It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he’d like to see Alaska, but she had a feeling now wasn’t the right time. Today was about Hunter’s family and the fact that his brother was getting married.
“You ready to meet everyone?” he asked.
It would be wrong to turn and run, so instead she said, “Absolutely!”
“I now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Hunter smiled and clapped along with everyone else when his brother kissed his new wife. The weather was perfect–not a cloud in the sky–and he couldn’t imagine a better day for a wedding.
As Courtney and Dean made their way up the aisle toward the house, Hunter spotted his son sitting with his dad. Eli waved, and he looked utterly adorable in his little suit. Sitting beside him was Violet. She smiled and waved along with his son, and he wished the photographer could capture that moment. After all, this was a big day for them too.
Not as big as his brother’s but still…big.
He walked with his sister up the aisle. There were maybe a total of fifty people in attendance and he was thankful for it. Violet had been visibly nervous when she arrived, and even as they walked around before most of the guests arrived so she could meet his family, he could tell she was still a little uncomfortable. Luckily, he had an awesome family, and they all did everything they could to make her feel at home. Mason and Scarlett even invited them to come for dinner one night next week and Violet seemed genuinely excited about it.
And then asked if they had won the house in an HGTV contest.
It was an odd question, but then he explained how his brother-in-law happened to come from a very wealthy family and had inherited the property. It mildly appeased her, but once Scarlett took her on a tour and was her typical chatty self with no filter, it seemed to completely put Violet at ease.
Then there was his father who appeared to be slightly smitten with her and with getting information on Brian’s mother, Rose. Hunter had no idea where that had come from, but it meant the two of them had something to talk about other than him.
“I like her.”
Turning his head, Hunter looked at his sister. “What?”
“Violet. I like her.” She squeezed his arm as they kept walking up the aisle toward where they were going to do family pictures. “She seems really nice and friendly and very easy to talk to. Plus, Eli hasn’t stopped talking about her–or talking in general–and that tells me she is practically a miracle worker.” She grinned up at him devilishly. “Well, that and the fact that she got you to bring a date to a family event.”
“Scarlett…”
“Oh, hush. I’m happy for you. No one deserves it more. You’ve spent a lot of years struggling because of she-who-will-not-be-mentioned.”
“She who will not…What are you even talking about?”
“You are so clueless sometimes. It’s painful. All I’m saying is she obviously makes you happy, and that makes me happy. I think she’d make an awesome addition to the family.”
“Don’t you think you’re getting a little…”
“Please, we all know you’ve asked her to move here, and that means it’s only a matter of time before you ask her to marry you. You don’t do anything halfway, Hunter.”
“How do you know I asked her to move here?”
“Kyle told me.”
Groaning, he said, “Why does he have such a big mouth?”
“You know he loves to gossip.”
“No, he just likes being a blabbermouth.”
“Okay, fine. You’re rubber, he’s glue. Feel better now?”
Only Scarlett could say something like this in the middle of a wedding processional and get away with it.
There wasn’t time to argue with her because the photographer was waiting to get some shots of the bridal party before inviting the immediate family to pose with them. Eli came running over since he was the ring bearer, and for the next hour, it was non-stop posing all over the yard and then down on the pier with the gazebo on the end near the boat lift Mason had recently installed. By the time they were done, everyone was a little wilted from the heat and more than ready to get under the tent where the reception dinner was set up.
When Hunter finally spotted Violet, she was talking to Mason’s sisters, Parker and Peyton. Peyton had handled catering all the food for the wedding, and Parker was helping her out. The closer he got, he was able to hear them talking excitedly about a trip to Cancun. It wasn’t surprising that the topic of conversation was travel. It was what Violet did, what she was passionate about, but…he still didn’t get it.
Although, if he was being fair, he imagined she probably didn’t fully understand why he chose a career that had him running into burning buildings either.
“Ladies,” he said when he was next to Violet. His arm immediately wrapped around her waist because it felt like a lifetime since he’d held her close rather than a few hours. “Everything looks amazing, Peyton.”
“Thanks, Hunter. I was a little nervous about this being my first catering, but Courtney assured me she had confidence in me.”
With an eye roll that spoke volumes, Parker nudged her sister with her elbow. “Why would you admit being nervous to the guests?” she cried. “You should never do anything like that! You should exude confidence and say thank you before pointing out the best thing on the menu!”
Peyton gave both him and Violet an apologetic smile before excusing herself.
And her sister.
“So, having fun?” he asked, turning her in his arms so he could place a soft kiss on her lips.
“I am,” she replied, smiling up at him. “Everyone’s been very nice and super friendly. Once you left to take pictures, I came up here to the tent and introduced myself to Parker. Turns out, she’s a bit of a travel enthusiast so we had a lot to talk about.”
“Well, that was certainly convenient,” he murmured as they walked around until they found their table.
“It’s about time you all started to come in and sit down!” This coming from his grandfather who had a beer in his hand and his napkin in his lap waiting for dinner to be served.
“Gramps, there were plenty of things to snack on,” Hunter reminded him. “And at least you got to sit here in the shade. The bridal party didn’t have it as easy.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could you please flag Kyle down and tell him to grab me another beer!” He chuckled and winked at Violet. “There are certain perks to being the patriarch of this family. I get the best seat at the table and the kids always make sure I have what I need.”
Violet laughed with him. “As they should, Mr. Flynn!”
Waving her off, he said, “Call me Tommy. All that Mr. Flynn stuff is way too formal. Besides, the way I hear it, you’re practically family.”
“Gramps!” Hunter hissed.
“What? What did I say?”
Luckily Violet was laughing and his grandfather immediately began telling her all about his pub and some of the history of Magnolia Sound. Hunter felt it was safe to go and find the rest of his family. Courtney and Dean had a table for two at the rear of the tent and the family table was off to the right.