1 Chapter Three
2
3 Part Four
25 November 2005
Her wedding anniversary was only three days away…and Stephanie was still at loss with what to do. Hunter had never filed for a divorce, and she had never asked him why. But with their fifth wedding anniversary fast approaching, she knew she had to do something.
After tucking Colby into bed, she half-closed his bedroom door and went searching for Hunter. She knew that he was still downstairs in his office and was going through some papers, despite it being Friday. She really didn't want to disturb him. There was always tomorrow, right?
Stephanie hesitated at the closed door, then quickly turned around and walked away.
'Steph, hey.'
Damnit! She had hesitated too long. Forcing a smile, she turned to face him. 'Hunter.'
Standing in the doorframe, he smiled at her in confusion. She had always loved that smile. It was part of the reason she had fallen in love with him in the first place; it reminded her that Hunter was not 'man always in control of everything', and that he was as prone to human faults as everyone else.
'Did you…want to see me about something?'
She might as well do it now, get it over and done with. 'Actually no…yes, I wanted to talk to you about…something. But if you're too busy…?'
'I'm never too busy for you, you know that.'
Words she would have loved to have heard from him five years ago. But as she'd learnt, life was not meant to be lived in regret, and she pushed those thoughts away. 'Well…it's kind of a sensitive subject.'
'Okay.'
'But something I think we need to talk about.'
A thoughtful look came across Hunter's face. Then, he nodded. 'There's a lot of things we need to talk about.'
Stephanie smiled sadly. 'You can say that again.'
*
'Why did you never file for a divorce?'
Hunter wasn't shocked at the question, but he was baffled for a few minutes. It was a simple enough question that had a simple enough answer. But nothing came out, and she just looked at him patiently.
'Steph…' He wanted desperately to just tell her the truth, and just hope for the best. Which would probably have been a slight nod, then her walking away and going upstairs to pack her bags to leave. 'It's…well, I just…it didn't really cross my mind.' It was the half-truth. He had tried hard not to think about it.
However, the fact that their fifth wedding anniversary was only three days away hadn't escaped his thoughts. He had been debating whether or not to get her something for the occasion.
Stephanie seemed as if she was hesitating with something. 'It's just…our, you know, anniversary is three days away, and I think that we need to sort some things out.' She paused. 'That is, if there is something that needs to be sorted out.'
Hunter wondered if he was reading too much into her words. He hoped not. 'Yeah…five years. Doesn't feel like it, does it?'
That was probably because she had been in Australia with Jericho for three of those five years.
Stephanie looked away, as if she had heard his thoughts, and he regretted them immediately. 'No, it doesn't,' she whispered softly.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.'
'I guess I sort of deserved it.'
'No.' But even he heard the hollowness of his lie.
There was silence. A deep, infusing silence that seemed to echo with a million 'what ifs', deep sorrow, and a touch of remorse. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly companionable either. It was a thought- provoking silence that made both of them speculate about lives not lived.
'I never wanted to hurt you,' Stephanie said softly after an indeterminable amount of time. 'That was the very last thing I wanted to do.'
'I guess we'll always have that in common,' he replied, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything.
'What happened to us, Hunter?' she asked, sounding genuinely bewildered. 'I thought we loved each other. Wasn't that enough?'
There was a hurt in her voice that made Hunter turn to look at her. She was gazing back at him, her face a mask of uncertainty.
'It was enough,' he assured her.
'But…?'
'But I had wrongly made myself believe I hadn't needed it. I…I pushed you away, and I wasn't even sure why I was letting the best thing that ever happened to me slip away.'
'I was never the perfect wife.'
'And I'm not the perfect husband.'
Stephanie smiled. It was small, but it was there. 'I guess that makes us perfect for each other then.'
Hunter had to laugh. It was small, but it helped release a little of the tension. 'I just wish I'd figured that out a lot sooner.'
'Things would certainly have gone a lot differently.'
What an understatement.
*
3.1 28 November 2005
'I don't know about this…'
Her brother smiled encouragingly at her. 'Steph, it'll be fine.'
Stephanie took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple cut midnight blue satin silk, thigh length, spaghetti strap evening dress. 'Why do I feel like someone just about to go out on her first date?'
'It's going to be okay,' Shane assured her. 'It's going to be a wonderful evening for you two.'
