Page 25 of Meet Me at Sunset Cove (Jonathon Island #5)

@User8978: I’m learning so much from this series. Thanks for making home improvement look fun and accessible!

@Kelsiewiththekids: I heard from a friend on Jonathon Island that Hunter and Daisy are engaged! Can anyone confirm?

* * *

“Well, well…Look who’s becoming a morning person,” Miles teased through the screen of Hunter’s phone. The inky morning loomed around him as Miles strolled the beach of Lake Michigan, the only light the sliver of sun peeking over the horizon.

“You’re the only person crazy enough to like getting up this early.

I’ve got a reason,” Hunter argued, taking a sip of coffee from his travel mug.

The heat warmed his hands in the otherwise frigid workshop.

Outside, the cold morning watched from the windows, darkness kept at bay by the flickering fluorescents.

“Hey, I’m not complaining. Feels like it’s the only time we get to catch up,” Miles said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “What exactly are you doing?”

Hunter set the mug down on the rugged wood counter and brushed his hands off, sending a puff of sawdust into the air. “I’m just putting the finishing touches on my project.”

Miles raised an eyebrow. “And what might that be?”

Hunter lifted the phone until his project was visible in the background.

His brother gave an impressed whistle.

Hunter quirked a smile. “It’s good, right?”

The camera shook as Miles crossed a rocky beach, the sound of stone clattering around his feet, spilling into Hunter’s workshop. Miles dropped to the ground and returned his attention to the camera. “Hunt, it’s more than good. It’s awesome. Dad would be proud.”

The compliment felt odd in this space, as though they were remembering someone who’d died…But their dad wasn’t dead. But he wasn’t the man he’d been when he’d taught his sons how to work wood.

“Thanks, Miles,” Hunter said. A beat passed and he snatched up a worn square of sandpaper, running it again over the sleek wood.

“How are things going with the house?” Miles asked, his eyes on the brightening horizon.

Hunter paused his sanding, considering his brother’s question. “The house is coming along. Better than I expected, actually.”

“Yeah?” Miles prompted, his attention shifting back to the screen. “And Daisy?”

Hunter’s hand stilled on his work. “Daisy is…complicated.”

Miles chuckled. “You don’t say.”

“Don’t you start with me.” Hunter lifted an accusing finger, but there was no real heat behind it.

He set down the sandpaper and leaned against the workbench.

“I don’t know, Miles. I think…maybe there’s something between us.

” Hunter ran a hand through his hair, leaving a streak of sawdust. “But it’s not like last time.

That was…” Hunter didn’t know how to describe the last time.

He’d spent too long trying to forget it. “This just feels different.”

Scarier.

Miles nodded, letting Hunter know he was listening.

“Daisy is this incredible force. She’s creative and determined and…” His voice trailed off from the ramble, and he took a breath, recentering. “And I’m just trying to keep my feet on the ground.” While he waited for the other shoe to fall.

For the Barrett name to catch up with them.

Miles frowned. “What exactly is going on between you two?”

Hunter tilted his head back, glancing at the ceiling with a humorless laugh. “I wish I knew.”

He considered not telling him. But then, “We may have…accidentally kissed.”

Miles eyes widened in honest surprise. “Yowzah.”

Hunter hung his head and spared a glance at his brother.

“Like I said. It’s complicated.” He took a cleansing breath and turned back to his work.

“And I don’t know where the fake engagement ends and we begin.

Are we pretending? Are we real?” He looked expectantly at his brother.

“No really, tell me. I’m pretty lost here. ”

Miles chuckled and rose, turning the camera so the lake was behind him, the bright sunrise splitting sky from water. “I think maybe you should ask her,” Miles suggested.

“Wow,” Hunter said, blinking in sarcasm. “Thank you, Miles. You’ve solved everything.” He swiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It doesn’t matter anyway. As soon as this project is done, she’s headed right back to California. So…”

His brother gave him a pitying look, and Hunter suddenly wished he hadn’t brought it up. He wasn’t a lovesick fool.

“I gotta go,” Miles said, the sound of tumbling rocks spilling through the phone. “Seriously though, Hunt. Ask her. What’s the worst that could happen?”

* * *

Hunter switched positions again, crossing his arms, then dropping them, then striding across the room as he overthought his entire plan for the fourth time since he’d set up inside the house.

The morning sun spread across the gray skies, illuminating the newly refinished foyer with a warm glow.

On the floor, beside the stairs, lay the secret project he’d been working on for weeks: a massive, intricately carved banister.

Hours of work and a lifetime of Barrett tradition had gone into its creation. The presentation had to be perfect.

The sound of footsteps on the porch sent an excited jolt through Hunter’s chest and he threw himself against the wall, trying his best to look as though he’d been there the whole time, waiting patiently, coolly, for her arrival.

The door swung open, and Daisy stepped inside. Even in the dim light, Hunter could pinpoint the exact moment she noticed the banister.

Daisy froze, her hand covering her mouth in surprise. She approached it slowly, crouching down to trace her fingers over the intricate carvings, a look of wonder growing on her face.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Hunter shrugged away from the wall. “Morning, Decker,” he said casually. No big deal.

Daisy sprang to her feet, spinning around, eyes wide. “Hunter! What…what is this?”

Hunter gave her a quizzical frown. “Looks like a new banister.”

Daisy matched his frown, placing a fist on her hip. “Oh, thank you for that, Captain Obvious. Care to share where it came from?”

A sheepish smile tugged at Hunter’s lips. “I made it,” he said, running a hand over the back of his neck.

Daisy’s jaw dropped. “You made this?”

Hunter nodded, feeling a warmth spread through his chest at her reaction. “Um, yeah.”

“Stop. You didn’t tell me you could do this.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous. What other extremely helpful talents are you hiding from me, Hunter Barrett?”

Hunter chuckled. “Just that one.”

Daisy stared at him, her eyes bright, her lips parted in a growing smile.

His chest tightened and Hunter dropped his gaze, feeling the sudden need to fill the charged silence between them.

“I…um…I was actually planning to be a carpenter. Before I joined the family business. It’s kind of a family specialty.

” He ran a hand over the back of his neck.

“Half the houses on the island have some sort of Barrett woodwork. It was just this thing we did when we completed a project. A little something to keep us on the island.”

Daisy turned back to the banister, crouching again to trace the pattern along the edges. “It’s incredible, Hunter.” Then, she looked up at him, her eyes shining with something that tugged at Hunter’s heart. “I want to see Barrett pieces all over this house when we’re through.”

All over this house. The implication in her words was not lost on him. It would take a lot longer than a few months to renovate this whole house…

Talk to her. What’s the worst that could happen?

Hunter swallowed hard, the words on the tip of his tongue. Would you stay? If I asked.

Daisy glanced up again as if just remembering something. “Don’t you have work today?”

He blinked, the fog in his mind clearing. “Yeah. Yes.” He stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets, sawdust and all. “I just wanted to be here when you saw it.”

Her lips pressed together, hiding that beautiful smile, and his stomach flipped.

“Okay. See you tonight.”

He wasn’t ready for the worst that could happen.

No, he’d keep pretending.

As long as it kept her around.