“Am I that obvious,” he replied with a laugh.
I nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“And that’s why I love you. You know me so well.” He lifted his hands and cupped my face stroking my cheeks with his thumbs. “My family is going to love you too.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed me. His chocolate-colored eyes, with their flecks of honey, looked warm and caring as he locked gazes with me. I didn’t doubt his love. I could see it shining there.
The butterflies resurfaced at the mention of his family. “I’m worried they’ll think I’m too young for you.”
“They already know how old you are, Goody,” he said, using his pet name for me. “I’ve explained everything to them. My mom didn’t even bat an eyelash. She thinks it’s all terribly romantic.”
“Really?” Hearing that made me feel better.
Hunter chuckled. “Really. They’re very excited to meet you. Chris has told them how wonderful you are too. He and my sister will be there as well. You have allies.”
I had fond memories of the few times I’d been able to visit with Hunter’s brother-in-law, Chris. Not to mention he’d saved both our lives during the incident with Clay, so that gave him huge brownie points in my book.
“Are we good?” he asked. “No more nerves.”
I gave a short laugh. “Oh, I still have plenty of those. I don’t want to screw anything up.”
“You’ll be perfect. Don’t worry.”
“How can you know? Have you added psychic abilities to your impressive resume?” I teased him. “Because unless you’ve suddenly become all-knowing, I don’t see how you can predict something like that.”
“I know because you’re perfect. Everyone who meets you loves you. Why would my family be any different?”
“I bet Gabby would beg to differ with you.” An image of the gorgeous brunette from high school popped into my head. “She was very clear about wanting me out of the way so she could have you.”
Hunter groaned. “Please don’t ruin our nice evening by mentioning her. I’ve quite enjoyed leaving her in the past—where she belongs.”
“Really? That’s too bad. I was thinking of dying my hair dark-brown and purchasing a much sluttier wardrobe. I thought you might like it.” I bit my lip in anticipation of his reaction.
“Don’t you dare touch your hair. Ever. It’s perfect like it is.” He picked up one of the lose curls and twisted it around his finger.
“Ever?” I asked, faking confusion. “It’s going to be awful messy if I can’t touch it ever.”
He laughed and gently tweaked my nose. “You know what I mean, Miss Smarty Pants.”
“Smarty Pants? Is that an upgrade or a down grade from Goody-Two-Shoes?”
His eyes were positively sparkling with mirth. “Neither. You’ll always be my Goody.” He leaned in and lightly kissed my lips, before giving me a half-cocked grin. “Do you know how good you make me feel?”
I slid my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “You make me feel good too.” Popping higher on my tiptoes, I kissed him—lip-gloss forgotten. A soft moan escaped him and he wrapped an arm around my waist, his other hand slipping to my neck, tangling into my hair.
I sighed happily at the contact, loving the feelings his touch evoked inside me. He made me feel the craziest things. I’d never experienced this kind of intense emotion for another person before.
He suddenly broke away with a heavy sigh, leaning his forehead against mine. “We better get going I think, or I might be tempted to skip dinner. My mom wouldn’t be too happy about that I’m afraid. She’s been very anxious to meet you.”
The ball of nerves bounced back into my stomach. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
He laughed heartily. “I’m not taking you to be executed, you know. I really do think you’ll like them.”
“I’m sure I will . . . especially if they’re anything like you.” I was doing my best to be positive. I wasn’t sure why the idea of meeting his parents was so terrifying. Of course, I’d never been in love before. Hunter . . . Dylan . . . was my first love. Making a good impression was a must for me. It was obvious he was close to his family by the way he lit up when talking about them. What if they felt I wasn’t good enough for their son? Horror stories of relationships ending because the family didn’t get along with the newcomer floated in my mind. That couldn’t happen to us. I couldn’t lose him.
Hunter grabbed my hand, leading me out of my dorm room, downstairs, and to the parking lot. He opened the passenger door of the Camaro, and I slid inside. I dug through my purse to find my lip-gloss while he went around to get in his side. He climbed in beside me and watched for a second as I leaned forward to look into the visor’s mirror.