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Dessert came and the boys returned. It was messy and loud, and I worried that Hunter would get overwhelmed, but she actually started talking to Eli about art and I literally watched him fall in love with her right there.

He showed her some pictures of his drawings and she showered him with praise and tips and he was absolutely beaming.He finally gave her the drawing her made and she exclaimed at how good it was and thanked him until he was bright red and stammering.

I needed to get home to Buck, and Hunter had other things to do today so we said goodbye before the check came.

“Thank you for coming,” Mom said as she squeezed me. “And thank you for bringing her. She’s lovely.” That last part was said low enough so only I could hear.

Everyone else got huge hugs and Hunter also embraced everyone.

“They’re wonderful,” she said as we stood together at her car.

“Sorry, they can be a bit much. But that wasn’t horribly painful, was it?” I braced myself.

Hunter gripped both my arms and gazed up into my face.

“It wasn’t bad at all. Your family is amazing.” Her voice caught on the last word as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

“Oh, baby, what’s wrong?” I brushed her tears away with my thumb.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just that…your family loves you so much. And you love them. And it’s beautiful.”

She sniffed and I wished I had a tissue or something to give her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, more tears leaking. I pulled her into my chest and held her as she cried.

“Shhh, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Hunter cried for a few minutes and finally took a few deep breaths before leaning back, her arms still gripping onto my coat as if she was worried I’d run away.

“You gonna be okay?” I asked her, wiping her nose with the sleeve of my coat. She could snot all over me if she wanted to.

“Yeah.” She nodded and sniffled again. “I’m just not used to seeing love like that. It’s overwhelming.”

I bet it had been.

“Listen. I know you haven’t had an easy time and even if you don’t want to be with me or just want to be friends, you can always talk to me. Always.”

“I know,” she said. “Everything feels better when I’m with you.”

Shit. She couldn’t say things like that. They made me hopeful. They made me picture what the future could look like with her by my side.

Chapter Twenty

Hunter

I’d built everything up in my head and I’d expected monsters to be waiting for me at the table with stares and uncomfortable questions.

It was nothing like that. Maggie and Hamilton, Stace’s parents, were lovely. Maggie was boisterous and happy, and Hamilton was content to sit back and let his wife have the lion’s share of the conversation, but he participated when there was a moment of silence. I could see a lot of Stace in her mother.

When I’d first sat down, I’d been absolutely panicking, but Stace had rested her hand on my leg and that had made me stop spiraling. With just her hand she reminded me that she was there. That she wouldn’t let something bad happen to me. That the first time we’d met she’d rescued me. Funny how that had set the tone for everything else we’d been through.

And then I’d cried in the parking lot. Cried because I was jealous of what she had with her family. Not just jealous, but sad. Sad for what I might have been like if my parents had been like hers.

It didn’t matter, but at the same time it did. All my feelings were angry and tangled and they came out in the form of tears.

Of course, Stace held me and let me cry and told me she’d be there for me.

Because she was wonderful too. How could she not be?