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“I think I’ve been missing out on life.”
“What are you talking about? You seized life. You took control and built a successful beauty empire. It’s everything you wanted.”
“Almost everything.”
He breathed out calmly through the nose. “I know things have been stressful, Grace, but you can still have a baby,” he whispered.
Me? Not we?
“Yeah… I, ahem, I’ll start the new fertility cycle as soon as we return.”
“See, you’ve got a plan, and that’s more than most people have.”
But I had Hunter, didn’t I? He came back to protectme,and I could feel there was something still there between us. I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around them, and glanced his way, my eyes begging for a hint of emotion, but he kept focused on the horizon. His face and beard held the sun’s glow, and though he was sitting next to me, it felt like he was on the other side of the world. I wished he’d look at me.
“What happened to us, Hunter?”
“I don’t know.” He followed a flock of macaws with his gaze. The birds disappeared, the sun hid behind the tree line, and he finally turned my way.
“That’s a lie. I know exactly what happened. I was an asshole.”
I took hold of his large hand with both of mine, turning him my way. “Let’s be honest—you were a twenty-one-year-old boy who could get pussy on call.”
He burst out in laughter. “Is that what you thought I was after?”
“No. I just wanted you to look at me.”
“Iamlooking, Grace.”
Why couldn’t I read past the clouds in his beautiful blue eyes? “Why don’t you want to be with me?”
“That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
“So, you do want to be with me?”
He gave a long, slow exhalation before pulling his fingers through his hair. “As much as I want you, I can’t give you what you need.”
“And how do you know what I need?” I asked in a hush.
“Because I know you.”
The sky was darkening, and his eyes brightened again. I reached for his beard and swept my hand over the growth, then higher to his cheekbone. He sat still, like a statue, but the haze slowly cleared in his eyes.
“I’m gonna kiss you, Hunter.” I leaned in and took his hesitant lips. His mustache tickled and carried the forest’s scent.
He pulled away. “Grace—”
“You don’t want me. Oh, God, this is so embarrassing. Here I am throwing myself at you and thinking we could—”
“Grace, stop. I just need you to look up for a second.”
“What?”
“Look up.”
I followed his finger to the night sky and the bazillion of stars forming streams of light. A meteor shower splashed across the sky. My mouth opened wide, and I lay back on the platform. Hunter snugged in beside me and named constellations and stars. I only half listened because the breathing in my chest overpowered his voice. I didn’t want the magic to end. He finally fell quiet, easing the chaos in my head. A shooting star streamed across the night sky, and I made an unrealistic wish.
“Did you make a wish?” His voice faded into a wisp, and we turned our heads inward.
