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Well, most of them. Nico – not so much. He had been with us for almost a week now, and he still seemed to be avoiding me as much as possible. I had no idea what I had done to upset him, but whatever it was, it was getting worse the longer he stayed.
That morning, when I had arrived for breakfast, he had shot up from the table where everyone sat and hurried off, muttering something about working out, and it had hurt. I was so sick of dancing around him and trying to work out what was going on. As I watched him storm off, I resolved to get him alone and find out what the hell was going on. If he didn’t want to be near me, then he needed to leave. I didn’t want him to be there if he didn’t want to be. Even if it would leave me devastated to see him go.
Assured Willow was having a blast with the guys, I headed to the office at the back of the house, where I knew Hunter was working.
The door was ajar as I approached, so I leant against the frame and looked in, smiling when I found Hunter behind his desk in a shirt and tie, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was staring at the screen of his laptop and running a hand through his hair as he often did when he was concentrating. He looked so mature, no sign of the boy I had known so many years ago. Instead he was a man now.
Handsome wasn’t a strong enough word for the way he looked to me as I stood there admiring him. He was so much more than that, with his stubble covered, sharp jaw and his sun kissed skin from all of the time he had spent during the last two weeks, entertaining my daughter in the pool and gardens. His white shirt was straining slightly across his shoulders, his muscles across them and down his corded arms defined beneath the fabric.
“Hey,” he greeted when he glanced up and saw me there. His face filled with a soft smile and I felt my heart skip a beat at how amazing that smile was. It was real. He was happy to see me standing there, and that meant so much after so many years of Edward scowling and cursing every time I was near him.
“Hey. You always get dressed up like that to work from home?” I teased.
“I had a conference call with a client,” he chuckled as he closed his laptop and leant his arms on the desk before him, giving me his full attention. “Everything okay? Where’s the little hellion?”
“In the garden, terrorizing Kai and Cam,” I laughed.
“Good. Someone needs to keep them out of trouble.”
“Getting them into trouble, is more likely,” I pointed out. “They’re a bad influence on each other those three, but I’ve never seen my daughter happier than when she’s playing with you guys.” It was true. The longer we lived with the guys, the more Willow came alive. She wasn’t scared of being herself anymore. In fact she had flourished with the guys and with Sam doting on her. She loved it there and I was really starting to see what the guys had told me – that a life with them, and the happiness that me and my children could have there, could really be worth any outside criticism we could face as a result.
There was no question of whether I loved them or wanted the three of them. That had always been true. I had loved and wanted them since I was fifteen years old and didn’t even really understand the feelings I had. A future with them was a fantasy come true, but I was just so scared it was the wrong choice to make for my children’s futures and I was terrified of messing their lives up any more than I already had.
“I was wondering if I could borrow a car,” I asked, changing the subject before Hunter tried to persuade me anymore.
“Where are you going? I can give you a ride. I’m done for the day anyway,” he offered.
“Thanks, but I need to do this alone. I want to take Nico somewhere so we can talk. I’m sick of him avoiding me, I want to know what’s going on,” I explained and I couldn’t hide the pain in my voice as I spoke. I was hurt that Nico had all but stopped talking to me with no reason and I was struggling to keep my emotions in check.
“You haven’t done anything wrong, babe. Nico’s issues are all his own doing,” Hunter sighed, instantly picking up on my tone.
“You know what’s going on?” I asked hopefully.
“I have an idea of what’s crawled up his ass, yeah,” He sighed. “But he needs to talk to you, not me.”
“So I can borrow a car?”
“Of course you can. Take mine.” He stood and pulled a set of keys from his pocket, walking towards me with them in hand. “You sure you’re okay to drive?”
“I’m good. I feel much better the last couple of days. I think Sam’s intravenous food is working,” I laughed.
“Glad to hear it, baby.” He stopped opposite me and leant in to kiss the top of my head as he placed his car keys in my hand.
“Make him talk to you. He’s being an ass when he doesn’t need to be. We can all compromise here,” he told me.
“What does that mean?” I looked up to him, scrunching my face in confusion.
“You’ll find out. Call me if you need me and don’t worry about Willow. We’ll take good care of her.” He kissed my head again on the same spot, then strode past me from the room.
Confused by his words, but determined to work out what was going on, I went in search of Nico.
***
“Where are we going? You’re supposed to be taking it easy?” Nico grumbled, finally speaking after ten minutes of silence.
I had dragged him from where he had been sat in his room reading, out to get into Hunter’s car, the whole time not really explaining any more than I wanted him to come with me. He had grumbled about one of the others coming with me instead, but ultimately agreed.
Driving Hunter’s monster of a car had been tricky at first, especially since it had been years since I drove, but I had made a few seat adjustments and now I was enjoying the ride and freedom I felt.
