“It’s perfect,” she said, beyond moved.
One of the many reasons she’d fallen in love with Hunter was the way he cared for the people in his life. He had a compassionate and nurturing way about him that always left her in awe. It was what madehim such a great musician—and friend. But this, this brought on all kinds of crazy feels.
Feels that made her heart roll over and show its soft underside.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he whispered. Taking her finger, he gently wiped it off on a towel, then rested it over the button. “Go ahead. Press here and then set a four-minute timer.”
Mackenzie did, and Hunter handed her the mixer, guiding her hand to the bowl. He didn’t do it for her, but he didn’t walk away either. Just stood behind her, a strong, supportive force at her back.
Four minutes and a few emotional swallows later, she had white peaks in her bowl. It wasn’t as stiff as she wanted, but it was fluffy enough to top her cupcakes.
“I did it,” she said, bouncing on her toes with excitement. She turned around and slid her arms around Hunter. “I made whipped cream!”
He held her for a moment before pulling back. “I never had any doubt.”
“I did!” She dipped the tip of her finger into the bowl and licked it off. “But now I have frosting, which after my first few attempts seemed impossible. I didn’t lose a finger or destroy the kitchen, and ... taste?”
She reached in again and held it out for Hunter to try.
He gave a small groan of male appreciation, his mouth covering her finger.
Gently—and oh so thoroughly—he sucked until there was nothing left but the sensation of his tongue on her skin. He didn’t stop there. Oh no, Hunter lifted her hand to his lips, the light scruff rubbing her palm as he kissed each and every fingertip until they were clean and throbbing—and her legs had turned to melted ice cream.
“Perfectly sweet,” he said against her palm.
“So are you,” she whispered, desperately wishing she could see his face. “Today was turning out to be a complete disaster, but you managed to save the day and make it fun.”
“It wasn’t a disaster.”
“It was about to be, then you showed me that app, and ...” She held up her finger.
“You made the cupcakes and the frosting. I just provided some technical support at the end.”
“You provided more than that, Hunter.” She smiled a big goofy grin. “Thank you.”
“Any time, Trouble,” he said, his voice a low timbre.
“You were right,” she began slowly. “I left this morning without telling you because I didn’t want you to leave.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” he said softly.
“But I do,” she admitted. “Only when I grabbed Muttley’s harness to leave, I hesitated because suddenly I felt as if Ineededyou to go too. And that scared me, almost as much as how much I was going to miss you this weekend, so I went to the market to prove to myself that I could do it alone.”
“And you did, and I am beyond impressed at the courage it took, but being independent and being alone are two very different things.” She went to comment on that, when he added, “Just like I’m understanding the difference between being responsible for someone and being responsible to them.”
“And what’s that?” she asked, having a hard time hearing anything over the pounding of her heart.
Mackenzie had spent most of her adult life securely stuck in the first category and wasn’t convinced she could ever live in the second. People either protected her or pitied her. There were very few who believed in her enough to push her. Her heart ached to hear where Hunter fell on that scale.
“One comes from a place of ego. The other a place of respect,” he said, gently brushing his knuckles against the back of her hand. “I have so many people depending on me to make things happen, I forgot what it felt like to just let things happen.”
“Oh, Hunter,” she said, for the first time seeing things from his perspective.
“I didn’t want to go with you because I think you need me to hold your hand,” he admitted. “But because I want you to want to hold mine.”
She was moved by the idea that this big, badass guy who carried the financial futures of more than a hundred families was looking for support. From her. Even if it was just to hold his hand.
