gets me out of a bad mood, and your laugh is better than whiskey. You’re the only woman I want to run around town with, but I am equally as happy with staying in and doing absolutely nothing. Have I mentioned that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen? It’s true, and I’ve felt that since the moment I met you.
“You’re smart and successful, and you should be here even if Branson does want more from you. I never trusted him because this, what we have, scares the hell out of me. I’m not quitting us though. I’m done quitting when the relationship gets hard. I want to see this through. You deserve a man who can take this beyond the first fight. And that man is me. I know that because, Katie McGee, I am without a doubt wildly in love with you. And I’ll be damned if you share a New Year’s kiss with any man who isn’t me.”
I cry. And I laugh. And I smile big and bright and crazy as I grab this gorgeous man and kiss him. I kiss him long and hard and with so much passion that I feel it down to my toes.
When we come up for air, our foreheads touch, and we have to take a moment to catch our breaths.
“I love you, too, Hunter. You deserve a woman who will put you first. I knew how you felt about Branson, and I still made being with him on New Year’s Eve a priority.”
He smiles, and that damn grin that I love so much appears. “We have a lot to learn, kid.”
I laugh. “Okay, now, will you please tell me what that is all about?”
“Casablanca,” he states. “Rick wants Ilsa, but he can’t have her, so he gives her to another man who he knows will give her a better life.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want the other man. Maybe she just wants Rick.”
“Maybe Rick is so in love with her that he’ll do anything to make her happy.” He brushes a piece of hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “Baby, I’ve been in love with you for longer than you can ever imagine.” He brings my arms to around his neck, wrapping his hands around my waist. “My Katie McGee.”
I lock my eyes with his. “I’ve always liked the sound of that.”
“Me too.”
When his lips meet mine, I feel it all the way to my toes. No matter how cold it is outside, nothing but warmth covers me when I’m pressed up against him.
“Come on. Let’s have the New Year’s Eve we were supposed to have.” He tucks my body into his as we continue our journey down the steps.
“And how’s that?” I ask, beaming so big at the sight and feeling of him here, next to me, willing to fight for me.
“At the bar that started it all, of course. We’re past holiday harlot, so tell me, do you have a cheesy name for being a New Year’s girl?”
I think for a second before saying, “You can play my strumpet?”
His head falls back in laughter. “Do I want to know what a strumpet is?”
I shrug. “That one’s more of a play on words rather than being a Christmas vixen, but I was put on the spot. And no, I’m not a prostitute, which is what the word means.”
He kisses my head. “No, that you are not.”
As we enter the bar that we first went to not even a few weeks ago, I can’t help but think of how much my life has changed. When I was here last, I was moping about the man I thought I wanted not wanting me. That’s when a chance kiss rocked my soul and opened me up to a world I’d never thought possible.
Hunter points to the bar, where two seats are open. With his palm pressed against my lower back, showing the world I’m his, I take in every sensation that runs through me. The happiness of being with him. The way his hand feels so natural, so right, as he leads me in the correct direction. To the direction of us. The way it should have always been.
Before we take our seats, I turn and kiss him on the jaw, placing my fingers along the opposite side of his handsome face.
“What was that for?” he asks.
“For this. For being you. For coming to get me.”
He kisses my forehead as we slide into our seats, and he orders two