She lifted her head, turning to face him. 'Are you sure you're okay with baby-sitting Colby?'
'It'll be great. We'll pig out on pizza and ice cream, play video games all night, have a water fight, trash the house. It'll be a proper bonding experience.'
Stephanie frowned. 'Not too much, I hope.' She started to get worried again. 'Maybe this isn't such a good idea? Maybe-'
'Hey, I was just kidding! I promise to make sure Colby behaves himself.'
She finally managed a grin. 'Actually, I was thinking more the other way around.'
'Haha, very funny. Now, you better go. Hunter's been waiting for awhile already.'
Dinner with Hunter. Stephanie never thought she would ever be doing something quite so…couple-like ever again. And with her ex-husband. Or rather, just husband. Five years of marriage. Well, considering she never thought they would ever reach their first year anniversary, everything was going pretty good.
Kind of.
*
Hunter couldn't stop staring at her. She had gained more weight in the past few weeks, gained colour in her cheeks, lustre in her restored hair. Even a bit of sparkle in her eyes. Or that could probably just be the candlelight?
Whatever it was, Stephanie had managed to regain herself. She was less the frightened, helpless woman who had come knocking on his front door all those months ago. She was more the Stephanie he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
The Stephanie he was still in love with?
He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. They were slowly rebuilding their relationship, and he didn't want to ruin any chance of a full reconciliation by scaring her too soon. Instead, he concentrated on the moment. On having Stephanie sitting across from him, smiling, laughing at some stupid joke he had told her.
Things had been a little awkward in the beginning. She had talked about her three years in Australia with Jericho. He had talked about his three years of constant change. She had apologised. He had said it was okay…a little lie. He had apologised. She had said it was okay…was it a lie?
'It's good to see you laugh,' he said softly, unable to stop himself.
Stephanie stopped almost immediately, but smiled shyly at him across the table. 'Well, it's good to laugh.'
'I remember when you used to laugh at the stupidest jokes I ever made.'
'They were all stupid,' Stephanie teased. 'I only laughed because I felt sorry for you.'
Hunter shook his head. 'Right…and the next day, you retelling each and every one of them to Jessica?'
3.2 'Wow…would you look at that chocolate cake?' she suddenly exclaimed, looking at something over his shoulder, a fake expression of amazement on her face.
'See, they weren't all stupid,' he laughed. 'They were mostly good jokes.'
Stephanie looked back at him again, smiling wistfully. 'They were mostly good times.'
'They were,' he agreed readily.
*
3.3 13 December 2005
'So…?'
Stephanie looked at Jessica. 'So what?'
'You and Hunter. Things are looking quite good, it seems.'
She put down her cup of coffee, forcing a smile. 'Yeah, I guess they are.'
Jessica raised an eyebrow. 'But…?'
'But what?'
'Well, you don't sound very happy about it.'
'No, I'm happy.' She smiled brightly to emphasise her point. 'Everything's good!'
Jessica said nothing, and just stared at her.
Stephanie lost her smile and sighed. 'Spit it out, Jess. We both know you're going to anyway.'
Her friend grinned. 'I know. I just thought I'd give you a chance to explain yourself first.'
'Explain what?'
'You resisting the idea of getting back together with Hunter.'
'I'm not resisting. I'm just being…cautious.'
'No, you are resisting. It's like you don't want to get back together with him.' Jessica looked closely at her. 'Steph, how do you feel about Hunter?'
'I don't know…'
'Do you love him?'
'Of course I do.'
Jessica rolled her eyes. 'I mean, do you love-'
'I know what you mean,' Stephanie interrupted, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the topic.
'Well?'
'I think I do.'
Jessica shook her head. 'You think?' She paused. 'Is this about Chris?'
At the mention of Chris, an immense feeling of sadness came over Stephanie. She missed him terribly, but she also knew that he was gone. It was then she realised that it had been weeks since she had last thought about him, and she suddenly felt guilty.
She stared down at her near empty coffee cup. 'No, it's not about Chris.'
'Steph, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you-'
'No, it's fine. I really don't know, Jess. I don't know how I feel about Hunter, I don't know what I want from him. I don't even know what I want from me.'
'Is it Colby?'
'No, Colby loves Hunter.' Stephanie smiled at the mention of her son.
