So Rare (Boys of South Chapel #3)

30. Hunter

Chapter 30

Hunter

NOW

“ Gerald .” I pull back, suddenly aware of just how close I came to knocking an eighty-year-old man over. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re here.” I wrap my arms around him.

Chuckling, he drops his luggage at his feet. “Hello, lass. Fancy seeing you here.”

His deep voice and melodic accent instantly transport me back to my time in London. I can’t believe Spence convinced Gerald to come all this way.

“Are you well, love?” he asks, holding my shoulders at arm’s length as he inspects me.

I blush at the phrase Spence uses so liberally but in a much different context.

“I’m okay,” I tell him honestly. “It’s been a tough few weeks.” Understatement of the year. “But I’m feeling wonderful now that you’re here.”

That’s the truth. When it comes to the people who wholeheartedly and genuinely care about me and those I love, Gerald is one of the good ones.

“How is your wife?” I ask, weaving my arm through his and hugging his side once more.“Gone, I’m afraid.”

My heart plummets, and my breath catches.

“She passed the winter after you left London,” he tells me solemnly.

Throat tightening, I hold him more firmly. “I’m so sorry, Gerald.”

With a sniff, he tips his chin, alerting me to Spence’s approach. “We’ve both been suffering from heartbreak since then,” he remarks quietly.

I squeeze his arm, then turn to face the others.

“How’s it, Gerald?” Spence greets as he and the other guys step onto the rocky beach.

“All is well, Mr. Spencer.”

“Very good.” Spence sidles up to my side. “I take it you’re in need of a rest and a hot meal?”

“Both would be most welcome,” the older man says. With a glance at the mansion, he lets out a low whistle. “It’s even larger than it looked on the boat. Your friend and I were surprised to discover that this was to be our final destination.”

Greedy and Levi step up to either side of Spence then, and introductions are made, hands shaken. Greedy takes Gerald’s bags for him, which just about bowls him over.

Smiling, I grasp Levi’s hand and start to follow Greedy up to the house.

Before I make it more than two steps, another voice snags my attention.

“Mahina.”

My lungs seize, and my every cell freezes. Slowly, I peer over my shoulder. The sight that greets me is one I never thought I’d have the privilege of beholding again.

Sione.

With a lake spread out behind him. Standing on a dock. Reaching out his arms. Calling out to me.

“Si?” The name is as much an exclamation as it is a question.

What in the world is he doing here?

I stride toward him, then break out into a sprint when he does the same.

We collide at the edge of the lake. He sweeps me up into his arms and spins me around and around, holding me tight.

His enormous hands press into my back and ass. Laughing uncontrollably, I have no real choice but to wrap my legs around him and hang on for dear life.

Eventually, he slows and places me back on my feet. His hair is loose around his shoulders, his dark eyes smoldering as he looks down at me wearing that gorgeous, familiar smile.

“What are you doing here?”

He tucks my hair behind one ear. Like he can’t resist touching me. “I thought the Brit told you I was coming,” he says, his voice low and melodic.

Reminded that, oh yeah , we have an audience, I turn and find the four men along the beach watching me interact so casually and lovingly with an outsider.

My chest tightens, and nerves skitter through me. Oh boy. This is going to be a lot for everyone to process. And just as it felt like we were finding our footing.

With pursed lips, Spence searches my gaze.

He was supposed to tell me. Honestly, though? He never stood a chance. I’ve barely seen him all day, then when I finally did emerge to check in, I let myself get all sorts of caught up in Gerald’s arrival.

I thought Gerald was the surprise visitor.

I blow out an exasperated sigh. Spence catches it, shakes his head, and shrugs.

We all have a lot of explaining to do, it seems.

With Sione’s hand in mine, I guide him up toward the house to introduce him to the others.

I’m delighted he’s here. I’m also high-key worried that all the progress Greedy, Levi, Spence, and I have made is about to crumble down around me.

My first love. My boyfriend. My European lover. Now my other European lover. All here. All under one roof.

Flovely .

“What are you thinking, Mahina?” Sione probes as we navigate the rocky shore.

“I can’t believe you’re really here.”

He halts, stopping me with a slight tug. Tenderly, he cups my face, bows his head, brushes his plump lips with mine, and says, “You know you’re where I always want to be.”