By the time they were home a few minutes later, it was obvious Eli was out for the count. Hunter changed him into his pajamas and tucked him into bed and breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him.
He wandered from room to room and knew there were plenty of things for him to do, but…it was late, he was tired, and there would be plenty of time to do work around the house tomorrow.
And over the next few weeks while he wasn’t working.
With nothing else to do and knowing he was going to do it eventually, he sat down, pulled out his phone and texted Violet.
Hunter: Hey. You around?
Violet: Hey, you! How was your day?
Before he could answer, she was typing again.
Violet: Wait…it’s kind of early for you to be texting. What’s Eli doing?
And yeah, his heart kicked hard in his chest just like it did every time she thought of his son first.
Hunter: Dad wore him out and he was practically asleep in his pizza. He slept through the ride home and even through me changing him into his pajamas.
Violet: Aww…that is completely adorable <3
As much as he enjoyed texting with her, he much preferred hearing the sound of her voice.
Hunter: Can I call you?
Violet: It’s a little loud here right now. Brian actually came home today. He surprised Katie by ringing the doorbell an hour ago.
Hunter: Holy crap!
Violet: Yeah, it’s been a wild and emotional night for sure. What are you doing right now?
As much as he hated to sound vulnerable, his response was out before he could stop it.
Hunter: Missing you.
Violet: Aww…
Violet: Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll call you. We’re just finishing dinner.
Hunter: Okay. Talk to you in a few.
Putting the phone down, Hunter stood and kicked off his boots and decided he might as well take the next few minutes to get comfortable by changing into a pair of athletic shorts. Looking at his bed, he wished he had just invited her over. Eli was a heavy sleeper, and although he’d never been tempted to invite a woman to spend the night while his son was home, Violet wasn’t just a random hook-up. She meant something to him. And while he had no idea what the morning would look like if Violet did spend the night, he didn’t think it would be overly traumatic to his son.
“I guess Dean’s not the only overly cautious brother,” he murmured, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water. And then, cursing himself for the missed opportunity, he made his way back to the living room and got comfortable on the couch.
While he waited for Violet’s call, he checked his emails and was about to play a game of solitaire when he thought about the conversation over dinner. Houses. With a shrug, he pulled up the site for a local realtor and figured it couldn’t hurt to just see what kind of prices larger houses were going for. It wasn’t like he needed a large home, but maybe something with three bedrooms–especially a master bedroom with its own bathroom.
And the image of sharing that room with Violet immediately came to mind and he groaned because…yeah, he had it bad.
There was a soft knock on the front door–so quiet he almost thought he’d imagined it. But when he heard it again, he slowly rose to his feet and walked over to answer it.
And there was Violet, standing on his front porch like an answer to a prayer.
“Violet,” he said, feeling almost giddy. Holding out a hand to her, he invited her in. “What are you doing here?”
Blushing slightly, she smiled. “First, I’m sorry if it’s not cool that I stopped by unannounced, but…it’s Brian’s first night home and I wanted to give them some privacy.”
“Oh…uh…okay. I didn’t know…”
Her hand immediately flew up to stop him. “Don’t worry! I’m not suggesting I stay here!” she blurted out quickly. “I’m going to go and stay at a hotel down in Wilmington.”
“Wilmington? But…that’s kind of a long drive for you, isn’t it?”
“In the grand scheme of things, not really. But the hotel in town–Magnolia on the Beach?–yeah, they didn’t have any rooms available. Like I said, I wanted to give Katie and Brian their privacy.” She let out a soft sigh and a small smile. “So…I just thought I’d stop in for a few minutes and say hey. So…hey.”
So many thoughts were swirling around in his head and yet he couldn’t get his mouth to utter any of them. When he saw Violet’s smile start to fade and her expression turn to one of uncertainty and then regret, he knew he needed to snap out of it.
“You’re not going to Wilmington,” he finally said.
“Um…why? I already told Katie I wouldn’t be home tonight. I thought about calling the B&B here in town, but I figured it was too late to do that.”
“It’s only eight o’clock, Vi. I’m pretty sure they’re still open.”
“You know what I mean. I don’t think of them as being like a regular hotel.” She shrugged. “I could be wrong, but…I don’t know. I just figured a hotel was the safer option.”
Moving in close, Hunter looked down at her. “The safest option is to stay here tonight. With me.”
Her dark eyes went wide. “Here?”
He nodded.
She looked beyond him–toward the hallway that led to his and Eli’s bedrooms. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Hunter. Eli could wake up and…”
“And he’d be thrilled to see you,” he assured her. Reaching up, he caressed her cheek. “Just like I’d be if I woke up and you were beside me.”
Her expression softened. “Hunter…”
“I’m asking you to stay, Violet.” Pausing, he shook his head. “I wanted to ask you when we were texting.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I was being overly cautious.”
“So what changed in the last fifteen minutes?”
“Honestly?” Bending slightly, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m tired of being cautious. I just want to be with you.”
It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders at his admission and he held his breath as he waited for her response.
One delicate hand raked up through his hair. “And I really want to be with you. With Brian coming home, I don’t know when…”
But he never let her finish. Slowly, he closed the minute distance between them and gently claimed her lips with his. As much as he wanted to plunder and devour, he held himself in check. Hunter knew she was going to need to be coaxed into staying the night.
He could be wild with her.
Later.
He could unleash the beast she brought out in him.
Later.
For now, he wanted her to know that he was sure she should be here. And besides showing her like this, the kiss served to end their conversation. The last thing he wanted was to talk about her leaving. If Hunter had his way, she wouldn’t be going back to Nashville except to pack up all her things so she could move here to Magnolia to be with him.
But for right now, he’d work on convincing her to stay for one night.
They could figure out the rest later.
Lifting his head, he smiled at the dazed woman staring back at him. “Stay, Violet. Please.”