'Colby does seem happy with Hunter. That's fantastic.'
'He's happy that he's got a male role model in his life again, I think.' She lost her smile. 'He asked me about Todd last night. I was hoping Colby would have forgotten all about him.'
Jessica looked at her with concern. 'Oh, damn… What did you say?'
'I told him that we were never going to see him again. And then he asked me if he was a bad man.' Stephanie bit her lower lip at the memory of innocent curiosity in her son's eyes at the question. 'I think a part of him knows what had been happening. He had often asked about the bruises, you know…I mean, they weren't very hard to miss…'
Jessica reached over and gave her arm a little squeeze, offering a smile. 'Hey, it's okay. Todd is gone. You left him, remember?'
She took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear it. 'I know. I'm back where I…where I…'
'You're back where you're supposed to be,' Jessica said, her tone firm.
'I am. With Hunter.' Stephanie was surprised at the conviction in her voice.
*
25 December 2005
'Shell!' Colby greeted excitedly, twisting in his arms to be put down on the ground, which Hunter was more than glad to oblige. He watched as the little boy raced across the tiled floors, into the living room, and towards Shane's daughter, Mechelle.
'Excitable little devil, isn't he?' Hunter said with a grin, looking at Stephanie.
Stephanie laughed. 'I told you not to give him too much Coke, didn't I?'
'It's Christmas! Live a little!'
'Speaking of…Merry Christmas!' Shane greeted jubilantly as he walked towards them with his arms wide open, a visibly pregnant Isabelle right beside him.
After the initial were exchanged, Hunter and Stephanie were led to the living room, where Vince and Linda were watching over Shane's two children, and Colby. Another round of greetings followed before all of them headed to the dining room for Christmas dinner.
Hunter couldn't keep his eyes of Stephanie. The change in her in the past eight months was amazing. She laughed more often, and more easily. She was certainly a lot more carefree than the troubled woman who had knocked on his door, asking for help. She was also looking a whole lot healthier. She was looking a lot more like the Stephanie he had first met.
'Something on my face?' she teased, raising an eyebrow at him.
He grinned. 'Yeah, there's a piece of something, which I think might be corn, that's sitting on your cheek.'
Stephanie quickly picked up her napkin and started brushing at her left cheek. 'Is it gone?'
'No, it's on the other cheek,' he said, trying to keep from laughing.
She wiped her right cheek. 'Did I get it?'
'No, just a little higher up, closer to your eye.'
Stephanie was frowning as she concentrated on wiping away the imaginary corn. 'Maybe-'
'Steph, he's lying,' Isabelle interrupted, laughing. 'There's nothing there!'
Hunter grinned as Stephanie glared at him in mock anger. Throwing her napkin across the table and hitting him in the face, she said loudly, 'That was not funny!'
'Oh, are we having a food fight?' Colby asked eagerly from beside him.
A food fight at a McMahon Christmas dinner? The image of Vince with vegetables hitting him on the face was just too much for Hunter, and he burst out laughing.
'What's so funny?' Vince asked loudly from the head of the table.
'Nothing, Dad,' Stephanie answered quickly for him. 'Hunter's just being immature.'
Unsure if he had drunk too much wine, or if he really was just being a tad immature, an image of Shane with peas and mashed potatoes on his head flashed before him, and Hunter started laughing even harder. Linda with spaghetti sauce dripping off her face…
Quickly excusing himself, Hunter pushed back his chair and hurried out of the dining room, disappearing into the living room to hopefully compose himself.
'Alright, what is it?' an amused voice asked from behind him.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, he turned to face Stephanie, unable to wipe the huge grin off his face. 'Nothing. I was just-' He broke off, taking a few more deep breaths to calm himself. The corner of her mouth started to curve into an amused smile as she waited for his answer.
'Spaghetti sauce,' he said quickly, shaking his head.
'What are you talking about?'
'Hitting Vince…with broccoli,' Hunter breathed out. 'And dumping the mashed potatoes on Shane's head!'
'Uh huh, and you, with actual pasta hanging from your head!' Stephanie joined in with a grin.
The two of them stared at each for a brief moment, before dissolving into giggles.
*
'So, how are things going with you and Steph?' Shane asked, the second they found themselves alone.
