His family would say this was typical of him–how they all knew he wasn’t capable of having a fling. And they would be right. Then they’d point out how he only has two speeds when it came to relationships–full-speed ahead or dead in the water. And again, they would be right. But that didn’t mean this was wrong, did it?
Yes, this was fast, and yes, they didn’t know each other all that well yet, but it didn’t diminish what he felt for her and what he hoped she felt for him.
Maybe it was time to sit down with Violet and see if they were on the same page.
Or even remotely near it.
“Ooo…omelets?” Violet asked as she sat down. Wide-eyed, she looked at him. “You seriously just whipped up some omelets?”
Nodding, he took his seat and smiled. “Eli and I love farmer’s omelets. They’re our favorite, right, buddy?”
“Yeah!” Eli cried out before he dug into his breakfast.
“Wow,” she said as she slowly picked up her fork. “I never knew anyone who made omelets at home. I always thought they were the sort of thing people got when they went out for breakfast to the diner or something.”
“We are big fans of breakfast food,” Hunter explained. “Pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon and eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Those happen to be my favorite–especially the ones from Henderson’s Bakery.”
“I’ve had them! Honestly, I think I’ve had one of everything they have in that bakery and it’s all fantastic.”
Conversation flowed over breakfast with Violet asking Eli lots of questions about his room, his favorite toys, and what were some of his other favorite foods. And Hunter sat back in amazement as his son chatted away–in full sentences no less!–answering all of her questions. By the time they were done eating, Eli ran off to build Violet a castle out of blocks. It was incredibly sweet and Hunter decided to take the opportunity to broach the subject that had been consuming him all morning.
“So…Brian’s back,” he began before taking a casual sip of his coffee. “Katie and Kira must be thrilled.”
“Oh, they are. I teared up watching them. And when he saw Benjamin for the first time?” Her hand rested over her heart. “It was amazing. He cried like a baby and then Katie was crying…” She shook her head. “Kira was hugging Brian’s leg and started crying, but I don’t think she really knew why.”
“Wow.”
“I know. That’s why I felt like I shouldn’t be there. I wanted to give them some time to be alone as a family without an audience. I know Rose is going over there today, so…”
Hopefully that meant she wasn’t in a rush to leave…
“Do you have plans for the day or do you need to get back to Katie’s?”
“Um…no. No plans. I told her I’d be back tonight for dinner.”
“You’re more than welcome to hang out with us today. I wasn’t doing anything except working on some plans for a new deck.”
“A new deck?” Violet craned her neck to look out the back door. “What’s wrong with the current deck?”
Shrugging, he explained, “It’s fine, but it’s a little small. Like I can grill out there and maybe another person or two can hang out with me, but there’s not enough room for a place to eat.” Pausing, he figured he’d get her input on some other things. “I was talking to my dad and Kyle about it last night over dinner and they both seem to think I should be looking into buying a bigger house.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I guess now that Eli’s living with me full-time, it makes sense. It’s a small house and we’ll outgrow it, eventually.”
“Seriously? But it’s just the two of you.”
Hunter stared at her for a moment and carefully chose his next words. “Well, it might not be just the two of us forever.”
And then he waited for Violet to react or respond.
And waited.
And waited.
She took a sip of her coffee, nodded, and stared down at her plate before she said, “I guess that makes sense. Plus, there’s a good chance Eli’s going to be as big as you and will outgrow his room before you know it.”
“Uh…sure.” He paused. “I hadn’t given it much thought until recently, but I wouldn’t mind a little privacy. You know, a real master bedroom with its own bathroom and maybe not five feet away from my son’s room.”
Another nod, another sip of coffee.
Okay, maybe he needed to be a little more…obvious.
“You know,” he began after a moment, “if I had a bigger place that afforded us a little more privacy, we wouldn’t have to be as quiet as we were last night. Not that it wasn’t satisfying on a whole other level, but…I kind of like being vocal with you.”
Blushing, Violet put her mug down. “I like being vocal with you too, Hunter,” she replied shyly. “But…I don’t think you’re going to move in the next few weeks, so…”
“Maybe not in the next few weeks, but…in the near future. You know, if you decided to hang out a little longer.”
“Hunter…”
“No, I mean…I know Brian’s back and all that, but you’re still coming to the wedding with me next weekend, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“So…maybe you stay a little after the wedding.”
“Hunter, it’s already a little crowded at Katie’s…”
“You can stay here!” he blurted out. “Obviously Eli’s not scarred from having you here this morning and that was my biggest concern, so, you know, it would be fine. Great, even. I’m off for the next several weeks so we could finally get to spend some real time together. I could show you all the hidden gems here in Magnolia!”
That seemed to perk her up a bit.
Reaching over, she placed her hand on top of his. “Funny you should mention that because I was thinking of you and I maybe getting away for a few days. You know, we can go to the mountains, or I could show you Nashville…” She shifted excitedly in her seat. “I was looking up some resorts near Asheville and Grandfather Mountain, and I think we could have an amazing time in our own private cabin with a hot tub! No one around for miles so we could be as vocal as we wanted. What do you think?”
I think we are so not on the same page.
We’re not even in the same book.
Carefully, he pulled his hand away and stood up. “I should get this mess cleaned up.”
Her brows furrowed as she looked at him. “I’m sorry? Did I say something wrong?”
“What? Uh…no. No. I just hate looking at this mess, so…”
Violet was immediately on her feet. “No, let me. Please. You go and see how Eli’s doing, and I’ll do the dishes.”
“Violet…that’s not necessary.”
She shooed him away and gave him a playful shove toward Eli’s room. “Nope. You cooked; I’ll clean. Those are the rules. Go.”
He knew it was a common rule, but he felt it was a lot more common for her, and his heart ached for her all over again.
Not that he let himself dwell on it.
Or on the fact that maybe he was getting a little too far ahead of himself.