“One more time?” Both father and son looked pleadingly at Mel. She waved a hand and rolled her eyes. “Don’t come crying to me if you end up with pancake all over you.”
Up Brent went into the air again. Then Xavier kissed him on the top of his head and patted his behind before sitting him back down in his chair.
Isobel took a last bite of her eggs and bagel before moving her chair back when Liam came and grabbed the seat beside her that Jeremiah had just vacated.
“So, birthday girl, what kind of cake do you want Nicholas to bake for dinner tonight?”
“Oh that’s right,” Mel said, raising a hand to her head, “I almost forgot. Happy birthday, Isobel.”
Isobel waved a hand. “Oh. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” Reece said, wiping Brent’s face with a napkin. “Your birthday should be the most special day of the year.”
“Which is why you’ve got
ta tell us your favorite cake and liquor so we can have both on hand for dinner.”
“That’s so sweet, guys.” Isobel put a hand on Liam’s arm. “But Hunter’s actually taking me out on a date tonight.”
“Well of course he is. He’d be a brute not to wine and dine his girlfriend on her big day.”
Liam’s words made her freeze. Girlfriend? Yeah, she guessed she sort of was. Not that she and Hunter had sat down and made it official or anything.
Everything was just so wonderful… which was terrifying. It was like she was floating in some dream bubble and any second it would pop. Then she’d come crashing back down to reality. And it would be ten times more crushing to bear because she’d glimpsed what crazy happy could feel like.
“So we celebrate tomorrow,” Liam continued. “Still need to know what kind of cake. Your American desserts are disgustingly sweet, but when in Rome,” he shrugged and grinned. “I’m trying to develop my sweet tooth. So what’ll it be?”
Isobel shook her head at everyone around the table staring at her expectantly. “Well, I actually don’t like cake either. When I was little, my mom used to always bake me an apple pie on my birthday. It sort of became tradition.”
“That’s sweet,” Reece said, hiking the little boy onto his hip. Only Reece could pull off such a maternal move and not seem a bit effeminate.
“Apple pie it is,” Nicholas said. “Do you like crumble or pastry topping?”
“Crumble, if you know how. But really, you don’t have to go through the trouble if you—”
“Consider it done.”
Isobel couldn’t help smiling as she walked out the door. The longer she stayed here, the longer everyone started to feel like the family she’d never had.
A thought which had the smile falling from her face. Because again, when was the other shoe going to drop?
God, did she have to be such a fatalist all the time? Maybe some people actually got to have a happily ever after?
Chapter 21
HUNTER
Hunter finished his pork chops and then just sat watching Isobel as she took dainty bites of her burger. He kept waiting for it to get old—watching her, finding out new little quirks of hers, waiting to find some habit that annoyed the hell out of him. Hunter hadn’t done a ton of dating before Janine because well, he just hadn’t found that many women that he wanted to spend time with.
Either they were interested in things he found mind-numbingly boring or they wanted more of his attention than he had to give. Or they wanted to change him. Or their voices were too shrill. Or they wanted to call him daddy in bed—
Yeah. He hadn’t been big on the whole dating thing. But Isobel was just— Jesus, even when they were fighting he was still enthralled by her. And lately since they hadn’t been fighting, he’d been able to find out even more about the way her intelligent mind worked. They talked for hours in the car between farm calls, and—
“What?” Isobel’s eyes widened. “Do I have something on my face?” She immediately brought her napkin up and swiped around her mouth.
“No,” Hunter laughed. “You’re gorgeous as ever. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life, actually.”
She frowned and looked down at the tablecloth. She hadn’t talked much throughout dinner. Actually she’d gone quiet about halfway through doing the rounds of farm calls this afternoon. Hunter hadn’t pressed it because he knew there were days he didn’t feel like talking much and he hated it when people constantly pestered him to know what he was thinking. Sometimes he just wanted to drive and let his mind wander.