“You certainly wouldn’t see any of my rooms in a decorating magazine.”
“Well, don’t be too impressed,” she began slowly. “Because…this was the model home, and I bought it furnished, so…I can’t take all the credit. Or any of it, actually. And for what it’s worth, I love your house. It’s comfortable and lived in and…I can’t wait to be there with you again.”
This girl…
Holding her tight, he let out a long breath. “I know I was kind of unbending about this move, but I want you to know I get it now. You can’t just pack up your whole life in a week. It’s just not possible. So take as long as you want and I’ll come back as much as you need. Maybe I can even bring Eli on one of the trips.”
“I would love that, but…I’ve kind of been thinking about it all too.”
“Really?”
“And I mean since I left Magnolia and not just tonight.”
“O-kay…”
“I was being kind of bratty and pushing you too much. I love that you’re here, but the truth is that I could have done it all–packed up and sold the house all by myself. I just saw how you were being and it made me defensive. I’m so sorry, Hunter.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You had every right to push. I was the one being stubborn and selfish. I wish I could say it will never happen again, but…I’m sure you’ll have to stay on me over it.”
“I don’t want you to change, Hunter,” she said softly. “I fell in love with you just the way you are.”
“Just remember that the next time I’m being stubborn about something.” Luckily, she knew he was teasing because she laughed.
“You may have met your match, Hunter, because I can be pretty stubborn too.”
“Hmm…that is true. Two stubborn people living in the same house…things could get ugly. Oh, well…at least we tried, right?”
Laughing, she elbowed him in the ribs. “Not so fast. Our stubbornness led us to giving up too easily. I say we put a little more effort in this time. What do you say? A little more than a few hours?”
He pretended to ponder what she was saying.
“Um…Hunter?”
“I’m thinking!” he teased, and then looked down and met her gaze. “I definitely think we should give it more than a few hours.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Geez, way to be dramatic there. You scared me.”
Chuckling, he kissed her. “Sorry.” Then he paused for a moment. “You want to know what I personally think is the perfect timeline for us to genuinely know for sure if we can live with each other’s stubbornness?”
Glancing up at him, she shook her head.
“I’m thinking at least forty or fifty years. What do you say, Violet? You ready to take a chance with me?”
“I am. I really am.”
Lowering his lips to hers, he kissed her sweetly, then deeply, then thoroughly.
This time when they made love, they took their time, and it was as if they had the time in the world.
Which they did.
They had forever.
Epilogue
One Month Later…
“Hey, can you step outside for a minute?”
Violet looked up from her laptop and smiled at Hunter. “Sure. Let me just hit send on this email.” And she did. “What’s up?”
“Just…I need you to see something.”
It wasn’t like him to be so vague, but ever since she moved in with him, he’d been in a constant state of motion to try to get the house ready to sell. Honestly, she was perfectly fine with them staying here for a while, but he had been adamant about them getting someplace bigger so they could have more privacy.
And it was hard to argue with that.
Standing, she stretched and figured he was going to show her whatever else he had done to the yard, but when she stepped out onto the porch, she saw Eli sitting on the steps with the cutest little black and white puppy wearing a big red bow.
“Oh my goodness! Who is this?” she said softly as she sat down beside them. The dog was on its hind legs, tail wagging, and desperately trying to lick her face. Unable to resist, she picked him up and snuggled him close while her face was bathed in puppy kisses.
She noticed Hunter and Eli exchange a look before either spoke.
“His name is Nash’ll!” Eli said excitedly, and Hunter chuckled.
“We named him Nashville,” he explained. “But we’ll probably call him Nash for short. What do you think?”
It didn’t seem possible for her heart to be this full of love.
Shifting the squirming puppy to one arm, she held out the other so she could hug Eli. “Did you name him?”
He nodded. “Yup!”
“It was kind of a…group effort,” Hunter clarified. “We thought he’d make a great addition to our family.”
Violet couldn’t help but giggle because Nash was squirming desperately to get down and presumably play. “Does he have a leash or something? Can I just put him down?”
Reaching over, Hunter took the puppy from her and held him up to look at him. “He certainly is cute.”
“He really is! I can’t believe you guys did this! Where did you get him?”
“Scarlett works with an animal rescue here in town–Happy Tails. They got a litter of these little guys and when she told me about them, I knew we needed to give at least one of them a home.”
“What kind of dog is he?”
“A Boston Terrier.” The puppy reached up to lick Hunter’s face, and he laughed before moving him a little out of reach. “But you know what really drew him to me?”
She shook her head.
“Boston Terriers are known for their tuxedo coat and I thought it was perfect.”
“Um…I don’t get it.”
Hunter and Eli exchanged glances again before they moved to kneel in front of her.
“Violet, you have given so much to us,” Hunter began. “You made us a bigger and better family than I ever could have imagined.” He looked at Eli. “Right, buddy?”
Eli nodded.
“We love you so much, and you’ve made us so happy, and we thought what better way to show you than with this little guy. You’ve mentioned before how much you’ve always wanted a dog,” he added before reading into his back pocket. “Here. We think you should be the one to put his new collar on him.”
She knew she was smiling from ear to ear and couldn’t believe how much her life had changed. A month ago, she thought all hope was lost for her and Hunter. Then he showed up on her doorstep and things had been amazing ever since.
Hunter had stayed for five wonderful days, and they spent them packing and going sight-seeing. It was an exhausting time, but when she took him to the airport and had to say goodbye, they both realized long distance wasn’t for them. For so long, there had been a part of her life that she felt was missing, and she found it with Hunter. As soon as she’d gotten home, Violet called a friend who was in real estate and listed her townhouse.
It sold in a week.
That’s when she definitely knew she was doing the right thing.