“Actually,” Hunter speaks up when he notices I’m freezing. Moving a few inches closer, he tightens his grip on me then grins. “I’m her husband.”
Chapter Three
Hunter
When I admit to being Lennon’s husband, her parents become eerily quiet. Lennon’s mentioned her strict and traditional upbringing, and their stunned reactions are the first hint of that. They sit like statues in complete shock. I pull Lennon closer to me, and she lets out a nervous laugh before looking at me. For a second, I think I see panic flash in her eyes, so I lean over and place a sweet lingering peck on her lips, hoping to once again pull her out of her head and back to me. Kissing her feels so damn natural, I have to remind myself it’s all pretend even if she shivers against me.
There’s no doubt she’s freaking out, and the hard news—telling them about the pregnancy—hasn’t even happened yet. Their response will determine if she talks about the baby now or later when things have calmed down. We never discussed when we’d tell them the news, but it’s why we’re here after all. If my head is slightly spinning, I know theirs are too.
“Surprise!” Lennon finally speaks with a sheepish grin and turning toward her parents. I quickly grab her hand, and her mom notices the rings we’re both wearing.
When I meet her father’s gaze, he looks as if he’s chewing rocks, and I watch his jaw clench. I’m almost scared he might kick us out on our asses, considering it’s one of Lennon’s biggest fears. The room in the air seems to evaporate, and I’m not sure what else I should say or if I should speak at all. Lennon’s parents care deeply about her, that much was obvious the moment we arrived. However, right now they’re completely unreadable. Her mom and dad look at each other, holding a silent conversation. Lennon sits quiet, patiently waiting for them to say something, so I follow her lead and stay still too.
Mrs. Corrigan smiles and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little surprised. It seems so…quick. How did this all come about?” I can’t tell if there’s judgment in her tone or just curiosity. It might be a combination of both. I try to be understanding and put myself in their shoes. If my daughter brought a random man home and told me they were married, I’d be shocked too. Or his. We threw them a curveball, so I’m not too concerned about their reactions.
Lennon squeezes my hand so tight she might break my fingers off. I rub my thumb across her knuckles, reminding her I’m here and that we’re in this together, and I feel her slightly relax.
Starting from the beginning, Lennon tells them what we rehearsed verbatim, but it sounds so natural coming from her. When she explains how we fell in love and how we couldn’t be without one another, Lennon glances over at me and smiles so damn sweetly. For a moment, I almost believe it—want to believe it. I swallow down those emotions because she has no idea how I wished it were all true, and she really was my wife—mine.
Mr. Corrigan watches Lennon closely as she speaks about the details of our relationship and marriage. I wonder if he senses our lies, but she’s speaking so effortlessly that I highly doubt it because even I’m buying the story she’s selling.
“When you find the person you’re meant to be with, you just know,” she tells them, squeezing my hand as her blue eyes meet mine. For a moment, it’s like we’re the only two people in the room, and her breath hitches when she looks at me. Did she just feel an electric current too? I’m brought back to the first night we met at the bar and how I knew how special and amazing she really was then.
As she continues to talk about us, I study her with a smile playing on my lips. Lennon’s so goddamn beautiful without even trying, and the urge to kiss the fuck out of her takes over, but I hold it back. Chuckling, Lennon grins wide as she talks about how she feels like she’s known me forever and how we’ve been friends for years.
She even mentions how much I love her singing, comfortably improvising and sharing parts of our real story.
“Right, Hunter?” She glances over at me, and I was lost in my thoughts listening to her talk about us.
I nod, pulling her closer, wishing I could scoop her up onto my lap. “Absolutely. The best way to start my day.”
“You both seem very much in love,” her father states robotically, looking back and forth between us.
“You do,” Mrs. Corrigan agrees, grinning. “If you’re happy, that’s all that matters, Lennon. While we wish you would’ve told us sooner, I somewhat understand why you didn’t, considering the past few months. I’m glad you were able to find someone after losing Brandon. I know how much you loved him, and I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must’ve been for you, for both of you.” She looks at us with sadness in her eyes.