Fear poured into my chest once again. Brad was a roadblock. We had been lying to him. And I didn’t know what I was going to do about our situation.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Relax,” Hunter said while sliding his arm around my waist. “Brad’s the one who came and got me at the airport.”
“What?”
“Yeah…” Brad awkwardly loosened his tie. “After watching those YouTube videos at the house, I realized how wrong I was about everything. I thought Hunter was just sleeping around, the way he did in high school. I didn’t want you to get hurt. But those videos really showed me that he hadrealfeelings for you. More than just… you know. Physical.”
He cleared his throat and went on, “I thought about it on the drive to work, and I realized I had to do something about it. So I found out what flight he was on, drove to the airport, and bought a ticket on his flight. I got the very last one. How’s that for a sign?”
“Damnit!” I said. “No wonder I couldn’t get a ticket!”
Hunter frowned over at me. “Huh?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“So, yeah,” Brad went on. “I stopped him from flying home. We had a heart-to-heart. Hunter is a good guy. He really is. And even though I feel kind of weird about you two dating, I’d much rather you be with him than some random asshole. Because the world is full of them.”
“Thanks, man,” Hunter said.
The two of them bro-hugged and clapped each other on the back. Then Brad turned back to me.
“I don’t want to hold you back. You came back here after college because Mom was sick, and I know you’ve stuck around so that I won’t be alone. I’ll always love you for that, sis. Columbus is our home, and it’s where we grew up, but you deserve the chance to start somewhere fresh. And I need to get my own life together.” He smiled. “I kind of am, with this new job. Maybe I’ll find a roommate. Or get my own place. But regardless, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” I asked. “I don’t want you to say this now, and then change your mind about it later.”
He nodded emphatically. “I don’t want to be a roadblock. You should be able to date whoever you want. If roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want you getting in the way of me dating one of your friends, like Lizzy.”
I glared at him. “Stay away from Lizzy.”
Brad smirked. “You afraid I’ll break her heart?”
“Just the opposite! Lizzy is too much woman for you. She’d chew you up and spit you out!”
The three of us laughed together, light and carefree like we were teenagers again. Then Hunter turned me toward him, smiled, and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.
“I’m cool with it, but that doesn’t mean you can let loose with the PDA,” Brad said.
Hunter grinned. “Just making sure you’re telling the truth.”
“What do we do now?” I asked. “Where do we go from here? We’re kind of in the same predicament as yesterday, when we had our fight on the couch…”
Hunter nodded slowly. “I’ve been giving that some thought. Right now, I still have my original flight back to Portland next week. So I’m here until then. But Idohave to get on that flight, Erica. I need to tie up everything with Carmen and move my stuff out. I owe her that, at least. Plus there are a few car-related things I need to go to in the Portland area.
“But after that?” He smiled. “I’ll be back here for another week. Until my next car-related engagement in Los Angeles with Jay Leno. I’ll have to fly out for that. There will be a lot of me coming and going to events, but I can stay here in between them.”
“That’s a lot of flying,” I said.
“To be with you? It’s worth it. No question.”
I took his hand and squeezed it. “What about long term? What are we going to do?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Hell if I know. We can figure that out as we go. Honestly, I’m not set on living in Portland. I’ve lived there five years, but once my current commitments there are done, I don’t have to stay. You said it yourself during our fight: I have the flexibility to workanywhere. It might be time for a fresh start in a new city.”
A fresh start,I thought wistfully.With Hunter Cade.
“Got some place in mind?” I asked.