Can't Help Falling in Love

by Samantha Chase

  At least until he took a bite of the cinnamon roll.

  That was pure heaven.

  “I swear, I don’t know what Mrs. Henderson does to these things,” Dean commented, “but they are pure perfection every time.”

  Hunter whole-heartedly agreed.

  Once they were done, Hunter set up Eli in the living room to watch Doc McStuffins so he and Dean could talk. Back in the kitchen, he sat down and took another sip of his coffee and figured his brother would start the conversation.

  And he did.

  “You know you’re a colossal jackass, right?” Dean said with a small grin.

  Choking on his coffee, it took a minute for him to catch his breath. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Look, I know Dad’s talked to you, I know Kyle’s talked to you, and I’m sure Scarlett’s talked to you too.”

  They all had, but it was a bit of a blur to Hunter. Everyone was telling him how wrong he was and to unclench and go after Violet, but…he’d been a little busy trying not to think about her, so he ignored all their talks.

  “So I’m here to return the favor.”

  “Um…what?”

  Nodding, Dean took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “Do you remember when Courtney was planning on leaving Magnolia and moving to Raleigh and you came over and pretty much knocked some sense into me?”

  Crap…

  “Yeah…”

  “The dumbest thing I ever did was not being honest with Court when we first started dating.”

  “No, the dumbest thing you ever did was not notice she was in love with you for years before you started dating.”

  Frowning, Dean murmured, “Agree to disagree.” He took another sip of his coffee. “Hunt, it’s obvious you’re crazy about this girl–possibly even in love with her. Are you really going to sit here and say your need to be in control all the time and only see Magnolia Sound for the rest of your life is more important to you than having a future with Violet?”

  The simple answer was no.

  He realized that now.

  But he also had no idea to fix what he’d done.

  “The difference between you and me is that Courtney never got the chance to leave,” Hunter said lowly, staring down at his coffee. “I let Violet go. I can’t imagine she’d be willing to give me another chance.”

  “You’ll never know, Hunt, until you try.”

  It all sounded easy, but Hunter was a realist. “I could call her and beg her to take me back. I can apologize until the cows come home.” He sighed. “But we both know how I am, Dean. In the long run, I’ll revert to my old ways and stifle her.”

  “Most of my life, you all picked at me for being too cautious. Hell, sometimes you still do. Courtney knows that about me and reminds me of it almost daily. But she also encourages me to relax and open my mind a little. She’s the reason I finally took the step to open my own garage. She’s the reason we’re flipping houses.” He smiled. “And she’s the reason I’m confident I can handle all that and a baby too.”

  “What?” he cried. “You guys are having a baby?” Jumping up, he hugged his brother. “This is amazing! Congratulations!”

  “Thanks. We’re both really excited about it. Slightly overwhelmed, but excited.”

  “Dude, what are you doing here worrying about me?” he asked with a nervous laugh. “Clearly you have enough on your plate. I’ll be fine.” He shrugged. “I always am. I’ve been through breakups before, so…”

  “Not like this,” Dean said, his tone serious. “The way you looked at Violet was like nothing I’d ever seen on you before. Don’t give that up. You’ll regret it.”

  “I already do,” he admitted after a moment.

  “Then do something about it!”

  “I’m afraid, Dean! I don’t…I don’t want to screw this up. Violet’s had a rough life, and she deserves someone who doesn’t have as many issues as I do.”

  “We all have issues, Hunt. Good or bad, we all have them.”

  “Yeah, well…she spent a lot of years in foster care, and…you know…I don’t want to…”

  “Do you love her?” Dean interrupted.

  “Of course, I do!”

  “Okay then. You ask me, what Violet wants is someone who loves her and fights for her. Someone who can prove she matters more to them than anything else. The rest of the stuff? Your weird travel phobia?”

  “It’s not weird!”

