AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I was wondering if you wanted me to build a table out on the deck for you, where you could keep more of your herbs and dry them out. I could even create a little shading system so if it rained, you could still keep them dry.”
Cheryse was touched to know that he was thinking about her needs. “I don’t want you to have to do that.”
He waved his fork in the air and then took a sip of water. “We are past all that. You know we are.”
She took a sip of water and grinned at him. “Past what?”
“I’m in this project with you, and I want to see you succeed with your potion business or your herbal business or whatever.”
“Thank you.” It felt good on so many levels to feel supported.
For a bit, they just ate in companionable silence.
Then she asked a question she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask. “So, what’s the next thing for you? I mean, I’m grateful that you’ve made ‘restitution.’” She made air quotes around the word.
He laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Actually, I’ve been working on some new songs. Want to hear one?”
“Yes!” She perked up at the notion that he was finally letting her listen to a song.
He laughed and took a bite. “When I’m done.”
She couldn’t help but smile.
“What?” He glanced at her, as if embarrassed.
Carefully, she reached out and put her hand on his arm. “I’m grateful that you have forgiven me, too. For how I behaved after the funeral. And …” She really didn’t want to bring it all up. “For all of that.”
Slowly, he looked her up and down. Then he nodded. “Even Stevens, then.” It was another thing that they had often said to each other growing up.
She smiled and felt another bolt of attraction rush through her. Now that they’d gotten past all the bad feelings and they had forgiven each other, all that remained was this intense attraction.
Abruptly, he stood. “I’ll get the guitar.”
Shaking off her feelings, she gathered the dishes and took them to the counter. Since they had been eating regular meals, she had discovered it was easy to make dinner at home and do the dishes quickly. Before, it had felt hard. But Hunter did most of the work, and now she just followed his pattern.
As she was putting food in the trash and loading the dishwasher, he walked back into the house, guitar in hand, and sat on the couch. “Alternate real quick.”
“Sounds great. I’ll finish these dishes and come over there.” She loaded the rest of the dishes and then wiped off the counters and table.
It was surreal to watch him strum the guitar and hear him do some warm-ups with his voice. He’d always done this, so it felt like they were kids again. The only thing missing was Trent. The thought wasn’t as painful as it used to be. Not that she was glad about that.
She threw the washrag into the sink, and then she scooted over to the couch across from Hunter. She couldn’t help but smile at how he went into some old breathing techniques she recognized from when they were young.
He played one of her favorite songs, “Kokomo”by the Beach Boys. He grinned at her as he played it.
She loved his voice and the way he looked at her, and she got lost in the memories of him singing the song. There was such an intensity between them that she almost felt like she was under the power of a real potion. The Hunter love potion. She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.
That, of course, made him stop playing. “What?”
She laughed even harder. “It’s stupid. I was just thinking about how giddy I used to get when I heard my favorite band or favorite song, and how sometimes I stared up at the musician and started falling in love with him. You have your own potion. It could be Hunter’s love potion.”
Hunter didn’t laugh, although he smiled and relaxed. He strummed the guitar with different chords, leaving “Kokomo” behind. He shifted his gaze to her as he strummed. “I’m putting you under a love spell, Reese?”
They were playing with fire now. She’d gone from the sandbox to the fire pit in three seconds, and she did not want to get burned. “Show me your new song.”
Hunter could see right through her. In fact, she imagined he could pierce to the truth of exactly how she was feeling.
He hesitated for another moment, then played a song she hadn’t heard before. For a while, she got lost in the sound of the music, the beautiful way he coaxed out the notes. He made it look effortless.