Hunter shrugged. 'Pretty good, I think.'
'You think?'
'Well, it's much better than I had hoped. We talk, we spend some time together, we take Colby out and stuff. Family things.'
'So, things are going really good then?' Shane prompted.
'Well, I guess you could say that. It's not like we're an actual couple or anything like that.'
'Yet.'
But Hunter shook his head. 'It's not like that at all. We're just friends, you know. Good friends, but just friends.'
Shane shook his head at him. 'You know what you are, Hunter? You're a coward.'
Hunter shot him a dirty look. 'Gee, why don't you tell me what you really think.'
The other man laughed. 'Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're afraid of the little woman? You guys have been married, what? Five years now?'
'Not exactly.'
'Well, whatever. The fact that neither of you have filed for divorce yet has to say something, right?'
Hunter said nothing.
'Tonight's the perfect night to tell her,' Shane continued. 'Something tells me that the answer she'll give you won't be the answer you're dreading.'
'What?'
Shane grinned. 'Trust me on this. Just tell her how you still feel about her.'
*
'Hey. There you are. Everyone's looking for you.'
'I love you.'
The words were out of Stephanie's mouth before she had a chance to change her mind about telling him. Although a spur-of-the-moment thing, she knew that she genuinely meant what she had just said. Watching him interact with her family, with Colby, seeing a side of him she had thought had disappeared – it had all been a revelation and a half. This was her life now, and it was a good, happy life. It was the kind of life she had always wanted.
Hunter stared at her, stunned. 'What?'
Her heart was thudding loudly against her chest, and she feared that he could her it. 'I just wanted to…' She trailed off, taking a deep breath. 'I wanted to let you know.'
Hunter just stared at her, not saying anything. Stephanie started to get nervous as the silence continued, unsure if she had made the right decision. Tonight had finally felt like the right time to tell him.
Or maybe not.
Finally, she forced a smile for his benefit. She had thought that maybe Hunter still felt the same about her, but she was obviously wrong. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered, turning away from him. A mixture of hurt, anger, and mortification coloured her cheeks, and it was something Stephanie didn't want him to see.
However, before she had taken a step, she heard him speak.
'I love you, too, Steph.'
2
3 Part Four
25 November 2005
Her wedding anniversary was only three days away…and Stephanie was still at loss with what to do. Hunter had never filed for a divorce, and she had never asked him why. But with their fifth wedding anniversary fast approaching, she knew she had to do something.
After tucking Colby into bed, she half-closed his bedroom door and went searching for Hunter. She knew that he was still downstairs in his office and was going through some papers, despite it being Friday. She really didn't want to disturb him. There was always tomorrow, right?
Stephanie hesitated at the closed door, then quickly turned around and walked away.
'Steph, hey.'
Damnit! She had hesitated too long. Forcing a smile, she turned to face him. 'Hunter.'
Standing in the doorframe, he smiled at her in confusion. She had always loved that smile. It was part of the reason she had fallen in love with him in the first place; it reminded her that Hunter was not 'man always in control of everything', and that he was as prone to human faults as everyone else.
'Did you…want to see me about something?'
She might as well do it now, get it over and done with. 'Actually no…yes, I wanted to talk to you about…something. But if you're too busy…?'
'I'm never too busy for you, you know that.'
Words she would have loved to have heard from him five years ago. But as she'd learnt, life was not meant to be lived in regret, and she pushed those thoughts away. 'Well…it's kind of a sensitive subject.'
'Okay.'
'But something I think we need to talk about.'
A thoughtful look came across Hunter's face. Then, he nodded. 'There's a lot of things we need to talk about.'
Stephanie smiled sadly. 'You can say that again.'
*
'Why did you never file for a divorce?'
Hunter wasn't shocked at the question, but he was baffled for a few minutes. It was a simple enough question that had a simple enough answer. But nothing came out, and she just looked at him patiently.
'Steph…' He wanted desperately to just tell her the truth, and just hope for the best. Which would probably have been a slight nod, then her walking away and going upstairs to pack her bags to leave. 'It's…well, I just…it didn't really cross my mind.' It was the half-truth. He had tried hard not to think about it.
However, the fact that their fifth wedding anniversary was only three days away hadn't escaped his thoughts. He had been debating whether or not to get her something for the occasion.
