Hale: Chapter 39

The front door opens, and Hunter’s green eyes land on me. “Hey, come in.”

He steps aside, and I walk into his house but stay near the front door.

“I wasn’t sure if I should use my key. Didn’t want to barge in without an invitation,” I say.

“You’re always welcome here,” he tells me, pointing at my bag. “Can I?”

“It’s fine.” I shift, tilting my head. “I need to go to my room anyway since I have a few hours before I pick up Story.”

He nods and slips his hands in his pockets. The look on his face is guarded, lips tight and eyes narrowed. “Can we talk after you unpack?”

“Is that necessary?” I drawl.

“I believe so.”

I scoff, pinching my eyebrows together. “Okay. I need twenty minutes.”

“I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

I feel his gaze on me as I head to my bedroom. Heaviness fills my chest. I’ve been trying to cool off, to not let it bother me, but I can’t. I’m not a doormat, but recently I’ve allowed myself to be treated like one. It needs to stop.

Hunter and I agreed to a casual relationship—no strings attached, no feelings. And yet, I fell in love with him. I want more. Not just because our sex is mind-blowing, but because I truly see how great we can be together. As partners, as friends, and even parents for Story. I want him to want me. To want us. And after that night in his car, I thought he wanted the same. Then he ghosted me.

I don’t have a great track record when it comes to relationships, and I don’t think he does either. But I’m willing to give him a chance. Put all of myself into this relationship and try to make it work.

While he acts as if it’s better to cut all ties with me.

After I put my clothes back into the closet, I close the doors and step in front of the mirror. My hair is in a messy bun, and a few wild locks frame my face. I tuck them behind my ears and take a deep breath. I promised myself I’d give him a chance to explain and only then decide about my future.

In the living room, my eyes lock with Hunter’s. He’s sitting on the couch, and Story’s kitten is lying on his lap. I try to suppress my smile, biting my inner cheek, but I immediately give up when the kitten sprawls out onto his back with his little paws in the air. It’s way too adorable.

“You look cozy.”

“I can’t resist him.” Hunter chuckles, lowering his gaze to the kitten as I come closer and sit beside him. “Any time I sit down, he’s there, stretching his little paws, trying to get me to pick him up. I have no idea why he chose me.”

“Animals are very intuitive. They can sense a good person from a mile away.”

“Well, then I’m a good person. At least in this cat’s opinion.”

I roll my eyes, letting my shoulders slump when I lean against the couch. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Everything. I owe you an explanation.”

“That’s fair.” I nod, pulling my legs up under my butt. As my eyes wander over the room, I feel conflicted. It’s a sunny day, and the living room is decorated in bright colors, but the atmosphere is heavy. A dark and oppressive energy forms in the pit of my stomach, and I don’t know what to think of it.

“There is a reason I told you I’d never get involved with anyone else at the start of our agreement. I’m not a cheater. Even when my marriage was slowly falling apart, I was never tempted. I would never risk my daughter’s love, would never risk custody of my kid.” He runs a hand over his face. “I’d never, ever cheat on a woman. I’d respect her way too much. I know what infidelity does to families. How it affects the kids. My own experience was traumatizing, and I’d never wish it on anyone else.”

“Did Colin really cheat on Willow? How did that even happen?”

“Mom left the US for me. She was living in Spain with me, and then later with me and Hayden. She was happy, even if she had her hands full with both of us so far from home. While Dad…he was here, alone. Busy at work, barely going anywhere, cruising between our house and his office.” He pauses, his fingers rapping on his thigh. “He was assigned to a project with his new colleague, Alice. The project was successful, and they went out to a bar to celebrate afterward. He fucked her after that little party…because he was drunk and lonely.”

I grimace, my heart pummeling against my rib cage. “How did you find out?”

“We came home for Christmas. Mom found a bra in the dirty laundry.”

“That’s horrible.” I wrinkle my nose. “How could he do that to Willow? How could he bring his mistress to his family’s house? I would’ve been disgusted.”

“That’s why they sold the house.”

