Page 127 of Now and Then

“I’m good,” I say honestly. “Better than good actually.”

Greer softens. “You seem different.”

“I do? Different how?”

Navy hums.

“What’s that hmm supposed to mean?” I point my death glare at her this time.

“Please,” Navy says. “You’re literally glowing these days.”

I roll my eyes, but it’s useless. The warmth in my chest betrays me. “Am I really?”

“Yup,” Greer nods. “You seem lighter. Like you’re not holding everything together by sheer force of will.”

I’m about to argue, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the color of paint—one I wouldn’t have chosen. Maybe it’s knowing Hunter trusts me enough to let me make his house ours. Or maybe it’s the way he looks at me, like I’m what his world spins around.

“Being with Hunter is very different than I imagined,” I say. “He very much likes to be in charge, and, spoiler alert, I like it when he is. When I’m with him, I can just be. It’s also out of my comfort zone, so I’m still in the new stage.”

Greer smiles in that quiet way she has, both gentle and encouraging. “New is good.”

“Yeah,” I say, letting the weight of that truth settle. “It is.”

For a while, the only sounds are rollers sliding over walls, the thuds from feet on the roof, and Navy humming off-key to whatever playlist she’s put on. I realize with sudden clarity this is what people mean when they say I needed this.

“Ladies,” Hunter says, coming around the corner, startling me. “How’s it going?”

“I didn’t know you were here,” I say. “Where’s your truck?”

He bends down and kisses my temple. “Around back.”

That immediately piques my interest. He’s been very sneaky lately, refusing to allow me to open any of the curtains facing the rear of the house. He said he wanted to be in charge of the backyard, but I figured he’d at least want some input from me. Turns out, he doesn’t.

“You check out the guest bedroom yet?” he asks. “It looks pretty good now that we’ve put things back together.”

“You finished? How? I thought you were working today.”

“Not going in until later, and yes, I did finish,” he says. “I’m very productive when my girlfriend doesn’t stay the night.”

Navy and Greer devolve into a fit of giggles. They whisper, “Told you.” My belly pulses with a mixture of embarrassment and desire. I widen my eyes in his direction. He pretends to zip his lips.

“Put those brushes down,” he tells the girls. “Let’s see if things measure up to a pro’s standards.”

We follow one by one up the stairs and pause outside the door. Hunter turns the handle.

“I know this might not have been the exact vision you had for this room, but . . .” He shifts his feet in a nervous way and opens the door.

A dark-colored floral pattern covers the back wall. The adjoining walls are a complementary shade of a blackish-gray. There’s a drafting desk in front of the large window, a wall of empty bookshelves, and a cozy lounge chair. It’s deeply romantic and serene, with mid-morning sun casting the room in a dreamy haze.

Greer gasps at the same time Navy mutters, “Holy shit.”

Hunter smiles and looks expectantly at me. I step inside, completely in awe at the transformed space. Gone is the damaged drywall. Gone are the beige walls. Gone is the bed I’d use when I stayed over.

“Hunter,” I say, “ I can’t believe you did this.”

“Someday, this house will be ours. Figured you could use an office.” He snakes his hands around my waist and pulls me flush against the hard planes of his body. The closeness makes my pulse spike. “And lucky for me, I saw the designs you had for a home office planned out in one of your sketchbooks, but I might have deviated with the color palette.”

I stand on tiptoes and press my mouth to his. It’s slow and sweet at first, but quickly deepens into something more.