“Then I guess I have no choice but to share my pain.”
“You really don’t,” Hunter said, chuckling when she paused to glare at him.
“Well,” she began once again, “I guess the worst job that I ever had was for this man who-”
“What was his name?” he interrupted her, mostly because he loved the way her eyes narrowed as she debated kicking him beneath the table.
“Does it really matter?”
“Only if you want me to feel like I was there,” he said, watching as she struggled not to laugh.
Clearing her throat, Kylie said, “Fine. We’ll call him Gunter,” making his eyes narrow.
“Gunter?” he drawled, as the little brat nodded gravely.
“Mmmhmm, Gunter. Now, where was I?”
“You were enthralling me,” Hunter said dryly, as his attention shifted to her lips and he thought about just how soft they’d felt against his.
“Right,” she murmured with a nod as she shifted in her chair, cleared her throat and took a sip of her Coke, making his lips twitch as he waited for the little smart ass to get on with it.
“So, the worst job that I ever had was for this man-”
“Gunter,” he supplied for her.
“Gunter,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Probably at the beginning,” Hunter murmured helpfully.
“That would probably be for the best,” Kylie agreed, nodding solemnly.
“Just get on with it, brat,” he said, chuckling as he took a sip of his Coke.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“I’m waiting with bated breath,” he assured her, watching as she absently reached up and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear while he sat there, watching the move as he thought about how many times he’d done the same thing, the way it felt to have her silky smooth hair slide through his fingers, the way it felt to brush his hand against her skin, how it felt to press his lips against the back of her neck and couldn’t help but wonder if she realized how much he wanted her.
“Then I probably should get on with it,” Kylie said with a teasing smile.
“You probably should,” Hunter murmured in agreement.
“It’s such a sad tale. I’m not sure if it was because he was so old, but he had a hard time remembering my name,” Kylie said with a sad shake of her head that had his eyes narrowing.
“Did he now?” Hunter drawled.
“He did,” she said with a heavy sigh before adding, “He was also cranky.”
“Well, he was old,” he reminded her, making her smile.
“Well, this is true,” she said, nodding in agreement. “He also cheated at board games, but that probably had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t accept losing to someone half his age,” she said with a thoughtful frown.
“Probably,” he murmured in agreement.
“He also hogged the bed,” Kylie said with a sad shake of her head.
“And sharing a bed was part of your job?” he asked even though they both knew damn well that she was the one that hogged the bed.
“I did wonder about that,” she said with a thoughtful frown.
“Must have been in the fine print.”
“Must have been,” Kylie agreed with a smile that had him thanking God that she didn’t know exactly what that smile did to him.
Chapter 25
“Can I ask you something?” Hunter asked, as he absently toyed with the small glass candle the waitress placed on their table a few hours ago when it started to get dark.
“Maybe,” Kylie said, watching as his emerald eyes flicked up in surprise.
“Maybe?” he asked softly with a look that left her struggling not to think about that kiss that she’d liked probably more than she should, but even knowing that this was a bad idea didn’t stop her from hoping that he would kiss her again.
“Maybe,” she repeated, unable to help but smile at the man that made her forget how terrified she’d been only a few hours earlier. But that wasn’t really a surprise, was it? He made her feel all the things that she’d never thought she would ever experience and he did it all with a simple look.
“Okay, then how about I just tell you instead?” Hunter said, slowly nodding as he reached for her hand and-
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Ryan said, sighing heavily as he dropped down in the chair between them.
“And now that you’ve found me, you can fuck off,” Hunter said, keeping his eyes locked on her.