Chapter Ten

Saylor

Add my two noisy friends to the house and the mansion became crowded. Dani and Casey still had their original bookings at the hotel where we were all supposed to stay for my canceled wedding, but they weren’t due to check in for a couple of days. Their plan to stay with me until then had been fine, but now Hunter was added to the mix.

Hunter spent much of the day in a room set up as an office, working. Although we’d spent the night together in his bed, I told him that while the girls were here we were back to separate rooms. He readily agreed although I wanted him to protest.

I felt unsettled. Hunter and I had slipped into this thing we were doing so easily. We fit together with no abrasive edges in a way that felt just right, yet I was hiding it from my girlfriends. Part of me felt I needed time alone with Hunter when the other part felt as though we’d known each other forever.

Casey, Dani and I were sprawled across the large sectional sofas, drinking hot chocolate, when my phone pinged. I glanced at the screen, my blood chilling as I read the message.

“What’s wrong?” Dani asked.

“Rex. He says he’s given me enough time to ‘calm down’ and that he wants to see me. I feel sick. I thought he’d just go away.”

“Do you want to see him?”

“No. Hell no. I don’t want to see him again ever.” My fingers flew across the screen of my phone. “There. Fixed it. I’ve blocked him.”

Casey raised her mug to me. “Here’s to you, girlfriend, and that gorgeous new guy you’ve got hidden away here. We need to know what’s going on with you and Hunter. I mean, wow, he’s even more fuckable than he was two years ago.”

“Do you mind?” I said, my cheeks burning. “We’re not—”

“Puh-lease,” Dani said. “It’s blatantly obvious. Don’t even try to tell us you two aren’t making the beast with two backs in every room of this house.”

“We’re not—” I tried again, and again was interrupted.

“In that case, explain why there’s a pair of your pretty lace panties under a lounger in the loggia. Did you strip out there to get a snow-tan, or did you strip for your mountain man?”

“They were probably left by another guest.”

Casey shook her head. “Weak.”

I decided to give in early because the pair of them would continue chipping away at me until they got the answers they wanted.

“It’s just a fling, okay? Nothing more serious than a bit of rebound sex. As I said, I wanted to fuck Rex right out of my system, and Hunter showed up, so why not?” Dani shook her head at me, a strange look on her face, but I carried on. “He’s perfect. Hot looking, knows his way around a woman’s body, and best of all, he’ll return to London in a week or so—”

“I’m going skiing for the afternoon. If you have anything you want to do in town, I can drop you off and pick you up again around four-thirty.”

I jumped to my feet and faced Hunter. How long had he been standing there? What had he heard? His face was hard, his eyes freezing me out.

“We’re just going to hang out here,” I said.

He nodded and left the room.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“Not such a fling then,” Dani said.

I shook my head and followed Hunter through the house.

I found him in the kitchen, his face unreadable, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the counter.

“I’m sorry, Hunter, what you overheard wasn’t what it sounded like.” The words tumbled out fast and made little sense, the tightness in my chest suggesting he most certainly was much more than a fling.

“So, what was it?”

The hint of British was back in his voice, but this time it wasn’t sexy, it was cold.

“The girls wanted to know what was going on and, I guess, I don’t even know what’s going on so I made it sound casual. A fling.”

“A fling? That’s fine if that’s what you want to call it. Glad I haven’t disappointed you.” He pocketed his phone and his keys. “I’ll have dinner in town.”

“Hunter—”

“You’ve got your girlfriends here to take care of you.”

“Are you sulking?”

“I don’t sulk, Saylor, and as far as you’re concerned, I don’t do flings.”

I watched him leave the kitchen. Heard the front door close, then watched him drive away. I was in turmoil. Rex’s message had rattled me. I never wanted to see him again, and it was so out of character for him to contact me after I’d called everything off. Humility wasn’t part of the Rex package, and humble pie certainly wasn’t on his menu.

But, Hunter? Did he really feel something for me? I didn’t mean those words he overheard. I was just trying to get the girls off my back because I was still struggling to understand the depth of my feelings for Hunter. I thought if I denied my true feelings then I wouldn’t be so hurt when he left.

I returned to the lounge feeling all my joy crumbling away.

“Lover’s tiff?” Casey asked.

I pulled a face and sat down, rubbing my forehead. “I don’t know what it is, but he’ll be gone in a week so I guess it’s for the best.”

“You like him a lot, Saylor.”

Dani wasn’t teasing this time.

“I do, and it doesn’t make sense. A few weeks ago I was about to marry Rex and now, here I am, lusting after an old childhood crush. Rex’s cousin, no less. Matt’s best friend and business partner. Everything about Hunter has a big Forbidden sign in neon hanging over it. This couldn’t be more wrong.”