Stephanie seemed as if she was hesitating with something. 'It's just…our, you know, anniversary is three days away, and I think that we need to sort some things out.' She paused. 'That is, if there is something that needs to be sorted out.'
Hunter wondered if he was reading too much into her words. He hoped not. 'Yeah…five years. Doesn't feel like it, does it?'
That was probably because she had been in Australia with Jericho for three of those five years.
Stephanie looked away, as if she had heard his thoughts, and he regretted them immediately. 'No, it doesn't,' she whispered softly.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.'
'I guess I sort of deserved it.'
'No.' But even he heard the hollowness of his lie.
There was silence. A deep, infusing silence that seemed to echo with a million 'what ifs', deep sorrow, and a touch of remorse. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly companionable either. It was a thought- provoking silence that made both of them speculate about lives not lived.
'I never wanted to hurt you,' Stephanie said softly after an indeterminable amount of time. 'That was the very last thing I wanted to do.'
'I guess we'll always have that in common,' he replied, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything.
'What happened to us, Hunter?' she asked, sounding genuinely bewildered. 'I thought we loved each other. Wasn't that enough?'
There was a hurt in her voice that made Hunter turn to look at her. She was gazing back at him, her face a mask of uncertainty.
'It was enough,' he assured her.
'But…?'
'But I had wrongly made myself believe I hadn't needed it. I…I pushed you away, and I wasn't even sure why I was letting the best thing that ever happened to me slip away.'
'I was never the perfect wife.'
'And I'm not the perfect husband.'
Stephanie smiled. It was small, but it was there. 'I guess that makes us perfect for each other then.'
Hunter had to laugh. It was small, but it helped release a little of the tension. 'I just wish I'd figured that out a lot sooner.'
'Things would certainly have gone a lot differently.'
What an understatement.
*
3.1 28 November 2005
'I don't know about this…'
Her brother smiled encouragingly at her. 'Steph, it'll be fine.'
Stephanie took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple cut midnight blue satin silk, thigh length, spaghetti strap evening dress. 'Why do I feel like someone just about to go out on her first date?'
'It's going to be okay,' Shane assured her. 'It's going to be a wonderful evening for you two.'
She lifted her head, turning to face him. 'Are you sure you're okay with baby-sitting Colby?'
'It'll be great. We'll pig out on pizza and ice cream, play video games all night, have a water fight, trash the house. It'll be a proper bonding experience.'
Stephanie frowned. 'Not too much, I hope.' She started to get worried again. 'Maybe this isn't such a good idea? Maybe-'
'Hey, I was just kidding! I promise to make sure Colby behaves himself.'
She finally managed a grin. 'Actually, I was thinking more the other way around.'
'Haha, very funny. Now, you better go. Hunter's been waiting for awhile already.'
Dinner with Hunter. Stephanie never thought she would ever be doing something quite so…couple-like ever again. And with her ex-husband. Or rather, just husband. Five years of marriage. Well, considering she never thought they would ever reach their first year anniversary, everything was going pretty good.
Kind of.
*
Hunter couldn't stop staring at her. She had gained more weight in the past few weeks, gained colour in her cheeks, lustre in her restored hair. Even a bit of sparkle in her eyes. Or that could probably just be the candlelight?
Whatever it was, Stephanie had managed to regain herself. She was less the frightened, helpless woman who had come knocking on his front door all those months ago. She was more the Stephanie he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
The Stephanie he was still in love with?
He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. They were slowly rebuilding their relationship, and he didn't want to ruin any chance of a full reconciliation by scaring her too soon. Instead, he concentrated on the moment. On having Stephanie sitting across from him, smiling, laughing at some stupid joke he had told her.
Things had been a little awkward in the beginning. She had talked about her three years in Australia with Jericho. He had talked about his three years of constant change. She had apologised. He had said it was okay…a little lie. He had apologised. She had said it was okay…was it a lie?
'It's good to see you laugh,' he said softly, unable to stop himself.
Stephanie stopped almost immediately, but smiled shyly at him across the table. 'Well, it's good to laugh.'
'I remember when you used to laugh at the stupidest jokes I ever made.'
'They were all stupid,' Stephanie teased. 'I only laughed because I felt sorry for you.'
Hunter shook his head. 'Right…and the next day, you retelling each and every one of them to Jessica?'
