On the Rocks (Last Call #1)(61)

Such utter contentment.

Such love.

When Hunter finally pulls his lips from mine, it’s to move them to my forehead, giving me a soft kiss and telling me he loves me again. I close my eyes and let his voice wash over me, knowing I will never tire of hearing that from him.

Taking my hand, Hunter resumes our walk, his hand holding onto me a little more tightly. “What team are you on, Gabby?”

“I’m on your team, baby. I’m on the team that makes Hunter happiest.”

“Fuck,” he grumbles. “I didn’t think it was possible for me to love you more, but you just made the impossible happen.”

Giggling, I give his hand a squeeze. “Seriously… whatever your gut tells you to do, it will be the right call. And you have my support.”

“And you’ll wait for me if I go?”

“Of course I will.”

“Will you visit me on tour?”

“If I can swing it… I’d love to come watch you and spend time with you.”

“It’s going to be brutal, Gabby. Being apart from each other… sometimes for months.”

“Yes, it will,” I tell him honestly. “But we can do it. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve waited my whole life for you to wise up and love me.”

Hunter’s quiet for a moment, but then he says, “You have loyalty like no one I’ve ever known. You dropped out of school without a moment’s hesitation, all to keep your dead father’s dream alive. Not your dream… his dream.”

I stop walking and turn to look at him inquisitively. “Hunter?”

“You never put yourself first. You’re putting me first right now, and I have to wonder what it says about me that I’m letting you do that.”

“It doesn’t say anything,” I assure him. “This is nothing more than making the best decision for you at this particular point in your life. It’s about doing what’s right and having no regrets. You’re not hurting anyone by this decision, so what’s the problem?”

He looks at me skeptically and simply says, “If I go… it will hurt you.”

“No. It won’t hurt me because there is no intent by you to hurt me. Will I be sad? Yes. Will I be lonely? Yes. That’s going to happen. You’re going to feel those things too, I suspect. But never hurt.”

Hunter pulls me roughly into his arms, gripping the back of my head and pushing me against his chest. I can feel his heartbeat thumping against my cheek as my arms wrap around his waist.

“Thank you,” he says quietly.

“For?” I ask, not quite sure why thanks is needed.

“For being you, Gabs. Just for being you.”

Yes, it’s self-evident.

I love him.





At Gabby’s insistence, I went ahead and opened Last Call back up for lunch, since all inside work was complete and the outside would be done by the end of the week. But it’s extremely slow right now for a Sunday, and not many people know that we are serving lunch again.

No one is sitting up at the bar, and only a few of the booths are occupied, so now is as good a time as any for me to pull Brody aside to talk. I feel like I have to catch him unawares in order to get him to give me ten minutes of quality talk time. He’s vigorously avoided talking to me since his blow up at Alyssa.

“Hey Wanda,” I say to one of the waitresses as she passes by. “I need to talk to Brody for a minute. Can you handle this area by yourself?”

“Sure,” she says with a wink. “It’s just Henry Coursier and his cronies. I think I can handle that group for a bit.”

I laugh, because Henry Coursier is a big talker and a big charmer. He’ll keep Wanda occupied and on her toes. Glancing over at him as he laughs exuberantly at something someone says, I wonder if he’s reviewed Gabby’s bid and what he thinks of it. I want to ask him, and also put in a good word for her, but I’m thinking that might be stepping on Gabby’s toes. Still, it hasn’t escaped my notice that he’s not called me for a reference, and I hope that doesn’t mean he won’t consider her bid for some reason.

I’ll have to think on that for a bit, and maybe by the time I get done talking to Brody, if he’s still here, I’ll bring it up in casual conversation.

“Hey Brody,” I call out to him. “My office. Need to talk.”

By the time I sit down behind my desk, Brody is walking in behind me, shutting the door. He sits down quietly opposite me, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“If this is about that shit with Alyssa last week—”

“It’s not,” I cut him off, “but I still think that was f*cked up. I need to talk to you about the bar.”

Brody straightens up and then leans back in his chair. “I’m listening.”

“I’ve been offered some pretty lucrative endorsements if I agree to go back on the Tour next year. I’m considering it. Only problem is that they want me to jump back on this year’s tour. Sooner rather than later.”

“Can you win this year?”

Shaking my head, I pull a paperclip out of its holder and start fiddling with it. “No, but they want me to go back on Tour now to get the practice and visibility. All in prep for next year.”