I shake his hand too, trying to stay composed. “So what’s going on?”
“Well.” Josh gives me a toothy grin as Easton peers at his phone. “It took us a little longer than we expected to find Hunter. He wasn’t in Calgary, he was on Vancouver Island.”
“Ohhhh.” It only takes me a second. “Tofino. He loves it there.”
“Yeah. I’d never been there,” Easton says. “Cool place.”
“You went there?”
“Yeah.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to be flying all over the continent. I thought it would be easy.”
“No worries.” Josh says. “It was kind of a fun road trip. I hadn’t been there either, and it’s awesome. Ocean, surfing, laid back…”
I nod, losing my patience, but my smile fixed in place. “I haven’t been there either.”
At that moment, two women walk up to us with big smiles. One of them has a little black dog on a leash. Oh please God, no, this isn’t the time for autograph seekers.
But Easton reaches for the woman with auburn glints in her hair and the dog and kisses her, while Josh wraps the other woman with long brown hair in a big hug.
“Hey! I missed you,” Josh says, and plants a big kiss on her lips.
She smiles up at him. “I missed you too.”
Easton and the other girl are exchanging similar greetings. The dog leaps enthusiastically on Easton, and he bends to rub the dog’s head. I love that dog’s face!
I shake my head. What is going on? I just want to know about Hunter!
They make introductions. “My girlfriend, Sara Carrington,” Josh says. “And this is Easton’s girlfriend, Lilly Evans. And this is Otis.” He gestures at the dog who smiles up at me, tongue hanging out.
“Nice to meet you.” I force another smile.
“We had to come!” Sara says, beaming back at me.
I catch Josh sliding her a “shut up” glance.
“Oookay.” How can we talk with their girlfriends here? I feel a headache coming on. Crossing my arms, I give Easton a look.
“It’s okay,” he says hastily, reading my expression. He looks around at the people strolling by and sitting on benches. A big crowd of seniors parade by, two by two, following a man; I guess it’s some kind of guided tour.
I spot a big bear mascot walking along the sidewalk from Fifth Avenue. Ha. Good thing Hunter isn’t here.
I remember his phobia with a pang. I miss him so much. I’m so worried about him.
I look back to Easton, then do a double take at the mascot. Isn’t that the Bears’ jersey he’s wearing? I wore that costume myself.
“Is that…is that…Orson?” I point.
Everyone turns and looks.
“It is!” Sara says.
“It’s not even hockey season.” I shake my head. “Weird.”
Orson has a weird, misshapen appearance. There’s a gap between the furry legs and the big feet, revealing bare human skin.
“That’s no good,” I say with disapproval. “That costume doesn’t fit properly. Even I made a better Orson than that.”’
“You were Orson?” Sara turns big eyes on me. “That is so fucking awesome! I would love to do that.”
“It was only one time.” I wave a hand. “Long story.” I’m still staring at Orson as he nears us.
“Orson!” Sara waves. “Hi!”
Orson lifts a hand in greeting.
Sara grabs Josh’s arm. “Josh. Seriously. I need to be Orson. When the season starts.”
He gives her an incredulous look. “What?”
Sara’s…interesting.
Orson lumbers toward us. People are pointing and smiling. A couple of kids run up to him and he gives them high fives.
Under his other arm, he’s carrying a stack of big poster board cards.
“Why is he here?” I ask. “Is there some kind of Bears event in the park?”
“There is,” Easton says. “Right here.”
“What?” I swing my gaze from Orson to Easton and back again. Orson’s smile is actually kind of creepy. No wonder Hunter didn’t like me. Him. Whatever.
Orson struts up to us. No, to me. He stops right in front of me.
“Uh, hi,” I say.
He reaches for my hand, lifts it to his fake mouth as if kissing it, then releases it.
What the…?
A small crowd is forming. I glance around and see that Easton, Lilly, Josh and Sara have backed off, leaving me and Orson surrounded by people. My eyes flick all over the place as my brain tries to process things.
Orson holds up one of the big cards he’s holding. It says in handwritten letters, a mascot is a good luck symbol.
I blink.
He drops that one to the ground and holds up another. This is like freakin’ Love, Actually.
This one says, i need all the luck i can get.
My forehead tightens and my confusion deepens.
you told me i was running away. you were right.
My eyes pop open wide enough that I might lose my eyeballs. “Hunter?”
The big head nods.
“Oh my God. What are you doing?” I step closer, hands outstretched. “You’re in that costume…are you…” I stop, aware of the people around us.
He holds up another card. i’m fine.
A smile tugs at my lips.
The next one says, i’m facing my fears.
I cup my hands over my mouth. “Oh, Hunter.” I glance toward Easton and Josh, who are grinning. Their girlfriends are practically bouncing up and down with glee. Otis is sniffing a bench.
this isn’t my biggest fear.
I suck on my bottom lip. “It’s not?”
The bear head shakes negative.
losing a good contract isn’t my biggest fear.
I stare at him. Another card drops to the ground.
my biggest fear is losing you.
My legs go shaky and my hands over my mouth tremble. My heart bumps unevenly.
i love you, kate.
I hear Sara and Lilly let out squeals behind me.
He drops the last card and reaches up to pull off the bear head. He tugs at it. It doesn’t move.
My eyes widen.
Hunter wrestles with the head and I hear a muffled fuck from inside.
I rush over to help. “Not again,” I say. “Oh my God. They need a better costume.” I dig my fingers into the neckline and together we both fight with it. Finally, I loosen it. “There!”
Hunter yanks it off. His face is red and sweaty, his hair damp. He’s never looked so gorgeous. I’m laughing and crying as our eyes meet.
He drops the head to the pavement. “I’m sorry, Kate.”
I’m right in front of him and I reach to cup his face in both hands. “Oh, Hunter.”
“I’m sorry I was an idiot. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry I hurt you. You’re the best thing in my life.”
More tears stream down my cheeks even though I’m smiling. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He leans in to try to kiss me. His costume bumps me but we manage to get our lips to meet. “I’m okay. I’ll tell you more…when we don’t have an audience.”
We each glance around. People are taking video of this with their phones! Jesus!