As I headed toward the front door, I stopped. “Holy shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Bella asked, walking up next to me.
“It appears we have more than one guest.”
Bella looked toward the large window in my living room and laughed.
Lacing my fingers through hers, we headed to the door together. I opened it to find Kyle, Abby, Brighton, and Willa all beaming at us.
“Can we help you?” I asked.
Abby’s smiled grew bigger. “We’ve been trying to call you.”
Bella raised a brow. “Why?”
Willa laughed. “Okay, fine, we’re terrible friends and should totally be leaving the two of you alone today, but you guys left last night and—”
I shot them all a look that said we were finished with the visit. “And as you can see, we’re both fine. So you can all return to your regularly scheduled lives and leave us alone.”
Brighton folded her arms over her chest. “We came to ask if Arabella could meet us for lunch. At Greer’s house.”
“Why are you here then?” I asked Kyle.
“I just happened to be running by and saw them all camped out on the front porch,” Kyle answered.
“Wait, how long have you guys been waiting out here?” Bella asked.
“We just got here,” Abby said.
“Then who was here earlier, ringing the doorbell?” I asked.
They all shrugged.
“It was your mother!”
We all turned to see my neighbor, Mrs. Lori Beth Johnson, standing there with a wide smile. “Don’t you worry, Officer Turner. I told your momma you had Ms. Arabella with you all night. She seemed real happy and quickly hurried on back to her car.”
Willa burst out laughing as I closed my eyes and groaned.
“Oh my God,” Bella whispered. “Your mom knows what we were doing!”
Abby leaned in closer and added, “I’m pretty sure now all of Boggy Creek knows what you guys were doing.”
Arabella
After the girls left, Greer texted telling everyone to meet at her house for lunch, causing Hunter to pull me back down on the sofa next to him.
“Wait, you can’t go! Persuasion isn’t over.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “What is with you and Kyle obsessing over Jane Austen?”
He looked at me. “Obsessing? It’s not an obsession. It’s called good literature, sweetheart.”
I frowned and glanced back at the movie. “This is the movie, Hunter, not the book.”
With a half shrug, he said, “Get naked again, and I’ll read you the book.”
My insides did a little vibrating jump at the thought of being naked with Hunter again. We were for sure making up for lost time. It felt like I couldn’t get enough of him, and I knew he felt the same way. “I think we’ve spent the last twelve hours naked enough.”
Hunter fake-gasped. “What?”
“Okay, maybe not, but I promised the girls I’d have lunch with them.”
“They just want to hear about how good I am in bed.”
My mouth fell open, and I had to force myself not to laugh. “Say again?”
He winked. “I’m kidding. Go enjoy your lunch.”
I stood once more, then leaned down to kiss Jack on the top of his head. I turned, and Hunter captured my mouth with his, nearly making me melt into a puddle right there on his living room floor.
“Are you sure you want to leave?” he asked again as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“In a perfect world, I’d much rather spend the day tucked away in your bed, but I do need to head back to my place at some point.”
Hunter’s expression turned serious, and I sat down next to him. “What are you thinking right now?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
Smiling, I replied, “Liar. I know you, Hunter.”
“I don’t want to push you into anything too quickly…but I was thinking maybe you could move in with me. When you’re ready, I mean.”
A burst of warmth radiated through my entire body. “Here?” I asked.
“Actually, I was thinking the farm house. I know how much you love the apiary and everything, and I still want you to be able to make one on the farm, it’s just…” He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as he looked away. “I finally got you back, Bella. I don’t want to waste another minute. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake you up with kisses before I make love to you every damn day.”
“I’d love that too.”
His brows rose. “So what are you saying?”
A slight giggle slipped free, and I looked down, then back up at him shyly. “I’d love to move in with you, Hunter.”
Jumping up, he pulled me into his arms and spun me around while Jack ran around us, barking. “You’re serious? I’m not pushing you into anything, am I?”
“No, of course not. I agree with you, enough years have passed us by, and I don’t want to waste any more.”
He laughed, then tightened his arms before he kissed the living crap out of me. When he finally drew his mouth away, I gasped for air. “Wow. Keep kissing me like that and I’ll never make it to lunch.”