“It’s your heart,” Casey stated like an expert. “Hearts never make sense. They’re renowned for dragging you off the dance floor and straight to the VIP room with the bad boy and a bottle of Cristal. But you only get one chance at this life, girl. If it feels right, go for it.”

“Thanks, Casey, but it looks as though I’ve wrecked it now anyway,” I said.

“Pfft. He’s giving you space to be with your girlfriends. I bet he’s up there on that mountain wishing you were swooshing down the slopes with him,” Casey added. “Come with me and try on your bachelorette outfit. We can shoot some photos for your ’gram-fans.”

“I don’t have a bachelorette outfit,” I protested.

“You do now. We bought you one.” Dani grabbed my hand and pulled me from my chair. “It’s super-sexy and we want to dress you up.”

They weren’t kidding. The dress was near obscene and made me pleased I wasn’t having a public bachelorette party in the city. The top fit, just. My breasts squeezed and boosted for maximum cleavage did their best to pop out and say hello whenever I bent over. The outfit hugged my waist and the tulle skirt barely reached past my panties. It was topped off with a pink tiara and tiny veil. I looked like a horny old man’s fantasy bride.

“My god, where’s Hunter when we need him? If he saw you like this he’d drag you to the altar—” Dani began, but stopped when Casey shot her a dark look.

“What?” I said, looking between them.

“We didn’t want you to be reminded that you’re not actually getting married, Casey said.

“Yet you bought me a bachelorette outfit.”

“That’s for the marrying-yourself thing. It’s different.”

“I love you girls, but sometimes you don’t make a lot of sense.”

Dani threw me a coat. “Come on. Out into the snow with you and we’ll get some stunning winter-bride shots.”

Casey brought champagne and we had a lot of fun, hamming it up for the camera in the stunning snowy landscape. But I couldn’t help thinking about cutting the tree with Hunter, and the snowman we’d built together. I pushed those thoughts from my mind because all the did was raise doubt about my sologamy intentions.

It took another hour to choose the best image for Instagram. Once I uploaded it, Dani stayed glued to her phone reading out comments as they dropped while Casey and I cooked dinner. Mostly, the comments were supportive and sweet.

Hunter got in late, looking like a man who’d spent a day on the mountainside, his face burnished by sunstrike off the snow. I wanted to be alone with him, to reconnect with what we’d shared before the girls had arrived. He sank into an armchair and took a bottle of water to his lips, easily swallowing half the contents before setting it down on the coffee table.

“Have you had a good day, ladies?” he asked.

“Bachelorette party,” Dani said.

“Sorry I missed it,” Hunter said, blinking slowly as if trying to hide his astonishment.

“Here, look. Photographic proof.” Dani passed the phone to Hunter with the IG post open.

“Hunter doesn’t want to see that,” I said, trying to intercept the pass. My fingers slid across the surface of my phone before it was snatched from my reach.

“Yes I do,” he said. His eyes widened when he saw the photo. “You went out dressed like that?”

“No, we didn’t leave the property.” I made another attempt to get the phone away from him.

He held it in the air. “Let me see what your followers think.”

I glared at Dani, and she smiled back.

“Sexy…pretty babe…who’s the lucky guy?” Hunter went on reading aloud comments while I hid my scarlet face behind a cushion.

“Oh,” he said. “Rex wants to know why you’ve blocked his number.”

My stomach flipped. “Please, may I have the phone?” Hunter handed it over. Sure enough, Rex, who had taken little interest in my Instagram when we were together, had decided to follow me now that we were apart. He’d left a string of messages, each growing more insistent that I should contact him. I didn’t plan to, so I hastily blocked him there, too. “There, all fixed,” I said, sounding more confident than I actually felt.

Hunter’s cell buzzed and I kept my eye on his face as he checked the screen, but he was unreadable. He pushed to his feet. “I have work to do. I’ll see you ladies in the morning.”

We chorused a “goodnight” but I felt uneasy. Since the girls had arrived whatever had burgeoned between Hunter and me had started slipping sideways and I didn’t know if I could right it.

But I knew I wanted to give it a try. I waited half an hour then excused myself and went to find him.

His bedroom door was partially open. I knocked, but there was no response. Then I noticed Hunter’s dark silhouette on the bedroom balcony that was gently lit by the illumination of the outdoor lighting below. He leaned on the rail in the cold Colorado night, speaking on his phone. I watched him for a moment, enjoying the sight of a body that looked as sturdy as the trees and the mountains beyond.

After a short time waiting, I felt uncomfortable lurking in his doorway so I turned to leave. The sound of the balcony slider opening made me pause.

“Saylor, wait. I won’t be long.” The balcony door slid closed again.