Chapter 26
Natalia
Hunter and Derek were already seated at the bar when I walked in. Spotting me, both men stood. As I made my way over, I realized it was the first time Hunter and I had been out in public with a friend. Over the last few weeks, we’d spent as much time as we could together—meeting for breakfast if we couldn’t see each other at night, taking a dozen kids out to dinner for Izzy’s sixteenth birthday, watching her basketball games, sneaking in a daytime movie between my counseling sessions. We even had lunch on the roof of his jobsite one afternoon, not to mention we’d spent so much time in bed, it was surprising I could walk. Yet we’d been in a private bubble. Unless you counted Izzy, we were always alone.
So as I approached the two men, I wasn’t quite sure how to greet Hunter. He settled that internal debate for me the moment I neared. Taking my hand, he pulled me flush against him, gave my hair a little tug, urging my head back, and planted a possessive kiss on my lips.
I smiled, more than satisfied with his greeting, and let out a breathy “hey” before turning my attention to Derek. “How’s my sweet little Caroline’s baby daddy?”
Derek smiled and bent to kiss my cheek. “I’m good. Will I sound like a total wuss-bag if I say I miss the way she smells?”
My heart let out a beautiful sigh. “Not at all. You sound like the perfect man.”
“Hey…what about me?” Hunter chided.
“Awww.... You’re slighted because I paid a compliment to another man? That’s cute. But my heart just melted a little hearing him say he missed the way she smells. It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. Not sure you can top that, pretty boy.”
Hunter wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. “I miss the way parts of you smell, too.”
I elbowed him. “That’s not romantic; that’s perverted.”
“What’s the difference?”
We all laughed, and Hunter pulled a bar stool around so the three of us could sit in a little circle at the bar. We caught up on baby pictures, Anna’s newest obsession with everything in the house needing to be organic, and Caroline’s most recent checkup.
“I almost forgot—Anna wants me to call while I’m with you guys. She gave me specific instructions to order you both mimosas and call on speakerphone.”
Hunter had already ordered a glass of wine for me. I held it up to my lips before sipping. “We can skip the mimosas. I’ll tell her you ordered them if she asks.”
“Oh no. You have no idea how hormonal my wife is right now. I’m not taking any chances.” Derek motioned for the bartender and asked for three mimosas before calling Anna on speakerphone.
“Hey, babe. You’re on speakerphone.”
“Do they have mimosas?”
“They do. Got myself one, too.”
“After we hang up, send me a picture of the two of them with their drinks.”
Derek arched an eyebrow at us as if to say I told you. “Will do.”
“Hi, Nat!” Anna yelled.
“Hi!”
“Hi, Hunter. Are you taking good care of my girl?”
“I’m trying,” he said and gave my knee a little squeeze.
“I wish I could be there with you guys right now. But it’s too soon to fly with Caroline with all the recycled germs on a plane. So, since Derek had to be in town for business this week anyway, this is as close to the four of us sitting together as I could come up with. Derek, do you have my props ready?”
He shook his head, indicating that he thought his wife was loony, but reached into his pocket, nonetheless. “Got it.”
“Okay. Show the first picture.”
Derek held up a picture of me and Anna. We were probably only about four or five and were pushing our old baby carriages with our dolls inside.
“Nat, I’ve known you my whole life,” Anna said. “You’re the best friend a girl could ever have. When I was putting together what I wanted to say today, I tried to think of an example of when I’d asked you for help and you were there for me. But I couldn’t. Because even though I’ve needed your help often over the last twenty-plus years, I’ve never had to ask for it. You’re there giving it before I even have the chance.” Anna’s voice cracked, and I knew she was tearing up. “You’re my person, Nat. And I love you and trust you with my life.”
I was feeling all choked up myself. “Love you, too, Anna Bow Banya.”
She cleared her throat. “Your turn, Derek. Next prop.”
Derek shook his head, but shuffled the pictures so he was now showing an old photo of what I assumed was him and Hunter. “You beat up Frankie Munson when he called me a nerd in sixth grade. In eighth grade, when I was too shy to ask a girl to the dance, you asked the hottest two girls to go to the dance with us. In tenth grade, when you were captain of the football team, and I was captain of the debate team, you didn’t give a crap that you hung out with a nerd. You’ve always had my back, bro.”
Anna piped in. “Next picture, honey!”
Derek pulled another pic from the back of the stack he held in his hand. It was a photo of me and Hunter from their wedding that I’d never seen. I remembered the moment, but had been unaware anyone was capturing it. He’d just cut in while I was dancing with Anna’s dad, and I was insulting him while smiling as I tried in earnest to pretend the way he held me against his body had no effect on me. It was a great candid shot. My head was tilted up to him with a smirk, and he looked down at me with that sexy half-smile he wore so often. There was no mistaking the spark between us.
