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Hunter got in front of her and opened the sliding glass door. “Madame.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
She went into the house and marveled at how easy everything was with Hunter. With Roger, she felt a bit like she was walking on eggshells, like he might not want to do what she wanted that day, or he wouldn’t like the food she picked. Usually, he wanted to enhance her tastes and take her to some fancy restaurant in Wilmington.
She moved to the fridge and pulled out the hamburgers that they had prepped for grilling. “I think these are really good with the extra garlic and onions. Too bad your breath is going to stink for three days.”
Hunter leaned in, lightly tapping her nose. “And you think your breath never stinks?” He turned away from her and walked toward the sliding glass door.
She barked out a laugh. “Jerk.”
He glanced back, and the corner of his lip tugged up. “Normally I just don’t say anything because I’m a gentleman, but don’t put my back against the wall. I could insult your breath if I have to.”
She watched him as he started the propane and then the grill lit up. He put the burgers on the grill, and then he wiped his forehead and assessed their work.
Her heart flip-flopped as she thought of the casual way he tapped her nose. The gesture felt intimate, in a stupid way. It had always symbolized a kiss. He and Trent would do it to her or each other mockingly. She and Hunter had just always joked around with that, but she’d started noticing that he would touch her nose anytime they were around each other and it felt like he might kiss her, or maybe she would have kissed him when the garden boxes were done and they came in the house to get dinner.
Cheryse pushed away those feelings and turned back to grab the salad out of the fridge. She didn’t want to think about that. They were in a good spot. They were friends. She’d forgiven him, and they were working together, so things were good.
Of course, she knew that there were layers of things between them, but both of them avoided that. They talked about Trent, really talked about him. It was nice. It had been very healing for both of them. But the way Hunter looked at her, especially when he sang, made those old butterflies stir out of hibernation. It stoked those feelings she didn’t know how to handle.
She carefully put the bowl on the table along with the plates, forks, and napkins. Then she filled cups of water. The whole time, she kept watching him as he opened the grill and flipped the burgers, then moved to a different part of the deck and looked at their handiwork.
She thought of what he’d said about buying the property next door. They hadn’t talked about it since that night. Out of nowhere, she was struck by a clear vision of the significance of buying it with him, and she felt herself flush. Could she be with Hunter? Of course she could.
The thought startled her. They had just been going from thing to thing to thing. First Trent died, then there was the whole Roger situation, and then Hunter jumped into reckless idiocy. All of that circled back to the two of them.
She longed for it so badly that it made her ache.
He walked inside and gave her a worried look. “You okay?”
She balanced the glasses in her hand and directed her scooter toward the table. “Fine.” What was she doing? She couldn’t be thinking about this. What if things with Hunter didn’t work out? Again, she stewed in nervousness at the prospect of a long-term relationship. She thought of that moment when she’d called 911 after discovering her husband’s body, thought of the whirlwind of the police showing up and reviewing footage. She placed the cups on the table a little harder than necessary.
Hunter grabbed a bag of buns and some condiments and then met her at the table. “You sure you’re good?”
She plastered on a smile. “I can’t believe I have garden boxes in my backyard.”
He placed the stuff on the table and lifted his hand in the air. “Yeah, dog.”
They slapped hands, and she couldn’t help but smile at him.
The two of them sat and quickly said a prayer. She usually said it, but this time he put up his hand. “Let me.”
His prayer was simple, but she appreciated it. He was coming back to the old Hunter—or maybe this was the new Hunter. Whatever he was, she liked it.
He put his napkin on his lap and then hesitated, giving her a strange look. “Once again, the gears in your head are so loud. Focus on something else.”
She pushed his shoulder. “You mean the gears in your head?”
He let out a laugh. “Hey, I have gears in my head too.”
“Whatever.” She started assembling her burger. When she finally bit into it, she had to pause and enjoy the flavors. She broke her own rule and spoke with food in her mouth. “Oh my gosh, this is so good.”
He pointed at her, snickering. “Reese breaks her own rule.” Then he took a bite and let out a moan. “Oh my gosh. Thisisgood.” He took another bite and then made more enjoyable sounds. “True. Oh my gosh. So good.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at his antics. Then she started mimicking him. “Wow. So good. Mm.”
That made him laugh, which made food fall out of his mouth, which made both of them laugh harder, and then she found herself in a giggling fit. When they settled down, she was happy to enjoy the meal and talk about the herbs and the vegetables and what they would harvest first.