3.2 'Wow…would you look at that chocolate cake?' she suddenly exclaimed, looking at something over his shoulder, a fake expression of amazement on her face.
'See, they weren't all stupid,' he laughed. 'They were mostly good jokes.'
Stephanie looked back at him again, smiling wistfully. 'They were mostly good times.'
'They were,' he agreed readily.
*
3.3 13 December 2005
'So…?'
Stephanie looked at Jessica. 'So what?'
'You and Hunter. Things are looking quite good, it seems.'
She put down her cup of coffee, forcing a smile. 'Yeah, I guess they are.'
Jessica raised an eyebrow. 'But…?'
'But what?'
'Well, you don't sound very happy about it.'
'No, I'm happy.' She smiled brightly to emphasise her point. 'Everything's good!'
Jessica said nothing, and just stared at her.
Stephanie lost her smile and sighed. 'Spit it out, Jess. We both know you're going to anyway.'
Her friend grinned. 'I know. I just thought I'd give you a chance to explain yourself first.'
'Explain what?'
'You resisting the idea of getting back together with Hunter.'
'I'm not resisting. I'm just being…cautious.'
'No, you are resisting. It's like you don't want to get back together with him.' Jessica looked closely at her. 'Steph, how do you feel about Hunter?'
'I don't know…'
'Do you love him?'
'Of course I do.'
Jessica rolled her eyes. 'I mean, do you love-'
'I know what you mean,' Stephanie interrupted, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the topic.
'Well?'
'I think I do.'
Jessica shook her head. 'You think?' She paused. 'Is this about Chris?'
At the mention of Chris, an immense feeling of sadness came over Stephanie. She missed him terribly, but she also knew that he was gone. It was then she realised that it had been weeks since she had last thought about him, and she suddenly felt guilty.
She stared down at her near empty coffee cup. 'No, it's not about Chris.'
'Steph, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you-'
'No, it's fine. I really don't know, Jess. I don't know how I feel about Hunter, I don't know what I want from him. I don't even know what I want from me.'
'Is it Colby?'
'No, Colby loves Hunter.' Stephanie smiled at the mention of her son.
'Colby does seem happy with Hunter. That's fantastic.'
'He's happy that he's got a male role model in his life again, I think.' She lost her smile. 'He asked me about Todd last night. I was hoping Colby would have forgotten all about him.'
Jessica looked at her with concern. 'Oh, damn… What did you say?'
'I told him that we were never going to see him again. And then he asked me if he was a bad man.' Stephanie bit her lower lip at the memory of innocent curiosity in her son's eyes at the question. 'I think a part of him knows what had been happening. He had often asked about the bruises, you know…I mean, they weren't very hard to miss…'
Jessica reached over and gave her arm a little squeeze, offering a smile. 'Hey, it's okay. Todd is gone. You left him, remember?'
She took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear it. 'I know. I'm back where I…where I…'
'You're back where you're supposed to be,' Jessica said, her tone firm.
'I am. With Hunter.' Stephanie was surprised at the conviction in her voice.
*
25 December 2005
'Shell!' Colby greeted excitedly, twisting in his arms to be put down on the ground, which Hunter was more than glad to oblige. He watched as the little boy raced across the tiled floors, into the living room, and towards Shane's daughter, Mechelle.
'Excitable little devil, isn't he?' Hunter said with a grin, looking at Stephanie.
Stephanie laughed. 'I told you not to give him too much Coke, didn't I?'
'It's Christmas! Live a little!'
'Speaking of…Merry Christmas!' Shane greeted jubilantly as he walked towards them with his arms wide open, a visibly pregnant Isabelle right beside him.
After the initial were exchanged, Hunter and Stephanie were led to the living room, where Vince and Linda were watching over Shane's two children, and Colby. Another round of greetings followed before all of them headed to the dining room for Christmas dinner.
Hunter couldn't keep his eyes of Stephanie. The change in her in the past eight months was amazing. She laughed more often, and more easily. She was certainly a lot more carefree than the troubled woman who had knocked on his door, asking for help. She was also looking a whole lot healthier. She was looking a lot more like the Stephanie he had first met.
'Something on my face?' she teased, raising an eyebrow at him.
He grinned. 'Yeah, there's a piece of something, which I think might be corn, that's sitting on your cheek.'
