I’m staring at the phone in my hand with a selfie of Hunter, lying on his back on the carpet in his living room. There’s one kitten lying across his neck, and the other two are lying with their mom close to his head. His smile is wide, the scar on his top lip stretching.
Cheryl and Daniel are helping us take care of them when we both have to work, bottle feeding them and making sure the momma has food and water. But seeing Hunter’s smile is enough to make the short hours of sleep worth it.
The final step of the project for my house was done today, the message from my contractor sitting unopened in my inbox. My plans are finally coming to fruition, and I can’t wait for Hunter to see it; every aspect of it has come from his mind, he just doesn’t know it yet.
My phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call. Hunter’s face fills the screen, and the sunlight behind him streams in an array of colors, casting a halo around his head. My own perfect cherub. His cheekbones and jawline might be more defined now than they were in college, but he’ll always be that rosy-cheeked guy that caught my eye on move-in day.
“Hey, Love,” he says quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping kitten on him. The nickname causes a shiver to run down my spine.
“Hey, yourself.”
“My mom is coming over later to see the kittens. Do you want to do a late lunch?” I nod quickly, agreeing wholeheartedly.
“Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know when she gets here.”
The rest of our call, Hunter fills me in on all the things the kittens and momma cat have been doing since I left the house this morning. Hunter didn’t go to work, so I’m sitting in the bookstore taking care of it while he’s at home. He hired a new employee, a young girl named Shay. She’s cute as a button, but the horror books she seems to enjoy have me questioning how cute and innocent she can be. Not because they’re bad books or a bad genre, but they would givemenightmares. Not her, though.
I’ll stick to romance, especially with the audiobooks Hunter and I have been listening to. Some of them are the best formof foreplay. The one Hunter picked is one of hisfavorites,but he can’t be trusted with that phrase because every book is his favorite. He has admitted to hyperfixating a time or two, and that’s perfectly fine with me. I love listening to him talk about his favorite books.
Shay shows up for her afternoon shift, carrying her tote bag filled with snacks and a book to keep her entertained. Hunter told her he doesn’t mind if she reads or works on something during her shift as long as she greets customers as they walk in and asks if they need help.
“Hi, Adam,” she says, setting her bag on the desk in the nook behind the cash register.
“Hi, Shay. Ready for school to start back up?” She starts her senior year next week, and she confided in me that she was nervous to start at a new school. Shay’s dad is in the military, and she has to go through the routine of being a new kid every year.
“Do you think I’m ready?” she snarks, rolling her eyes and cocking her head to the side. A typical teenage attitude.
“I think you’re going to do great, and if you have problems, you’re going to tell me.” I like Shay, and I’ve taken her under my wing. Her dad is a single parent, so he has a lot on his plate, and the way she talks, it seems like she falls to the wayside sometimes.
“Of course I am, who else do I know that can afford to throw money at problems?” I flick my wrist up, looking at the imaginary watch on it.
“That’s my cue to go. If you need anything, call us,” I say, standing up and grabbing my phone and keys from the table and pocketing them both.
“I think I can handle it,” she says, taking up my seat and propping her bag of pretzels onto the counter by the register and opening her book.
I double-check everything before I walk out, straightening Hunter’s shelf of the newest special edition covers he’s created. Tyler, his protégé, helped him with these, and they’ve been a big hit. They sold out of the first batch of copies in under ten minutes. There’s a small display of handmade bookmarks as well. A smile stretches tight across my mouth, my cheeks straining under the pressure. I’m constantly in awe of my boyfriend.
Hunter texts me as soon as I get into my car that his mom is there, so I quickly back out of my parking spot and cruise to his house.
I pull into his driveway, parking behind his mom and walking in the front door. I can hear their muffled conversation, and when I turn the corner to the living room, I see Hunter rubbing the head of a kitten that Cheryl has tucked into the crook of her arm.
Hunter lifts his head and catches my eyes. He pets the kitten one last time and hugs his mom with one arm.
When he stops in front of me, he tips his head up. His brown eyes, lined with dark eyelashes, are staring up at me. I want to count each eyelash while he stares at me, taking in every detail. Maybe I’ll do it one night while he sleeps. He wraps his arms around my midsection and nuzzles his nose into my chest.
“Hi,” he says shyly, pulling his head back and biting on his bottom lip until the small dimple in his cheek makes itself known.
“Hi, Collins.” I lean in and kiss the crown of his head, letting the smell of him wash over me.
“Ready?” I ask, stepping back, and he nods.
I lead him to the car, opening the passenger door for him and making sure he’s in before I shut the door and round the car.
Hunter is queuing up our audiobook even though it’s a short drive to our destination, but he’ll take any opportunity he can to listen to it.
I put my hand on his upper leg as I drive us out of his neighborhood and to my house. He creases his eyebrows, trying to catch my eye, but I ignore his looks. I’m not going to ruin the surprise before he even realizes what’s happening.
