Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I unlocked my apartment door and waited. Hunter stepped off the elevator and walked toward me with purpose. It pissed me off that my body reacted to seeing him when I didn’t want to be excited. And that anger was evident in my snarky tone.
“In the neighborhood and thought you’d drop by to say hello?” I asked. I didn’t open the door to invite him in.
Hunter looked me right in the eyes. “Nope. Came to talk to you. Izzy gone?”
Anger was an emotion I could tolerate. I folded my arms across my chest. “Yes. But I have to get ready for work. You should have called first.”
He took a step closer, into my personal space, and looked down at me. “Why would I have done that? So you could blow me off again?”
A mini stare-off ensued. I refused to back down, even though being so near him made me want to crumble. Straightening my spine, I said, “It’s been fun, Hunter. Let’s not end this on a sour note.”
His eyes blazed. “Can we go inside and talk?”
“I’m not sure there’s anything we need to talk about. It was fun. Now it’s over.”
Then he did the one thing I knew I couldn’t withstand—he reached out and cupped my cheek. Stupid tears threatened at the tenderness of his touch.
His thumb stroked my skin. “I’m sorry, Natalia. I really am.”
I swallowed and tasted salt in my throat. “Really? It doesn’t seem that way.”
Hunter closed his eyes. “Can we go inside and talk? Please?”
I nodded, and he followed me into my apartment.
Not ready for the conversation that was to come, I stalled for time and filled the air with anything but silence. “Do you want some coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
“I’m going to have some.”
He nodded, and I retreated to the kitchen, hoping that the few minutes it took would help me figure out what I wanted to say. My head swam with emotions, and I was afraid I might choke up if I didn’t rein myself in.
When I returned to the living room, I found Hunter staring out the window. It reminded me of the morning I’d found him outside on his balcony. He was a million miles away.
Sensing me, he turned. “What time is your first appointment?”
I was honest. “Not for a few hours.”
A sad but real smile peeked out from behind the cloud of somber he wore. I was too jittery to have this conversation sitting down, so I didn’t bother to invite him to have a seat before I started in.
I sipped my coffee and feigned innocence. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”
Hunter reached forward and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “I like you. A lot, Natalia. I enjoy your company. You’re beautiful and smart … and a smart-ass, which oddly, I find ridiculously sexy. And the sex…” He shook his head. “I’d spend every waking moment inside of you, if I could.”
As perfect as that all sounded, I knew it was just the warm-up. I caught his gaze and prompted him. “But…”
“This was supposed to be just sex—have fun for a while.”
That answer infuriated the shit out of me. It was cowardly. “And I was supposed to be married to an honest man who wasn’t a thief. Things don’t always go as planned, do they?”
He dropped his head. “I’m sorry, Natalia.”
“Why?” I bit. “I want to know why.”
He looked up. “Why what?”
“Why you can say all those great things about me—how you like me so much, how good we are together—but then you don’t even attempt to continue this. Is it because we live so far apart?”
“You were dead set against a relationship with any man when this started. You intentionally dated people you didn’t connect with just to keep things on a purely physical level.” He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s all we agreed to.”
“So what?” I raised my voice. “I didn’t agree to be divorced at twenty-eight with a sixteen-year-old. But here I am. And you know what? I’m happy with what I have, even if it isn’t the fairy-tale life I thought I’d get. Sometimes you’re planning on driving straight and life takes a left turn, which turns out to be right.”
We stared at each other, and I saw so much in his eyes—sadness, anger, guilt, desire. But most of all, I knew I was looking at a man who had feelings for me. I wasn’t alone in this. Yet something kept him from even attempting anything more.
“It’s not that simple,” he said.
“I didn’t say it was. But rather than try to figure things out, you’ll just say goodbye in two weeks and not look back.”
When he didn’t man up and say anything, it further fueled my anger. I set my coffee on the nearby end table, and my hands went to my hips. “Tell me, will you have a replacement for me by the time I fly out for the christening? How does that look to you? Do I extend my hand and she and I can exchange compliments about each other’s dresses and talk about your stamina?”