  “It’s weird and everybody thinks so,” Dean deadpanned. “But all that aside, the other stuff will work itself out. You are going to have to make a grand gesture to prove to her that she means more to you than all your crazy hang-ups.”

  “They’re not crazy…”

  “Oh, my God! Enough! You are so damn annoying!”

  “Great pep talk.”

  Reaching over, Dean smacked him on the side of the head. “Like I said, I’m returning the favor. Now, what do we need to do to get your girl back?”

  “I…I don’t even know where to begin. She wanted me to go to Nashville, but…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You wouldn’t do it. Now you will.”

  “I will?”

  Nodding enthusiastically, Dean said, “Yeah. You will. And before you give me your list of excuses, I’m here to tell you none of them will work.”

  His heart was pounding like wild in his chest. “What about Eli?”

  “Well, I think you can bring him with you, but considering you’re going to have to grovel, it would probably be best if you go solo. That’s why Scarlett and Mason have agreed to have him come and stay with them while you’re gone.”

  “But…what if I’m gone for like…more than a couple of days?”

  Dean snorted with laughter. “Dude, please. We all know you’re not that advanced in the relaxing stage yet. You have five days, ideally. But I’m sure if you needed more, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  Nodding, he said, “What if she turns me down?”

  “Try not to talk too much. This way, we can guarantee she won’t.”

  “Not funny.”

  “Wasn’t joking…”

  Getting up, he began to pace. “This…this is crazy! How do I even know where she lives? Do I drive there? Fly? I…how do I even get her to talk to me?”

  “Katie brought her mother-in-law to the shop yesterday,” Dean explained. “We talked about this whole thing and she gave me Violet’s address.”

  “Seriously?”

  Dean nodded. “And she said you better not screw this up.”

  “Great. So no one has any confidence in me.”

  “Well…you’ve been a disappointment so far. But I guess you can turn it around.”

  He felt like he was going to be sick.

  “Flying will be the easiest for you. There’s a flight out this afternoon we can get you on that will have you to Nashville in three and a half hours. You give me the go-ahead and Scarlett’s standing by waiting to book it for you.”

  Unsure of what to say, he paced.

  “Stop overthinking this. That’s how you got into this mess. Take a chance, Hunter! Show Violet you’re willing to put in the work!” When he still didn’t answer, Dean huffed with annoyance. “C’mon, man! Say something!”

  Ignoring his brother, Hunter walked to the living room and stood next to his son. “How would you like to stay with Aunt Scarlett and Uncle Mason for a few days?”

  Eighteen

  It was a beautiful afternoon and Violet knew she should be working, but it was too lovely out to stay inside. As she walked around the park, it occurred to her how she wished she had a dog to walk. All around her, people were walking dogs and–not for the first time–she wished she could just go to the local shelter and adopt one.

  “No, dopey. You travel too much. How fair would that be to a dog?”

  It didn’t stop her from wanting one, though.

  Well, a dog, a husband, a couple of kids, a house with a white picket fence…yeah, damn Hunter Jones for opening her eyes t
o a life she never thought she’d have. Even after all her visits with Katie, she never felt the tug of longing to settle down like she did after spending time with Hunter and Eli.

  Visions of Eli with a puppy came to mind, and her heart ached.

  A few blocks from home, she considered stopping for some groceries so she could cook dinner rather than getting takeout, but immediately reconsidered.

  “I will stop at the bakery though,” she murmured, already envisioning getting one of the monster fudge brownies or maybe some cupcakes.

  And immediately her mind went to Hunter.

  Not like it was hard to make that happen. It seemed like it didn’t take much these days to make her think of him.

  Deciding she didn’t want to invite the memories, she opted to just go home and dive into her work. There was zero chance of that making her think of Hunter. After all, he had made it abundantly clear he no interest in traveling anywhere ever. So the faster she got home, the faster she could push her thoughts of him out of her mind for a little while.

  She caught a faint whiff of sweetness from the bakery, so she thought of Hunter.

