AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterEight
Peyton
Hunter and I have been working together at the café, holding everything down for the last couple of days but today, Harley and Cooper are home and I’m going to introduce them to Hunter. We both went to the café this morning and helped prep for breakfast, making all of the pastries. Then, Daniel came in to take over so that we could go meet Harley and Cooper at their house.
I point out which house is theirs and Hunter steers the car in front of it, parking it before he hops out to round the hood and open my door. As soon as I step out, Harley throws open the front door and is sprinting towards me.
“PEYTON!” She screams excitedly.
I laugh and throw my arms out wide as I run to meet her halfway. Harley and I haven’t been separated for longer than a day or two since we met so a whole week has been torture. If I hadn’t been so busy with the café, I would have been bored out of my mind and calling her constantly.
I wrap my arms around her waist and she does the same. We stand in the front yard holding each other until Cooper comes out of the house and him and Hunter both pry us apart. I smile as I take in their tanned happy faces. Harley has been obsessed with Cooper since we were kids and she looks happy, at peace, now that she’s finally gotten her man. I wonder if I look the same way now that I have Hunter.
I hadn’t told Harley much about Hunter when we talked last night and when she finally focuses on who is with me, her eyes go wide. I know that she recognizes him too and I want to laugh as she steps forward and throws her arms around him in a hug. Cooper is right there to drag her away from him and I laugh at his possessiveness.
“You’re Hunter Ellis!” Harley practically shouts.
“I am.” Hunter says with a smile while he moves closer to me and wraps his arm around my waist.
Harley’s eyes just about pop out of her head when she sees him do that and this time I do laugh.
“He’s been staying with me and helping out in the kitchen while you guys were gone.”
“OH MY GOD. Babe, I need to talk to Peyton. Alone.” Harley says right before she grabs my arm and drags me behind her into the house.
I try to keep up with her long legs as I follow her down the hallway and into their bedroom. Harley slams the door closed behind us before we both jump onto the bed.
“What the heck has been going on? I was only gone for a week!”
I cross my legs getting comfortable and tell her about everything that has happened in the last week. I tell her about the storm and how he had come in to get out of the rain. How I invited him to stay in her old room for the night and how that turned into him helping out at the café, doing all of the office work and even helping out in the kitchen. She gapes at me when I tell her that he moved all of his clothes down the next day and hung them up in my closet. She listens while I tell her about us sleeping together and I have to cover my ears when she squeals at how I went down on him in our office.
“So, you guys are together?” She asks once I’ve finished catching her up on everything.
“Yeah, we are.” I say and I can feel the blush as it heats my cheeks.
“Do you love him?” She asks me quietly.
“It’s too soon for that… right?”
“I knew I loved Cooper the second I laid eyes on him. I think sometimes when you know, you just know.”
I think about what she said before I go over everything that has happened in the last week. Am I in love with Hunter? I already admitted that I was his and I love having him around the café and house with me. I love spending time with him and knowing that he’s going to have my back. I know deep in my gut that he’s always going to be there for me and since he’s already talking about marriage and buying a new house together, he must love me.
“Yeah, I do love him.”
Harley squeals again before she tackles me onto the bed. I laugh as we hug and lay there. She tells me about her honeymoon and how beautiful and relaxing Costa Rica was. We talk about what’s been going on at the café and how the bakery is progressing.
I realize that I have to get to the café soon to take over for the lunch rush. I was going to let Harley have today off in case she had jet lag but with how she’s bouncing around, I have a feeling that I’m not going to be able to keep her away from work.
“I need to get to the café.” I say and before I can finish my sentence, Harley is on her feet, pulling her hair up and slipping her chef's shoes on.
“Let’s go!” She says happily as she skips down the hallway to say goodbye to Cooper.
In the end, we all end up going to the café. I take Harley with me into the back while Cooper and Hunter sit at the counter and order lunch. I’m glad to see that they seem to be getting along. When we had come out of the bedroom, they had been sitting in the living room talking and they had both seemed relaxed with each other. I’m glad that they seem to be getting along with each other.
Harley and I spend the rest of the day in the kitchen. When we finally close down for the night, Cooper and Hunter are huddled together in the office. Hunter had gone over everything that he had done last week with both of them while there was a lull in service. They had both seemed impressed with everything that he had done and pride had filled me at their expressions.
Now, we’re headed next door so we can look at everything that we still need to get done at the bakery. I’m debating if we should just put it off until tomorrow because Harley and Cooper both seem like they’re going to pass out any minute but I know that it will only take a couple of minutes.
