Page 87 of Hunter's Treasure

“Yes. Are you?”

I glanced around the tidied-up galley, then at the calm aquamarine ocean outside the window. “I think so,” I said suspiciously. “Why are you asking?”

“You usually text me to have a safe trip before my flight. And I’m almost at my gate, and still nothing from you,” she said, her breath huffy as she speed-walked through the airport. Tina spent all her vacation days with us, flying to meet us wherever we were.

“You haven’t taken off yet, have you? So technically, I have time.” I smiled.

“I can’t wait to see you and your cute belly,” Tina squealed. “We haven’t hung out since my visit to Italy. When was it? Five months ago?”

“Yes,” I said.

“When you got pregnant after seeing Henry Cavill,” she said, and if not for the airport hubbub, I would hear her snickering.

Tina and I have an ongoing debate about whether I got pregnant the same evening we caught a glimpse of Henry Cavill (fine, we watched him for about an hour) filming his movie in Sardinia because my ovaries were overly excited. And yes, he was just as handsome in real life as on TV, but my Hunter was much better looking.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. I needed to wrap up this call since it was obviously not an emergency. “Hey, I need to go right now. You have a safe and good trip, and I will see you in about four hours.”

“I take an Uber to Emerald Beach bar like last time?”

“Yep.”

“And your rats are still with you?”

Tina wasn’t a huge fan of cats, but Monday and Tuesday were our faithful companions since we had left Teaku, so she would have to get over her cat-erade for the next two weeks.

“They can’t wait to see you,” I said, running my palm over Hunter’s cheek, enjoying the soft feel of his freshly shaved skin.

“Okay, see ya soon.” Tina hung up before I could say bye to her.

I blew air through my pursed lips, loosely draping my arms on Hunter’s shoulders. “So, where were we?”

“Remember the house you liked on the top that overlooks the bay?” Hunter said, his palms skimming my back. He was holding back something, and I was afraid to let my hope soar high until I knew where he was going with it.

“Yeah,” I said warily, but anticipation fizzed through my veins like champagne bubbles.

His expression was unabashed bliss. “It came up for sale yesterday, and it can be ours if you want it.”

And now my stomach was full of butterflies (it could also be a baby moving). I arched an eyebrow. “How? It’s a bit out of our price range.”

“This morning, I received a call from Lisa Browne’s firm…” he said, his smile widening, cheeks showing off his cute dimples.

“Oh my God.” I shrieked. “Is it really done?”

“Yes. It’s done.”

“Done?” I repeated, shocked to my core this day had finally arrived.

Hunter nodded, and I entwined my hands behind his neck. He buried his face into my shoulder crook, his chest expanding in rhythm with mine.

After three years of waiting, we had given up on the idea that our finder’s fee would ever be granted to us. It turned out that the finders-keepers rule only worked in elementary school and didn’t apply to multi-million-dollar historical treasures. The process of receiving the “thanks for locating the long-lost treasure” payment was not as easy and straightforward.

“It’s eight and not ten percent as we initially were promised, but I think we will be okay,” Hunter said, his gaze tracing my face as his fingers gently smoothed hairs out of my eyes. “If you still think we should buy Shore Thing and Just for Fun and settle here, now we can.”

When we came across this slice of paradise three years ago, Hunter and I were on our honeymoon voyage, and we fell in love with it. While having drinks at Shore Thing, we befriended the owner, Brad, who was considering retiring soon and wanted to sell his beachfront property with both businesses. At that time, Hunter and I weren’t looking for a place to anchor yet, but we knew eventually we would need to pick a spot to call our home. With a baby coming on board soon, it was time to think about where we would want to land and start our family.

“I already know which room will be our nursery.” Ireleased a happy breath and kissed Hunter’s stubbled cheek. “Can we go see it today?”

I was already on my feet, reaching out to pull Hunter onto his.

“Of course,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer so he could press a kiss to my belly. My fingers worked their way into his sun-bleached golden hair. My heart was impossibly full. I conjured a rich image of us chasing our little ladybug on the green lawn in front of the house, her blonde curls bright against blue skies, and her giggles so loud I could hear them right now. I wanted that so much.

Hunter looked up at me, his blue eyes catching sunlight. “I love you.” I bent and brushed my lips against Hunter’s, saying it back. His hand slid down and grabbed my ass, and I was glad we didn’t have an appointment with a realtor that morning because we would certainly be very late.