  She walked by a pizza place and thought of Hunter.

  Then she passed a fire hydrant. And thought of Hunter.

  “Ugh…I seriously need to find a way to stop doing this. It’s not possible to walk around and see and think of Hunter everywhere I go.” Turning onto her block, she saw someone standing at her door and…yeah…he looked like Hunter.

  Groaning, she mentally chided herself because he wasn’t the only man on the planet who was tall with sandy brown hair and built like a fantasy. Hell, she knew she could pick up any fireman calendar or look at any men’s magazine and see dozens of guys who looked exactly like Hunter.

  Wracking her brain, Violet tried to think if she had ordered something and the guy at her door was delivering it.

  The closer she got, she saw he did have something in his hands and her heart kicked hard in her chest when she saw it was a pink box.

  Just like the ones from Henderson’s bakery.

  Suddenly, she was frozen on the spot–afraid to get any closer. What if this was a mirage? What if all these crazy thoughts she’d been having for the last several minutes were making her think she was seeing Hunter when he wasn’t really there?

  But what if it’s really him?

  Tears stung her eyes as she realized if he was there…then he came to get her.

  No one had ever come back for her.

  Her entire life was spent with people leaving her, but if that was Hunter Jones in the flesh on her doorstep, then for once in her life, she meant enough to someone for them to come back for her.

  It was a terrifying and exciting thought.

  Up ahead, she saw him turn to look around and knew the instant he spotted her.

  The practical, bad-ass side of her demanded she calmly walk the rest of the way and assume an air of confidence–like it was no big deal that he was here. But her heart had other plans, and before she knew it, Violet was running up the block and didn’t care how crazy she looked.

  The closer she got, the bigger her smile grew, and she noticed Hunter’s was the same. And when she was close enough to jump into his arms, she did. Wrapping herself completely around him, she held on as tight as she could–afraid somehow that this wasn’t real or that she was dreaming.

  Two strong arms banded around her, and as she buried her face against his neck and smelled the fresh scent of his cologne, she knew she was awake and this was real.

  He was here.

  Tears were streaming down her cheeks and down onto his neck, but neither let go for a long time. When she finally forced herself to look up, she feared she looked like hell and frantically tried to wipe at her face.

  Hunter was the one to gently push her hands away so he could be the one to wipe away her tears, and the tender look on his face was enough to make her start crying again.

  Carefully, he carried her over to her front steps and sat down with her in his lap. After a moment, he finally spoke. “Please tell me these are happy tears.”

  Nodding, she reached up and grabbed his face and kissed him. There were quite possibly a million things she wanted to say, but they all could wait. Kissing Hunter and being kissed by him was what she needed more than anything right now. It was a little frantic and wet and all-consuming and so not the place for it, and that’s the only reason why she reluctantly lifted her head.

  “Hunter Jones, I have one very important question for you,” she said breathlessly.

  She saw him swallow hard before he nodded.

  “Are there cupcakes in that box?”

  Laughing, he got them both onto their feet. “Let’s go inside and find out.” He scooped up the box while she scrambled to find her keys in her purse, and once they were inside and away from the rest of the world, she took a minute to finally let it sink in that he was here. In her house. In Nashville. It was new and yet it felt like he was always supposed to be there.

  “So, um…this is my home,” she said nervously.

  He walked around and she was happy the place was clean. When she first got back from Magnolia Sound, there had been a few days where she let the dishes and laundry pile up. Luckily, she had gotten over that. The entire first floor was a fairly open floor plan and her office was tucked away in its own room. Upstairs she had three decent-sized bedrooms. It had been the first home she had purchased after years of renting. It was bigger than what she needed, but after so many years of sharing a room or having roommates, she wanted enough space of her own that she’d never feel crowded. But right now, she couldn’t wait to sell it and move to a tiny beach bungalow with two of the greatest guys in the world.

  At least, she hoped that’s what was going to happen.

