a minute that the two of you would sort out your shit.”
“How did you know, Mom?” I ask, a burst of love filling my heart because she never doubts anything I do.
“You’re my son, Hunter, and even though you inherited your father’s stubborn streak, you got my patience.”
“Patience my ass, Hunt,” Dad grumbles at Mom, calling her by her maiden name, which is also his nickname for her. “You gave me hell when we first started dating.”