Hunter and I glanced at each other as Anna spoke. “So, because you two are our people, and we trust you with our lives, we want you to be our daughter’s people if something should happen to us.” She paused. “Last picture, honey.”
Derek shuffled again, and this time it was a picture of baby Caroline. She was dressed in a onesie with a movie logo on it: The Godfather.
“Hunter and Nat, will you be our daughter’s godparents?”
My smile was so wide, it was surprising my face didn’t crack. I jumped from my bar stool and hugged Derek, grabbing the phone and yelling into it at Anna. “Yes! Yes!”
Hunter took the more subdued approach and shook his friend’s hand. “Would be an honor, man.”
After Derek hung up, I asked the bartender to take a picture with my phone of the three of us holding up our mimosas. Then I shot it to Anna. She sent me one back, holding my soon-to-be goddaughter in one arm and her own virgin drink in the other.
“We haven’t finalized a christening date yet, because what started out as a small family gathering, my bride is attempting to turn into our wedding—part two,” Derek joked. “But we were thinking three weeks from Sunday, on the 25th.”
I mentally did the math. My visit to Garrett was on the 10th last month, so that would put my visit this month the weekend before the 17th. “That sounds great. Maybe I’ll pull Izzy out of school that Friday and fly down on Thursday to make a long weekend out of it.” I looked to Hunter. “Do you think you’ll be able to take a day off to fly out early?”
Hunter looked down, and then his gaze met mine. There was an apprehension in his eyes. “I’ll already be out in California.”
“Oh. Okay. I didn’t realize you had another trip planned.” I tried to shrug it off as no big deal, but my hollow-feeling belly got the message before my brain did. “Maybe we can work it out to fly back together.”
Hunter’s voice was solemn, and he reached for my hand. “I won’t be flying back either. Job here in New York will be wrapped up before the christening. My two-month assignment will be done. I’ll be home in California.”
Wow. That hurt. He wasn’t being mean or harsh in any way. In fact, the softness of his tone and the way he’d reached out to touch my hand showed me he knew what the reminder would do to me. But that barely dulled the edginess I felt. I was upset—not necessarily with him. I was upset with myself for letting it bother me so much.
Our relationship had been temporary since the beginning. I’d gone into it with my eyes open. The only problem was, somewhere along the way, I’d also opened up my heart.
Hunter said something and waited for me to respond. I blinked myself back out of my thoughts. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I said, maybe you and Izzy can stay with me for the long weekend?”
“Sure.” I forced a smile. “We’ll see.”
For the next twenty or so minutes, I went through the motions of hanging out with Derek and Hunter. I smiled and laughed, but inside, I was waging the battle of head vs. heart. My head was yelling, He’s leaving—who cares? And my heart was answering—You do, dumbass. You do.
Luckily, we all had plans for the evening, and they didn’t entail spending much more time with each other. Hunter and Derek had the Knicks game, and I needed to head to Mom’s.
“I have to get to dinner. I’m so glad we got to see each other, Derek.” I stood. “Thank you for having me as Caroline’s godmother. Please give my best friend a giant hug for me when you get home.”
Derek stood and gave me a hug. “I will. And I’ll see you next month.”
I turned to Hunter, grateful for a public goodbye and quick escape. “Give me a call,” I said very noncommittally.
Hunter spoke to Derek. “Give me a few minutes. I’m going to walk Natalia out, and then we’ll head to the game.”
“Sure thing.”
So much for a quick escape. With his hand on my lower back, Hunter guided me out of the bar.
I looked at my feet, not wanting him to see what I was feeling written all over my face.
But he cupped my face and pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t,” I said. But not even my own ears believed me.
He waited me out, knowing eventually I’d have to look up. When our eyes finally met, he spoke into mine. “I care about you, Natalia. It’s not going to be easy for me to leave either. This last month and a half has been great…” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Especially the last few weeks since I wore you down.”
Maybe hearing that I wasn’t alone should’ve made me feel better. But it was the unsaid that cloaked a feeling of melancholy over me like a suit of armor. It was going to be hard on him to leave…but he wasn’t considering staying either. Nor was there any mention of attempting something long distance. This was over when our time was up.
I forced a small smile. “I’ll give you a call.”
He looked into my eyes, briefly closing his before nodding. “Okay.”
His lips covered mine in a gentle kiss before going to my forehead for another. “Be careful on the trains.”
“Have fun at the game.”
It was difficult to walk away, but I knew I needed to be the one to do it. I felt Hunter’s eyes on me the entire walk down the block to the train station, certain he stayed outside the restaurant to watch me. But I didn’t turn around to check. That was how it was going to have to be between us—I’d need to walk away since he wasn’t going to do anything to stick around in my life.