  Clearing her throat to get his attention, she figured they should probably start talking. “What are you doing here, Hunter?”

  His hands slid into his pockets and she could see the uncertainty in his eyes–like he suddenly didn’t know what to say. Motioning for him to have a seat on the sofa, Violet did her best to patiently wait to hear what he had to say. To keep herself busy, she opened the bakery box and smiled when she saw half a dozen cupcakes in there. Picking two of them, she put them on a plate and carried them out to the living room before sitting on the opposite end of the sofa.

  “Your house if very nice, Violet,” he began as he stared down at his clasped hands. “And your neighborhood seems to be in a great location. Lots of stuff nearby.”

  “Thanks, and yeah, one of the reasons I chose it was because I could walk to almost everything I need.”

  He nodded, and they went quiet again.

  “Hunter…”

  “I should never have let you leave,” he finally said, turning his head to look at her. “You asked me to give you a reason to stay, and I should have said that I loved you. I should have said I’d do whatever it was you wanted because you mean more to me than anything else.” Then he chuckled and shook his head. “Except for Eli, but…”

  “I know what you’re saying,” she interrupted, fighting the urge to cry again. “I desperately wanted you to give me a reason that day, Hunter, but it seemed like you were warring with yourself and…” Pausing, she sighed. “You weren’t ready.”

  “I’m ready now,” he stated, his voice stronger than it was a moment ago. “And I’m ashamed that it took me this long. My whole life, I thought I was brave and strong and I could get through anything, but then you came along and it suddenly felt like I was second-guessing everything about myself. I run into burning buildings and yet I couldn’t tell you that I loved you.” Hanging his head, he shook it.

  Sliding across the sofa, Violet pressed up against him, taking his hands in hers. “Then we make a perfect pair because I’ve spent most of my life acting like nothing bothers me and that I don’t need anyone. But I need you, Hunter. And Eli. I need you both so much that it scares me.”

  Hunter twisted so he was facing her, re
versing the position of their hands so he was holding hers. “And we need you, Violet. I am so damn in love with you, and if you give me another chance, I promise to not be so uptight and structured, and I promise to even give traveling a try!”

  “Hunter…”

  “I mean, I flew here, and it wasn’t so bad,” he explained. “But…you’ll have to be patient with me. I’m not big on the idea of cruises or international trips, and I don’t like the idea of leaving Eli home without me too often…”

  “Hunter?”

  “Hmm?”

  “How about we start with a simple tour of Nashville and take it from there?”

  His shoulders sagged with relief. “I think I’d like that very much.” Then he tugged her back into his arms, resting his forehead against hers. “But later. Right now, the only tour I want is to see your bedroom.”

  Every inch of her tingled with anticipation. “Straight up the stairs, last doorway on the left.” She squealed with excitement as he stood and hauled her over his shoulder in a typical fireman’s pose.

  And it was a complete turn-on.

  The first of many.

  “I thought you were a mirage when I saw you standing on my doorstep,” Violet said sleepily. “Boy, am I glad you were real.” She was naked and warm and pressed up against him under the sheets, and it was the perfect way to end the day.

  Except…it was still light out and he was starving.

  “I’m happy I’m real too,” he replied, kissing her softly on her forehead.

  “What made you decide to come here? I swore I wouldn’t ask, but…I’m just so surprised.”

  “Like I said, I regretted the way I behaved since you left. I built the deck, I built Eli a jungle gym, I landscaped the backyard, and did everything I could to exhaust myself.” Pausing, he kissed her again. “But I was miserable. I missed you so damn much. Plus, everyone in my family was reminding me of what a jackass I was to let you get away.”

  “Wow.”

  Nodding, he said, “Yeah. But Dean came by this morning and…we’ve always told him how overly cautious he was. He’s slow to make a decision, and he overthinks everything. So when he’s the one telling me I’m being too cautious, then I knew I had to do something about it. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d even want to see me.”