“What?” I lean forward, my eyes searching his face.

“The house my parents live in right now isn’t the house it happened in,” Hunter says. “Mom gave him three months to sell the house, find a new one, and quit his job. He did what she asked him to do. She took Hayden and me back to Spain and arranged everything so I could live alone.”

“So his infidelity…” I trail off, feeling so much pity for him.

“Is the reason Mom and my brother returned to the US, and I was left on my own.” He shrugs, focusing his gaze on something behind my back, his eyes glassy. “Mom forgave him. She found excuses. She said she had me and Hayden, but Dad was all alone. She even said it was her fault, that she didn’t understand how lonely he was and how badly it was affecting him. The best evidence of gaslighting and manipulation.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I quietly confess. “I never expected anything like that. I saw your hostility toward your father, but I never knew why. Hayden doesn’t have a problem with Colin.”

“Hayden doesn’t know. Mom begged me to never tell him. He was too small.” Hunter gives me a pointed look. My palms are sweating, and my stomach twirls and turns, nausea washing over me. “It was hard for me to move on. Their affair lasted four months. Who knows if he would’ve had the balls to stop it if Mom hadn’t found out. That’s not how a man should behave. I’m ashamed my own father treated my mom like that.”

“Do you hate him?”

“Not anymore.” Hunter shakes his head. “I forgave him, but I didn’t forget. I know he did a lot for Mom to give him another chance. He proved himself to her and was a great father to Hayden. Just not to me.”

I look at him, and I see myself through his deep green eyes. His gaze is warm and encompassing, just like his embrace. I feel good around him; I feel safe with him. He’s like my own personal harbor, the place I want to return to. No matter the weather, no matter the hardships. It’s a place I don’t want to leave.

“Hunter.” His name escapes my mouth, and my heart sinks to my feet. “I’m not bailing out of our agreement. I just need a little break. You ghosting me made me feel like a booty call, and this last time was too much.”

He cups my cheek. The tenderness of his touch makes my knees weak. “I’m so sorry for making you feel like that. You’re the most amazing thing that has happened to me in my entire life, and⁠—”

Hunter stops, frowning as if he’s realizing what he just said. I part my lips; my pulse is going insane. It’s like we’re back in his car and he’s telling me that he loves everything about me.

I want him to want us. Simple as that.

“I—”

His phone buzzes, making me stutter. I close my mouth, watching as he picks it up from the couch. The more he stares at the screen, the angrier he looks. Eventually he grits his teeth and looks back up at me.

“I need to get going. I need to fix something.”

Hunter stands up from the couch. His posture radiates cold rage. He runs a hand over his face, releasing a sharp breath. His grip on his phone is strong, his knuckles turning white. What could’ve happened for him to react like that?

“See you later, Piper.” He storms down the hallway, and then he’s gone. I don’t remember ever seeing him so pissed. Something really bad must’ve happened. But what?

I’m on pins and needles, both excited and worried. I’m on my way to pick up Story. I missed my little girl so much, and I can’t wait to spend time with her. But I also can’t seem to stop thinking about her dad. I want to know what happened.

My phone dings as I park at Story’s school. I pick it up from the passenger seat and see a message from Hayden.

Three dots appear as he types his next message. I wait, curious to know what the gift is. Then a picture comes through, and I suddenly want to disappear.

It’s a simple white coffee mug with a quote, one that’s fully capable of ruining our friendship. I sleep with my boss is written in big, curving letters. Fuck.

My phone dings a moment later, and a new picture pops up on my screen. It’s a screenshot of an Instagram post from some gossip magazine. Hunter and I are kissing near his car in front of my mom’s house. I read the caption, and slowly my breathing calms down. There’s nothing about us having sex, only the mention of him giving his daughter’s nanny a long good-night kiss.

Who would’ve said no to Hunter Hale kissing them good night?

I take a deep breath and toss my phone back onto the passenger seat. There’s nothing I can do to change what happened. It’s time I face my best friend and tell him the truth. I just hope he cares enough to listen.