Stephanie quickly picked up her napkin and started brushing at her left cheek. 'Is it gone?'
'No, it's on the other cheek,' he said, trying to keep from laughing.
She wiped her right cheek. 'Did I get it?'
'No, just a little higher up, closer to your eye.'
Stephanie was frowning as she concentrated on wiping away the imaginary corn. 'Maybe-'
'Steph, he's lying,' Isabelle interrupted, laughing. 'There's nothing there!'
Hunter grinned as Stephanie glared at him in mock anger. Throwing her napkin across the table and hitting him in the face, she said loudly, 'That was not funny!'
'Oh, are we having a food fight?' Colby asked eagerly from beside him.
A food fight at a McMahon Christmas dinner? The image of Vince with vegetables hitting him on the face was just too much for Hunter, and he burst out laughing.
'What's so funny?' Vince asked loudly from the head of the table.
'Nothing, Dad,' Stephanie answered quickly for him. 'Hunter's just being immature.'
Unsure if he had drunk too much wine, or if he really was just being a tad immature, an image of Shane with peas and mashed potatoes on his head flashed before him, and Hunter started laughing even harder. Linda with spaghetti sauce dripping off her face…
Quickly excusing himself, Hunter pushed back his chair and hurried out of the dining room, disappearing into the living room to hopefully compose himself.
'Alright, what is it?' an amused voice asked from behind him.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, he turned to face Stephanie, unable to wipe the huge grin off his face. 'Nothing. I was just-' He broke off, taking a few more deep breaths to calm himself. The corner of her mouth started to curve into an amused smile as she waited for his answer.
'Spaghetti sauce,' he said quickly, shaking his head.
'What are you talking about?'
'Hitting Vince…with broccoli,' Hunter breathed out. 'And dumping the mashed potatoes on Shane's head!'
'Uh huh, and you, with actual pasta hanging from your head!' Stephanie joined in with a grin.
The two of them stared at each for a brief moment, before dissolving into giggles.
*
'So, how are things going with you and Steph?' Shane asked, the second they found themselves alone.
Hunter shrugged. 'Pretty good, I think.'
'You think?'
'Well, it's much better than I had hoped. We talk, we spend some time together, we take Colby out and stuff. Family things.'
'So, things are going really good then?' Shane prompted.
'Well, I guess you could say that. It's not like we're an actual couple or anything like that.'
'Yet.'
But Hunter shook his head. 'It's not like that at all. We're just friends, you know. Good friends, but just friends.'
Shane shook his head at him. 'You know what you are, Hunter? You're a coward.'
Hunter shot him a dirty look. 'Gee, why don't you tell me what you really think.'
The other man laughed. 'Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're afraid of the little woman? You guys have been married, what? Five years now?'
'Not exactly.'
'Well, whatever. The fact that neither of you have filed for divorce yet has to say something, right?'
Hunter said nothing.
'Tonight's the perfect night to tell her,' Shane continued. 'Something tells me that the answer she'll give you won't be the answer you're dreading.'
'What?'
Shane grinned. 'Trust me on this. Just tell her how you still feel about her.'
*
'Hey. There you are. Everyone's looking for you.'
'I love you.'
The words were out of Stephanie's mouth before she had a chance to change her mind about telling him. Although a spur-of-the-moment thing, she knew that she genuinely meant what she had just said. Watching him interact with her family, with Colby, seeing a side of him she had thought had disappeared – it had all been a revelation and a half. This was her life now, and it was a good, happy life. It was the kind of life she had always wanted.
Hunter stared at her, stunned. 'What?'
Her heart was thudding loudly against her chest, and she feared that he could her it. 'I just wanted to…' She trailed off, taking a deep breath. 'I wanted to let you know.'
Hunter just stared at her, not saying anything. Stephanie started to get nervous as the silence continued, unsure if she had made the right decision. Tonight had finally felt like the right time to tell him.
Or maybe not.
Finally, she forced a smile for his benefit. She had thought that maybe Hunter still felt the same about her, but she was obviously wrong. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered, turning away from him. A mixture of hurt, anger, and mortification coloured her cheeks, and it was something Stephanie didn't want him to see.
However, before she had taken a step, she heard him speak.
'I love you, too, Steph.'