“Uh…thanks,” he said, unsure what the proper response was to her observation.
Together they grabbed the food and went into the house. Hunter was thankful he wasn’t a slob and didn’t have to worry about what she was going to see when she came inside.
It wasn’t until the ice cream was in the freezer, the beer in the fridge, and the pizza on the table that Violet spoke. “Oh, Hunter, this house is perfect,” she said with a little awe as she walked around from room to room without even asking if he’d mind.
The house wasn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination, but it had a fairly open floor plan–living room, dining room, and kitchen all in one big area and then a hallway with his bedroom at one end and Eli’s at the other. And with the help of his brothers and a bunch of his firefighter buddies, he’d done the entire interior over from top to bottom within the first three months of buying it.
Why? Because he liked things orderly and couldn’t live in chaos. He needed the house to be a clean and stable place for him and his son.
“I love how you kept so much of the original charm even though it’s all been updated.” Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at him. “I have a feeling you did a lot of this yourself, right?”
Nodding, he walked over and followed her to Eli’s room. “He wanted boats, so we went with a nautical theme in here.”
“Oh, my goodness! Did you build the boat bed yourself?”
“Yeah. My sister Scarlett saw a picture on Pinterest and helped me build it.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really? Your sister helped you build this?”
That made him laugh because most people didn’t know just how crafty and hands-on his baby sister was. “C’mon. Our pizza’s getting cold. I’ll tell you all about the amazing dog houses Scarlett builds. But when you meet her, you can’t let on that you know. She’s weird about it.”
“Um…okay.”
Together they sat at his dining room table and Violet served their pizza while Hunter opened their beers. “It’s sort of this secret hobby of hers. She designs and builds dog houses and donates them to one of the local animal shelters.”
“That is incredibly sweet! Why doesn’t she want anyone to know about it?”
“Scarlett’s a bit of a badass–or at least she thinks she is. She thinks people will make fun of her or something. It’s crazy and more people know about it than she realizes, but…I’m not going to tell her that.” He took a bite of his dinner and watched her do the same.
After a moment, she asked, “How many siblings do you have?”
“Three. Scarlett’s the baby of the family and the only girl. My brother Dean is older than me and my brother Kyle is younger. So I’m kind of the middle child.”
She nodded. “It must have been nice to grow up with siblings.” Then she stopped and shook her head. “Sorry. Not trying to turn this into some depressing conversation. I have Katie and I had Morgan so…I did have siblings. Just a little later in life.”
Something in her wording seemed off, but he decided to hold off on asking.
The rest of the meal was spent talking about favorite things–music, movies, food, hobbies. She asked him about being a firefighter, he asked her about being a travel agent, and before he knew it, all the pizza was gone.
“I’d like to pretend that I don’t normally eat this much, but I’d be lying,” Violet teased as they cleaned up their mess. “And pizza is one of my weaknesses, so…please don’t judge.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m just glad you didn’t hold back because I probably would have eaten the entire thing myself.”
Violet’s phone beeped with an incoming text and she excused herself to go and read it.
“It’s just Katie,” she offered. “She’s curious about what I did for dinner.” She began typing. “I hope you don’t mind that I told her I’m here with you.”
Mind? Why would he mind?
“Of course not.”
Her low snort of laughter came next.
“What? What’s so funny?”
Looking up at him, she held up her phone. “She wants to know if she should wait up for me.”
Swallowing hard, he slowly walked over to her until he could read the message himself. They were toe to toe and he could feel the warmth of her body as his hands twitched to touch her. Her dark eyes met his as a mischievous grin crossed her lips.
“Would it be too presumptuous for me to tell her no?”
“Actually, I was hoping that’s what you were going to tell her.”
Violet looked down at her phone and quickly typed out her response before putting it away and giving Hunter her full attention.
“Done.”
And yeah. So was he. For weeks she was slowly driving him crazy and now that she was here and they were alone–and clearly on the same page–he didn’t see the need to wait any longer.
Lowering his head, he gently touched his lips to hers. For a second, she didn’t move or respond, but then she stepped in closer, smoothed her hands up from his abs and over his chest, and fully pressed up against him, and he was lost.
They kissed like they had all night–which they did. It was a little slow and sensual, the kind of perfect first kiss where you were trying to learn something about one another. His hands reached up and caressed her cheeks and he felt her go up on her tiptoes to get her arms more comfortably around him. And as much as he hated to break the kiss, he knew they’d be much more comfortable on the couch.
Slowly, he broke the kiss. “I think we’d be more comfortable…”
“The couch,” she said breathlessly, placing light kisses along his jaw. “Yes, please.”
He fought the urge to pick her up and carry her there, but it took less than a dozen steps to get themselves settled. Pulling her in close, Hunter was surprised when she climbed into his lap and straddled him. With her forehead rested against his, he said, “This is much better.”
Mimicking his words from earlier, she said, “And we’re just getting started,” before capturing his lips and kissing him senseless.
He lost track of time because he was consumed by this woman. His hands roamed and caressed and touched every inch of her that he could. She purred and hummed and moved against him in a way that had his mind screaming at him how his bedroom was only a few steps away. The thought of stretching out on his bed with Violet was almost more than he could take.
Unfortunately, his conscience got the better of him.
Hunter trailed a line of kisses that became lighter and lighter down her throat until he stopped and lifted his head. Slightly breathless, he placed one last one on her lips. “As much as I’m enjoying this, I think maybe we need to stop.”
“Stop?”
Nodding, he gently lifted her off his lap before he stood up. “How about that ice cream?” And he walked away before she had a chance to answer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Violet jump up from the sofa and follow him into the kitchen. “Do you prefer a teaspoon or tablespoon?” And he didn’t even look at her as he asked it.
“Um…what’s going on?” she asked. Her hand reached out and touched his arm, forcing him to face her. “Hunter, talk to me. Did I do something wrong?” Her dark eyes were soft and pleading.